Tabikurage Tantei Nikki (2022)

A found family can be so powerful.

Each episode features Sakamaki ("Mackey") and Kenta solving a new case together as Mackey's hidden past steadily catches up to them. For a mini series that started out lighthearted before dipping into darker elements, it does a good job of balancing humor with seriousness and gradually revealing every piece of information that is needed to understand the conclusion to the story.

The dynamic between the leads is adorable. Mackey is the more serious and level-headed one of the duo, determined to help others and complete a task no matter the legwork that goes into it, though his stoicism and practicality can sometimes blind him to what is directly in front of him. Kenta's more energetic and lax nature, preferring to take the quickest and most comfortable route to his destination, may make him seem more immature in comparison, but he is a much-needed ray of sunshine when he provides just the right touch of humanity to a case or digs up information that would have been difficult to acquire otherwise. Their individual strengths perfectly fill in for each other's personal weaknesses and the companionable familiarity they exude while bantering is so charming I couldn't help but smile.

While I'm not a huge fan of the "you have to return to your family" messaging in episode 2 because it doesn't really address the nuance of such situations, the sentiment was delivered with good intentions and it tied in surprisingly well with both of the main characters' personal backstories. I feel like that at least helps to apply the message to very specific circumstances, especially when put into context alongside such a significant found family narrative.

The soundtrack has an unexpected J-pop idol vibe to it, so I was pleasantly surprised that the main leads sing in an OP shot like a music video. For a project that was created so King Records could promote them and their song, this makes a lot of sense and does a fantastic job of showcasing their chemistry!

Overall, this series is a valuable nugget of stress relief that is definitely worth watching if you like a good mystery that doesn't keep you guessing too long.

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