Cop Craft

Earthlings and Semanians

Cop Craft Episodes 10 -12

The political fray set up in episode 9 continues across all three of these final episodes of Cop Craft with Kei and Tilarna trying to track down the mayoral candidate assassin. This is actually not a bad arc and the story works pretty well and brings some closure from the earlier arc that Zelada featured in and so as an end of season I have to say it works fine. The problem as usual is in the execution with Cop Craft just not being polished enough with anything (characters, writing, animation) to really sell the idea it has. That’s a shame because in a more polished form this particular plot could have really shone.

It also gives Tilarna’s character arc some closure as she gets her head around Earth justice and finds a balance that is going to work for her. She hasn’t gotten there yet but she’s made the choice to stay on Earth and continue to learn and consider. It is nice that the story did get back to this point though it feels like it needed more emphasis as a theme throughout. Particularly when the final episode is called ‘Two Worlds, Two Justices’. It just feels like they needed more build up to this thematically for it to really stick the landing.

Affiliate Link – Calendar

Outside of that though, the support cast get to run around in the background here but ultimately achieve little. While they track down leads and actually investigate stuff, Kei and Tilarna have huge clues and assassinations literally falling into their lap every time they turn around and then the villains do them the favour of collecting them and bringing them to the scene of the final show down. It kind of kills the police procedural feeling though is pretty standard for these kinds of stories where for whatever reason the main character is always where the next murder occurs.

Ultimately, Cop Craft finished much as it started. There’s glimmers of greatness underneath the mediocrity and it is still worth watching if only because I haven’t come across all that many buddy cop style anime. At least we did get a season end that felt like an ending even if the story is ongoing for the characters.

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Karandi James

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Images from: Cop Craft. Dir. S Itagaki. Millepensee. 2019.

Cats, Wizards, And Political Candidates

Cop Craft Episode 9

The trouble with Cop Craft is that deep down inside there’s a much better anime just wanting to get out and it has essentially been strangled by tonal whip lash and writing that works but never quite nails the necessary emotional impact to get the audience to buy in to the story. I liked that the second half of this episode started to bring multiple plot points from previous cases together as well as reigniting the racism that seemed to be a big deal early on that somehow disappeared. Yet I can’t help but feel that they are trying to build this story on top of a sand castle that is being overrun by the tide.

Anyway, the first half of this episode is straight up finalising the story of Tilarna transforming into a cat and to be honest the solution is even more lacklustre than anticipated. Kei is still wandering around after a lead while Cecil takes Tilarna to the dump to find the crossbow. The crossbow gets destroyed; Tilarna gives up and then wham! All solved.

Only the guy Kei has been trying to track down is currently trying to kill Tilarna that previously had been controlled by Kuroi. Given the guy saw her butt Tilarna was in the process of trying to kill him when Kei finally showed up. Guy gets arrested and all is well. Except that part where both of them forget about Cecil crying by herself and that kuroi is no longer in the house. It is these kinds of moments that make it hard to have any real sympathy for these characters.

Affiliate Link – Mascot Collection

Then we finally get the usual spiel about the gate before we launch into a second half that reminds us of the upcoming election before a political candidate gets assassinated, conveniently by a guy who was probably controlled by the wizard who got away several cases before.

Honestly, this show could have been great but instead it is going to just kind of tumble along. There are some nice moments here and there but the overall feeling isn’t one of a roaring success.

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Karandi James

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Images from: Cop Craft. Dir. S Itagaki. Millepensee. 2019.

Cats, Goats, and Investigations

Cop Craft Episode 8

I actually had to check and see if I’d skipped an episode or something this week. It was like the events of episode 7 just never happened. Instead we see Kei and Tilarna doing a raid at an airport and after Tilarna causes the plane to crash, collecting a box of junk, one item of which is a crossbow that apparently managed to swap Tilarna’s mind with Kuroi (the cat).

If that wasn’t weird enough, in Kei’s wanderings in the second half of the episode while searching for the informant of the plane coming in he comes across the aftermath of a party where among other weird things there’s a goat wearing a crown.

Honestly, I was looking forward to further development on the situation with the political candidate and Tilarna’s sense of justice. Instead we just kind of shove all of that aside and get this kind of deliberately trying to be ‘whacky’ case with a cliché body swap scenario and about the only new thing really brought to the table is that Kei and Tilarna haven’t swapped bodies, she swapped bodies with a cat.  Though, there’s still time as they go looking for the crossbow that caused the swap for other developments and this episode actually said ‘to be continued’ at the end so I guess we won’t just forget this and move on this time (maybe).

The best elements of the episode were probably the ones that got the least attention. We have another organisation representative accosting Kei at the scene and wanting to take ownership of the confiscated items and later Kei confirms with his boss that such a person hasn’t put in a complaint. Which makes you wonder who he actually represented and why he wanted the box.  Also, the music continues to be on point.

Affiliate Link – Figure

However, this was not a solid episode even by Cop Craft standards and with the disappointment of previous plot and character threads being discarded and the lacklustre narrative filling the void, it mostly fell flat with a few moments that seemed to be trying to steer the anime back on track. Hopefully next week picks up.

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Karandi James

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Images from: Cop Craft. Dir. S Itagaki. Millepensee. 2019.

Saw It Coming, It Still Hurt

Cop Craft Episode 7

While episode 6 was a light spoof filled with exploding cars and illegal porn, episode 7 of Cop Craft drops us into the middle of a police operation to bring down a brothel and in the process they happen to snag an influential up-and-coming politician. While there are still some amusing moments in this episode the undeniably bleak turn the episode is going to take, hinted at by the title ‘Girls on Ice’ as well as the basic set-up that screams tragedy in the making looms over this episode giving it a more subdued tone overall.

Subdued doesn’t necessarily mean bad though, and in this case it actually works very well. Tilarna does have a few moments of her usual aggravated self when Kei seems to make light of her efforts as bait in their operation, but by and large Tilarna this week is one who is seeking something new in this life on Earth. She’s made her first real friend but given Zoey’s connections to the case it is a friendship that was fraught with potential conflicts even before it started.

We do however once again see the theme of police being hampered from bringing criminals to justice by policy and procedures while criminals seem to effortlessly avoid being entangled in red tape being laid on incredibly thick. This is where Cop Craft loses me a little. It isn’t that I object to the idea being presented but more that it has all the subtlety of Kei’s bright yellow convertible that he’s currently driving after last week’s effort where he went through two different cars.

Affiliate Link – Plush

Still, in the quieter character moments, this episode more than made up for its heavy handed efforts elsewhere. The relationship between Zoey and Tilarna is a joy to watch develop and then disintegrate before leaving us with the tragic conclusion that was inevitable from the beginning. All that really remains to be seen is how Tilarna handles the next steps of this case as she is angry and it might be vengeance more than justice that will drive her in the next episode.

I’m looking forward to seeing how Kei deals with this situation and Tilarna’s obvious pain. I’m also kind of hoping the villain this time around proves more than just talk and manages to at least give the pair a good run for their money before they are brought down by our plucky police duo.

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Karandi James

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Images from: Cop Craft. Dir. S Itagaki. Millepensee. 2019.

Forgiving Friends

Cop Craft Episode 6

After the much darker episode last week, literally dark given it was about a vampire and they had a fight in a subway tunnel, Cop Craft pulls on a lighter tone this week with a reoccurring gag about Tilarna destroying Kei’s car as they try to crack a case of stolen porn magazines. Honestly it shouldn’t work but it really does and honestly this episode just made me smile both from some amusing moments and because of the sweeter moments between the characters where they seemed to reach a genuine understanding.

I love how casual Tilarna was about informing Kei that he’s no longer allergic to cats. The reasoning seems a little convenient but I loved that she waited a whole month before revealing it. On that note though, wasn’t Kei looking for another owner for the cat? What if he’d given it away thinking he was still allergic? Then again, Tilarna seems not to think things all the way through and I’m not sure how much of that can be attributed to her not really understanding how things function in the world and how much is just a natural air-head personality.

The first car chase and subsequent destruction of Kei’s car via the preferred anime method of killing off characters for isekai stories normally, Mr Truck, worked well enough. It kind of reminded me of the police chase early in The 5^th Element only this time technically I guess we were supposed to be wanting the police to succeed and the sound track wasn’t quite as good. Still, it was a fun sequence and they waited just long enough to hit us with the punch line as Kei and random street cop discussed the porn magazines and girlfriends.

Affiliate Link – Cushion

We could then see the rest of the episode as extended set up for the final act with an ongoing theme of Kei trying to help Tilarna find a new place to live and Tilarna learning to drive as well as the introduction of Kei’s new car. Certainly they are going through the motions of an investigation but I don’t think anyone is taking it all that seriously. We do however get a bit more acquainted with the other police in the station and get to see Tony’s efforts going undercover.

All and all, it was a really fun episode of Cop Craft. It wasn’t exactly deep and meaningful, though Kei and Tilarna’s relationship continues to develop with ups and downs and feels pretty genuine for two reasonably good people from different backgrounds coming together and remains a strong highlight for this series.

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Karandi James

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Images from: Cop Craft. Dir. S Itagaki. Millepensee. 2019.

We’re Going On A Vampire Hunt

Cop Craft Episode 5

This episode of Cop Craft basically boils down to a bug hunt. Though in this case the bug is a nasty ancient vampire who is incredibly powerful and regenerates after eating so pretty much all damage from previous fights is negated. We also get confirmation that the wizard from the first arc is still alive and has a hand in the underground of the city even if that doesn’t amount to much in this case.

It felt a lot like this episode was broken into a bunch of separate set pieces. We finished the fight in the morgue and then we had some guy in a suit dissing Tilarna’s contribution when Kei and Tilarna’s new boss stepped in and backed her up. Playing the absolute cliché of the chief who is hard on his subordinates but doesn’t take outside criticism. However, this one is a cliché for a reason and it works well here and continues to help establish Tilarna’s presence in the police force.

Next we jump to the scene of a crashed truck because the vampire has apparently eaten the driver. Witnesses say she ran off in one direction however Kei and Tilarna magically cheat their way into locating her position in a mall.

Affiliate Link – Figure

We then have the hunt through the mall. I will admit there were a few moments of real tension here. When Kei got thrown over the rail and was falling it really looked like that was it for him (realistically it should have been, but let’s buy the whole idea of the ads slowing his descent before he hit the fountain). At least he wasn’t instantly back out, he did need rescuing.

The final sequence takes place in a sub-way tunnel, because why not. It makes for some dramatic lighting as Kei fires various guns at the vampire and then a train comes toward them. It was a pretty thrilling conclusion to the whole vampire on the loose storyline.

They are still doing that thing where in key moments of action going to a still image. Most notably this week when Kei and Tilarna jumped the gates at the subway station. I can’t imagine why just animating them jumping over it would have been difficult or why they couldn’t just skip that altogether and cut to being in the subway if they weren’t going to animate it. It’s all a bit weird and I guess it could be a stylistic choice but it isn’t a great one.

Cop Craft remains a fun cop show with supernatural elements. Visually it really isn’t amazing but the dynamic between Kei and Tilarna just keeps getting better and this episode put some effort into developing characters outside of the main pair within the police force.

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Karandi James

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Images from: Cop Craft. Dir. S Itagaki. Millepensee. 2019.

Poor Visuals But Otherwise Good Fun

Cop Craft Episode 4

I think this episode was perhaps the worst visually for Cop Craft yet and that is saying something given the visuals are perhaps the least impressive part of the show. The music is awesome, the characters are getting a really nice back and forth going and honestly it is working as a pretty good odd-couple buddy-cop story. Yet with the persistent murkiness of the visuals this week it just really struck me that this anime would be a lot more popular if it had a really slick appearance.

Alright, so we kind of wrap up the kidnapped fairy and fairy-bomb incident in the first part of this episode though there’s a loose end hanging in order to contrive a reason for Tilarna to stay on earth and not hop back where she came from. Sure it is a clear contrivance but honestly they had to have some logical reason for her to stay and it was either drag out the fairy case or come up with something utterly random.

However we’re straight into a new situation with Kei and Tilarna working to arrest some guys for something, it wasn’t very clear, and we see once again that Tilarna hasn’t learned the concept of reasonable force as she slices off a guy’s finger. After the inevitable chewing out by Kei’s new superior (that was a quick replacement) they learn that the guys they arrested had a coffin in storage.

Affiliate Link – Visual Collection

You know, I didn’t see a vampire story coming when I started watching this. It doesn’t feel too left field or ridiculous given the premise but it still kind of caught me off guard.

I will just say that Chapman, Cecil’s assistance in the morgue is perhaps the most body-count-bait characters I’ve ever met. They didn’t even try to make him feel like a character who existed for any purpose outside of revealing the vampire. It was actually a little disappointing.

Still, the core of this show, Kei and Tilarna, just keep getting better and I love how their working relationship is evolving. While there are plenty of things that could be improved about this anime it is remaining pretty fun.

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Karandi James

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Images from: Cop Craft. Dir. S Itagaki. Millepensee. 2019.

Finding Fairies

Cop Craft Episode 3

I know saying that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts is a little bit trite particularly when that means there are some parts that aren’t so great, and yet it is apt in this instance. Cop Craft is treading fairly familiar territory to those who have watched many buddy-cop type movies and shows over the years and the inclusion of fairies isn’t quite novel enough to make it in anyway feel unique. Couple that with sub-par action sequences and you could have a disaster on your hands, and yet Cop Craft has so far had enough charm to keep me engaged and wanting just a little bit more.

Part of the reason for the anime drawing me in so far is Kei and Tilarna, the duo at the centre of the show. While neither is a particularly exceptional character on their own, and I’m really not a fan of Kei’s voice work at all, when Tilarna asked Kei to trust her as a partner toward the climax of this episode, it felt genuine and earned. While these two still aren’t exactly best friends they’ve found a grudging respect for one another and the means to work together.

The throw-away villain introduced last week turned out to be exactly that and while he does get a fight scene, the reliance on stills during the fight kind of kill any real sense of excitement for what should have been a pretty dynamic exchange of swords. Surprisingly though the villain that I thought was just a lackey turned out to have a bit more significance and they’ve thrown in a prior connection with Kei as well just to really twist the knife.

Affiliate Link – Book

While there’s no genuine surprises to be found here as cop shows have been a dime a dozen in western media forever, for an anime it kind of stands out so far this season. The story is working well, the character designs are kind of cute, and the music feels on point. Cop Craft may not be a must watch for the season but it is certainly settling in to be fairly good pop-corn viewing each week.

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Karandi James

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Images from: Cop Craft. Dir. S Itagaki. Millepensee. 2019.

It Might Be A Slow Burn But There’s Definitely Something Here

Cop Craft Episode 2

Cop Craft is genuinely a bit of an enigma in my watch list as it wasn’t even vaguely on my radar before the season started and I really didn’t know what to expect. The first episode wasn’t off the charts amazing but pretty solidly set up your standard kind of cop story with the inclusion of fairies and episode 2 more or less developed this set up in a fairly solid manner.

Partly this is achieved by the dynamic being achieved between Tilarna and Kei Matoba throughout this episode. While last week they were the odd couple thrown together with open hostility, this week the two establish a working relationship of sorts even though they are still both very much doing their own thing and merely tolerating a partner. I feel it is going to be fun to see the relationship develop between these two over the course of the season as there’s so much room for misunderstandings, characters falling back into old habits, as well as developing something close to respect for one another.

The case itself continues to be more a plot device than something of actual concern. While both Tilarna and Kei apparently have a personal stake in the mystery, and we saw Kei’s first hand when his partner was killed, there’s no real sense of urgency about the investigation. On the other hand that actually makes it fairly believable because in reality people sleep, they stop for food, and the funeral for Kei’s former partner actually made it clear we weren’t just going to forget about this part of the process when someone dies. Basically, for all the fairies and potential magical manipulation going on in this story, it is still very grounded in real details.

Affiliate Link – Book

It still isn’t amazing. There’s something really straight forward about the delivery here that makes is passable pulp within its genre but it isn’t really doing anything to distinguish itself from hordes of urban fantasy stories that I’ve read over the years. That makes it comfortable viewing as it marches a familiar beat competently enough.

However, what does distinguish this is that while I’ve seen this formula a million times in other media, I’m almost sure this is my first buddy cop anime story with a fantasy twist so to be honest this one was going to stay on the watch list for the sheer novelty of its concept. The fact that it manages to be half-decent is just an added bonus. The fact that it has the potential to actually be good if it keeps fleshing out its characters and world is truly the cherry on top.

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Images from: Cop Craft. Dir. S Itagaki. Millepensee. 2019.

All The Right Notes But Still Not Singing

Cop Craft Episode 1

Buddy cop story between a veteran and an alien fairy? Well I don’t mind the standard cop story and odd-couples usually work quite well for casual entertainment so I guess we’ll give this one a whirl and see what happens. The first episode is pretty standard set up though I’m wondering how we’ll get a whole season out of it unless we’re going for a more episodic approach given it feels like this story should run its course in about three or four episodes at most.

The opening sequence telegraphed where it was going from the start. The cops were too smug and self-assured, not to mention having read the synopsis we knew one of them would be teaming up with a new non-human partner so it stood to reason tragedy was about to strike in one form or another. The shot lingering on the twisted neck of the guy was a little much.

And actually, that’s probably the problem all the way through this episode. All the elements of this type of story are presented with a lack of nuance. The superior who forces the partnership together, the veteran griping at having to take on a new partner, even the lament over how to tell the wife of the dead guy all just felt overdone.

Of course, that doesn’t stop this from being an intriguing set up with a kidnapped fairy in a bottle, a dead police man and the partner out to find the ones responsible with his new fairy/knight/alien partner. Hopefully it will end up being pretty enjoyable though it hasn’t done much overly amazing yet.

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Karandi James

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Images from: Cop Craft. Dir. S Itagaki. Millepensee. 2019.