It seems the concept of anthropomorphism has started to become a trend in the anime world, with a number of titles of quality, as in the case of “BNA” and “Beastars”. “Odd Taxi” moves in the same path, although in a much different animation style than the two aforementioned.
Odokawa, the protagonist of the story, is a 41-year old walrus taxi driver whose parents abandoned him in elementary school, leaving him generally asocial, in a way though, that has him being rather frank to the point of nihillism in all his interactions, including those with his passengers. However, he still has some friends who are quite loyal to him, as in the case of Gouriki, a gorilla doctor who is also Odokawa's physician, and Kakihana, a gibbon who works as a janitor and tries to pick up women through a dating app. Furthermore, Shirakawa, a young alpaca who works as a nurse at Gouriki's and practices capoeira, also seems to like him. As the story begins, a high school girl that seems to have rode in Odokawa's taxi has gone missing, Kakihana and Odokawa face different kinds of troubles, and the members of a female idol group named “Mystery Kiss” seems to be involved in a way. Lastly, Odokawa finds himself having to deal with the yakuza, corrupt cops, and petty criminals.
The contextual excellence of the title unfolds in two levels. The first one is the main story, and the way it ends up including a number of characters, all of which have some connection with Odokawa, but also among them. The revelation of different mysteries and the way the answers provided by the story give way to more questions is truly magnificent to watch, as much as the fact that all loose ends are tied in the end, including one involving the protagonist, whose presence even is a total surprise. Furthermore, the way the movie gradually turns into a crime thriller is also ideal, with Baku Kinoshita managing to come up with a title that carries from beginning to end just through the intricacy of its story, but is also funny, absurd, smart, and intelligently ironic.
The second level is the way Kinoshita uses the script in order to present a number of social and psychological comments, essentially commenting on a number of aspects of modern Japanese society. Show business and the way it functions both regarding idol groups and manzai (comedic duos) is one of the most central here, with the title focusing on both the stars themselves, but also the fans and the way the interconnection of the two groups shapes and affects all of them. Corruption, the concept of family and particularly the psychological consequences of its lack, friendship, humor and social relations are all commented upon, in a style that is both serious and funny at the same time.
The character design by Hiromi Nakayama and Kinoshita himself follows one of the latest styles, as implemented in titles like “One Punch Man”, with the protagonists showcasing a simplicity that adds to the comic effect, while instigating the viewer to focus on the narrative instead of the visuals. The same applies to the animation work by OLM and P.I.C.S, with the movements of the characters being naturalistic but not extravagant in any way, although some action scenes are quite impressive, as much as Shirakawa's capoeira, which is always accompanied by a very fitting music score, that makes the whole thing even more funny.
“Odd Taxi” is one of the funniest and most intelligent titles we have seen recently, and definitely one of the best anime of 2021.
