Rampo Kitan: Game of Laplace Game of Laplace is an original seinen mystery psychological anime series that aired during the Summer 2015 season as a 50th anniversary tribute to Rampo Edogawas passing and centred on the authors most wellknown character Akechi Kogor an eccentric introverted and antisocial genius detective who works to solve highly difficult criminal cases most of which are savage killings. One day when a student of a local middleschool is charged with murdering his teacher Akechi is trusted with solving the case. In the process of unravelling the mystery behind this crime the accused middleschooler becomes infatuated with Akechis work and volunteers to become his apprentice. In my First Impressionshttps://biblionyan.com/2019/09/16/rampokitanfirstimpressions/ I had spoken about how the setup of the crime scene was something that I became immediately smitten with. This specific scene for me is the prime example of what makes Rampo Kitan such a brilliant homage to a masterful author and commentator of social justice in Japan during a time where the people were being oppressed by the government that had sworn to protect it. Its a scene of pure macabre art. This horrific display of dismembered body parts arranged in a manner that is supposed to speak of meditation and peacefulness is a grand exhibition of Edogawas belief in multiple personalities or identities within a single human as well as his gross mistrust of authorities. In the first episode the crime is one of passion and acceptance. The victim himself was someone who portrayed himself to be a decent teacher in the public eye yet beneath it he was a person that was obsessed with beautiful bodies. The women that he loved and cherished he would dismember and then reassemble as furniture. They became pieces in a gallery where he could appreciate them in rather intimate fashions. He took the physical manifestation of loveliness and from it fastened a whole new conception of body art. The person who killed him had wished for nothing more than to become a part of his affectionate collection yet was overcome with intense jealousy. In the end he became his own art. The message of this episode was all about how you can never truly know or understand any one human being the hearts desires can be dark malevolent shadows to those who cannot comprehend the nature of it. It doesnt necessarily make it evil or wrong but misguided. Misguided is one of the many ways that you shall see government officials and cops being presented in Edogawas works. He uses everyday individuals like this teacher to depict that the people of a nation or state can become just as misguided as those who rule over them because they blindly place their faith in leadership and by the time they stand up to take back their power theyve already started to corrupt from the inside out. Hence the necessary creation of multiple personas. A repeating theme that youll find in Rampo Kitan: Game of Laplace is one that presents itself via a character named Twenty Faces who was Akechis archnemesis in Edogawas writings. In the anime Twenty Faces represents the dichotomy of justice. They are a vigilante that hunts down criminals that the police were not able to apprehend for any number of reasonsusually incompetenceand wrests justice for the victims typically in the same exact manner in which they were brutalised. This form of radicalised due process is a retrospective on Edogawas ballsy and outwardly expressed belief that the saviour of the police force is always the people. Individuals who were fedup with being betrayed and demoralised by the callousness of which the government perceived their citizens. Its an exquisitely multidimensional examination of what subjugation via a systemised authority can do to the human spirit especially as a collective. These gloriously intelligent thematic elements and meticulous scrutinization of civil issues that are still quite prevalent in many different parts of the world today not only in Japan is presented to the audience via outstandingly vivid and innovative virtual cinematography which was a humongous driving force behind my nearobsessive desire to keep watching one episode after another after another. The unravelling of the mechanics behind how each crime was committed is engagingly cinematic with stageplay execution and colourfully charming characters most of whom have a beautiful amount of sass and dry wit to them. Irrelevant characters are muted silhouettes until they become vital to the story if they ever do. Akechis personal space has an eclectic dcor that combines styles from 1920s speakeasys with 1960s beatnik flair. A corduroy couch and a classic vinyl jukebox further helps to emphasise these minute detailed tossbacks to the eras of which Edogawa resided. The space is nearly packed with towering untidy stacks of books and case files as well and that reminded me of old school blackandwhite noir detective films facets that were a source of inspiration for Edogawas dive into the mysterywriting universe. The colourfully unique collaboration of styles between the 20s and 60s can also be construed as an allegory for a period of Japanese history where strong cultural differences were starting to arise. You had the old and traditional versus the new and modernising Westernising. People were split down the middle on whether they wanted to acclimate to match the people who had blown up their nation and thus their entire culturally social identity or whether they wanted to hold on to what made them distinctly and undeniably Japanese. One choice meant foregoing the influx of outside pressures and choosing to remain attached and grasping at the pride of their identities something that was also quite blatantly unBuddhistlike because it also meant to remain in a state of suffering to varying degrees. The other looked forward towards an idyllic existence that had always been an anticipation of Utopia and the reason behind the corruption that turned a ruler and government against its people. Which one is the answer? Which one is detrimental and which one is salvation? Even with the profusion of traits that I felt deeply connected and earnestly predisposed with Rampo Kitan: Game of Laplace is not an anime that I would recommend to everyone. For example I dont recommend this to people who are unfamiliar with Edogawa Rampos works morals and beliefs. There are tons and tons of minute references and so many interwoven details from many of his works that come together to create the imperfect masterpiece that is this tribute series. For many unfamiliar viewers it can all feel disjointed untidy theatrically overthetop and maybe even frustrating at the fastpaced execution of many of the individual arcs. Its a challenging series to deconstruct when you dont have any of the reference material to draw comprehension from. Im not saying that everyone whos unacquainted shall feel this way but I have seen many folx who have hated this anime because they didnt understand any of the references of materials that it draws from. The show is unforgiving in the way that is was crafted. Its quite obvious that this was made especially for fans of Mr Rampo with little wiggle room in between. The juxtaposition of pacing certain characters and the events from the finale are a hot fucking mess to those without keen insight into them. Admittedly even with prior knowledge the ending was a tad more rushed than I would have cared for it to be and it makes the story as a single entity come off as frowzy by the end. Additionally there are many triggers for scenes that display suicide physical abuse and graphic deaths to name a few. With all of that being said if you have read and enjoyed Edogawa Rampos works then I believe this anime is fantastically worth an investment in. Yes it is bizarre with its idiosyncratic animation style weird yet attimes morbidly whimsical cases and characters and marvellously flourishing motif but its splendidly gratifying to watch. All of my favourite themes came to life and it was indescribably exhilarating to see. Each aspect of its production was one that brought me immense amounts of joy and worked to further heighten my already incredibly intense admiration and appreciation for what this man encapsulated. 8 canned coffees outta 10.