Mayumi Dojima is ready to say goodbye to her childhood dream as she turns 14. Then she meets the Pretty Boy Detective Club, an unlikely bunch of beautiful boys, who will help her to find that one thing that sparked her dream before she bids it farewell.
Warning! It's not a reverse harem as of episode 3 but after covering the news from the time the anime adaptation was first announced, I feel like I have to take responsibility and provide still a First Impression. If in the future it does end up as officially not a reverse harem anime this may fall under Related Review like with Light Novel Review of Volume 1.
If there are references or inside jokes with the author's other works it is a loss for me as this is my first Nisio Isin. But it's already a given that this will be compared to Ouran High School Host Club. Club of eccentric, beautiful boys. Check. Gender Bender. Check. Opulent club room. Check. Also, Maaya Sakamoto both voiced Haruhi and Mayumi. But the similarities end there. The story focuses on mystery done with an aesthetic twist.
It is faithful to the light novel. All the favorite lines in the books I've 'highlighted' appeared as it is in the anime. And to sound like a broken record (I have mentioned these in the two reviews preceding this) that the anime compresses the book and choosing only the essential to weave the best version of the story. But in the case of Pretty Boy, a part of me still preferred reading the prose because it is beautifully written. This version puts a floodgate on the overflowing thoughts of Mayumi. She's really chatty in her head. The anime is fun but it lost just a tiny bit of its humor. But the rules which are basically their club name seem funnier to me now. Overall, I still enjoyed it. As well as the play of the vibrant colors. The feeling of watching a painting style which I don't have an inkling of is called.
It's also weird to see her all alone with them and getting super aware now that how she's the only girl. I didn't have a favorite character in the book as I loved them as a group but since there's visual I am now leaning towards the aesthetics of Nagahiro and Michiru. Blame it on their dancing in the opening credit. That got me.
The only glaring difference is that they showed the thought process of their deduction. It addressed the only problem with the story. And I don't know why I can distinctly remember Hyota trying to get a good view under her skirt when they first met. This did not happen in the anime but the situation still happened with a different character.
The climax in the third episode is more enjoyable though in the book because there's build-up. It's too faced-paced in the anime. The ending also ends ambiguously with Manabu's statement which further makes the reverse harem setup dubious. Reverse harem or not, I'm excited to watch the future episodes as it is now uncharted territory. At the rate it's going it will probably cover four volumes. How do you find it so far? Share with us your thoughts on the anime or the light novel.
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