First Impressions / Ryuugajou Nanana no Maizoukin

「地上1000mの《遺跡》」 (Chijyou 1000m no Iseki)
“The Ruins 1,000 Meters Above Ground”

You win some, you lose some. And in this case, Juugo and Tensai were smart enough to get to the pie, but not smart enough to eat it first. They were bested by Isshin who pretty much grabbed for the scepter first and left them stranded on a floating treasure chest. Well, I hate to say I told you so but even I’ll admit that that change of heart happened a lot faster than I anticipated. However, it keeps the show interesting and now Juugo should realize that no one on this island can be trusted… except Tensai, because she’s awesome.

Even Isshin knows that Tensai’s too clever for her own good; except when it comes to emotional intelligence. She’s not as savvy when it comes to reading people’s intentions and even interpreting her own feelings. She’s probably one of the more stereotypical characters out there, but somehow she still draws me in with her innocence and ignorance. I love her genuine interest to solve mysteries and how she actually believes that she is a master detective because everything so far, points to the fact that she is bright. However, she also comes across as a damsel in distress and I think it suits her because no one is perfect. While she excels at solving room puzzles, she lacks understanding in motives and social contact with people other than Watson Daruku. She’s also not scared to admit that she also has challenges and she does reach for help. To me – she’s the ideal strong but flawed female character and I know that this series is supposed to be about Nanana, but Tensai is just full of more development potential than a girl trapped in a room eating pudding.

Speaking of Nanana, it’s not that I don’t like her – it’s simply that I don’t really know who she is yet. Ultimately, it sounds like she’s the one that’s hidden all the treasures… but to what end? What does her collection signify to her or anyone else? Asides from the obvious (that they possess magical powers), as the audience, we don’t know why there are thieves trying to steal it and why Nanana’s hidden them in the first place. I fail to believe that it is “for fun“. And that makes me question her character as well because all we see is this pudding-fanatic that plays games all day, but doesn’t seem to care what happens with her discovered treasures. Isshin is clearly up to no good, but no one else seems to be taking this serious (except Tensai and Juugo). If Nanana is nonchalant about it as well, it really sets the tone for the show and it makes me feel like I shouldn’t care too much either. In this case, it makes Nanana into a much weaker character in my mind since she has no real impact on what happens and that’s alright with her.

As for the treasure room itself, it reminds me of a less extravagant Indiana Jones mystery because of the structure of the room that’s designed to stop intruders from getting to the treasure chest. I don’t know if this spider contraption was meant to kill you, but it definitely encourages one to want to solve it faster. Like last week, it’s not so much about the mystery itself, but more so about the fun in watching Tensai reveal her conclusions; and then testing them. I think the puzzles are intriguing to watch even though it lacks involvement from the audience because in the end, I just want to know what the collection pieces are for and what their significance is. Also, what do these thieves want from Juugo? What I love about Ryuugajou Nanana no Maizoukin so far is that nothing remains a mystery for long and I’ve been getting the answers that I seek. The pace is excellent as far as I’m concerned because it doesn’t linger on unnecessary scenes too long and it always gets back to the point. It’s definitely more like an adventure than a mystery right now, but I think that’s what keeps this series rolling.

Bottom Line – @RCCherrie: I knew he was evil…. -____-‘ and I’m finding Tensai more and more adorable =3 #nanana_tv

62 Comments

  1. Yes. I’m also liking Tensai more and more, but I feel that we haven’t gotten enough information about Nanana. She may be in the name of the series, but she acts more like an object than like a character. I really hope we get some development for her sooner or later, but for now I’ll consider Juugo and Tensai as the main characters.

    Kinni
    Reply

    1. Yep, I agree. Despite being the titular character, Nanana acts more of the McGuffin of the show, only in humanoid form. Once I realized that, I no longer expecting the usual character development(tm) hence enjoying the show more.

      On another note why do I suddenly remember Mokona … 🙂
      (both being some kind of “important mascot”, I guess)

      LGrey
      Reply

    2. I may be reading too much into it/giving a free pass, but it could be a ‘ghost thing’. Maybe her mentality is different because she’s dead and so her perspective and values are not the same as some one who is alive. Some strange quirk of being dead leaves her a shadow of her former self that just enjoys fun and pleasure to a nigh hedonistic extent. She seems perfectly fine as long as she can eat quality pudding and play games. So this treasure hunt could just be another game that she enjoys playing. Alternatively it could be a stipulation of that bauble around her neck. I’m beginning to suspect that that thing is keeping her bound to the physical world, but it probably has some fine print that goes with it. So far though, this show hasn’t given me enough reason to believe that most of what I said is within the scope of this show’s depth, unless it goes deeper in this direction later. I do believe that crystal ball necklace thing is keeping her spirit tied to the living, though.

      tl;dr – She’s probably vague and weird cuz of ghost reasons, but the show hasn’t proven itself that thoughtful in that regard as of yet. I also think her necklace is a treasure that keeps her bound to the living.

      The Walker
      Reply

  2. I really do want to see more of Nanana. She’s what drew me into the series, but bring trapped in that room leaves her feeling under-utilized.

    Point of interest. https://randomc.net/image/Ryuugajou%20Nanana%20no%20Maizoukin/Ryuugajou%20Nanana%20no%20Maizoukin%20-%2003%20-%20Large%2030.jpg

    Note the name on Juugo’s phone when he said he was calling the police. Matsuri is the name of the group of phantom thieves, which explains why they are the pair who show up. But what’s his connection to them?

    Wanderer
    Reply

    2. I really hope they at least explain what happened while Juugo was beaten by the phantom thief and if he told them anything, because that went by way too fast with no information. It’d be interesting if he was connected to them through the past or something, though I don’t think he’s working for them now.

      Aex
      Reply

  3. Agreed Cherr, both in that the pace is excellent – I’m more of an adventure guy than a mystery guy, so that suits me fine – and than Tensai is adorable. This is probably one of my top three shows of the season :3

    Stilts
    Reply

    1. This statement [re: top three show] coming from you shocks me very much, considering that this treasure hunt’s existence is only based on the fact that Nanana won’t tell Juugo where the treasure is, “Because it wouldn’t be fun,” in spite of the fact she wants to know who her killer is and the treasure would somehow help uncover that fact.

      I find that to be a little on the weak side, strikingly akin to the critical flaws you mentioned on your blog. In that case, Nanana could spare the characters an untold amount of grief, including some of her own, by helping them out by telling them where the treasure is.

      Maybe I’m just being overly logical here, but a simple ghost who forgot her past might have been a lot better than a ghost who knows how to solve all the problems, but won’t. I guess then you’d have to massively re-write everything then, which wouldn’t be fair to the author.

      But bottom line, I feel confident I can name three shows better than this, ergo I strongly believe you who happens to be much more adept at story analysis would be able to (Not that I’m saying you’re wrong to say so, clearly I’m missing something if you’re actually making such a statement).

      Of course, we’re all anime fans here, notorious for our subjective arguments… Then again, forgive me if I’m being unfairly stereotypical.

      J_the_Man
      Reply

      1. I think someone suggested that one of the treasure seekers may be Nanana’s killer, which may be the reason why she doesn’t tell anyone about the treasures, because even if the person she tells it too is completely trustworthy, the killer may be able to get the treasures by watching that person. It’s just a theory, but it shows that we shouldn’t accept Nanana’s explanations at face value.

        Kinni
        Reply

      2. @Kinni: if the killer is after the Nanana Collection and has the power to watch people, s/he is already watching Juugo just because he lives in Nanana’s room. That means that Nanana should be giving hints since it’ll make the killer come out faster. She doesn’t seem to care if anyone dies, since she’ll tell them where the dungeons are but won’t give them hints, and I can literally hear her say that it was their choice to go after the treasures and she never asked for help, so it isn’t her fault if someone gets hurt. This is true to an extent, but she is way too detached from all this for someone that really wants to know who killed her.

        IDK, she’s just way too flat of a character right now. They haven’t given us enough to care about, or even enough to think she might be capable of having hidden motives.

        Aex
        Reply

      3. A critical point in understanding Nanana’s character that I don’t think many people are really understanding: Nanana herself was a treasure-hunter. She didn’t do it because she wanted the treasures or because she wanted to be famous: she did it because racing through real ruins and challenging her reflexes and wits against real deathtraps was what she did for fun. That, for her, was the greatest enjoyment: the way to escape from boring everyday life.

        And it was for that same purpose that she built the island these kids are now on. That place wasn’t designed to hold schools, except maybe incidentally. It’s a giant treasure-hunt labyrinth, created so that everyone can experience the same sort of fun that she loved.

        Because of that she is never going to tell people how to find the treasures, because doing so would undermine the true point, the entire reason the island exists, one of her fundamental beliefs. The expectation is that anyone who is searching for the treasures is doing so for the same reason she did: because they love the adventure of overcoming the challenges that are put in their way. Anyone who isn’t hunting the treasures with that mindset is not meant to be hunting for them at all, and as such should not be there.

        Wanderer
        Reply

      4. @Wanderer: That’s a really good point, and it does make sense that that’s what she’s thinking. My problem with that mindset is that the actions that have changed the island since her death have made her mindset counterproductive. If she wants people to look for the treasures just for the fun of it, she needs to remove herself from the equation, because otherwise there’s always going to be pity and sympathy involved. Get the killer, let her pass on (if she actually is dead and not some weird astral projection of a girl in a magical coma), and then people can start enjoying the hunt again.

        Aex
        Reply

      5. @Aex

        That’s my thinking as well. If all of this was just about treasure hunting, then her existence in this world is pointless and we don’t really have a plot to begin with, because this is all one giant wild goose chase with no reward in the end. It would be more interesting if the journal had belonged to her and she had just left hints here and there about the treasure. Go all Indiana Jones on us. That would be a great sense of adventure!

        But if we have a purpose of some kind: unlocking the riddle of who murdered Nanana? Ok, then you’ve got something going there. Except, we have overly ambitious people running around trying to find the treasure for their own agendas on top of this, so it is indeed counter-productive to withhold all knowledge of the locations when you’re trying to conquer evil. Just tell them, beat all the evil dudes to the treasure, hoard ’em for safety and hunt down Nanana’s murderer with them. But this attitude of withholding information could potentially allow baddies to get a hold of the treasure and cause chaos themselves. It makes no sense.

        I really strongly feel Nanana’s presence in this show dilutes the story.

        J_the_Man
        Reply

      1. Because personal tastes differ? Not to mention those shows you mentioned have plenty of elements one can remark negatively on too, depending on what someone likes. No show is perfect. Hell, I personally don’t even like over half of the shows on your list.

        And Mekaku better than this, really? I fail to see how anyone can consider that show good. Opinions are funny like that!

        Dvalinn
        Reply

      2. That’s a little offensive because (like Dvalinn said) people’s opinions vary and you can’t go around saying that someone’s wrong or right for having different anime taste than you o_O That’s saying that people who think of Nanana as their top # shows don’t know “good anime” but that’s not right, they just prefer different genres.

        Cherrie
        Reply

  4. Agreed, the show caught my attention with the intriguing story of Nanana, but she’s fallen so…. flat (in expectation), i guess. I can’t help but feel a bit bored during most of her scenes even though I wish I could get to know her character more or just…something other than Randoya PUDDDINGGG!

    Anyway, I absolutely LOVED Tensai in this ep!! She’s insane when it comes to solving puzzles and definitely is living up to her “master detective” title. She’s just bursting with character development, and I find her completely adorable/lovable in every situation.

    Aqualicy
    Reply

  5. Juugo is literally a human punching bag in this series…………..at least he was rather useful here. The problem with Tensai is that she lacks good reaction time and athletic ability. I almost headbutted my cat when she was so slow to notice the walkway breaking apart the second time.

    Though i give her props for figuring out the puzzle using those close calls if Juugo was not there she would have surely perished. I think that’s what you could call her flaws and I actually don’t mind it that she has them.

    Because this actually makes Juugo useful. Since he is very athletic and has decent reflexes they make the perfect puzzle solving pair in a way. She figures out the puzzle and Juugo does all the tedious running and junk. I think if she was perfect in puzzle solving and safely navigating these areas she’d overshadow everyone else way to much.

    leatherhead333
    Reply

      1. It may happen. As far as ships go, Nanana hasn’t shown any particular interest. Juugo’s blushed around her a bit, but then he blushed after Tensai pointed out their situation in this episode too. I would say, at the moment, Tensai x Juugo has been shipped by the series more strongly than Nanana x Juugo, although I wouldn’t say either of them is very far along at this point.

        Wanderer
        Reply

  7. I think it’s the kind of story where while the heroine Nanana chan is supposed to be important, we’ll get to know more about every character first before Nanana chan herself, so I can see why she feels so bland now. If they pull it off right maybe she’ll be your favorite at the end. Then we’ll feel how it really sucks it’s only one cour and that it already ends when her story just begins. Maybe something like that gonna happen.
    Really looking forward to next week to see megane bishonen’s true intentions.

    Rockmanshii
    Reply

  8. This is now the episode where I stopped caring about Nanana. Tensai and Juugo are the main characters, she’s just window dressing that talks. I mean, what else are they going for with her? Unless the Nanana Rules of complete neutrality aren’t self-imposed they just make her a really apathetic character. After hearing that, I started to believe she knew Isshin was using her, but she just didn’t care enough to think “hey, maybe that’s a bad thing I should warn Juugo about”. It’s really hard to care about a character that doesn’t seem to care about anything besides having fun. Right now they could replace her with a sentient notebook and there wouldn’t be much change.

    Aside from that though, the rest of the episode was solid. I liked the spiderweb maze and the teamwork between Juugo and Tensai, plus what seems to be forming between them. I was also surprised that Isshin revealed his true colors so fast, which makes me think we’re in for a holier-than-thou “you can’t understand why I’m doing this” speech next time when he is revealed to have some “noble” purpose. Though if he isn’t trying to save a dying sister with Mr. Megabucks’s money, I don’t care. Even then, I hope Juugo still punches him in the face and they don’t just return to the status quo and act like he didn’t just leave them to die.

    Aex
    Reply

  9. Considering I just watched 3 episodes each of Ryuugajou and Kamisama no Memochou,
    I’m a bit undecided between which waifu to idolize:
    -a kawaii NEET detective who’s pro at computers,
    -or one with fast puzzle-solving and deduction skills but occasionally has a bit of a hard time getting her meanings across….
    What would do you guys think?

    Techim
    Reply

    1. Alice vs Tensai, huh? Hmmm… tough call, but one vote for Tensai just because I’m a sucker for the easy-going types as long as they appreciate the guy, which I think Tensai does.

      Aex
      Reply

  10. I have a feeling that the Apt Manager is the one that killed Nana.

    Tensai Reasoning!:

    1> if she an important person why does she need money? Why would she be in search of someone that could support her? That in itself is fishy. I can see her forcing people to room with Nanana to get the ghost to open up and then she get rid of the tenant.

    2> She has shady eyes, they are closed and I bet you anything when she open them in full force they can look even. Right now they are trying to threw us off by introducing the black hair girl but she always been straightforward and brutal.

    3> She dressed like a skank to get people guard down.

    So yeah my money is on the Apt Manager. She clearly show she wanted money and riches and Nanana probably denied her a bigger piece of the pie and hid those hidden treasure and that just pisses her off.

    Also she knew about the Adventure clubs and the Adventure club have proven to be absolute dicks so far from the President down to the Vice president.

    Duzz
    Reply

  11. Man, I love Tensai. She’s quickly rising in rank among my favourite characters of the season, competing with the likes of the Sora and Shiro duo, among others. I mean, she’s got a good head on her shoulders, you gotta admire her determination in achieving her dream and she’s not too proud to give credit where credit’s due (no ‘I didn’t ask for you help’ tsundere bullshit here). She may have the reflexes of a geriatric snail, but that’s what she’s got Juugo the Watson for (while Daruku serves as…eh…team mascot?). I like how the two of them complement each other too – Juugo never gets anywhere just chaerging into everything, after all (as the second episode proved). I hope they’ll remain a duo for the rest of the series.

    As for Nanana, rather than Juugo’s companion, she feels more like Mission Control. She’s a cipher (though she has her reasons for deliberately being one, presumably), here to drop a vague hint now and then back at the home base (his room) to get him going to the next adventure. As such, I think she’s less of an important character than she appeared to at first. She sets the plot in motion, but the real main characters, the active characters, are Juugo and Tensai. Or so I hope, anyway.

    Welp, now that Isshin and his yandere are evil after all, it seems to me that this treasure hunt will kind of have a race aspect to it as well. I can see an evil team forming to compete with them to get the treasures. The artifacts do seem kind of powerful, after all (especially that staff) so it’s no wonder thieves are after them (to gain loads of dosh/take over the world, presumably). Juugo and Tensai (and Daruku) versus the world (or island, anyway), bring it on!

    Dvalinn
    Reply

  12. Good episode. So far i’m satisfied with this anime.Just I thought tensai more suitable here to becoming main heroin. I really love her personality and how she was solving the cast really amazing with high speed definition and comprehension.
    I hope both tenaai and juugo will get more RomCom moment.

    YakouTora
    Reply

      1. RomCom here means is making more special moment for juugo x tensai and based on the genre it was romantic comedy. I dont need any kissing scene or more pervented event on this anime, but i hope it’ll be showing more cruel incident with good resolve and smart conclution. Surely need more tensai too :v

        YakouTora
        Reply

      1. I’d also like to add that her surname, 壱級, means “first-class” or “greatest”, so the entire name is “first-class calamity”. A pretty eye-catching name if you ask me.

        …Well, let’s just hope that it’s just a name and not foreshadowing for a tendency for terrible luck that Tensai has.

        NKNKN
        Reply

  14. I hope Isshin isn’t given a pass next week. what he did was pretty messed up. I like Tensai, but I wish they showed how she solved this particular puzzle instead of just saying she did and telling Isshin when to run, kinda like how Victorique from Gosick would take you step by step through it.

    and didn’t they say some of the treasure was hidden or reappeared after Nanana was murdered, so it wasn’t her doing it?

    completely crazy corner theory: someone already thought of this, but I don’t think Nanana is dead, and this is one elaborate treasure hunting game for new people on the island. Probably wrong, but that would be a lot more light hearted than they find her killer and she er… disappears.

    a box like Hippo
    Reply

  15. Tensai x Juugo huh? I actually didn’t see that coming so soon, but hey I’m not opposed to this. I almost feel like this show should’ve been called ‘Tensai: master detective adventures’ lol

    Jason Isenberg
    Reply

  17. Oh I’m liking this adventure Anime “Ikyuu Tensai to Maizoukin” already. It’s-

    Eh? It’s “Ryuugajou Nanana no Maizoukun”? Somehow I feel Nanana-chan’s not that important already…

    Anyways, nice show, and a good review Cherrie-san. Hope the show keeps the momentum going like this.

    Kaineng
    Reply

  18. this ep was an improvement over the first 2; some good stuff happened here in this ep and i have found myself warming up to the characters a bit. I know that the puzzles dont really invoke much interaction from the audience (although to my surprise i was able to solve the concept behind the puzzles from last week and this weeks ep before tensai did; so maybe there is some leeway given to the audience) but the sherlock/watson duo of tensai and juugo is starting to jive with me a bit. Like other ppl in the comments have already stated, nanana just seems like a plot piece at the moment and you know what, if she doesnt become anything more than that (though i would appreciate to get to know her character more) i will be perfectly fine with that so as long as they continue to bring more life to the Juugo/tensai duo, continue to build upon the plot in an interesting way, and create clever puzzles for the audience to enjoy watching the characters solve.

    sonicsenryaku
    Reply

  20. I think that the main point of the plot is the sense of adventure. Although there is indeed a mystery going on involved with Nanana’s collection, Nanana’s little monologue at episode 1 conveys what this treasure hunt also provides: the excitement and adrenaline of adventure. In fact, this anime feels refreshing due to how it delivers the adventurers like Juugo and Tensai, who then risk themselves to find treasure and take on the adventure with both curiosity and perseverance.

    Random Thought: ah the suspension bridge effect, lol

    Dualash
    Reply

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