Why I Dropped 'Woodpecker's Detective's Office'

Woodpecker Detective's Office was a show that I was very intrigued by. Firstly, as a result of it being a detective narrative, and secondly, as a result of the era of Japan the narrative was taking place in. In fact, I thought that the opening of the first episode was incredibly strong and had my interest. However, this interest started to wane to the point that I decided to drop the show after six episodes.

I find that it is regrettable that I decided to drop the show because, from a visual aspect the show was quite beautiful to look at. It has a watercolour aesthetic that is comprised of a muted yet rich colour palate that makes looking at the frame both pleasing and relaxing. Another aspect that stands out is the fact that the outlines for the characters are drawn in a light blue as opposed to the traditional black. This gave the illusion that the characters fit into the world in a far more natural way that made them feel as if they were a part of the environment. The music was wonderful to listen to, especially the opening and the ending of the show.

The character designs are all great as they are all drawn in a distinctive manner that helps them all stand out on their own. What makes this even better is the fact that each of the characters all have their own unique personality which helps them be distinguishable that much more. At times the conversations between the characters are incredibly enjoyable, having me interested for long stretches of time as I watch and listen to a group of characters sit, drink tea and talk.

So far I have listed a fair amount of positives that in any other occasion would have me watching a show from the start till the end without much complaint. There are a number of aspects in the show within my various praise that makes the show frustrating for me to watch.

The primary reasons why I find the show frustrating, are the two leads. The main lead is someone that has very little character development and progression. This is true for the supporting lead as well. These in themselves are not barriers for me to enjoy a show, what is a barrier is the fact that I find the main lead to be both uninteresting and frustrating to watch due to the way he behaves and treats others around him much of the time he's on screen. The supporting lead is an enabler that is as goodhearted and interesting as a piece of see through plastic. This is unfortunate as the rest of the cast are very interesting to follow. Listening to them talk about theories, art, poetry and love is fantastic while we as the audience are left to follow the toxic relationship of the two leads.

Secondly, is the pace at which the narrative progresses. In the first episode we are shown that this series is a flashback to what eventually leads to the circumstances of the characters. However, the pace at which events occur are so slow a turtle would ask the plot to hurry up. When we are reaching the climax of an arc however, we do see the narrative move at the blistering pace of a tortoise. Combined with the two uninteresting and, at times, frustrating lead characters makes it a chore despite the polish of the show.

Finally, and this is probably the most important, is that the cases that the leads work on, or as is more usually the case stumbled upon, are not interesting. We are given the hint that there is an overarching culprit, though we spend so little time on this that you forget they haven't even solved some of the cases we have been introduced to, but have simply moved on.

This was a show that, despite its acute technical proficiency, and the occasional interest it manages to provoke in me, I found incredibly frustrating to watch, and as such have decided to drop it from my watch list.