Score: B+

Sure enough anime has gotten across the point that being a detective can be fairly unsafe! It is funny to have this one coming out after the Invisible detective last season! Not going to be nearly so cute and heartwarming! True enough that the only place to end this episode was on a scene of the MC dying.

Very skilled

Can definitely pick up on Sakuya’s issues in this episode. The freaking out over the circus could reflect a couple different things. He’s probably died enough times that “death defying” performances just scare the hell out of him. Beyond that since he has died multiple times his brain has probably locked into looking for patterns regarding death and the way things can go wrong. It might be issues beyond that, but no surprise that such performances don’t have any charm for him. He can’t switch his brain off and just enjoy the spectacle. Beyond just the circus that must make life rather stressful. Many things have some low level of danger to them. Sure hope he never watches the Final Destination movies!

Not like his fears are even unfounded. Not when you look at how this episode ended! Guy was just looking for a cat, stumbles across a body, and then gets stabbed through the back of his neck! That is not a good way to go! On the positive side if there was a sadistic element to it that allowed him to take in some information about the killer. Unfortunately they were wearing a mask. Which probably wasn’t necessary since they intended to kill their victim, but works well against a detective that can apparently come back from the dead.

This girl could be great

Lilithea was a charming assistant and a good part of this episode. I thought she’d be a little one-note, but there was good depth to her. My impression was that she’d be the absolutely superior detective that is overly serious and can’t be shaken up. Some of that might be true. But at the very least she’s capable of being surprised. Even if it’s just on the simple level of Sakuya noting how excited she was about the entertainment on this cruise and how thorough she had marked the guidebook! She does have the ability to corner Sakuya and clearly is rather possessive. Maybe slightly perverted with how aggressively she was sniffing his clothes. Sure, it was to lock in on what kind of women he’d gotten close to…but that says something in itself.

Prime Suspect

The list of potential suspects is pretty small. In a show like this the killer is likely to be someone we’ve already met. So it really comes down to the guy they were there to investigate, the “worker” that Sakuya met while looking for the cat, and the actress that hired him to look for that cat. The one person I think is likely to be completely innocent is the producer himself. I think he really is just a cat fanatic and maybe has an unhealthy obsession. The worker probably is in on it since he was leaving from that direction and likely either saw the killer or is the killer.

But I also think the actress is likely in on this. She seems the most likely to be the pierrot that stabbed him too. Tough to say from the angle, but the killer did seem about the same height as Sakuya or maybe a bit shorter. She was also someone who marked him as a detective right away. And if you are up to something then going right after the detective on the ship is a sensible move. He never said he was there to investigate the producer so she could interpret him being there as being locked in on whatever she’s up to. Not a certainty, but it’s possible.

Interesting way to get going!

This was overall a solid start. It has some lighter elements, but also is rather serious. Didn’t hold back on the brutal imagery of the main character getting stabbed through the neck and throat! It was a show on my radar but not one I was sure would stay on it. But this was a good way to get rolling. Too many possible shows for me to cover so I can’t say I’m 100% in on this. But will likely keep on watching to see how things play out.