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The Case Files of Jeweler Richard




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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11306
PostPosted: Sat Feb 15, 2020 6:55 am Reply with quote


The Case Files of Jeweler Richard

Genres: mystery

Plot Summary: Handsome jewelry appraiser Richard Ranashinha Dvorpian and the bright and cheerful college student Seigi Nakata uncover the hidden messages that lies within jewels.

Streaming on Crunchyroll
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Half-way through the season, and I finally had to make this. I've really been loving this from the start. But I think they upped their game with episode 6. Looks like perfect Richard has less than a perfect past.

But the lead-up getting there was hilarious on so many levels. The little detail in the pre-OP scene of his happy feet over the pudding was delightful. The sexual tension in the air was thick enough to cut with a knife, but still in a playful way. And Richard's somehow managing to get his bountiful locks tamed in a slicked-back hairstyle was a miracle. As was the charletan pose in the store. Really, just a terrific episode. Looking forward to learning more.
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11306
PostPosted: Fri Mar 20, 2020 7:55 am Reply with quote
7-11

What a complicated backstory for Richard! And all the not-so-subtle innuendo about Richard and Seigi being at least bisexual. What was so fun about it was that it seemed to come from all sides, with Richard's half-brother assuming Seigi was his lover, and Seigi assuming Richard's old girlfriend was a guy that the family had rejected. But it was all handled with gentle humor and no one getting all offended by the suggestion, only sort of surprised at the assumptions. I don't think I've ever seen such material handled so tactfully while still mining the awkwardness of it. Truly unique.

Also, at the end of episode 11, when you just want Richard to sweep his old tutor up in his arms for a warm reunion (something he clearly wants himself, writ large in his body language), he's careful to ask her, a proper Japanese woman, for her permission! My heart just sang at that moment. This is so good!

Looks like we're finally going to get at the heart of Seigi's issues with his dad next week. Can't wait.
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DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15434
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Fri Mar 27, 2020 12:44 am Reply with quote
Episode 12 (finale)

I think that was a pretty good ending, although it has me feeling a bit puzzled over how Seigi's father issues were like some big thing that the last episode was written around. Was I not paying attention and did not pick up that this was some big hanging thread over his character? Regardless I think it emotionally hit a good spot.

I would mostly describe this show as inoffensive, it felt smart to look at a few interesting subjects without being too clumsy with it. Gina mentioned that bisexuality came up the previous episode, but I also think back to as far as the second episode that was built around a lesbian. Although I won't pretend everything landed the best, I am pretty sure there is some cultural dissonance with things like the arranged marriage plot. I also actually was not so interested in the main plot of Richard in the main plot towards the end.

I would say that I was actually surprised how compelling the jewel mysteries turned out to be, that it moved up a bunch of places of shows I was interested in. But I also think that it started to lose steam later as only so much could be done with each one feel interesting, and the mystique of Richard kind of felt like it wore off.

My rating would be So-so (5/10), not sure if fair but I just kind of lost interest in some of the stuff towards the end, and not really sure if there was much on the technical front that was of any interest in general. It did do better, at least in places, than I originally though, and the inoffensive element made it easier to watch than Hanako-kun.
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11306
PostPosted: Fri Mar 27, 2020 11:26 pm Reply with quote
DuskyPredator wrote:
I think that was a pretty good ending, although it has me feeling a bit puzzled over how Seigi's father issues were like some big thing that the last episode was written around. Was I not paying attention and did not pick up that this was some big hanging thread over his character?

Yeah, it was brought up several times, most notably in the episode with the kid, when he was trying to explain how fathers can be jerks sometimes, blah, blah, and the kid is totally not having it, since he doesn't think his dad is a jerk.

After the cliffhanger ending of Stars Align, I was a little dismayed to see the "knifing the abusive father" trope show up here too. I was also appalled at his mother telling him he should meet with his father, even though she knows full well what a leech the old man is. But the part that took me by surprise (where I obviously wasn't paying attention!) was with his step-dad, since I didn't realize his mother remarried.

Now that I think about it, the entire series was about family relationships, whether they're genetic, or forced, or found, or any other configurations. I really enjoyed every episode, and of course, I could happily listen all day to Sakurai giving a dramatic reading of Numbers radio, so that was an extra treat.
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Darkmagick
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Joined: 24 Nov 2011
Posts: 461
PostPosted: Sat Mar 28, 2020 9:17 am Reply with quote
Gina Szanboti wrote:
I was also appalled at his mother telling him he should meet with his father, even though she knows full well what a leech the old man is. But the part that took me by surprise (where I obviously wasn't paying attention!) was with his step-dad, since I didn't realize his mother remarried.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure his mom was telling him to make time to meet his step-dad, not his biological dad. (Remember that during that phone call Seigi refers to him as "Nakata-san", Nakata being step-dad's surname, and his mom tells him to just call him "dad".) I don't think mom even knew that biological dad was back, since step-dad didn't know until Richard called him.

They did briefly mention that his mom remarried in Tanimoto's focus episode, when they were discussing different reasons to get married, but I'm pretty sure that's the only time it's come up.
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11306
PostPosted: Sat Mar 28, 2020 11:42 am Reply with quote
You're right of course. I didn't realize there was any other "dad" in the picture at the time that call took place, so I just latched on to the "your dad's coming back" part since that was what was happening. It's all clear now (I think - Wink), thanks!
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yuna49



Joined: 27 Aug 2008
Posts: 3804
PostPosted: Sat Mar 28, 2020 11:54 am Reply with quote
I'd guess that Kanazawa Hana can demand a higher rate of pay than the average seiyuu. Why on earth she was hired for this show is beyond me given how small a role she played.
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