Ron Kamonohashi’s Forbidden Deductions is just a light little bit of silliness and really that’s part of what I like about the show. It doesn’t take itself seriously but it does still deliver a technically well-made and put-together little story. However, it doesn’t delve too deep into things. That might change with time but seeing as we only have 3 episodes to go, it won’t be this season.
So why am I even talking about this? Well, it’s because one of the main conflicts established pretty much from episode 1 is that Toto has to come off like he’s the one solving everything since Ron is forbidden from deducing. I just love the nonsense of that plot point… And you would think that it would lead to all sorts of shenanigans and sticky moments since Toto has a reputation on the force for being a little useless and honestly, he’s not that great at the deduction side of things. I really thought we would have all sorts of wacky, maybe a little contrived, moments where Toto would have to go to crazy lengths to keep up appearances and convince his co-workers.
But no. Ron Kamonohashi is a light show and doesn’t delve too deeply into things. The idea of this conflict is there and could eventually become an actual obstacle but so far Ron just tags along without anyone stopping him or even questioning his presence and Ron and Toto simply step away for a private chat where Ron tells Toto what to say and that’s that. Easy peasy.
And I am not one to complain about that too much. In a different show, it may be an issue but I actually enjoy the lightness here. I’m along for the silliness. But I have to admit, it’s one of those elements that sometimes, I wish they would just use a bit more. It has the potential for some classic odd-couple comedy. And so, I was very excited when it seemed like this episode would center around the idea of Toto trying to keep the act up in front of a journalist who is trained to see through these things. And a crime journalist on top of it, one that should be very familiar with how detectives tend to act and think.
Ok, I’m not going to keep you in suspense. It was pretty easy for them to get away with it once more. But at least we got to see Toto sweat a bit and try to work things out for himself. It was a small change in the usual dynamic and for some reason, I really enjoyed it.
Maybe part of that reason is that I really liked Chicory. She’s kind of plain, a basic nice girl character but the fact that she’s really nice to Toto is endearing. He doesn’t get many breaks in the show except for Ron who also likes him but is such a troll that it’s hard to tell sometimes. And she’s impatient and easily annoyed by Ron which also creates a bit of a disturbance. It inverses their roles even if it’s just for a few seconds and I thought it made the episode feel fresh.
And so, even though this was a bottle episode that almost entirely took place in that one small cafe, to me it felt like a lot more was happening and like the story was expanding. I did mention last week that I was looking forward to seeing what the show would become with a clear villain to oppose the main characters but I’m kind of glad we got another stand-alone case and another side character we can draw on in the future. I don’t know if this show has any chance of getting picked up for more seasons but I hope it does. At the very least it’s setting up a cast I would like to spend more time with.
Previous Reviews
- Ron Kamonohashi’s Forbidden Deductions – Episode 1
- Ron Kamonohashi’s Forbidden Deductions – Episode 2
- Ron Kamonohashi’s Forbidden Deductions – Episode 3
- Ron Kamonohashi’s Forbidden Deductions – Episode 4
- Ron Kamonohashi’s Forbidden Deductions – Episode 5
- Ron Kamonohashi’s Forbidden Deductions – Episode 6
- Ron Kamonohashi’s Forbidden Deductions – Episode 7
- Ron Kamonohashi’s Forbidden Deductions – Episode 8
- Ron Kamonohashi’s Forbidden Deductions – Episode 9
Heh, this weirdo barista can’t possibly be a detective, and of course solving cases involves racking your brain, and Toto’s not above showing it – why would he? They set up our reporter’s perspective so perfectly, it was just fun.
And, yeah, my brain’s not exactly active when I watch this show so maybe that’s why it took me until this episode to realise: “Kamonohashi” means platypus. Our detective’s been the platypus all season long, and your avarage Japanese viewer would have known that all season long, but it took me until episode 10 to figure that out.
And I didn’t actually figure that out while watching the show. I figured it out only while reading the title of this very post. “Ron Kamonohashi’s ….” Kamonohashi? Wait, wasn’t that what he called the platypus? Not sure. (Checks online dictionary.) Ah. Oh.
During the show I just thought, isn’t “kamo” also associated with “duck” in Japanese? But since my brain’s been switched off, I didn’t pursue that thought further. And for some reason I didn’t associate “kamonohashi” with Ron’s name – I suppose it’s a combination of sloppy listening ability and faulty name memory?
However, reading the name in the title of this post made it all come together. Except I couldn’t remember if he actually said “kamonohashi”, I just remembered “kamo-[something]”.
Basically, looking back, that platypus hand puppet back then would have been a little less random for Japanese viewers. I now wonder whether the name has a different kanji reading? Too lazy to check, but anime certainly likes kanji puns of all sorts, so it’s not out of the question.
Poor Ron. His platypus latte art got called a duck.