The whodunnit premise and the Sherlock/Watson dynamics have given birth to countless works of fiction across all entertainment industries throughout the years. As expected, the anime industry could not stay away, and series like “Detective Conan,” the more recent “Moriarty the Patriot,” and the extreme “Undead Murder Farce” highlight the fact quite eloquently. The latest entry in this line is “Ron Kamonohashi’s Forbidden Deductions,” which moves mostly towards comedy while also including a rather dark subtext.
Watch This Title on Crunchyroll
by clicking on the image below
The series focuses on the adventures of Ron Kamonohashi, an eccentric private detective, and Totomaru Isshiki, an unskilled police officer, as they solve crimes together. Five years ago, Ron was the top student at the Detective Training Academy Blue. However, after being found responsible, due to temporary insanity, for a deadly incident known as the “Bloody Field Trip,” his detective license was revoked and he was expelled. Unable to fulfill his only love of solving mysteries, Ron has lived in isolation since. When Totomaru seeks his help on a case, the two form a partnership where Totomaru takes the credit for the cases that Ron solves.
However, there is another twist in their collaboration. Whenever Ron hears a murderer confess their crime, he enters an uncontrollable state where he pressures and convinces them to kill themselves, resulting in very few of his cases actually being marked as resolved. In that regard, Toto, as Ron calls him, is also the one trying to prevent these incidents from happening.
Check also this video
The first season of the series follows the “villain of the week” trope, with Ron solving one case per chapter (sometimes extending over more than one episode) while occasionally introducing recurring characters who could be interpreted as allies. Among them, Amamiya, Toto’s supervisor who has a crush on Ron, Kawasemi, a pedantic detective who has the highest number of solved cases, and Chikori Monki, a crime reporter who considers Toto a great detective and despises Ron, are the most significant, with their interactions mostly moving towards slapstick and occasionally childish comedy.
There is, however, a subtext that allows the series to move away from its “not for mature audiences” premises. The mystery of Ron’s crime permeates the narrative, additionally implying that someone else was behind it, essentially leading to one of the biggest revelations of the season. Ron’s genealogy also becomes a factor at a certain point, while the way he hypnotizes culprits, forcing them to commit suicide, adds another layer to his enigmatic persona.
Furthermore, the co-existential relationship with Toto emerges as rather interesting, particularly because through their collaboration, both characters seem to improve, Ron as an individual and Toto as a detective. Their antithetical chemistry is among the most entertaining aspects of the series.
Despite these positive elements, the storytelling emerges as somewhat naive, with several plot holes appearing in the cases and their solutions. The humoristic elements, particularly due to their occasionally pedantic style, also sometimes go too far.
The technical aspects are not of the highest level either. The rather light and colorful setting does not fit the base material well. The animation by Diomedéa is serviceable but unremarkable, with the story not offering many opportunities for visual impressiveness, apart from the occasional character-driven shenanigans. Masakazu Ishikawa’s character design, on the other hand, is top notch, with the protagonists standing out from each other clearly, and their changing attire occasionally being quite impressive. It is evident that Ron was inspired by L from “Death Note,” but he retains enough unique elements to stand out, also in terms of design.
“Ron Kamonohashi’s Forbidden Deductions” is a fun series that allows its viewers to pass their time enjoyably, but not much more than that, with any comparison to the titles mentioned earlier definitely bringing it up short.
