Keishichou Tokumu Bu Tokushu Kyouakuhan Taisaku Shitsu Dai Nana Ka: Tokunana – 01

OP Sequence

OP: 「Take On Fever」 by Oldcodex

「一は凶兆を, 七は幸運を」 (Ichi wa Kyouchuu o, Nana wa Kouun o)
“One Brings Bad Omens, Seven Brings Good…”

Or is it!? The first episode of Keishichou Tokumu Bu Tokushu Kyouakuhan Taisaku Shitsu Dai Nana Ka: Tokunana presents a unique interpretation of Tokyo where elves, dwarves, vampires, and humans dwell in unity. Nanatsuki Seiji (Shimono Hiro) navigates through society as a detective who found himself entrenched in a group known as Special 7, a Special Crime Investigation Unit who enlists the best of the best to take on the riskier jobs in this brave new world. But will they make the most of their setting and interesting cast of characters or stick within the standard crime drama format in telling this story?

From the first episode, it’s shaping up to steer towards the latter option. For all of the interesting fantasy elements that are added to the story, our first glimpse into the anime gives us very little of said elements. It could have done more to have us understand why its cool that you have a crime-fighting team comprised of several fantasy-based races. The few times we do see signs of characters exhibiting extraordinary feats are awesome as are some of the world-building details like vampires needing blood donations to survive, but it does, unfortunately, take a back-seat in favor of showing us how the Special 7 conducts their day-to-day heroics. There is some minor flair to the anime that helps set a nice, cool tone to the series such as the jazzy soundtrack and the sketch-like background filter, but it is window-dressing that doesn’t make itself as stylistically distinct from its contemporaries. And when you have crime dramas that do have a hook beyond the power duo of a young out-of-his-element rookie and the cocky seasoned pro, this show needed to start out strong by showing us just how having a diverse and powerful team gives them the edge above crime dramas with a better-defined identity.

That’s not to say that the anime doesn’t have potential to grow from here as Seiji’s integration into the Special 7 allows us to learn the ins-and-outs of what the team excels at on their own merits. Those who were able to contribute to helping Seiji break up the hostage situation were some of the more interesting members of the crew. The coolest of which is a vampire samurai named Shikisai Akane whose lightning-fast abilities make quick work of a gunman’s bullets. Bellamer Cinq is another neat character in the squad as her hacking skills came in handy when blowing up a part of the famed Rainbow Bridge to stop the runaway criminals from getting away. We didn’t get as much of Endou Rokusuke, but his sniping skills and overall sense of style were also very impressive. As far as mythical beings goes, vampires have the highest edge for at least giving us some action from Akane’s perspective, but other than hinting at Seiji’s inhuman ability to take/dodge a bullet, it would be nice to see future episodes build on how dwarves and elves operate within the universe as well as more details on the pros & cons of being a vampire out in the field. If Keishichou Tokumu Bu Tokushu Kyouakuhan Taisaku Shitsu Dai Nana Ka: Tokunana is able to come out of its shell to show us more of how its fantasy characters and influence are integrated into its story it will surely be fascinating to see more of how they pull off an urban fantasy crime drama.

ED Sequence

ED: 「One Wish」 by Screen Mode