Ah, Wellber no Monogatari. The show that scared away almost all its viewers in the first episode due to the talking tank. Still, this is another gem from Production IG, although it’s way rougher than series as Seirei no Moribito and Chevalier.

The biggest problem with this series is definitely that the first couple of episodes reek of useless filler, and at first sight, they give away nothing of the incredible increase in quality that would happen afterwards. In the end, though, this is one series that knows what its doing, and the first four episodes were just meant to flesh out the story and most especially: the characters.

And what amazing characters they are. Nearly every main and important side-character gets background and development early on as they push the storyline forwards. They’re really the driving force behind this series, and especially once it hits its second half they really start to shine. This is one series that isn’t afraid to kill off a major character, and the creators know exactly what it takes to give the characters depth

The writers may be very talented, but they’re unfortunately also a bit sloppy. Most of the climaxes border on heart-wrenching, but there are a few that border a bit on cheesy. A few plot twists also are just included to keep the story going. Take for example a princess who is on the run and has to travel undercover, and yet she travels along with a huge unique tank. The aftermath of this series is also way too rushed and just wants to do a few things too many.

Still, Wellber no Monogatari is a very enjoyable series that seriously doesn’t deserve the negligence that it’s currently getting. It’ll keep you entertained with its dynamic characters and storyline, and not to mention that it’s got some pretty impressive production-values. Both the music, but especially the visuals are very pleasing to the senses, so if you can excuse a storytelling error once in a while, then you could give this one a chance.

Ah, that’s what I like to see: an excellent climax. The fight against Greedam is well wrapped up, with all the deaths that happened in the previous episode. Obviously, spoilers will follow after this paragraph. Let me just say before I start that the climax was awesome, though I’m afraid that the ending itself left things to be desired.

But first, Loden’s final moments were awesome. He basically sacrificed his own life to save Tina. After all, he was prepared to die anyway, to make up for the things he did all those years ago. What better way to go than to sacrifice yourself for the one whose life you ruined? The king of Wellber and the king of Greedam also settled their fight in a pretty interesting way, with Rita coming as a surprise saviour who actually makes sense. I was also shocked to find out that Tina nearly drowned on her way out of the ship, though thankfully she turned out to be just unconscious.

Well then, at this point, I was really happy with how things worked out. If the series ended like this, I would have been perfectly fine with it. Unfortunately, the aftermath left a lot to be desired. It’s jumbled mess of ideas that just came way too late in way too little time. Okay, I can understand that Tina would leave Rita. But apparently, the creators wanted to get the two of them back together a little too badly. It’s a shame that such a great series had to end un such a low note.

Suteki Tantei Labyrinth is one of these series where there’s one thing you absolutely mustn’t do: take it seriously. Once in a while, a series appears that doesn’t really care about making sense. Still, even though Suteki Tantei Labyrinth may not have the most exciting plot, it does deliver quality entertainment.

I think the best way to understand this is to look at the two most prominent staff-members for this series: Hiroshi Watanabe for the direction, and Natsuko Takahashi for the series composition. Natsuko Takahashi is basically a very experienced and talented scriptwriter, who worked on many different series like Jigoku Shoujo, Moyashimon, Full Metal Alchemist, Gankutsuou, Popolocrois, and those are just the best among her repertoire. She made sure that each character in this series has a motivation, and is well-fleshed out. There are no loose ends left behind, and the screenplay itself is quite impressive.

Then there’s Hiroshi Watanabe, who is in my opinion the strangest director out there. He directed epics as the Law of Ueki, Orphen and was the one who proposed the concept for Jigoku Shoujo, and yet he is also the mastermind behind flops as the final parts of Star Ocean Ex, and the abominable Shining Tears X Wind. This guy really has a strange idea of what is good, and that strangeness is exactly what makes this series so enjoyable.

Enjoyable, but far-fetched. The first half of the series basically consists out of random mysteries that our main character has to solve. They range from enjoyable to absolutely ridiculous. One particular villain goes through the trouble of spiking the body of his victim on the tip of a huge radio-mast, and the extreme focuses on tea become rather jarring after a while. Thankfully, the second half removes any traces of murder-mysteries, and instead it starts developing the characters and turns into a really entertaining family-drama, full of cheesy plot-twists that just have to entertain.

This series is basically what you’d get if a series is at some parts incredibly good, while at others incredibly bad. The storytelling is quite impressive, and it definitely succeeds in keeping the rather… flawed story interesting throughout the run of 25 episodes. The characters are also enjoyable to watch, especially in the second half, and some of the drama can be surprisingly good. Still, you’ll get the most enjoyment out of this series if you like a good dose of cheese once in a while.