Holmes of Kyoto Episode 4: Can We Relate Because Her Trauma Is So Petty?

This anime can’t even really manage tragic backstory and part of me wonders if this is deliberate in order to keep the show grounded. And yet, is it interesting when the heroines biggest trauma is her friends are being mean?

Part of me is kind of happy that at Aoi’s friends came to Kyoto and that at least this confrontation has now happened. Maybe now the story can progress forward that guy they keep teasing at the ends of episodes may become relevant. The other part of me is annoyed that this ‘plot’ of Aoi wanting to confront her former boyfriend and best friend took four episodes to come to a fairly anti-climatic conversation before she shed tears. I feel they could have dealt with this in the first episode or at the very least by episode 2. Essentially she no longer has any reason to keep working with Holmes but she will anyway because otherwise this story is about to abruptly end.

Holmes4e — Really? She went through a break-up. It isn’t nice, but it happens.

Outside of wondering which part of her teen drama I was supposed to care about or relate to (don’t get me wrong, teen drama can be fun or at least vaguely interesting it is just that Holmes of Kyoto didn’t manage it) we also see Holmes’ ex, introduced last week when Holmes sort of tried to connect with Aoi through bonding over being ditched by their respective partners. Holmes version of this story is at least mercifully quick really only lasting for part of one episode and featuring in this one, and his overall response was more interesting than Aoi’s, however only seeing it after the fact distanced some of the potential enjoyment.

And while all this relationship drama is going on the show has abandoned all mysteries and intrigue. This was a straight up relationship drama this week and the only antique in sight was delivered by the ex. Part of me wonders what this means for the rest of the show given episodes 1 and 4 have had nothing even vaguely mysterious in them and have been entirely focused on relationships, and episodes 2 and 3 were both stand-alone fairly bland mysteries (there’s that buzz word again). Whether this show goes for mystery or drama I think at the end of the day mediocre is probably the best this show is going to achieve and I’m still on the fence about whether I’m making it through an entire season of this. Holmes is interesting enough, though not as interesting as the writers seem to think he is, but he cannot carry the show solo without a decent plot or support from Aoi and at the moment he isn’t getting any.

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Thanks for reading.

Karandi James