Bishounen Tanteidan – 11

「 D坂の美少年 その 2」 (Dii-zaka no Bishounen Sono Ni)
“The Pretty Boy on D. Hill (Part 2)”

This week’s Bishounen Tanteidan continues Mayumi’s investigation into the culprit who hit Naganawa with a car to make sure she bows out of the race for Student Council President. As Michiru starts to chase down leads, however, it poses the question of whether it was an accident, or if there was some planning to install a president that opposed the status quo set by the current Student Council.

It was interesting to see how much of the episode was dedicated to trying to prove or disprove Michiru’s theory that the accident might not have happened. While it’s starting to look like Yokuya has a way of making sure he can stealthily hit people with cars, Michiru made a convincing case towards an overall conspiracy for those within Nagahiro’s cabinet to sway the future cabinet away from his influence.

Not to mention that, at the moment, Nagahiro has connections that could easily gain a ridiculous amount of supporters merely by association. His trip for Odoru’s endorsement was certainly the case for the amount of influence Nagahiro currently has to sway voters in his favor.

Although it was enough to get Mayumi in second place in current polls, Odoru himself has less flowery things to say about his old club. Odoru growing out of the Pretty Boy Detective Club is an interesting plot thread because of how it has Mayumi and Michiru question how much they’ll change by the time they make it out of high school. In Odoru’s case, he found himself swamped with enough work to advance to high school and train for entrance exams that he was disenchanted by the silliness that came from being Odoru the Storyteller.

It’s also important that Mayumi and Michiru are the two who wish to examine the growth Odoru made as he moved on to high school, and ask each other about how long one can really embrace youthfulness. Mayumi, being designated as the group’s scumbag, has an easier time divorcing herself from the club’s grandiose presentation, making it easier for her to accept growing out of playing detective.

Michiru also has this freedom as the group’s delinquent, but his point-of-view is neat because it puts Odoru’s experiences into perspective by recontextualizing his maturity as his opportunity to expand his worldview. From how Michiru saw the situation, Odoru likely believes he finally moved on from being a dull child wrapped up in the embarrassing things he used to do as a kid.

When you’re a part of something youthful, you might look at older folks like they lost their charm or wonderment, but they probably saw their younger selves as cringe-worthy and part of their maturity came from gaining a better fleshed-out view of the world. Ultimately, creativity or boyishness isn’t diminished by maturity so much as it evolves.

It’s interesting for Bishounen Tanteidan to explore because for all of the ways it celebrates expressing beauty through free-spirited excess, it’s also willing to show you the other side of the coin where growing old can change the way you think and the way you perceive your past self. For all of the fun I had growing up, there are many events or patterns of thought that I cringe at when I think back on them. It isn’t that I try to hide under the false air of maturity, but rather I have found ways to express myself in a way I can feel proud of as I continue to grow.