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This is an odd noitaminA series celebrating the temporary entry of Edogawa Rampo's work into the public domain. (@$%# TPP rubbish) The series isn't a whodunnit, but resides firmly on the crime story or borderline horror end of the mystery genre. Rampo, like his namesake, frequently wrote about horrific things so this isn't an inappropriate focus. His work has been turned into a horror anthology film (Rampo Noir), and the only readily available English translation of his work for a while was the inclusion of "The Human Chair" in the My Favorite Horror Story anthology. The series probably shouldn't have been billed as a ... mystery for western audiences, but that has little to do with the work's quality itself.

Story: I've seen a lot of complaints about tone shifts, but have watched enough live action Japanese movies not to be put off by it. Fits in well with stuff like Tokyo Gore Police, Stacy and Tokyo Zombie. So it might appeal to fans of those. Like me.

Spends a few episodes working up to the main plot, which is well used to develop the characters. The structure is odd, but that's to be expected when you're adapting favored short works and novels from a large canon as a single season anime. Imagine what a Sherlock Holmes anime doing the same would be like and you might get an idea of the overalll story.

Art: The art style can take some getting used to. Highly stylized overall. Frequent use of marionette imagery, words, etc in the artwork for thematic purposes. Pretty high quality throughout.

Sound: OP and ED are two of the better ones for the season. Sound is used effectively thoughout the season.

Characters: Kobayashi has never found anything fun or interesting, until he becomes a murder suspect in episode 1. Which he outright admits is the most fun he's ever had. He's a bit ghoulish, but well intentioned. I think he's one of the more interesting protagonists I've seen lately.

Akechi was originally a Sherlock Holmes expy, and that's still in force here. He usually knows the answer within minutes, and lets things play out for his own inscrutable reasons. If you dislike that type of character, he won't be changing your mind.

Hashiba, Kobayashi's best friend and possible love interest, spends most of the series as the only sane man. He also tries to save Kobayashi from Kobayashi a lot of the time. The three have a pretty neat dynamic together, and I enjoyed the focus on them.

Recurring and secondary characters are a strength of the show. It's a pretty odd collection as you might imagine. Hard to go into without spoilers, but there are a lot of fully realized characters who could carry a story.

Enjoyment/Overall: Ranpo Kitan deals with some pretty heady themes: the morality of vigilantism vs law, Japanese laws on mentally ill criminals, and even determinism vs free will. It manages to do it without coming across as pretentious which is hard. Overall it was a pretty fun mix of action and characterization. The series is sort of the mutant freak baby of Yoshihiro Nishimura and Edogawa Rampo. Which is cool in its own way.

I enjoyed the odd collection of characters and will miss seeing more of them.

Story: Reasonably entertaining, if mediocre, for much of its run then takes a left turn into suckville. Ending is terrible, and renders it the most pointless anime ever filmed. Honestly it rivals So I Can't Play H for the ending that came closest to me avoiding the genre entirely.

Art: All the characters are distinct, and even background characters are fairly recognizable. However, none of them are all that pleasant to look at which is a drawback in a harem series. Guessing main girl looks better than she's drawn from the reactions of other characters.

Animation seems competent.

Sound: No major complaints.

Characters: MC is an ... everyman who has to be protected by/from his supernaturally inclined harem. He's a bit like Tsukune or Darling-kun minus most of the personality, spine, and baddassiveness. He's one of the weakest harem linchpins I've seen and that's saying something.

He's pursued by the tsundere of curse, the tsundere of self-righteousness, and the brocon of control. Meh. The brocon is sort of interesting, but the others have been done better. Seems like they were knockoffs of the two main girls on Maken-Ki, except the latter were entertaining and likable.

Enjoyment & Overall: Tropes aren't necessarily signs of a bad show. They get that popularity for a reason. Here everything is handled so weakly that at best it would have been a five.

However, the ending is godawful and completely mismatched to the tone of the rest of the series. Tone shifts and swerves aren't automatically signs of a bad show either. But there doesn't seem to be any real point to the change. The story shape that caused this can be effective, but it has to make a point when you use it. There doesn't seem to be one here.

Overall, Magikano felt like the writers went through Allthetropes and stuck things together without ever actually watching any harems, and worked with a company that hadn't done one before.

Mouse is a harem ecchi revolving around a phantom thief. How you react to that description will largely determine your enjoyment of the series.

Story: Short episodes so things move a bit too rapidly at times. Arcs are also short, 3 eps or less. Does a good job mixing tropes from all three genres it's a part of. It's wild and a lot of fun, but the short length means there is less depth in the construction.

Art: The OP gives off a strong vibe of old-school Bond. Cool in its own right, and that sets the tone of the series nicely. Artwork ... does seem more at home in the 90s than 2003, but that isn't such a bad thing. It works well for the story being told. The fan service is good quality, and all the girls are pleasing to the eye. As is Mouse himself. It's an ecchi that's kind of important.

Sound: I like the themes. Sound effects and voice acting are decent quality.

Character: The other thing that suffers due to not having full length episodes. Never understood Mouse's reluctance to being hit on by women he's already sleeping with at the start of the series. All 3 main girls get an ep/arc to shine, but that's the only time we really get any depth to them. Characters are okay, but not spectacular. Biggest failing is the criminal underuse of One, the final arc's villain. He was easily the most interesting character on the show, and the main reason to want another season.

Enjoyment/Overall: I like kaitou. I like ecchi. I like harems. Ergo, I had a lot of fun with the series and would watch another season happily. Felt similar to the old Avengers tv show and Our Man Flint.

It's hard to make an overall determination on a series this uneven.

The character designs are great, and the overall art is good. But the animation really kinda sucks.

It has interesting characters and solid voice acting. Unfortunately, the story is unfocused and has some long, boring stretches followed by a wet fart of an ending.

It's a fantasy ecchi harem series set in a public bathhouse! But there's no real nudity.

Watching Dai Shogun is like watching someone hit 30 HRs in a season and finish below the Mendoza line. Mediocre in total, and that makes the highpoints so much more painful.