JAINITUOS ANIME REVIEWS – The Case Files of Jeweler Richard – First Impressions

The Case Files of Jeweler Richard

Genre: Detective, Mystery

Studio: Shuka

Hello my friends.

Welcome to another anime review.

This time, I will like to talk about an anime that has a very interesting way of creating mystery, as well as a lot of poignant moments. You can say it is not your average mystery anime.

Having said that, let me present you.

The Case Files of Jeweler Richard

But before I continue, I must ask you guys the sam question.

Are you guys happy? Feeling healthy?

If the answer is yes, then I am very happy.

Now. Let’s talk about the Case Files of Jeweler Richard.

PREMISE

Based on the light novels written by Nanako Tsujimura, and illustrated by Utako Yukihiro, The Case Files of Jeweler Richard tells the story of Seigi Nakata, a kind, second-year student of economics, who meets a foreign-looking man being assault by drunkards; after saving him, Seigi discovers that this man is a jeweler, called Richard Ranasinghe de Vulpian. Shortly afterwards, Seigi ask Richard to help him fin the true owner of a small pink-sapphire ring that the late grandmother of the former was saving for many decades.

After solving the mystery, Seigi starts working part-time with Richard at his jewellery, solving mysteries regarding a lot of precious gems, including rubies, garnet and opals.

To put in simple words:

«Every gemstone is a wonderful story.»

The Case Files of Jeweler Richard is produced by Studio Shuka, famous for being on the direction of the second season of Durarara!!x2, as well as the fifth and sixth season of Natsume’s Books of Friends. It is almost a small studio, founded in 2013, but it has brought us a lot of beautiful anime that are worth checking out.

A detail of the light novels is that all of them were published by Shueisha, and mostly is intended to a female demographic group. Meanwhile, the anime comprises twelve episodes, and most of them are a very different story, pretty similar to Detective Conan, but I will get there later.

STORY

If there is anything that I learn from Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, is that mystery fiction can come in many stories and in many formats. Case in point, the whodunit genre, from Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot; of in a more recent example, Knives Out, directed by Rian Johnson. I will put the link at the end so you can check it out. Or in the way of Film-Noir, like Dashiel Hammett or movies like Chinatown, L. A. Confidential, and Fargo. 

In the case of anime, we have, aside from Phoenix Wright, we got the works of Gosho Aoyama, especially…

DETECTIVE CONAN

Every single episode and mystery has really inventive elements, and each of them feels like something deeply influenced by the authors like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie, and you can tell. Detective Conan is one of my favourite animes of all time, it really influenced a lot.

But I will talk about it some other time, I am getting out track here.

Returning to The Case Files of Jeweler Richard, every single story has a new case of a person that needs help, the customers, and their distress is symbolised in every gemstone. Like I said… every gemstone is a wonderful story, and how Richard and Seigi manage to solve those mystery is really charming. They don’t have to use their brute force, or any whimsical gadget, like Detective Conan. They use their knowledge, and in the case of Seigi, he tries to be empathetic with every new customer.

Case in point, episode two, where Richard’s customer had a big problem related to her heart. I will not spoil anything, but I will say that the way Seigi approaches the customer, and sympathises with her, is marvellous. It is like a detective and a future psychologist enter in action… sort of.

And the animation brings a really special feeling to the mix.

My only problem is that some of the customers of Richard do not have the same level of depth and psychological status as with Detective Conan or Phoenix Wright. Nonetheless, with the animation, you got this feeling of realism that makes you sympathise with them. Moreover, there is another feature I want to point out about the animation and the design; I really feel that this is done by artists who have experience doing love stories; the issue is that, when I see the art, I think it was inspired by the art of series like Citrus, Kimi no Todoke, Romeo x Juliet and some more. And this adds a lot of charm to the series.

OH… AND YURI ON ICE!!!

And I can say that, perhaps, in the future, Seigi and Richard can be a good couple. Yeah. I admit that I can ship Richard and Seigi, the same way I can ship Andromeda Shun with any of the Bronze Saints.

I love you Shun!!! I really love you!!!

Anyway. Despite the flaws, I can really say that The Case Files of Jeweler Richard have very wonderful stories. Perhaps not as great with Detective Conan, but definitely likeable and majestic.

CHARACTERS

Those eyes represent the beauty of the gems

And just like the stories are really interesting, the characters have a lot of charm too, especially because of the animation, including Richard, Seigi, and there are another two that have their style within the anime. Shoko Tanimoto (pictured above), a fellow partner of Seigi, who was a member of the mineralogy club at high school, and Haruyoshi Shimomura.

But the ones that really stand out are Richard and Seigi. With the class of the former, and the kindness of the later, they create a fantastic duo that invite us to be part of a pretty beautiful vision of mystery.

That we all definitely would like to enjoy.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, The Case Files of Jeweler Richard is definitely something that you would like to binge in these lockdown times. It has beautiful animation, simple, yet interesting characters, an original premise, and so much fun.

So, get your gems ready, and pay a visit to Jeweler Richard. Let him charm you.

…

I think I should visit him.

Perhaps, he can do something about these gems.

My review of Knives Out:

https://jainituos.wordpress.com/2019/12/26/jainituos-film-reviews-knives-out-a-nice-whodunit-tribute/

JAINITUOS FILM REVIEWS – Knives Out (A Nice Whodunit tribute)

Hey Guys,

Welcome to another Film Review. And this time, I am going to go around the amazing new product from the visionary director of the visionary Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Yeah!!! I said it!).

I am talking about the murder detective movie – Knives Out.

But before I start, I must ask you guys the typical question.

Are you guys alright? Are you having an amazing season?

If the answer is yes, then I am very happy. Having said that, let’s go into the review.

KNIVES OUT

Story

Written and directed by Rian Johnson, Knives Out follows detective Benoit Blanc, played by Daniel Craig, who must investigate the unexpected, and unusual, death of the renowned mystery writer, Harlan Thrombey, played by Christopher Plummer, which took place after a family gathering in his own mansion.

Knives Out has a pretty delightful cast, that includes names like Ana de Armas, Chris Evans, Michael Shannon, Jamie Lee Curtis, Katharine Langford, Lakeith Stanfield (from the disastrous Netflix’s Death Note), Toni Colette, Don Johnson, and Jaeden Martell, all of them playing a different relationship with Harlan, except for Ana de Armas, who plays Marta Cabrera, Thrombey’s nurse.

Now. All I have to say is that Knives Out is your textbook whodunit story, as I already said that. If you have seen Murder on the Orient Express, or also have heard of Gosho Aoyama’s Detective Conan (Or Case Closed in U.S.), you are familiar with this type of genre. A murder or a conflict takes place, a private detective accepts the case, he/she meets all the suspects, sometimes he/she meets the victim, the clues are gathered, the suspects are explored, both mentally and in backstory, the detective has an epiphany, the culprit is revealed, case closed.

But this is what makes the whodunit genre so endearing and charming, it engulfs audience, or readers depending on the media, into some dark history and suspense, but also to an awesome main character, who depends in his/her wits rather than his/her brute force (except for Sherlock Holmes, he has both.), and all the time, the tension links us to the setting pretty well, until the very end, where you realised nothing is what it looks like.

And Knives Out is no exception.

I know many Star Wars haven’t exactly forgiven Rian Johnson for what he did with Star Wars: The Last Jedi, but that does not change the fact that he is a very talented filmmaker; he wrote a very fascinating script, with amazing characters; and every element of Knives Out is a complete tribute to the genre, the cinematography, the pacing, the rhythm of the story, and the climax. But that does not stop the movie from having a lot of humour.

With his charisma, Daniel Craig brings a lot of movement and energy into the story, and so does Ana de Armas; as Marta Cabrera, she delivers all her full talent as the compassionate and noble nurse who was actually caught in the wrong circumstances. And any audience can relate with that. The chemistry between the two is very remarkable, you want to see more of their teamwork; it’s takes a while, but you will be present to see that throughout the movie. I know I am saying this too early, but I want to mention it now because it’s definitely one of the best points of Knives Out.

And finally, like many other whodunit stories, Knives Out follows the main structure by the book. Nevertheless, far from being a problem, it is a strength, because the story and the characters are so unique you forgive any possible plot holes or something identical to a flaw.

Perhaps the only downsize is that many moviegoers will not have as much fun with this type of mystery as in movies like Fargo, Blade Runner 2049, Spectre, Skyfall, Ant-Man & The Wasp, or TV Shows like Criminal Minds or some episodes of CSI, in which the culprit is immediately mentioned, and the rest of the movie is either a study of his/her personality, or a slow revelation of the main scheme.

Overall, Knives Out has a very powerful story, thanks to the amazing talent of Rian Johnson.

Also… don’t expect not to feel like seeing the Iron Throne with all those knives at the background.

CHARACTERS

As I mentioned before, Knives Out includes many popular actors, each one with a character with his/her own identity. Christopher Plummer plays Harlan, the nice, yet unpredictable patriarch that earns the contempt of his family; Michael Shannon plays Walt, the ambitious CEO of his father’s publishing company: Jamie Lee Curtis plays the strict Linda, whose business depends on his father; Chris Evans plays Ransom, the good-for-nothing playboy who gets out of the other members’ nerves,;Toni Colette plays Joni, a lifestyle guru celebrity; and Katharine Langford plays Meg, Harlan’s granddaughter and college student, Meg.

Like I said, each character is unique, and their respective actors create them with the soul and the heart, thanks to the great guidance of Rian Johnson. Another element of the whodunit genre that Johnson constructs so majestically. None of the cast feels short. However, one character that you will enjoy all his fullest is Ransom, but let me tell you…

«Nothing is what it looks like.»

I must be honest. I will be for me very hard to go into the characters of Knives Out without revealing too much spoilers, but I guarantee you that everyone gives a very delightful performance.

Even though I must confess it is kind of weird to see Daniel Craig and not think of James Bond. Ok!! I am not saying Craig is copying Bond. Oh no!! I bet you 10 bucks he will never do that. What I mean is that both Bond and Benoit Blanc have a lot of similarities, both are detectives (to some extent), both are incredibly smart, both have this seductive tone of voice, and both are so suave and so smooth that they can connect, automatically by the way, their respective universes with their charm.

Anyway. No wonder why Craig was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Musical or Comedy.

CONCLUSION

To sum up, Knives Out is definitely one of the best movies of 2019. Every element is perfectly combine to bring us a wonderful mystery that will never stop bring us hips of laughs and surprises. You can say, or think, whatever you want about The Last Jedi, but there is no doubt that, with movies like Knives Out, Rian Johnson is on the path of becoming one of the greatest filmmakers of his generation, like J.J. Abrams, the Russo Brothers, or Joss Whedon.

So… sharpen your senses for an amazing ride.