Meet Alice...NEET Detective, Speaker of the Dead

Written by marvizgam on October 26, 2011 at 7:56 PM

Yet another detective show featuring a weird young intelligent girl and an optimistic and outgoing boy, however, this time they have helped from the most unlikely people: a host, a gambler and a military fanatic throw in ramen shop owner and a head of Yakuza and you got one great series. I have to admit I can’t help but to compare this series to Gosick since the main characters are almost the same however, this time the setting is in modern day Japan. Though it lacks the artistry, occult and eerie vibes that made Gosick such a great hit I like that fact that it manages to utilize the modern feel that the anime portrays like the use of the internet, webcams, surveillance cameras and they even used their connection with the Yakuza to gather information. Some of the cases are also quite good and interesting and unlike the usual detective stories that centers mostly on murder mysteries it’s good to see that they are tackling issues like prostitution, missing persons, gang wars and drug trafficking. Alice cold and calculating demeanor complements her ghostly tone skin and long black hair and her cryptic and sometimes creepy dialogue only adds to the mystery surrounding her existence and makes me want to know more about her(she also reminds me a bit of Hell Girl everytime she wears her kimono and utters the words “I speak for the dead!”). What inspires me the most is Narumi’s development throughout the series starting of as a weak character he quickly proved himself as valuable member of NEET and worthy of being Alice’s assistant, he really shines through during the Yakuza arc as well as the last arc Angel Kiss. Despite the limited 12-episode slot I can say that it manages to successful made an impression as far as the being a good detective series and hope that a sequel isn’t far behind.