Fifteen years ago, a hyperspace gate appeared in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, connecting Earth to a strange world filled with fairies and monsters. The city of San-Teresa became a home for over two million of these otherworldly visitors. Unfortunately, the population boom also brought its fair share of problems—drugs, prostitution, and trafficking. To combat the rampant crime lurking in the city's shadows, a new department was established in the San-Teresa Metropolitan Police.
Former JSDF soldier Kei Matoba is one of the best cops that the department has to offer, despite his inclination to occasionally bend the rules. After a fairy trafficking case goes wrong, Kei loses Rick Fury, his friend and partner of four years, setting him on a quest for vengeance. To help him with the case, the department pairs him with Tilarna Exedilika, a noble of the Farbani Kingdom. As one of the Knights of Mirvor, her duty is to rescue the noble fairy that Kei encountered during his last case. Despite his distaste for non-humans, he accepts the arrangement at the request of his superiors. Now, the unlikely duo must come together and overcome their differences in order to return the missing fairy to her country and avenge the death of Kei's partner.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Comentários
ExemplarCayman
“The password is seven letters, listen carefully. It starts with F, then U, then C, K…” Ever seen a buddy cop film? This is a love letter to the subgenre, and it turns out, buddy cop plus moe is a match made in heaven. The key premise of a buddy cop film is forcing two very different people to work together - anime allows these people to be as different as a gruff veteran detective and a space elf loli jedi. They’re supposed to bicker - so we get angry loli pouts and a despairing guy too old for this shit. “Fish out of water” -we get treated to a curious inquisitive daughteru interacting with the modern world. None of that, of course, gets in the way of the pure cop drama goodness - you still get all the “getting shot two days before retirement”, “investigation leading to a strip club” and “the FBI rolling in and taking over” that your heart desires.
Juxtaposition is also a hell of a drug. Sword and sorcery stuff happening against the backdrop of the criminal underbelly of Not Los Angeles makes up for a unique, eye-catching setting. The world-building, the characters, the comedy and dialogue writing are quality stuff you can expect from Gatoh Shoji (Full Metal Panic and Amagi Brilliant Park creator). Special mention for a western setting that actually feels western.
On the story front - despite being an adaptation of a novel series, it isn’t just “stuff happens until it doesn’t.'' It feels like an actual story that begins with the first episode and ends with the last. The last two episodes work as the culmination of every major arc that happened up until that point.
There is an unavoidable fact that the animation is very lacking due to a blatantly tight budget (which in practical terms means the deficit of manpower), but the show does an amazing job of working around its limitations with clever editing/shot composition. In fact, this series is a great illustration of the fact that animation/sakuga (the amount of movement, the number of frames per second, etc) has very little to do with how good a show actually looks. For example, there is one scene of a car crossing over the hill, and it’s literally a cutout of the car moving against a static background, with the front wheels just going up into the skies. It looks bizarre… until the scene changes and you see the car’s suspension violently smashing down from a jump. The front wheels did, in fact, go into the skies, what you saw is what happened in-universe. A tiny studio pulling every trick in the book to make up for the lack of resources is to be commended, especially when the very same season we can see an inverse of that with Fire Force - the cream-of-the-crop animator talent being wasted on terrible visual direction.
Even bigger flaw is a bizarre episode structure of the first arc which makes it look like a movie that just got cut into 25 minute chunks - a culmination of an entire arc happens basically in a pre-credits scene, while the rest of the episode starts a new arc. Again, it appears to be a consequence of simply not having enough animators and being forced to do 2.25 episodes out of what was supposed to be 3.
Anyway, what I am getting at, why is a show with such flaws is rated 10? It isn’t, I’d take out 0,1 points for bad animation and 0,3 points for the episode structure, so the final score of the show would be 9.6/10. There is no way in hell I’d feel justified subtracting more because neither random junky frames, nor the other thing detract in a meaningful way from story, dialogues, humor and ideas that together make up 96% of my enjoyment of this show. If other people are incapable of appreciating those things and resort to focusing on other aspects, such as production values - it’s their loss.
9.6/10 for “unique, thought-provoking and entertaining piece of fiction.”
AltoRoark
I don’t consider myself easy to impress, and harbor a considerable amount of skepticism when it comes to anime in particular. The state of the industry and Japan’s own questionable ethics more often than not lead to incomplete adaptations, overreliance on tropes, tendency to pander, and plenty other undesirable practices in the medium. Suffice to say, anime as a medium has yet to evolve to the level of films or literature, and as such I choose to keep my expectations rather low with every coming season. Sure, you have your hard-hitters like Vinland Saga and Demon Slayer, but then there’s the expected boatload of isekai, orseries with potential but fall into mediocrity--for me and plenty of others, To the Abandoned Sacred Beasts was one such show. And even then, the hard-hitters often are not something I personally find enthralling, since they tend to fall under specific tropes palatable to very young teenagers; or as we call them, shounen. Don’t get me wrong, I’m onboard with that every once in a while, but there’s only so much of it I can take before a medium of seemingly endless potential and imagination begins to feel surprisingly safe and sterile.
To be clear, I’m not trying to diss anime as a whole. Plenty other mediums have their own problems, especially in their infancy period. Anime is a medium I love and support, and as such I’m all too aware of the drawbacks I’ve come to expect while digging my way through the depths in search of anime that are true standouts. And it’s because of this that the level of enjoyment I had watching Cop Craft is truly precious. If you’re like me, you’ve certainly had reservations or mixed feelings about Cop Craft’s reveal, particularly in the context of Japan’s ever-so-uncomfortable liking for small girls. Some of those same people went on to be pleasantly surprised, just like I was, at its first episode. As for me alone, I kept watching to where it would become one of my most cherished anime in recent memory.
My love for crime-focused shows and films akin to Lethal Weapon, The Sopranos, and the like had sold me on the show within minutes. After some more time of watching, I was then engrossed by the character chemistry and splendid dialogue. And with wild supernatural elements, fantastical concepts, and bizarre sci-fi all welded cohesively into a thrilling buddy-cop drama, Cop Craft stands as another showcase of what anime as a medium, compared to live-action, is truly capable of pulling off.
Before I go any further, however, I must address the elephant in the room. Yes, this show has serious problems with its production, which many people are aware of due to the damaging effect it's had on animation and pacing. Cop Craft's overall quality undeniably suffers as a result, but I feel like people should know the whole context of why this show is the way it is. I’ll go much deeper into this later on, but the basic story is this: this show was made with the passion of a driven and talented team in a very small studio with budget constraints and scheduling issues; a project far too ambitious for what the team is capable of doing. As a result, the animation quality is a horribly mixed bag, but this should not be attributed to laziness of the staff, as tempting as that is. As pressing of a topic as this is, I want to save it for later in this review. As of now I want to make the point that poor production is a tragic reality of what is otherwise a fantastic experience.
The dynamic between Kei Matoba and Tilarna Exedilika is the essence of what makes Cop Craft such a worthwhile experience. The incessant passive-aggressive remarks between the grouchy nihilistic cop and the spoiled, ill-tempered young rookie is one of few aspects of their interplay that makes their first several hours together so immediately riveting. Not only is their interplay superbly written, varied, and sometimes comedic, they’re highly fleshed out characters whose relationship evolves from a bitter incompatibility to a dubious comradery. In general, Kei is someone who doesn’t get along with people, which is understandable since he’s one of the last people you’d ever want to hang out with. He’s a callous and largely inconsiderate man, making rude or judgemental comments towards people regularly with no signs of remorse. But he is not without a heart, as much as he tries to hide that fact from Tilarna. A man of few words, his sparse acts of kindness and courtesy are often dubious, with his true intentions left concealed in his own frigid mist of a personality. Even his most notable good deed, rescuing and adopting a stray cat after pursuing a perp, is reasoned with the idea of it being selfish instead of altruistic, saying he wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if he left the cat there.
While ostensibly uncaring, Kei clearly has humanity as shown in his outrage over the death of his partner, Rick (which, by the way, happens within the first few minutes of the first episode, so no spoilers there), and the fact that he views his chief, Jack Roth, as a father figure. Likewise, it’s made obvious that in spite of his bitterness towards Tilarna, he does grow to care for her. His dialogue with her later on walks a fine line, making it uncertain which of his lines are playful, complementary, sarcastic, or tough love. In general, Kei appeals to the part of us that wants to be spared of the nonsense and get the task out of the way. His cold attitude is admittedly hard to tolerate at points, especially when he shows no gratitude whatsoever for when Tilarna saves his life, but that’s just part of what makes him so endearing. Kei and Tilarna’s rough interactions are what makes their sparse cases of growing closer all the more meaningful.
Tilarna is always aiming to uphold her dignity and her moral code, making sure to never stray from either goal, excluding particular circumstances. Yet she’s also prudish and naive compared to Kei, often used to great comedic effect and is crucial to her development in much later arcs. Similar to Kei, her abrasiveness towards him isn’t exactly reflective of her actual feelings. More than anything, she just wants to feel respected by Kei and not be treated like a burden, which is an understandable frustration for anyone having to work with the man for so long. With such an entertaining banter between well-realized characters whose bond develops with every few episodes, topped with brilliant dialogue, Kei and Tilarna end up being one of the most compelling duos in anime I’ve ever had the pleasure of following.
On another note, it’s strange and disappointing to see the stereotypical depiction of gay characters that plagues Japanese media appear in Cop Craft--by which I’m referring to Tony. Funnily enough, I initially approved of his character as I assumed *he* was a transgender woman. Because transphobia is just as much of a problem in Japan, my first impression of Tony was a pleasant surprise. And I was let down upon finding out that Tony isn’t a transgender, but a very effeminite and flamboyant gay man. Generally, his appearance and character alone isn’t all that big of a deal. But it does get a lot more off-putting with that one scene of Tony subconsciously feeling up a teenager only to be stopped by Aleks; and wiping drool off of his face as an added bonus. Although Tony is portrayed more tastefully than the likes of Puri Puri Prisoner from One Punch Man, they're both still sad reminders of how long of a way Japan as yet to go in terms of proper LGBT representation in media.
This is a real shame since Tony is generally a good character apart from this, alongside his detective buddy Aleksandr, both of which are a treat to watch thanks to Cop Craft’s sheer aptitude with dialogue and comedy. And then there’s police chief Bill Zimmer, who is just about the closest to an anime Samuel L. Jackson since Afro Samurai. Although his spitting rage and humorous lines are a joy to witness, and with how respectable he was in speaking favorably of Tilarna towards a racist subordinate, Zimmer isn’t one of the more fleshed out characters of the show, unlike the doctor and ex-girlfriend of Kei, Cecil Epps. While it’s shocking to see someone actually put up with Kei’s rudeness, and even remain friends with the man, the main draw of Cecil’s character is how easily she befriends Tilarna. The friendship between the two feels genuine, with Cecil consoling Tilarna about difficult tasks and personal woes. Their playful dialogue about Kei also leads to one of the funniest moments I’ve ever seen in an anime. A lesser writer would simply use Cecil as a plot device or to flesh out Kei’s history, but she’s given the humanity needed to make her truly feel like a person with a physical presence in the overall narrative. With such an engaging main duo alongside almost equally great side characters, Cop Craft boasts one of the strongest casts of characters of any anime I’ve seen in recent memory.
This setup for a buddy cop show is hardly a unique one, especially to those well-acquainted with Western TV and films, but it does stand out in the anime medium among its contemporaries at the very least. And besides, execution is everything. And Cop Craft’s execution in its story is as great as one could ever hope.
As we’re welcomed to the fictional city of San Teresa, we venture into the unknown as well as the familiar. Conflict is abundant here as any Earth-dweller would expect a city to be, but the presence of the Semaani race brings forth a plethora of surprises among the crime scenes and detective cases, imparting a fantastical and arcane flavor to the adventure rarely seen in a police drama. With roughly 15 years of interaction with humans, the Semanians and their world is still largely alien to its human neighbors, with many discoveries to be made about them and what bizarre occurrences and fields of magic, or ‘Latena’ as it’s called, could be at play. To be a policeman in San Teresa means to expect the unexpected, a mantra that would benefit the viewer just as well.
Of course, constantly throwing surprises at the viewer runs the risk of making the world feel incohesive and random, but these ideas are well-developed and properly built up to thanks to some impeccable world-building and (for the most part) remarkable pacing. The true depths of Semaani reveals itself little by little in the human world, pacing out these discoveries in such a way that provides intrigue and tension in a near-perfect manner. It also helps that Semanian arts have a logical presence as opposed to simple magic. Aside from the admittedly far-fetched “strong feelings create Latena” thing, practices and contraptions of Semanians operate on rules of their own, much like our technology. Perhaps the author, Shoji Gatou, was given a freebie by age-old concepts in Western fantasy when creating the Semanian race, but this world is so fleshed out to where it’s given an identity of its own. Semanians even have their own language, which when spoken sounds remarkably elegant and refined, unlike numerous other fictional languages such as Parseltongue of Harry Potter which sounds vague and almost like gibberish. To show just how refined this language is, aside from apparently being learnable, it’s worth considering Tilarna’s uttering of “Boliceman.” This is made to be an endearing quirk, but it also gives the implication that the Semaani language likely lacks a ‘p’ sound, with ‘b’ as a common substitute.
After some time, the role of exploring a foreign world is passed over to Tilarna. Here we have the pleasure of watching Tilarna trying to cope with and adapt to facets of our planet Earth--specifically, pornography and vehicles of transportation--all bundled into an episode’s worth of hilarity, enticing chaos, and a grace of character bonding at the very end. It’s easily one of the most enjoyable episodes of anything in recent memory, as well as the few cases of anime humor making me laugh out loud. This is an episode that lingers in my memory continually, which is a very high honor to hold.
A prominent facet of the setting is how the world of Semaani interacts with that of Earth. The many fields of Latena originating from Semaani unsurprisingly can accomplish certain tasks in a way that human technology cannot. And surprisingly, the opposite is also true. Coding, hacking, firearms, automobiles, photography, and night vision goggles are what the world of Semaani lacks, and play an equally vital role in snuffing out the perpetrator.
Obviously the aptitude of your arsenal means little if the one using it lacks competence, as evident in many shounen and seinen that get away with artificially stretching out their arcs by having characters fumble around or arbitrarily bringing forth a greater power to stall the action. Cop Craft is the exact opposite case. The policemen of San Teresa are intelligent and capable as policemen are expected to be, using any strategy or asset at their disposal to gain the upper hand. I think anyone could remember a time they watched or read a piece of media, getting aggravated at characters for not seeing the obvious solution or making moronic decisions leading to their downfall, taking you out of the experience. Cop Craft almost never stumbles upon this, and crimes are dealt with efficiently through the use of Latena magic, Earth technology, and competent storytelling.
That said, as praiseworthy as this is, it comes with a cost: conflicts in Cop Craft are dealt with relatively fast, and arcs can feel frustratingly brief and even anticlimactic as a result. Some could frame all this as a negative, but it ultimately depends on what you look for in an action show. I for one couldn’t be happier with how Cop Craft chose to execute this. The overall narrative of Cop Craft is akin to that of Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo, and not just with its Western influences. It spends a brief enough time on an idea so as to throw a new one on the table. Cop Craft never gives anything a chance to get boring (excluding the fan-hated episode 8). Each arc is expounded upon enough to be satisfying in its own right, with the resolution feeling authentic and plausible rather than climactic.
Apart from human tech and Latena, the interaction between Semanians and humans leaves sociological effects that are intriguing and applicable to reality. Heavy politics are in full force as would be expected in a city of mixed races, and Cop Craft is incredibly bold and proficient with this direction, especially for an anime--granted, it involves a fictional race, but the point stands. Multiple points of view regarding the presence of Semanians are touched upon and come into play during a much later arc, lending more weight and authenticity to an already fascinating world. A simple biased aversion towards Semanians or humans for what they are is obviously just racism, but one character in particular has a far more elaborate and justified viewpoint that comes from a similar place, whose quote is written below:
“Coexistence, peace...just lies idealists tell. Earthlings and aliens can’t ever get along. We must keep apart.”
“Some of them are getting by just fine!”
“And their ability to adapt is what scares me. Look at their strength, their vitality; in three generations they’ll usurp us and rule the Earth! The invasion will be over before anyone notices. Yes, not even the invaders are aware of what they’re doing. The world needs to wake up and see just how dangerous these Semanians are.”
If you’ve watched Cop Craft up to a certain point, you definitely know who these quotes are from, and where this exchange transpires. For spoiler reasons, I won’t say, but the crux of the matter is the ideology of what is said here. This is clearly in line with most conservative views regarding immigration; a fear that there is more to lose than to gain, and results can be disastrous. Obviously there are different viewpoints on immigration and I don’t wish to have this sort of discussion at the moment when it comes to real life issues, but Cop Craft is commendable in bringing this predicament to light in a setting where it fits like a glove.
For a 12-episode season, it would be wrong of me to say that these issues are explored to their fullest, but that’s all the more reason to consider the ongoing status of the source material, and to acknowledge that the anime only covers a portion of what is, or will be, in the full story. If anything, this is a positive way of looking at the studio’s size. Since their budget is so small, there’s a relatively greater chance of Cop Craft making a good profit, thus hopefully leading to a second season being made.
What’s really admirable in regards to the studio’s size is just how well the team could do in spite of such meager production. While Cop Craft’s animation is limited, the overall aesthetic is a feast for the eyes. While the show lacks in frames, it excels through well-directed framing and glorious attention to detail. The open nocturnal suburbs are coated in a softly-lit patch of neon colors, contrasting with the grim and subdued tones of the alleyways where conflict is sure to erupt. Bloom lighting is applied constantly in places to accentuate the bright urban life. Most indoor areas are rendered in modest colors where bloom lighting is sparingly used, creating a calm environment where the brutality of police work is given a rest. With such limited resources, the team has made a show that is not only pretty to look at, but with effective theming for different environments. All of this is to say, Cop Craft is one of those cases where the art is superb, but the animation is lacking--hopefully the anime community will finally know the difference between the two.
When it comes to Cop Craft’s visuals, there’s no getting by without mentioning the action scenes, which are of particularly low quality past the second episode. This is where the studio’s size is made all too clear. However, lack of animation isn’t exactly the only thing holding back the action scenes, and this is an area where people are most inclined to blame the director. So here’s the way I see it: is the director, Shin Itagaki, at fault for Cop Craft’s shoddy action scenes?
My answer is: yes and no.
Shin Itagaki is an enigma of the anime industry. You might construe that as a word of praise but that’s literally what he is. Shin Itagaki is the director of shows like Basquash!, Ben-To, Teekyuu, and of course the infamous Berserk 2016/17. On top of being a director, Itagaki is also a freelance animator, sometimes doing his own work during production, and an extreme perfectionist. When discussing the animation quality of Cop Craft, an important thing to consider is that Shin Itagaki has a rather unusual way of directing fight scenes, putting more emphasis on impact than spatial awareness. This sort of style favors very dynamic camera angles and frames of impact, constantly breaking the 180-degree rule of cinema which all results in an action scene that feels visceral yet lacks sense of place. Cop Craft is consistently animated in 3s, and most of its action scenes are animated similarly to the likes of Studio Trigger, with limited frames, heavy smearing, and very dynamic pose-to-pose action facilitating impact in a way that fluidity cannot. However, with such wild storyboarding and constant breaking of the 180-degree rule, higher frames are a must for the scene to flow properly, and Cop Craft is proof enough of how much this can backfire.
To see just how well Itagaki’s action can turn out, look no further than Ben-To. Fight scenes in Ben-To, as well as certain ones in Cop Craft, are evident of just how much increased frames make the difference with this style, creating enough flow between scenes that would otherwise end up disorienting and drain the scene of its tension. With the current state Millepensee is in, it seems most wise to ditch such strenuous methods and stick to basic, conventional fight choreography to make do with what little frames there are to work with. In the case of Cop Craft, this would have been the better approach in plenty of cases. Many scenes would have worked much better with the same amount of frames but different storyboards, but it seems that Itagaki is hellbent on sticking with his vision no matter what, making demands that the studio just isn’t able to meet.
This really hurts the anime in the long run, and it’s incredibly tragic. But there’s a reason I’m not putting so much scrutiny on this front. And it’s that I fully expect the DVD releases to amend this. Itagaki is clearly a very ambitious, passionate individual, and along with his team would love to take any opportunity to make this project exactly how they wanted to. For some episodes it’s not a huge deal if not many changes are made, but as for episodes 3, 5, and 10, Millepensee would be insane to not give them a makeover when the chance comes. Those episodes are infamous for containing some of the worst action in the series, with episode 3 commonly remembered as one of the most shocking dips in quality an anime has ever suffered. But I have faith in Itagaki and all of Millepensee, and wish them nothing but the best.
Cop Craft, you deserve better. You deserved a bigger budget, you deserved better management, you deserve more attention, you deserve more support, and above all things else, you deserve a second season. This fascinating world, these splendid characters, the intriguing storytelling; Cop Craft is a project that is clearly too ambitious for what the studio is actually capable of, and it’s my earnest wish that the BDs improve upon this significantly, as it’s their one chance at polishing this product into what they truly wanted it to be. The heart is there, the team is competent, and the tremendous quality of the source material is for us to experience on a small screen. While I hardly ever excuse poor production, this is a team that deserves our sympathy and support. The story of Cop Craft feels like it’s only just begun, and I’m fully on board with what more adventures await our duo, as well as how much higher the studio will go from what is their biggest project yet.
Stark700
Cop Craft made me question what happens if Blood Blockade Battlefront had a brother or sister. While they share some of resemblance of its other from their base premise, Cop Craft certainly stands out to be its own series. Taking place in a gritty underworld setting, this is the type of show I didn’t know if I wanted to see again. Are you a fan of storytelling with a buddy cop style formula? If so, Cop Craft will probably be a treat with the amount of character dynamics. There’s certain level of character interactions that will get you comfortable with its first opening episodes. Make nomistake though, Cop Craft itself is meant to be taken seriously although its execution of humor can be questionable. I’ll get to that later but the first two episodes hit the right marks to make a favorable impression. We meet main protagonists Kei and Tilarnia after a strange encounter and it sets the tone of the main story. This pair stands out as the most important character duo as they tackle on the challenges in this dark metropolis.
One of the more fascinating element of the show revolves around the strange premise itself. The story blends fiction and reality together in what should be described as a police procedural drama. In the present timeline, Teresa City is filled with crime. It’s like the type of city where you’ll see chaos erupting from weapon trafficking, drugs, prostitution, and even murder. Based on the light novel of the same name, some of these concepts doesn’t entirely surprise me. Shoji Gatoh (author of Full Metal Panic!) has been known to craft work with police drama. Cop Craft relies heavily on its insider ideas and main character duo. Unfortunately, the main storytelling itself is very loose and sometimes, I find that it lacks a general purpose. By the time this show almost concluded, I pretty much accepted the fact that the plot wasn’t going to improve. At least we have the main characters carrying this anime, right?
Kei is a human cop. He fights the good fight in this dark city while Tilarnia is the sidekick and partner. Imagine a strange alternate world where Full Metal Panic’s Sousuke and Chidori became detectives. Somehow, I picture Kei and Tilarnia in similar roles. There’s no doubt the pair has character chemistry despite their vastly contrasting differences. Humorous gags also occur between the two although over time, it feels more and more redundant than being actual funny. Coming from different backgrounds, there’s a mediocre appeal about both characters individually. It seems the pair’s character dynamics work best when they are together. When apart, I quickly find myself losing interest in what they’re doing. In some episodes, the anime also likes to poke fun of Tilarnia’s weak common sense and alludes to adult humor. The lack of character development doesn’t help either to get invested into either character. It’s a shame really since both Kei and Tilarnia could have been what holds this anime together. When you begin to lose hope for its main cast, there’s not much room for improvement. Unfortunately, most of the side characters hold little relevance. I honestly can’t even remember most of their names out of the top of my head.
Putting the drawbacks aside, I do think Cop Craft had a wealth of ideas to be something special. The main problem is the execution. It’s difficult to get invested into the plot when the mood changes from frame to frame nearly every episode. The plot structure also has a ‘monster of the week’ like format where some sort of crime needs to be solved. It does reinforce the dark side of the city with its underworld activities. But when the show lacks a general purpose, it quickly wears itself out and loses significance. The character development is almost non-existent with every episode spitting out random events rather than a concentrated focus. With each progressing episode, I felt like the show loses more of its relevance. The anime is only 12 episodes and according to some content I’ve heard, there’s pacing issues too. Coming in as an anime only viewer, it’s a major disappointment from what Cop Craft could have been.
However, that’s not the end of its problems. Even on a technical level, Cop Craft suffers production issues in later episodes. From an early example (episode 3), you can tell that the animation quality drops with lackluster battle sequences. It doesn’t help the anime also has to rely on some rather strange fan service at times to do the talking. Somehow, Tilurna’s character ends up becoming a source of animal jokes in one particular episode. Desperate as it seems, it’s the type of fan service that basically shows it has nothing else to say. Luckily, the world setting itself has a decent amount of creativity. The dark metropolis contains a degree of realism despite the fantasy content. It reminds me of Los Angeles with a wealth of cultural ideas and social problems.
Ah Cop Craft. I wish I read the light novels beforehand so I limited my expectations. The first two episodes made a strong impression but quickly begins to wear itself out with its charm. The main character duo delivers popcorn entertainment but it doesn’t manage to fully make the show itself entertaining. If you don’t mind the cheeky humor or bland storytelling, then this may turn out to be a treat for you. For me personally, this is one of those anime that lost steam and never looked back.
TheDeedsOfMen
"It's the American dream, you know!" If a gate opened to a magical fantasy land, which would be the likely outcome? A) You are summoned as a hero and must defeat Generic Evil Overlord #21,576 with the help of your newly found godlike powers and a harem of people desperate for your love and affection. B) The people from both sides engage in awkward coexistence and cultural exchange, featuring racism, guns, pornography, drugs, theft, prostitution, humanoid trafficking, terrorism, rampant consumerism, and cats. By the very nature of their premises, cultural commentary and social issues should be natural topics for isekai series. After all, isekai is supposed to be abouttravelling to other worlds, and the obvious thing to do would be gawking at the different cultures like a confused tourist. However, very often these issues are neglected almost entirely, with series instead choosing to focus on arbitrary godlike superpowers and harems the size of a phone book. This begs the question: why bother with the whole "transported to another world" setup in the first place if all you are doing is the same old story of harem antics and generic villains? Even though it has its faults as well and is far from perfect, Cop Craft at least manages to avoid that fate.
In this case, I suppose "reverse isekai" is more accurate because the story takes place on good old Earth. Kei and Tilarna, who are from different worlds, team up to form a cop duo who fight crime in a city populated by both Semanians and humans (or the Doreany, as called by the Semanians). The city is on an island in the Pacific that was originally Semanian soil and was transported to Earth by a gate that happened to open between the planets.
I wouldn't mind seeing reverse isekai more often because it is refreshing to have Earth as the setting once in a while. This show seems to agree because it goes ham on Earth culture. The dialogue showcases cultural references from Earth and can often be witty. It is worth noting that both species consist of individuals with clearly different personalities and interests. The Semanians are definitely not a Planet of the Hats, a species with a single defining feature shared by almost all members. They are simply individual people, just like humans. Many of the Semanians have adapted to life on Earth remarkably well. If it wasn't for their slightly different appearance, I would often have a hard time telling them apart from humans. Tilarna, who is a noble and only recently arrived, initially seems out of touch with not only humans but many other Semanians as well.
Another pop quiz. If visitors from another planet arrived on Earth, what would they be after:
A) natural resources,
B) humans as manual slave labor, or
C) porn magazines.
If your answer was C), congrats. Apparently, even the boring, low-quality ones are worth a fortune in a fantasy world that has almost no photos. Incidentally, the shops on Earth are allegedly too well stocked in general, making it difficult to choose items.
"Do you know the name of Earth's God? 'Money.' Simplest thing in the world, right? I've converted to its religion, too."
A Semanian big-time criminal says so.
Given that the protagonists are in the police, particular attention is given to due process. There are rights and obligations that protect citizens from arbitrary police action but also make it more difficult to convict criminals, even when it is obvious that they are guilty. Tilarna, the alleged knight of justice, criticizes this pretty frequently. "Is this the justice of your world?" and so on. Search warrants? What are those? Beating up suspects? Just another day at the office.
Racial tensions are fairly often portrayed in isekai series, but this time they are more eerily similar to our current political discourse. A hard-right politician, Tourte, has a central message of "live by human rules or go home" and he wants to deport Semanian criminals (after revoking their citizenship, I suppose) in large numbers because many of them are involved in crime. One of his ads is saying "San Teresa first," and his supporters are holding signs of "ET, go home." Another character argues that the Semanians are "invading" Earth without even knowing it themselves simply by staying here. Meanwhile, calling the Semanians "aliens" is considered racist in some circles. We also get the "all the options on the ballot are terrible" view on democracy because the other candidates have other problems.
However, some of the attempts at ethical and political arguments are left unfinished. For instance, at one point Tilarna is arguing with Tourte and saying that the island was originally Semanian soil, while Tourte argues that it is now on Earth, so it belongs to humans. A more effective argument against Tourte would be that it is up to chance who is born where and thus which people are deported. It would force Tourte to argue harder, but Tilarna does not present it. There is also a lot of untapped potential when it comes to the social issues here, and I feel like the screentime could have been used a bit more effectively to highlight them in a more varied way. The ending also tries to downplay how volatile the political situation is, which seems like an unjustified 180-degree turn from some of the previous episodes.
The show also has other problems. One thing I'd prefer is a more cohesive plot. Some of the cases are not directly linked to the main plot. There is still some thematic cohesion and connected details, but tying the different cases together more strongly would definitely be a good idea. I can barely remember some of the one-episode antagonists. The worst offender by far is a sequence of 1.5 episodes (episode 8 and a part of 9) that focuses on generic slapstick comedy and some particularly off-putting fanservice scenes related to a particular scifi plot device and a cat. It is based on a freak accident and is dragged on for far too long. It contributes basically nothing to the main plot or the themes either. This part felt so out of place that I feel like I have to specifically mention it. Fanservice is far from rare in anime, but this was far more awkward than usually.
Kei and Tilarna often have good banter going on about Earth culture and related topics. Their chemistry is pretty solid and also varied enough, though Tilarna's excessive Tsundere side can be hit-or-miss in some scenes. Some of the side characters such as the other cops and the informant guy also get some witty lines, but many of them are still starved for screentime. Meanwhile, the main villain gets barely any screentime or development and is left at a somewhat generic level. If you forgot that he existed and got an "oh right, that guy" moment near the end, I won't blame you. The side villains somehow get even less, and I can't even remember their names.
Additional world-building wouldn't hurt, for Earth but especially for the Semanian planet. Could we at least step on Semanian soil (not including the island) a few times and see first-hand how they live? It is not as though isekai must take place in only one world. We learn some aspects of Semanian society by second-hand testimony, but that is no substitute for witnessing the place for ourselves. Apparently, there was initially a war between the two sides before they could reach an agreement on the land, but the war is only mentioned in passing.
The opening song is called "Paradise City" with pretty catchy music. The video features a superficially cheerful city full of neon lights, but it quickly becomes obvious that it is full of gunfights, people armed with guns in general, and also car chases, explosions, etc. A true paradise, alright. This is the kind of naming I would use too: sarcasm.
The ending song, "Connected," has Tilarna singing while the video highlights the mixed, blurred culture that has been born out of the coexistence of the two species. In this instance, some of the artwork is pretty great, such as some backgrounds of the city and the rain effects.
The stylistic choices are a mixed bag. I like some of them. San Teresa looks like a fairly typical large city on Earth: not very posh but not a total slum either, sometimes with additional neon lights. It showcases both the prettier and uglier parts of life on Earth. Notably, the cars look old-school and a bit of thought must have gone into their designs. On the other hand, there is occasionally awkward-looking fanservice that does not quite fit in the situation. Usually it is within tolerable bounds, but the filler episode I mentioned is a serious offender, and I am not saying so lightly.
What stands out is that the quality of animation for the series overall is clearly lacking. Aside from lazy-looking motion sometimes, it sometimes get so bad that the characters are speaking with a still frame on-screen. No mouths moving or anything. Some action scenes also end up looking like a series of still slides, kind of a PowerPoint presentation. I can only guess that the studio must have been running on a shoestring budget, forced to cut corners whenever even remotely possible.
The setting has great potential. They should simply focus even more on its strengths. Do more world-building, visit the other planet as well, showcase the different cultural aspects more. Don't try to brush aside a tense political situation that you hyped up just before. Have the main villain actually appear onscreen now and then. Avoid PowerPoint slideshows. And drop the worst of the filler and the most off-putting fanservice, of course. I really wanted to like this show more because the setting is great and the dialogue is witty sometimes, but then I remember some of the questionable parts, and my heart sinks.
I wish they were allowed to build a McDonald's on the Semanian planet. I think it would do well.
AnimeIsAMistake7
As i sit here attempting to craft a review for one of the worst cop shows I've ever had the misfortune of watching, I am tempted to abandon the endeavor entirely and never again think of this anime. This show makes me want to retroactively subtract 1 rating point from every anime I've seen as it singlehandedly has diminished the entire medium that is Japanese animation and can be used as supporting evidence to the argument "anime was a mistake". The vast majority of the effort and investment into this series was likely spent on a collegiate language experts to create an entire fictional elvishlanguage, as well as consultations with Tolkein and the writers of Miami Vice. They also threw in a bunch of impressively original but entirely out of place music that never once matched the setting or events on screen. Im talling Arabic-prayer-singing-echoing-through-the-streets-of-2000s-Baghdad-during-a-drug-bust-on-the-island-of-Los-Angeles-2-levels of bad. I don't know who was cooking with this show but clearly they should not be let back in the kitchen again.
They set up plot lines and world building that could very well be decent and interesting but then do not follow it through at all. There's some sort of shadow wizard money gang manipulating things in the background at first but then we abandon this thread to iniect classic tsundere loli elf girl tropes and body swap shenanigans because the showrunners evidently thought fans would not have any interest in the story if it was not dripping with constant fanservice of child-like girls defacating in a litter box. The show is entirely predictable as well, you know right away that the loli elf will continue to be kidnapped and captured and put into these predicaments where the scene is pregnant with the threat of physical assault on her body.
There is a weird and very jarring use of cgi in some instances and in other scenes there's literally no movement for several minutes as they take every step possible to save on having to animate any movement or speech whatsoever. That could have been forgiven if what the show delivered was in any shape or form worthwhile. Of the friends I watched it with most were too appalled and only half were able to stick it out to the miserable conclusion.
The vampire chick was a baddie and the fact that they wasted her presence is also another cardinal sin I will count against this show, she was clearly fixable and it was deplorable how readily the show takes something that could possibly be cool and self sabotage it into the ground.
maxiburger
Don't bother if you're a fan of the Buddy Cop genre, police procedurals, good world building, or even above-mediocre animation or directing. The only positive quality Cop Craft has to offer is its unoriginal premise. But if that's what got you interested in checking it out, you'll be just as satisfied from reading the plot synopsis above as you would be from watching 12 episodes of this garbage. Let's go through this one complaint at a time: The show is trying to talk about racism and xenophobia by introducing a fantasy race of immigrants from a fantasy world, which is a cheap but efficient trick. The maintarget audience of Japan doesn't have to feel alienated by having to consider the issues of groups they might not feel too inclined towards, any minority group can't feel personally offended if their issues aren't portrayed accurately, nobody can allege malice if the show references real life events incorrectly, and most importantly: anime fans by default are more interested in the fantasy aspect. However, if you're introducing a whole parallel universe of elves and fairies, you need to establish what exists in that universe and what doesn't. And over the course of 12 episodes, there hasn't been a single scene that shows us even the glimpse of a fantasy landscape. We just have to accept that magic is real now, and that it pops up as a macguffin or deus ex machina whenever it's convenient. The only other information we can infer from the plot is that the fantasy world is very traditional and antiquated and that there's no modern science or technology. That's pretty much it. There's no political dealings with the fantasy world, there's hardly any fantasy world characters besides Tilarna with more than two lines of dialogue to tell us more about their home, I personally don't even find the aliens to look all that different from Earthlings (although maybe that's due to the wonky artstyle). Neither does the show put any particular effort into portraying the influence of the fantasy immigrants on Earth's society. All that's really changed after the dimensional portal opened is that this one fictional Pacific island became a bigger metropolitan hub due to the population increase. Sure, most episodic crimes make use of some magic gimmick (a fairy bomb, vampires, a mind-switching artifact, magic memory alloy...), but those gimmicks are usually a big surprise for Tilarna as well, so they're not representative of the fantasy world's culture. Besides the main antagonist's necromancy ability, no other gimmick had any lasting effect on the plot or the setting, even though you could build an entire show around just one of them.
In summary, the introduction of the fantasy aspect is ultimately just laziness as it never exceeds its function of a shorthand for racism.
The biggest reason why all the potential was wasted is because they decided to make the show too episodic instead of focusing on the one big case. I'm not sure how faithfully the anime adaptation follows the novel, but episodes 4-10 feel like bad fillers. Hell, even the recurring side characters do nothing but waste precious time that could've been used for more meaningful interactions between Tilarna and Kei, or at least to build up the villain to have more of an impact.
On that note, it was a stupid decision to off Elbaji as early as the 3rd episode for the surprise reveal that Zelada was behind everything all along, but then postpone the confrontation with him until the final episode. Both Zelada and Elbaji had potentially interesting (conflicting even!) motivations that could've been explored in a better way than just dumping everything into a stereotypical villain speech right before their respective defeats. Their involvement in the mayoral election and their conspirators in the police should've offered plenty more opportunities to fill the time, without having to add 1½ episodes about Tilarna turning into a cat and having to chase after a garbage truck. At least, if you MUST include inconsequential episodes, give us more insight into the main characters. For instance showing us for a whole episode how Tilarna struggles with everyday life on Earth, like not understanding mobile phones, cars, food, the value of money - that kinda thing (the first episode did this to a somewhat satisfying degree with Kei). Because for a Fish Out of the Water character, she's way too capable and savvy.
This also ruins the buddy cop dynamic she should've had with Kei. In order to make a Buddy Cop duo work, both character need to have clashing personalities (eg. Young Reckless vs. Old Cautious, or Goofball vs By-the-Books Sourpuss). But aside from one being a middle aged dude and the other being a foreigner loli, Kei and Tilarna are too similar. Both are proud, grumpy workaholics who just want to get the job done, insult each other with dry quips, and get into arguments when one was being too reckless when the other one wasn't prepared for it in that particular moment (they alternate between who does it). As the daughter of a noble family who got her knight's rank by birthright, and considering that she does develop something of a crush for Kei over the course of the show anyway, it wouldn't have been too farfetched to make her more innocently naive, clumsy and inexperienced - in short a stereotypical loli character - rather than easily irritated and overall bitchy. Her cute character design certainly would've suggested that the show was gonna go for the Newbie vs. Jaded clash. In terms of character development, Tilarna could've grown more mature from overcoming shocking experiences like murder, prostitution, drugs, etc. while Kei could've softened a bit and rediscovered his compassion - as you'd expect from someone who in the 1st episode couldn't even be assed to tell his deceased partner's wife about her husband's death in person.
I'll admit that there were a few jokes here and there that summoned 5% of a chuckle out of me, but I laughed WAY more at some of the now infamous animation goofs that would look more fitting in the studio's previous show Teekyu, a no-budget 3-minute nonsense comedy. The visuals really didn't do Range Murata's original artwork justice. If the writing and directing was solid enough, this would've been excusable. But when neither the story nor the visuals are convincing, I can only strongly recommend against committing yourself to the whole series.
Spend your time with better shows!
zwolf12
To get the premise out of the way first, Cop Craft is basically a buddy cop show that mixes Rush Hour (two cops of different cultures working together) with the concept from Blood Blockade Battlefront (Kekkai Sensen; dimensional gate creates a mixed [distinctly American] city of alien + human technology and cultures). Compared to Blood Blockade Battlefront the setting is a lot more toned down. The connected alien world is more in the line of classic medieval fantasy and less absurd. Magic exists, but it is, even for the alien culture, a rare trait and not flashy or simplistic. The show is more about the mixof the magically influenced technology mixing with the human made technology.
In this type of premise a lot rides on the world and characters and I'm happy to say that it fulfills both fields to a great degree. The characters chemistry and bickering is a joy to watch and the alien concepts seem to be well implemented (from what we see in the show, which is, as always with shows that have tons of source material, just a snippet).
The show also allows the alien part of the duo to grow, which is quite important for the younger part that has no experience with humanity and grew up in nobility.
Cop Craft also touches on some real issues (xenophobia, political intrigue, prostitution, corruption, violence etc.) through the lens of its world and it handles these subjects very well.
So far this all sound quite decent, so why is it that the show gets such a low score (from me and others) and the answer is very unfortunate: the production.
While the general writing is very good, the animation and sound are a minefield.
(Quick disclaimer, this review is based on the simulcast, not the BD, which could possibly improve some of the worst parts.)
We can't look into the productions of the anime, but here something went obviously array.
Parts of the show look decent or even great, like the opening and some fight sequences, other parts are glorified chaotic slideshows with mismatching audio.
Example (skip this paragraph if you are not interested in my example; no spoiler):
In an episode a character slides on his weapon down a metal fire staircase to follow a suspect, while this is animated quite well (sparks flying and the characters throwing his body around the corners), there is no audio accompanying this scene.
In other scenes we get sword fights that are cut together of still pictures without any movement and without any sense of space and repeating hollow metal sounds to go with it (not the sound two swords make).
My best guess is that some parts were given to good animators that did their job really well, but for other parts they either ran out of money or time (or both) and had to / decided to cut everything they had at the time together, to at least resemble a coherent story.
Episode 3 is the finale of the first arc and is the most egregious example of this practice in action. It cuts together content worth 3 episodes with minimal to no animation in a slideshow with no sense of time or space. This was not just bad for the audiovisual enjoyment, but also killed the pace of this finale, that was meant to be a spectacle with twists and turns. How this happened is any ones guess.
So in the end we have quite a dilemma on our hands. Most people, me included like the show, but you can't really overlook the 30/30/30 ratio of the show (30% good animation, 30% okay animation and 30% no animation), which makes it very hard to rate.
I will give this show two scores and mash them together for a final score, because we need some kind of score for this review.
Taking only the worst parts of the show, I award the show with a 2, because the character design and world is still pretty to look at and while the story in these parts is very hard to follow, it still has a semblance of something better.
Taking only the best parts, I award the show an 8 (this might be a 9 if you liked what you read from my little summary and if you desire some buddy cop style stuff), because it still has some tropes that get old very fast (the running gag about cars getting destroyed or the bulletproof couch as an example for this) even though the writing is very good.
Who is this anime for?
I think this show can be watched by everyone interested in a fun ride with some decent buddy cop conversations mixed with some dark and close to reality material.
Just don't forget that you also need some thick skin to watch through the truly horrifying production failures.
VivavideoUser2x
Tonight, I wanna talk about this weird ass show called Cop Craft that came out this past summer.Its kind of a blend of fantasy and crime drama which is something I don't mind.Hell, I was actually in favor of how fantasy is incorporated rather than just being something random in a weak excuse to make a magical world.But I'm not talking about Alderman rn, I'm talking about Cop Craft, a show where elves and humans live together but there are some tensions going on between races. So a cop named Kei Mataba has to team up with an elf girl called Exidilika or something andthey craft some cops I guess.
Now to describe the actual story in forms of quality, it's like a waterfall.The actual start of the show was very promising but about two detective cases in, the show falls and plummets into the ground around the latter middle half.The actual cases were very interesting but for a crime show it's very childish. The strongest cases in the show being in the beginning and then next thing ya know, you got Exidilika switching bodies with a cat and having to dumpster dive to find a fancy artifact.I know it's not a show's priority to be serious all the time, but in Cop Crafts case, you can tell just how much the creators thought about the story, which is barely at all, from the cliche as hell plot twists, laughibly incorporated themes of racisim and much more.Just because its dumb doesn't mean it's not fun, but when the show tries to be serious you can't really tell because of how dumb everything else is.
I will give some props to how the world is developed with hybrids of fantasy and modern America, it's not like stories that have elves and fairies and stuff in it because it looks supah kewl.The magic is incorporated in real world criminal items ,such as certain narcotics, and that element was actually something I rarely see in anime.
The animation is…. Off. It's not very good or very terrible, or even alright all the time.Its just weird as hell. It was done by Millepensee, who worked on a crapton of Teekyu and also did the really really really really really bad Berserk 2016 anime(*gags*). It does that thing I really hate where it spends almost all of its budget in the first episode and screws itself royally for the rest.Mainly for the first episode and sometimes throughout the rest, it looks very freaking good, albeit, a bit rough around the edges,but when the animation gets bad,
It
Gets
Horrid.
Your scale of quality can range from the awesome fight scene in episode one to really weird looking power-point sliding man that you see in the shows’ beginning narration.It looks like some shit from Adult Swim. There is a very raw quality about the animation that I kinda like, and what I also like is just how terrible it can get.Oh and this clusterfucc in quality doesn’t just apply to the animation.It kinda has that Black Clover disease in which the character designs I actually really like but they are kinda ruin due to them being animated very weirdly and disproportionate at many times.Some fight scenes are actually so weirdly animated that you don’t know what’s happening.Other times, there are just still frames that pop up and look like my computer crashed.Also, there are a plethora of animation and coloring mistakes and It’s just a sight to see.
The soundtrack is alright, the op’s good too, and the ED is also fine.tbh I don’t really think the music matters that much.Some of the foley was kinda weird and other times, the atmosphere was established well probably because the soundtrack is very short so there are scenes where there are just no music.
Kei Matoba is just your standard detective guy who lives a lonely detective life, he has a small amount of personality that is better than none.One thing that he does develop about his character is his discrimination against elves or fairies or whatever they are. Interestingly, he happens to be super passionate about cars and happens to have some great chemistry with Tilarna.Tilarna herself is a handful at first, but she happens to be a culmination of many tropes:tsundere fancy girl,quiet yet assassin, and the silly new girl,To be honest, she owns all of those tropes and doesn’t happen to be obnoxious in any singular one.She also has as much personality as Kei, not much, but she does become badass at times and that does even out her character.
All the other characters are just background noise, none are that well written.Most of the characters that work with Mataba at his agency DO have some personalities and they are a very diverse group of people with different races and sexual orientations, but surprise surprise, they barely matter to the plot.I really liked them, but it seemed like they were in their own anime and did not matter. One thing i do like is that how the show conveys the absurdity of politics with political leaders who are just super unlikable people with rule books, kinda like it has its own commentary that is so hamfisted that I might as well grab some pineapple slices..But yeah, in the end, these characters are just there to just be people and nothing else, I mean even one character does show emotion and literally dies, and the Mataba is pretty much like “sorry, but ur not a main character lol”
I know I should conclude, but I don’t know what to really say about this show, It’s one of those shows that just happens to be so messy that I ironically enjoy it, like Black Clover, but if you like good shows, well………
Overall-6
If Cop Craft does get a season two, I will fly to Japan and help animate it MYSELF
alexshoo
Cop Craft is a very disappointing show. It should have been good, even great. It has a cool premise, nice character designs, great chemistry between the leads. The opening scene of the first episode is great, and the beginning of the show was generally a fun time, even if wasn't that great to look at. However, the show went from 'not that great to look at' to downright laughable, especially in the last few episodes (the one after the recap was dreadful), and the visuals are easily the worst thing about the show. The story also feels like it got downgraded as the season went along. There wereplot threads and ideas that didn't go anywhere, there was the completely inconsequential two episode mini-arc that felt like cheap fanservice filler, and the finale is really anticlimactic (not to mention a full recap episode).
Overall I would say the first couple episodes are worth a watch, but don't bother with the rest of it unless you really like the characters or are really into the buddy cop thing.
Rian_Rahmat
I've watched this anime three times, and the likes for this anime are starting to drop. This anime is quite interesting with its own storyline, although there is no initial story before the two parties reconcile. I think this will be a story for the next season, I hope there is a continuation. The downside is the fight scenes, they are not well done. For example, never PAUSE this anime, then it will be clear that the picture will be strange. Lol. The opening and ending songs are very good, I think they are very harmonious with the story of this anime.
dnilos911
I must say that I resent quite how underrated this anime was in the season, but well a lot usually happens in this medium. Regarding Cop Craft I found it enjoyable from start to finish, it had an excellent police history with a very well set and varied city that reminded me a lot of Hellsalem's Lot of Kekkai Sensen, the protagonists have a unique connection and it is very easy to sympathize with them and its cause Although the animation was not perfect, it is very unfair that they discredit the anime for having a fall in the quality of animation in some chapters, however theseries was able to recover and give us a good adaptation.
Finally the OP & ED and OST are just great.
natra27
Months of waiting for what I would soon see become the king of mediocrity, Cop Craft aired and showed us how detrimental a poor budget can be. That being said, it is not terrible per se and should hover around a 7/10. If you're a sucker for cop/buddy stories, go ahead and watch but dont expect anything ground breaking. You are brought into San Teresa City and have an amazing first few episodes then we fall into mediocrity. Dependent on your perception of the characters, it will define the viewing expereince for you. The ending is honestly pretty cool. Pros: -Characterization for the main charactersand a select few are very well. Relationships are built well in dialogue. Without the characters, the show has nothing. Executed very well.
- Story flows well at times
- Distinctive soundtrack
Cons: Severely inconsistent animation but there are some decent scenes. If you were to watch throughout the series, there is no telling which episode would be animated sufficiently.
- 12 episodes is way too short for the underdeveloped antagonist/story.
- Some episodes were wasted.
The storytelling is a bit odd; a short stall in the story/progression midway is sufficient enough to make you believe that this is just a story of two cops, rather than definitively taking down an antagonist by its conclusion. Consequently, this makes the ending of the series appear to be rushed, etc.
Cop Craft is a solid watch for a buddy/cop story and never loses hold of that dynamic. The plot/characters are decently aired out just enough to make it watchable on an episodic basis. There are comedic moments. Cop Craft is a good show for any lull in a season but do not come in with high expectations.
EasternLord
I have never given a review out of all anime's I have watched in my life, but Cop craft resonated powerfully with me as a African American and that is due to the character of Tilarna Exedilica. The animation at times is choppy and the episode endings cliche, but that didn't stop me from getting a lot of enjoyment out of the series and I wish for a second season. Kei Matoba resonates powerfully with my in regards to my friends, being African American I have had many friend's families tell their kids they shouldn't associate with me because of my skin color, my race,but kei represents what a lot of my friends did for me growing up, they went against their own raising, families and their community to remain friends with me. Some have even put their lives on the line for me.
ShaIIot
ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴏᴘ ᴄʀᴀғᴛ ᴀɴɪᴍᴇ ɪs ᴀ 𝟷𝟸-ᴇᴘɪsᴏᴅᴇ ʙᴏʀᴇ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴘʀᴏɢʀᴇssɪᴠᴇʟʏ ɢᴇᴛs ᴡᴏʀsᴇ ᴀs ɪᴛ ᴄᴏɴᴛɪɴᴜᴇs. This show was a serious letdown for me. I thought that I'd found a diamond in the rough, but really, I found a boring, surface-level, waifu-baiting, white-bread anime. COP CRAFT is another anime that seriously harms its credibility with out-of-place fanservice. I don't know why, but it seems like literally everyone in Japan is in a constant state of pure-horniness. Like, it's obnoxious. In the last episode, for example, the stark contrast between the tones of the A-story and the B-story completely takes the viewers out of the story. It'ssad, because the story WAS actually there, it was just poorly executed. There are like, 3 episodes dedicated to meaningful plot development, the rest are just pure nothingness.
Another thing that this show had going for it was the realness of the world. From just the OP, which is actually pretty good, the viewer is immersed in a neo-classic buddy-cop adventure. If the show had played to its strongsuits, it would have actually been good. It didn't, though. Instead, it tried to key in on on how cute its female protagonist was. Yeah, i'll admit, when I first clicked on the COP CRAFT MAL page, it was because the waifu caught my eye, but that's not why I chose to watch. And given this show's ratings, I would imagine that i'm not the only one who feels this way.
The last strength of this anime is the male protagonist, Matoba. Matoba is relatable despite being in a completely unrelatable position. He's an experienced, overworked detective whose cynicism has been cultivated over a long career. Honestly, this is probably a trope in cop-related fiction, but I wouldn't know, since i'm fairly new to the genre.
Overall, COP CRAFT is another letdown. 5/10.
Eleiryn
Cop Craft is a victim of a REALLY bad time to release - compared to the beautifully animated Kimetsu no Yaiba, a few poorly animated scenes (episode 3 and 10 come to mind) really gave it a bad rap. But unlike the ultimately shallow and mediocre Kimetsu no Yaiba, Cop Craft actually has a soul, a story to tell with intentionally flawed characters that grow and evolve over the course of a story that has some false starts and a few lapses in writing, but overall does a surprisingly good job of what it set out to do. At its core, Cop Craft is - surprise!- a buddy cop anime. Stop me if you've heard this one before; two very different cops are forced to work together by a no-nonsense chief and have to deal with each other and their jobs while slowly growing to respect each other. In that regard, Cop Craft isn't really anything special. Where this show comes into its own, though, is the world and how it affects the characters - the crooked, jagged fusion of humanity and aliens in a malfunctioning blender of a city wracked by racial tension, grudging growth, and the two main characters at the center of it all.
Tilarna is probably the standout of the show, going from an initially somewhat one-dimensional character to a surprising amount of growth and depth by the end, reassessing many of her beliefs and showing her growth through her actions. It doesn't hurt that she has a number of very cute moments, but that's not the core of the show or her character; she's a VERY competent and lethal knight, and even during her cuter/sillier moments the show never forgets that.
Main dude falls a bit more into the usual tropes but is realized solidly as well, and much like Tilarna he grows significantly over time, in no small part due to her influence. The show explores a bit of what their relationship is turning into - is it romantic? platonic? father and daughter? - but doesn't force meaningless romance or shrink away from it; the characters themselves are unsure at times, it's an unexpectedly realistic approach to what a guy and a girl can be relationship wise other than just a couple. You really get the sense they don't know either.
Overall it's a fun, satisfying romp through a fantastic world with a mixture of light and dark moments. There are a few animation issues in certain episodes, but other fights actually look REALLY good, and the main focus is on the characters.
PyraXadon
Fantasy and Buddy Cop are not two genres that I thought would ever be put together, much less in an anime. But by god is this something that I'm glad exists. Story: Fifteen years ago, a large inter-dimensional gate appeared in the Pacific linking Earth to the fantastical world of Reto Semani, a place filled with fairies and magic. The city of San Teresa exists as the 'doorstep' to Earth where people from both sides exist in harmony. But underneath the beautiful veil of San Teresa lies a dark underbelly where crime and illegal trafficking exist in a dark cesspool. After losing his buddy of 4 yearson a case, Kei Matoba is joined by Tilarna Exedilica, a knight from Reto Semaani as his new partner.
So we've got a buddy cop scenario where the grumpy veteran clashes with a more bright-eyed partner who holds a different idea of justice and knowledge to her otherwise more experienced compatriot. The heart of Cop Craft lies primarily in the various magical cases that the duo comes in contact with, often times utilizing both of the characters' expertise in different ways as both magic and technology come head to head against criminals who employ a similar mixture of both. Every case in the show follows this same style of storytelling, usually putting in the extra effort to world build with each successive arc in order to paint a whole picture by the end of it.
Not only that, but towards the end of the series, the show gets surprisingly...political, which I guess makes sense when you consider the story's setup. Having Semarians being analogous to immigrants (because they are) puts gives the show a really grand final arc that truly questions the idea of justice in our world through the eyes of Tilarna as she learns how politicians work, and what it means to uphold a sense of justice in a world different to her own where 'good enough' is the best outcome that most can really hope for. (Jesus that's a dark message to send in an anime. Commentary much?)
While the content of the story proves to be one of Cop Craft's strongest points, the downside of that comes in the form of its pacing, which can be iffy at times. Due to the show sporting multiple stories that vary between one to four episodes to tell the whole story, the show ends up botching some of its delivery on several of its stories, even going so far as to create an entire tonal shift halfway through not just the show's run, but also in the middle of an episode. Some plot threads are also left open and not really touched again, which is a shame cause they at least sounded interesting to hear about.
But to make up for that, we have the show's brand of ragtag comedy which is honestly one of the more enjoyable parts of the show. Due to it being a buddy cop, many scenes involve having both Tilarna and Kei bicker between each other whether or not it'd be trivial matters or just a way to ease the tension after a difficult investigation to get clues or information. In addition to that, the show has a surprising amount of really good one-liners that just come out of left field. Having a side character go thirty straight seconds of just her talking about her Wikipedia search history? Where the fuck did that come from? It's ridiculous but also way more enjoyable than it has any right to be, and I love it.
Characters:
Tilarna and Kei are two characters that play a lot into the idea of 'opposites attract' due to how many traits of theirs oppose each other. Kei is an experienced veteran whose jaded sense of justice aligns with getting the perp no matter the means whereas Tilarna is a chivalrous knight that seeks out wrongdoers to bring them to justice. Kei is a human with a gun in contrast to Tilarna being a Semarian with a sword. Kei is male, Tilarna is female, you get the picture. It's hard to separate the two because well, 'buddy cop', but also because both their similar and conflicting viewpoints give different insights to the matter at hand. Eventually the two rub off each other as more and more cases get resolved which comes into play noticeably in a few scenes where their characters grow to be comfortable around each other and listen to each other's points instead of arguing. While I do have several complaints regarding topics like cars and the unnecessary romantic angle the show tries to do sometimes, they are overall a really fun and enjoyable pair to watch.
And given the amount of time the show puts a spotlight on the main duo, I was expecting the side cast to suffer severely because they're not named Kei or Tilarna. I was happily proven wrong because the sidecast, at least regarding those in the police department, are actually really good. Very often the series has the story go in the direction of following Kei and Tilarna's coworkers in trying to get information or just showing off their expertise. As a result, characters like Tony and the Chief get enough time to actually be characters involved in the plot, and others like Cammy and Jamie get time to show off why they're in the business in the first place. It's a refreshing thing to see these characters as involved as they are, made even better because they're practically in every episode.
Antagonists however are a mixed bag. In some cases, antagonists reflect real life equivalents (to an almost scary degree) whereas others are just there to pose as the threat of the week and are never seen from again. The only really noteworthy one is Zelada for just how much screentime he has in comparison to his antagonist counterparts, but even that is giving him a bit too much credit. They are however mostly Semanian in nature which helps to boast the angle the show is trying to push with the presentation of the show's last arc.
Aesthetics:
And now we get to the part where Cop Craft bears its most egregious traits. Produced by Millepensee, an animation studio whose most infamous work is the Berserk 2016 adaptation...yeah things aren't looking good now are they? Now admittedly the art isn't all that bad. The action is surprisingly fluid and the colors have this nice, whiter hue to it to make the art look a lot fluffier especially in regards to Tilarna's outfit. Animation is also fairly dynamic with a lovely little dance number in the OP that gives the show again, a nice bit of flair. Too bad it only exists in both the OP and Episode 1 exclusively.
In truth, the majority of the show's art and animation is subpar at best, bad 3-D modeling at worst. All of the vehicles are done in CG which while works, is VERY noticeable since there're a surprising amount of car chases, and the vehicles clash with the background. While I do like the show's color palette, character models and their typical movement aren't...really the best given how they're a lot of animations of one part of the body moving during close up shots instead of shifting weight around like a normal person. Distance shots look worse since characters are basically doodles by that point, and the show overuses closeups since a zoom-in on Tilarna's face means technically, there's a lot less to draw.
Fight scenes suffer the most from the lower budget since beyond the excellent movement in the first episode, everything else falls in the spectrum between that and literal slideshows where the camera pans from one side to the other on a still frame before transitioning to another still frame. The problem escalates when particle effects are clearly made from CG and the show becomes a little hard to watch as a result. Not wholly terrible, but the art is definitely a far cry from most better known studios.
Conversely the OP of all things is way too good for no reason, and I love it. Masayoshi Ooishi's "Rakuen Toshi" is just this overly fun and retro 80's sounding song that's boosted by its vibrant visuals (because so much of the budget went into it) and excessive use of jazzy brass to give it that massive party feel. Bar none one of the most memorable things this show has going for it and I just love how over the top and how beautifully outrageous it is. "Connected" by Mayu Yoshioka (or Tilarna's VA) is a more muted and serious counterpart to its OP that seems to resonate more with Tilarna's sense of justice and her pursuit to be on the side of good on the cases she works on. It's a good song, but it definitely pales in comparison to its more naturally fun counterpart.
Personal Enjoyment:
I threw Cop Craft in my list as this season's wild card cause I thought it looked interesting among other less important reasons (like Tilarna having an nice design and I genuinely thought she was a combat doll when I first saw her.) And honestly I'm blown away at how strangely good the story is more so than anything else. What makes Cop Craft unique and interesting to me is how the show is there to tell a story above everything else. The art was really a non-factor through most of it because at the end of the day, the story and its characters were really what was important, and I respect the show for that.
It paints this grim depiction on how scary change can be for a general populace when a drastically different and new culture is introduced while also maintaining an eccentric and charming air to it where lines like "Watch out for Wizards" have to be taken in full seriousness when put in context. It's amazing, and I love it. (Seriously, the one-liners in this show are fucking amazing.) Not only that, but Kei and Tilarna are just fun. They're a likable duo that drive the story instead of being guided by it, doing stupid shit like mixing alcohol with Habanero sauce or driving a car only to forget to turn on the parking break just to name a few of their antics.
The show definitely steps on its foot a bit with how uneven the length of its cases in addition to an awkward middle part with questionable takeaways in its middle section, but the show is still solid all around. I recommend it to anyone that just wants a genuinely good story to watch because despite how lacking and sometimes appalling the art might look at times, the story being as good as it is really came out of left field. It might not be for everyone, but the fact that it has something worth telling, and it sticks with it, is commendable in its own right without having to resort to fanservice or other common cashgrabs in order to pull in an overall larger audience.
Scriptcod
I'm going to be honest this show would be masterpiece... If it wasn't rushed but about that in a moment. Story is outstanding 10/10 Personally i would love to see more realistic stories like this. when i first checked this show and read summary i was quite thrown off But after first episode i fallen in trap of watching one episode after another without breaks. Story is told in awesome way but... ending is rushed this show should be told in 24 episodes or 16 at least. 12 seams not enough so ending got rushed but it was still great.Art is outstanding i fallen in love with it
Sound is even better! opening and ending are great to listen to.
Characters are really interesting they are filled with personalities and
are not hollow... In short stories the characters often are blank and easily exchanged BUT in this show its not the case!
Leave your socks on... now lets talk about
Enjoyment!
Like i said before i fallen in trap of watching one episode after another...
This show is great episodes are filled with plot... Unfortunately to rushed but that's my overall opinion
Now Overall
This show would be outstanding.
And you don't see show with story made in realistic way.
Because the show is rushed it loses 1 point
Its great! i highly recommend it.
9/10
oromashu
Premise: If you've ever seen any buddy cop stories, this one follows a similar beat. The two leads are Kei and Tilarna. The initial problem with the premise is the world-building. The world Tilarna comes from isn't explored and the basics are given at the beginning of random episodes about how it's a place of fairies and the like, but about that later. Tone: The story has a strange tone to it. The theme is easy to recognize. It's more or less about Tilarna dealing with racism. She gets no respect because she's a non-human and pretty much all of her kind are living in povertyor doing crime. Here's where the tone starts getting weird. It's about how accepting different races can lead to stronger unions, yet most of the villains in the story are non-human. So it sends a conflicting message. Granted, I wouldn't want all the villains to be human, I just think there needs to be a proper balance to get the message across.
Characters: Most of the cast are pretty average. Tilarna has her moments but on a regular basis the show has her do something amazing, then a few seconds later she's getting chastised for doing something amazing and she has to go through a lot of litigation for doing what she felt was right. Kei is pretty bland. He can be funny at times but it's rare and he's just boring to follow. They try to make Tilarna into his love-interest, but midway through they decide it's a brother-sister thing, only for it to shift gears back to love-interest and it doesn't go anywhere from there. The main villain is also dull as dirt. His weakness is like the lamest thing and he disappears from the plot for a good five episodes or so only to be defeated in equally lame fashion. The rest, Kei's ex, his partners at the station, boss, they're all pretty fun though not really explored much. Tony gets the most development but no one else really.
Story: The story is as cliche as it gets. It even begins that way by replacing Kei's partner with a loli in Tilarna. Very quickly they encounter the main villain, and, as I said earlier, he takes a break midway through. Which leaves filler for pretty much the rest of the story until he makes his return. And let me tell you, this filler is some of the worst you'll ever see. A lot this filler focuses on Tilarna being fan-service in some manner and tossing her into various outfits. They do cop stuff but it's only marginally important until the end when the villain comes back. Though I'll give it something, it has a nice message at the end.
Animation: Mediocre to bad. It's usually good near the beginning of an episode when Tilarna's about to do something amazing. Then afterward, it drops off drastically in quality. Often times there are just still images and the fights overall are pretty weak.
Villains: Aside from the main villain there are side villains. These guys are mostly forgettable. There was a vampire that was kinda cool but still was defeated pretty easily. Same goes for all the villains. They seem strong but just fold like paper in rain. There's no catharsis to their defeat. It's just business as usual until the credits roll.
World-Building: The biggest oversight of the anime. The world Tilarna comes from, as I've said, is barely explored. Aside from the opening exposition and a flashback, there's not much to it. The anime spends the majority of the story in a boring setting of any bubby cop movie/show you've ever seen except there are non-humans roaming about. There's a lot of racism, crime, sleaze, but it's ho-hum in a story like this. Sure they brought some elements from the other world, such as Tilarna's sword and a vague magic system which the anime gives a desperate gasp in its attempt to explain, but overall it's pretty weak.
Sound: Probably the best part because I enjoyed the OP song. The rest of the sounds throughout the anime didn't take me out of watching it so I'd say that's a plus. The ending song was decent.
Entertainment: Overall, the anime is alright. If you want an anime about cops, fan-service, fantasy, with light touches of magic Cop Craft might be for you. It's pretty mindless in a sense, but if you have nothing better to watch it should be a good time.
Twisted999
"You can't say that, that's racist!" Story-8/10 This show effortlessly makes you do what a lot of shows struggle with, smile. The story, though a bit underwhelming in the first 3-4 episodes, certainly picks up the slack with excellent dialog. The way each character talks to one another feels so natural and organic. I cannot express enough how important good dialog is in any show/movie, and to see it here made me stick with this series even when i had doubts and i'm so thankful for that. Dialog aside, the story really does have a lot to offer. This anime shines a mirror back on ourselves through theeyes of Tilarna. You see what amounts to a child learning the politics of Earth for the first time, and coming the grips with the way earthlings handle problems as opposed to her civilization (which we unfortunately never see directly). Sgt Matoba, her new partner, has to juggle solving crimes, keeping Tilarna on a leash, and teaching her the way the world works sometimes all at once, and it's hilarious.
Art-7/10
The art was solid in some places and questionable at others. There were a few times characters clipped through doors or steering wheels and maybe 1-2 fights had a lot of static images which were very underwhelming. That being said, there were also some beautiful fights scenes and the overall aesthetic of the show is very sleek and nice to look at.
Sound-7/10
I didn't pay much attention to the background music but from memory there wasn't a specific piece that caught my ear. I do feel that the music helped with immersion though, giving off a strong gritty underground crime like vibe.
Character- 9/10
I absolutely loved the characters in here. Although not a lot of character development was made, aside from Tilarna, these characters were so well made that I never found myself wanting them to change. These characters give off the feel that if you popped into any one of their lives at any moment they'd be doing something interesting.
Enjoyment-9/10
Like i said, this anime can make you smile so damn hard you forget that some poor guy was just brutally murdered 30 seconds beforehand. With the dialog being so fluid the comedy was bound to be effortless. Aside from the comedy aspect, watching a person learn and question Earth, our ideals, our practices, our customs, and seeing the way they react was very fun for me.
Overall- 8/10
If you need a decently funny buddy cop drama that tackles real world issues like racism, class division, terrorism, and more, this is the one for you.
