This review contains SPOILERS for Shoushimin Series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . https://v.animethemes.moe/ShoushiminSeriesOP1. Shoushimin Series is a sliceoflife anime with mystery aspects much like the beloved show Hyouka https://anilist.co/anime/12189/Hyouka/ by KyoAni. In fact to no ones surprise a man by the name of Honobu Yonezawa https://anilist.co/staff/110803/HonobuYonezawa is the author for both. Not that Im aiming to compare them. Unfortunately the series was constantly being overshadowed by popular romcoms like Makeine and Roshidere making it difficult for viewers to come across its charms. Thats why Im going to be writing this review in hope that more people may witness the appeal of an underappreciated comfort show. Dazzling aspects The first time I watched it my mind was focused solely on the overwhelming animation and quality. Lapin Track https://anilist.co/studio/6213/LapinTrack which I had never heard of before had completely succeeded in giving the show a cinematic feel through the fluid animation revolving around the main cast the appropriate lighting and the mystical atmosphere. But the most important and noticeable part about the whole thing was the directing and visual storytelling. Not only was the production value amazing but the creator had clearly taken inspiration from the much known Monogatari Series when it came to the directing. The scenery shift depending on the context of the dialogue and the limited focus on background characters only the characters in the background not the details as a whole was proof of that. 2200https://64.media.tumblr.com/31ecdede322f7d7ec45a1626cd8d7441/792a4984a1325b1fef/s540x810/08a3240fb1f9658269b4b8d8c8d9829681a32f30.gif For me personally the second episode cemented Shoushimin as peak comfort anime. Heres when the mystery element slides in. After waiting a week for the next breathtaking 23 minutes we got a full episode solely dedicated to figuring out the mystery behind how the protagonist Jougorou Kobatos friend Kengo conjured up three hot chocolate cups without using a fourth one for the milk. A simply mystery thats a segment of everyday life but still manages to somehow make you interested in the truth. You can decide on your own whether you want to rack your brain and figure the problem out. You dont have to. Thats why its both a good mystery genre and a toptier comfort show. Sliceofopps slicesofmysteries 2200https://i.yt.com/vi/tb9zfomDOc0/maxresdefault.jpg Thats not all. Just when youre all cozy in bed drinking hot milk and watching your favourite seasonal slice of life anime you find out that Yuki Osanai is actually terrifying as shit. See aside from the cute little mysteries and the glorious sweets that Osanai dangles in front of the viewers much like L from Death Note the premise of the whole series is about the two protagonists Kobato and Osanai learning to be ordinary. By that I mean blending in with other peers and appearing as common teenagers who embrace their youth. Osanai is figuratively a wolf. Shes someone who never lets anything slide. She beats down her opps through any means necessary for revenge. Kobato is a fox. Hes a clever and sly creature who nosedives deep into others problems. Theyre not normal and thats why embracing shoushimin is very crucial to their objective and promise. If you need an understanding I can provide an example. This covers the final arc of the 10 episode stretch. While our boy Kobato was busy stealing charlottes from Osanai and solving muffin mysteries Osanai had been constructing a carefully laidout plan to send her opps to jail. Naturally Kobato being the nosy detective that he is couldnt resist the temptation to look for Osanai after she was kidnapped for ransom. Instead of depending on the police he traced the opps roots down and found her being jumped. Everyone was worried about Osanai including the audience but guess what? She got jumped on purpose and had the ransom call set up just to bump up her enemies sentences. https://v.animethemes.moe/ShoushiminSeriesED1. Though it may initially seem like a cute romance anime especially with Osanais mannerisms and voice acting Hina Youmiyahttps://anilist.co/staff/205892/HinaYoumiya and all Shoushimin Series is far from ordinary. Theres a certain degree of complexity to the main characters and the comfortable mysteries combined with the slight darkness below the surface make for a pretty time when you come home from school or work. Theres more to it than just cream puffs and cakes but theres also more mysteries like the one with the hot chocolate. Give it a go 2200https://64.media.tumblr.com/b33479f24367a9f153c6d9aa7360a286/792a4984a1325b1f5b/s540x810/fb2c27c521b29b505bd97073c299ae734726ce66.gifv . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Click here for more goated reviews https://anilist.co/user/HomuraDesu/reviews 300https://imageswixmped30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/i/d0c0c73ff9214860a0566899451b472d/dhlwbpq196b8a4a916c41f3afa29649bee8232a.png/v1/fill/w512h512/shoushiminseriesfoldericonbyzunopzizdhlwbpqfullview.png