Yuukoku no Moriarty

Here it is! My favorite anime of 2020. It's been a rough year, but we finally got a genuinely good anime that's not Interspecies Reviewers! This is something I can actually recommend to my offline friends and they won't just laugh awkwardly and say, "Um...Really dude?". Moriarty the Patriot is both a surprisingly faithful Sherlock Holmes adaptation and puts a new spin on familiar characters at the same time. Sherlock Holmes and Watson besides looking weirdly bishounen act exactly like they do in the books. A lot of dialogue is lifted directly from the source stories. All the minor supporting cast from Ms. Hudson, Lestrade, the Baker Stree Irregulars, are all portrayed very accurately. As you could guess from the title, the character that they changed the most is Professor James Moriarty. In this series he is still a cold, calculating, master criminal. He's still a math professor by day who moonlights as a criminal consultant that orchestrates crimes from behind the scenes. However, his motivations are different. Moriarty grew up homeless and starving with a sick younger brother he had to care for. He holds a deep anger and resentment towards the British aristocracy and especially those that believe themselves above the law due to their social status. Moriarty wishes to help the poor and downtrodden gain revenge on nobles that have deeply wronged them but can't be punished because they own the courts. Moriarty's ultimate goal is to bring about radical, revolutionary change that will dismantle the strict caste system of Victorian England. So basically this is an anime that combines the cat and mouse games of Death Note with the class struggle of Rose of Versailles, topped off with a generous helping of EDGE. This is a pretty damn violent and brutal anime, although it calms down a little after the first 4 episodes. At one point, Moriarty convinces a rich kid to murder his snobby little brother in cold blood, then kill his parents for being assholes towards the servants. In the beginning portion, Moriarty got to the brink of going full Elfen Lied, but the show wisely backed off a bit. I'm glad the director or whoever read the room and realized it's not 2004. I'm also glad that the show remembered that Moriarty is still the villain despite ultimately good motives and also refrained from demonizing Holmes and Watson to try make us cheer for Moriarty easier. People will quickly compare this version of Moriarty to Light Yagami, but I will actually go on record saying this Moriarty is vastly superior to his bishounen prototype Light. For one thing, Moriarty genuinely cares about his younger brother and isn't purely a selfish, evil asshole with a God complex. It also helps that Moriarty's worldview and goals make a LOT more sense than Light's. Let's look at 1880s England when this story takes place. According to historians, over 25% of the population lived in dire poverty and this percentage was even higher in London. Over half the population was hungry and didn't have enough food to eat. The wealthy benefited from the blatantly exploitative East India Trading Company and British South Africa Company, but how much of this wealth trickled down to the average Briton? Not enough. From 1873 to 1896, Great Britain suffered from a 23 year Great Depression! Unemployment and crime were absolutely rampant. The wealthy lived in 3 story, 100 room manors in the countryside while the majority lived in squalid apartments dying of cholera and tuberculosis. If those 2 didn't kill you, the air pollution would certainly finish you off. There is a reason that Charles Dickens became the national author and voice of the people during this time. For the majority, living in England REALLY sucked in the 1800s. Moriarty's anger at this societal injustice makes perfect sense in context. Was he justified in murdering a small child who was only trying to copy his snooty mother? Of course not! James Moriarty is not a nice man. However, he's an interesting and compelling villain. Now let's look at our boy Light. It's 2000s Japan and crime has never been lower. Japan is one of the most peaceful countries in the world. Wealth per capita isn't quite at America's level, but Japan is a genuinely great place to live. Light's crusade to establish a paradise by killing bad people makes very little sense. Even Moriarty realizes that just killing a few bad people won't fix England. Moriarty wants to expose the crimes these nobles committed after the police investigate the deaths and hope these exposed crimes lead to a social revolution among British voters. Light is an idiot's idea of a genius. Nobody with an IQ over 100 would ever believe that a magic book could solve the world's problems by killing a select few bad people. Let's look at a country that actually has problems such as Afghanistan. 20 percent of the people know how to read and only 5 percent can read an international language like English. Maybe 1 percent have computer savvy and can code. Overpopulation is putting immense strain on aging infrastructure. Corruption is a societal wide problem at every level. The leading job is making opium and having to grease the palms of violent warlords who want a large cut of your opium profits. Religious extremism has brewed to insane levels. Even if religion was removed entirely, the country's largest ethnic group, the Pashtun, want independence to establish their own state. They utterly despise every other ethnic group in the country, to the point that the majority are very happy to support the Taliban so long as a Pashtun state will result. If you think Afghanistan could be made a paradise by killing 5 people, 50 people, 500 people, or even 5,000 people then you're a complete idiot. So in summary, Moriarty is a believable and interesting villain, unlike Light. The animation is done by Production I.G. who also made Vinland Saga, my favorite anime from last year. Those guys are on a role! The animation and character art are honestly pretty damn great! I never found the CG distracting and most of the time I never even noticed it at all. It's depressingly quite rare when I can say that about an anime made in the last 5 years! The OP is cheesy as hell, but the soundtrack largely does its job. It's not a standout, amazing OST but it also never distracts the audience away from the action. It's perfectly serviceable. The series direction was handled by Kazuya Nomura, whom I previously have praised for his work on "Run with the Wind" just last year. This guy is a solid director and I will be looking forward to his future projects including of course the Moriarty sequel! Overall, this is a really fun anime! If you're big fan of Sherlock Holmes, you absolutely can't afford to miss this one. Even if you don't like Sherlock Holmes, I would still probably check it out. I was very worried after the first few episodes. I thought this series was going to land right on its neck, but it surprised me and absolutely stuck the landing! Nearly everything about this series was well executed in addition to being highly amusing each and every week for the last 11 weeks! Anime of the Year. Check it out!

“I am profoundly disappointed in you” - H. Watson * CONTAIN SPOILERS * (How you analyze something without giving some spoilers?) Hello anime fans of all around the globe, what a terrible year this was, I’m just impressed of how everything just went worst and worst and worst. But this is not the time to shit on how this year was a disappointment, is time to say how Yuukoku no Moriarty was a disappointment. First things first, this is NOT the first time someone’s re-imagined Moriarty as a hero (or more commonly, an antihero). Michael Kurland’s Professor Moriarty series of books comes to mind in the prose arena. For those who like a historical background, anime takes place in the late 19th century during the Victorian era, a time when parliamentarism provided an approximation between the social strata. Even so, the concentration of goods in the hands of a few, resulting in the oppression of workers. In this way, the anime deals with the huge economic and social inequality of English society, and that is where our protagonist, KIRA, I mean, Moriarty, comes in. Responsible for combating the injustices suffered by the "poor" while passing for the second son of an aristocratic family. The first thing that strikes me is the anime's Moriarty compared to Doyle's Sherlock. The big difference between the two is due to the way they want to achieve their goals, Moriarty as said several times in the anime, will use whatever means are necessary (less to kill others himself, because he is a gentleman) while Sherlock despite having the same ideals, seeks justice "fairly". This difference could have been much more explored and valued especially after episode 9. This is the second review I make for this anime, the first one, I had only watched the first 5 episodes, and until episode 8, it’s go the same way, Moriarty is fucking GOD and do the most brilliant crimes (without get his hands dirty), no one can resolve it and That’s it, The End, that’s Moriarty. For me that’s the first big problem with this, Sherlock just took to much time to make an appearance, and the cases that we should involve the telespectador, started to get boring, the same and the same thing over and over again, yes they change somethings but that’s it. Episode 8 starts, everything changed, Sherlock gave this show everything, yes his is intelligent as Moriarty, but he’s a far better character than everyone in the show. Moriarty plays like the intelligent, cold blood and manipulator character (think everyone is just tired of this type of “person”), In contrast, Sherlock is extrovert and comic, in other words, his a human. Unfortunately, Sherlock was not enough to save this broken ship, a perfect example is the last case, how Moriarty “find the culprit” is fucking stupid. I will continuing to follow the series with the second season and maybe give the manga a chance, but this first season is like Watson said “I am profoundly disappointed in you”, if you really want to get into Sherlock universe just read Doyle books, you will be impressed by the differences. This is quote, Another bad adaptation featuring the Sherlock universe, unquote.

Anyone who is familiar with mystery and detective stories probably heard of the name ‘Sherlock Holmes’. However, how many are familiar with his future nemesis, William James Moriarty. An anti-hero. A mischievous mastermind. A cunning strategist. A living psychological weapon. Those are just a few ways to describe such a person. Welcome to a world where crime, corruption, and class system dominates the society. Watching Yuukoku no Moriarty feels like an old school mystery thriller with the good and bad folks. In their society, what separates from those that are drunk with power and those who seek to make the world a better place? It’s a tough question as this show tests the integrity of a complex society in this 19th century. But make no mistake, when I first started watching this show, I already had a checklist of anticipated items on my mind. Among those includes the mystery and suspense as well as the character study of the main cast, particular Moriarty. His character profile is complex but one that we must understand him to get the best experience from this show. A show like this sets his character up as not a heroic protagonist but as an anti-hero. Throughout the story, we see his cunning mind at work when engineering scenarios to disrupt Great Britain’s class system. Taking place in this 19th century timeline, their land is dominated by nobles. Moriarty’s main purpose in life is to destroy such a system and seek to replace it with one that is justice. It all sounds complex and believe me, this show is not one that’s easily recommendable. To understand Moriarty, you have to dissect his actions and understand his origins. Luckily, early episodes provides details about his family origins and his relationship with Albert and Louis. It’s an important trademark as the three individuals are intertwined in the story. From episode 2, we learn the grim details and identity of William. Watch it for yourself and realize that William’s role in the story is more than just rebuilding society. It’s about showing the world can change even if means resorting to the darker experimentations and underworld activities to accomplish it. And that’s the type of person William is. He would take any risk and involve any individual to accomplish his goal to make an equal society. He walks the path of not righteousness but one that is ruthless with consequences every step along the way. That is William James Moriarty. Despite some of the controversial elements of the show, it’s actually not a complex story once you take a dive into its themes. Storytelling is sold with each arc consisting of cases and the machinations of the main characters’ actions. At the same time, we are exposed to the timeline of this era and realize how corrupt its class system really is. Nobility is a far cry from the meaning of justice and those who seek it will understand the immense difficult of challenging the system. However, we are talking about William James Moriarty here, the most infamous nemesis of the great Sherlock Holmes himself. But is this a character driven story or one filled with a desire to show us the world of the 19th century and its corruption in England? Watching every episode told me it’s a crime thriller and showing the darker side of humanity. A show like this is geared towards those who wants to learn more its story than just what’s shown on the surface. With every case, there’s the hidden truths and secrets. As we go through these cases, we learn more about the characters. There’s no room for foolish humor as the anime maintains a suspenseful and thrilling atmosphere. To be quite honest, Sherlock Holmes and William Moriarty exposes everything about human personalities. Humans are among the most complex creatures on the planet and for this anime, it shows us why. With such a sensational premise, studio Production I.G. wanted to portray the show for its thrilling mood. Capturing such world based on a real life setting isn’t easy but truth to be told, it looks and feels just right. Indeed, Great Britain feels alive with the lavish architectures, aristocratic style clothing, and overall, corrupt culture. Watching this show gave me the impression that the animators and producers did extensive research. Character designs also lives and breathes the style of a crime mystery. In particular, William, Albert, and Louis stands out above crowds with their trademark hair and masking their true personalities. There’s also room for violence in the show as some crimes can be quite gruesome. Make no mistake, this anime may not be a gorefest but it isn’t a walk in the park either. Giving this show a chance will depend on if you feel like you’re the target audience. As a fan of crime fiction and mystery thrillers, I couldn’t be more excited when I heard about the anime adaptation news. This is also just the first half as the show will return in April 2021 for its second run. From what we’ve experienced from these 11 episodes, it’s safe to say that we will have at least one intriguing crime mystery thriller to talk about next year.

4/10 Very shallow show. Fanfiction? More like a bleak shadow of the original... Imagine Sherlock Holmes's original series but adapted for kids. This show is exactly this, a really dumbed down version so that even 5yo can get the point. Story: 3/10 What you see on the screen is exactly what will happen, there is no mystery or any sort of guesswork that you need to do. Too predictable, mysteries are solved effortlessly, the main characters are too powerful for the challenges they face. I got a feeling that the original creator of the manga misinterpreted the original work (hope they actually read it) and no one fixed the deficiencies during the production... Art: 8/10 The art and animation are of good quality. Lots of detailed backgrounds, textures, character design is fine too. You can tell the show was funded well, but that's the sad part. There are great story-driven shows out there that could not afford such excellent visuals, but somehow this garbage got them. Sound: 8/10 Music in the opening/ending is ok. Throughout the show, the sound engineer(s) appropriately used environmental sounds to enhance the action. Character: 2/10 Very flat, non developing characters, main traits taken from original Conan Doyle story, but mangafied a bit. Moriarty is a cheap version of Kira from Death Note. Sherlock, well, nothing outstanding. Enjoyment: 4/10 Overall: 4/10 Please don't get your hopes up, I don't know why this shown has almost 8 score right now. Perhaps, most people rated when the first episode came out. If you haven't read the original Sherlock Holmes, I highly recommend it, unlike this show.

Time and time again Sherlock Holmes has been re-imagined, re-invented, modernised and so on. But often times, when set in the particular historical period the original novel is set, people forget the effects of the time period small intricacies. (as well as read and pay attention to the source material, but then again Sherlock name sells, seen by how much people venerate this anime lol) Moriarty is a incredibly interesting character in the novels, however he was not given a lot of focus. Here the anime had a chance to explore his character and...well choose to play the "Noble bad, poor good" card as his motivation. Which frankly for a character such as Moriarty is lacking(as in not strong enough for him to trouble himself). He's a genius like Sherlock, so he must have an even stronger motivation to push him to be the 'Napoleon of Crime'. Even if he did want to change the situation of the lower classes, crime is the least favourable thing, as often it hurts more those of which that do not have the means to defend themselves. The characters look great in the show, I do like their design but they lack strong motivators to follow Moriarty so blindly. The villains are often so dumb and easy to control that Moriarty is just a genius because he is surrounded by idiots. They butchered Sherlock's character too, I won't get into detail but it's worth seeing (he looks good but meh much too easily played by Moriarty). Fandom for this is often only simping for the looks of the show rather than the content, people aren't thinking too much about how some of the 'logic' is often very questionable. P.S. On Ep 8 - Police constables hats have Queen Elizabeth II's initials not Victoria's (and that's priceless aha) I've watched and found it a very ok show, definitely not the best of the best but good when there wasn't anything else too thrilling to watch.

It was a fun mystery/drama that managed to be rather light hearted despite its darker subject matter. Moriarty is a kind of Robin Hood character except instead of stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, he helps the poor murder the rich; often in ever more increasingly elaborate ways. It tries to tackle some interesting moral questions, but in my opinion doesn't delve very deep into them and thus is kind of shallow. "Rich people are terrible, the world would be better without them, so to bring about that better world let's kill them". Additionally, each "villain" is comically villainous to the point of seeming to lack any humanity or redeeming qualities, thus making it easy for the audience to sympathize with Moriarty's views without question. Holmes is the only one we really get to see grappling with the morality around killing someone, but even that isn't given much serious attention. Additionally I felt some of the more "anime-esque" additions kind of took away from the "real world" settings they were placed in. i.e. characters leaping onto and off of multi-story buildings, some of the hand to hand combat techniques, wearing cloaks whenever engaging in shady business, etc. Overall it was an enjoyable watch, nice to look at, rocking music for both the opening and ending, and had interesting enough stories to keep my attention, but it could have done more with its premise and wasn't spectacular, thought provoking, or particularly memorable.

Even when you think that there’s nothing worth it during a season, you find animes like Yuukoku no Moriarty to contradict you. Class differences. A concept that is old but that does not stop being an instaured matter nowadays; less harsher today, but still present. Despite this idea is a classic one, I really enjoy watching this controversial topic, and even more when is well managed. And what I like even more about Yuukoku no Moriarty is the way the main characters are not politically correct. They are not the perfect elite guys that sow justice and that fight for the poverty’s rights. No, they take justice by hand in order to change the corrupt world. That premise isn’t that original either, is it? That doesn’t matter, because I think is well handled in this episodic anime that is quite catchy and that gives it a profound view. As I was saying, the topic that I mentioned, even if in the first episode is not displayed as such, is always there. The series starts with William Moriarty, the protagonist, living a rich life and behaving as some sort of Sherlock Holmes (I know, he’s his enemy, but that’s your first thought when you see this high class guy that, by reading a newspaper, can develop a serial killer’s case in the confort of this mansion). Conforming it advances, he investigates and, of course, effortless, he gets to a conclusion. And his only response to his resaults is to kidnap the guilty and to let the victim father’s take revenge. When I first watched this episode I thought it was going to be an anime with no depth nor development, just with the concept of this show being a serie of individual cases for each episode, but no, William becomes a crime counselor. and the next episodes give it the depth it deserved, decorating it with a pretty interesting background for the main cast, and a well managed detailed one, because it doesn’t just focus on William but also his two brothers’ ideals and surroundings; not perfect, but very very decent and gives the show other nuances. Some people can say this bg was longer than neccessary, but I personally loved that. The world has, in my opinion, an excellent construction, because it’s what they focus the most. I mean, it is not like every shounen where you need an almost entirely new world and its scopes to clarify, since it’s England, but the context is very well settled. The world is rotten and so are the rich people, yes, we know, but I felt it very crude and realistic. And also, relatable. Is according to the epoch it takes place. Currently, in real life, a lot of situations shown in the anime, of course, doesn’t happen like that, but the escence and the perspective of the class gap is clear and adequate adapted. Retaking what I said earlier, it doesn’t matter that this is an episodic anime, because everything is carefully connected and, as it advances, the cases of each episode go more cruel, violent and realistic, and you get it clear: the important thing is not the case itself, but its impact and how the main concept of the breach is being pulished episode by episode, sometimes in a subtle way, and sometimes it hits you in the face. The first case is a little bit exaggerated, consisting in a morbid man that chased after his servant’s children in order to torture them, just for fun, so my first impression was “this is just supposed to be a gore anime?”, but the air suddenly changed with the following cases, going from a woman who had his son dead because no doctor would attend him since they were poor, to a man who was separated from the woman he was in love because of social stratum. Yuukoku no Moriarty demonstrates then that can handle a very dark atmosphere and a tragic sad one at the same time. William Moriarty is actually likeable. Math teacher by day and a criminal by night, he is a leader by nature, charismatic and humble. Is a smartass with an IQ of 3000, the typical main character that never looses an argument or a lead. However, what I really appreciate of him is how determined he is and how his ideals take a lot of place since the beginning, showing a man with a debatable moral that, without a Death Note, is resolute to construct a new world with no evil rich, giving the least benefited people the opportunity to accompany him with a steady hand, at the same time evaluating them and testing at what point are they going to go to achieve their vengeances or to actually change their situations. As I said earlier, this is not something new and I’m not saying he IS A HERO, I just state that, in my opinion, his ideology is clear and according to what he has shown. It’s like viewing the story from the villain’s point of view. That’s kinda interesting as well. Anyway, even though his brothers started as a strong presence by his side, as it progresses, they begin to be even more secondary than they already are, and when Sherlock Holmes makes his entrance, they just vanish like disposable characters. By the end of the show, I just saw them as William’s dogs and nothing more. On the other hand, we got the magnificent Sherlock Holmes. In my library I have a beautiful collection of Conan Doyle’s work, and I dare to say that I’m not a fan of Sherlock as a character himself, so when he first appeared I thought the show was going to decline, but it wasn’t the case. Even though I preferred the story told by Moriarty’s POV, the Sherlock that is shown in the anime is quite different from the literary one, since he’s more human and, in consequence, imperfect. I enjoyed that way of portraying him. Sherlock making mistakes, having moral messes, feeling defied by Moriarty, being a lazy, eccentric, frivolous man. That is good. Nevertheless, what’s even better about him is how they work on his rivalry with Moriarty, making every encounter between them something really bright and subtly tense. William likes to test him, and Sherlock respects him a lot, suspecting him since the first moment he witnessed a crime William masterminded. By the end of the anime, the real chess begins. Speaking of animation, I can’t say much. Is pretty decent and the character’s design is also good. It’s a Production Ig’s work, so I don’t have much to claim about it. It was visually pleasurable to me; although, some times there were moments when I though the facial expressions didn’t make justice to the thrilling scene. However, something I didn’t like was the sound. Personally, I thought the OST wasn’t suitable for the story. In another kind of series this could have been interesting (Thinking, idk, in Akudama Drive, for example), but in this one, I really felt out of place when an electro music appeared. I mean, I can’t see a carriage and then bang my head with that modern techno. Besides that, the voice actors did a decent job. Nothing I would recall, but it was fine. I had no faith on this since I didn’t like so much any of this season’s animes, but it turned out to be greater than what I was expecting. Not the best you’re gonna see, but certainly worth the shot. Personally, I am looking forward to seeing the second season.

If there's one thing I dislike the most in fiction it is when something pretends to be much deeper than it actually is. Moriarty the Patriot is about vigilante justice cleansing the streets of Britain (hence the patriotism) of those filthy nobles who abuse the lower class. The problem is that its criticism of the classism in the Victorian era is extremely shallow. It's very skin deep the way it just says nobles are bad and the poor are good without any sense of nuance or examining how this system came to be, how it stays in place, or how precisely it works---and certainly not the way to go about effectively dismantling it. Any criticism of the class system boils down to "it's bad because they exploit people" and the conclusion drawn is to kill people who do that. Obviously murder is wrong and running around killing nobles is not going to abolish the nobility. It simply does not work that way. You and I both know this. I don't think Moriarty the Patriot knows this, though. Okay, I'm being a bit unfair here. I doubt the author of the manga actually supports murder, and I can see the argument that we aren't supposed to agree with Moriarty's serial killing because he is a villain protagonist. However, with his character being so clearly designed to be ogled by the women in the audience and the way his core values are propped up as correct, it's difficult to tell if I am actually supposed to disagree with the way he executes these values. I love a good villain protagonist, but if their reasoning and way of thinking isn't complicated and nuanced, nor are they looked down upon by the narrative for the reasons they are wrong, then what's the point? Also, for being a cat-and-mouse detective game, the rival character isn't introduced until episode six. There are actually 24 episodes in season one total, but I still find to be much too late. Someone can drop this due to the three episode rule without knowing this is meant to be about psychological warfare and the inherent eroticism of chasing another man. And the rival I am talking about is, of course, Sherlock Holmes, and as a literature student and long-time fan of the detective genre, I must say I really don't understand why this is an adaptation of Sherlock Holmes. While Holmes and his companions are true to form (if meant to be "new" and sexy, which I'm not a fan of), this incarnation of Moriarty (who is, again, the main character) has essentially nothing in common with his literary original. He feels more like an original character if anything. Remove the name Moriarty and you're unaware this is meant to retell stories from the Holmes canon until episode eight. The show is very well made and engaging to watch (I can't say I was ever bored) but it's the anime equivalent of a pastry: it's beautiful, well-made, and tasty, but it's just empty calories.

PLS READ IF WILLING TO WATCH THIS OR JUST TO CONSIDER MY REVIEW! ✓✓✓ (SLIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD) Firstly i just want to asseverate how much i adored this anime. It verily fulfilled my expectations and ended in a nice cliff-hanger. Now let us get to the details, EP 1 firmly opens up and gives us a worrying case where there might be a lunatic who is infatuated to torment little children, lurking around. This rumour spreads and we are introduced to the main characters, James Moriarty William and his brother. Right after his introduction, I immediately knew that Moriarty was someone of high status and prestige, and was also knowledgeable. This was evaluation was proven correct right after he took the murder case on and meticulously and systematically, revealed the psychopathic killer. But what particularly piqued my interest is how he dealt with the killer. Instead of throwing the killer into law's arms, he had different plans and let the victim deal with the killer at their own hands, and one can conclude what obviously happens next - The killer is killed. After the ending on ep 1 , i came up with an a reason as why Moriarty would do something so lenient. As the era is set in the 19th century, Noblemen were able to bail out of prison after paying a large sum of money. Moriarty must of realized just how sleazy and shoddy the law system is and therefore he removed it from the equation, so justice or even better, the bittersweet feeling of vengeance could be quenched, by the victim. This then leads to Moriarty becoming a private crime consultant to victims of unlawful crimes. Which leads on to one of the reasons for the thrill I enjoyed from this show and that is the logical deduction and decision making Moriarty carries out. It just builds up a nice tensity for each EP and is truly soothing to watch. For the first part of This show, it's pretty much Moriarty bringing justice to fallen victims of deaths caused by wrongful people, and each of the included episodes has its own mystery and climax, creating a bloody and riveting atmosphere. This kept me active and not fall victim to ennui. However for the second part, Perchance, Moriarty, fell sick of the undying cruelty towards the lower class and less prestigious people. Thus leading to his master plan to perfectly stage deaths caused by aristocrat's, and to provoke a feeling of loathing to the country's class system. Hopefully, leading to it being eradicated so that everyone is venerated. What's striking, is that a new character is revealed, which is Sherlock Holmes. Holmes is actually a likeable character, and has a sense of humour, tho he lacks the ability to make jokes. While on the other hand, Moriarty is a charismatic individual who gives you a cathartic experience every time you see him on screen, so trust me, you'll love him. Initially, Moriarty and his comrades perceived him as a threat to his master plan, but Moriarty took advantage of his intellect and highly admirable detective skills and used him as a puppet if you will. Essentially, he solves all the Aristocrat's crimes Moriarty s comes up with, to not only reveal the killer but to also reveal the twisted and wicked lives of these noblemen. In doing so to also persuade the general public to regard the victim just as guilty and nefarious as the killer. Finally, after all this rambling, let's talk about the last two episodes. These two last Episodes particularly exude a minuscule battle of wits between, Moriarty and Holmes. This only aroused due to Holmes, almost imploring, Moriarty to a challenge, to see who could solve the murder mystery which happened on the train they were travelling, first. This turned out to be a slightly challenging event for Moriarty due to Holmes aptitude for solving crime cases. However, Moriarty was able to predict pretty much every move, action and decision Holmes with carrying out. Enabling him to connive something that would guarantee victory. This was proven to be rewarding for Moriarty as it all went according to his plan, so at the denouement of solving the case, Holmes gathered up all potential people who might be guilty of the murder, and then a certain individual was picked out of the group and was proven guilty due to the same feet size and also having demonic bloodstains on his hands. Despite this, he pleaded that the stain came originally from his alleged cut on his palm. All hope was lost as Holmes couldn't conjecture any more evidence to incriminate him. Having said that, Moriarty enters the scene by clearly pointing out a bloodstain that was found on his classes, then, of course, you can guess what happened next, JUSTICE PREVAILED in the hands of Moriarty. This caused Holmes to realize that he is a worthy rival to himself. The Last EP then ends with an uncanny scene where two new characters are presented; The queen and another person with the name Holmes. The queen gives Holmes the right to do anything to get back some sort of confidential documentation that was purloined. This those arouse thoughts of whether this could be Holmes's brother and whether these documents are connected with Moriarty. Anyways, that sums up my Subjective review and your free to ask any questions regarding the review or the anime by commenting on my profile. Also to note, this is my first time ever going in detail and depth into an anime, so it may have some flaws. BTW, if you're considering to watch this, I insist you do so and to obviously watch it with no negative thoughts regarding the anime. So that you might enjoy it better. Before I forget to mention, if you're wondering how the visuals, voice acting and animations are, to simply put it, its incredible and definitely worthy of applause. Thank you and have a glorious day.

I went into this anime with high expectations, seeing as everyone was calling it the anime of 2020. I wanted to give this anime a 7 initially, but by the time I finished it, I felt like giving it a 5 would be too generous. So I settled for a 3. It’s like buying a jelly/cream filled donut and finding air in the middle instead. You can’t even feel ripped off because the outside is so greasy, it’d probably give you a stomachache anyways. The art was beautiful. I enjoyed the scenes aesthetically, and while there were moments where Moriarty looked like a big brain misshapen alien, it was still a beautifully drawn anime. Vaguely had Black Butler vibes to it. Moriarty as a character was cold and flat. Nothing remarkable about him. The way he and his merry band of homicidal fanatics behaved, it looked like they were copy/pasted into scenes to save time and you couldn’t even tell the difference. Moriarty was meant to be a charismatic villain, I think? But he wasn’t even that. Heck, he wasn’t even really cold. Just completely flat and devoid of emotion. Like a puppet speaking lines. When they introduced Sherlock, it wasn’t even a big deal. What’s sad is that for how little Sherlock was in it, he looked more like a villainous playboy/deadbeat than a misanthropic genius. It wasn’t so much ‘Moriarty the Patriot’, but ‘Moriarty and Sherlock: Trying to find a personality’. The one positive of this whole fiasco was the background music and sound effects. There is one scene in one of the episodes that was a glorious 10 or second ASMR clip. Plot? What plot? Moriarty’s whole shtick was ‘Death to the Bad Nobles’, but he, Louis and Albert were bad nobles too? But I guess it’s okay since they’re the ‘right kind’ of bad noble. Honestly, it wasn’t about three nobles sticking it to society, it was about Moriarty forcing people to murder on his behalf with his fanatical followers. Sherlock was just along for the ride of be the paper foil to the second half of the plot and give some appearance of a ‘personality’ and failing. Overall, I found this series to be a waste of time. Its only redeeming quality was the art and music. Moriarty the Patriot? More like Moriarty the Hypocrite and his murderous sycophants. P.S. Shout out to that final scene, you the real Black Butler ripoff MVP.

{From the perspective of someone who has never read the Holmes’ series} “Catch me if you can Mr. Holmes” - William James Moriarty Unless you’ve been asleep during English class as I have or just have been living under a rock (again like me), you’ve definitely heard of Sherlock Holmes. But in case you actually don’t know who or what Sherlock Holmes is, “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” is a collection of twelve short stories by Arthur Conan Doyle published in 1892 featuring the consulting detective Sherlock Holmes trying to correct social injustices by offering a new, fairer sense of justice, all written in the first-person narrative by Holmes’ counterpart Dr. Watson. These stories were very well received and are known today as the staple of great detective fiction. So what’s this anime series’ relation to the original Boyle's Sherlock Holmes? “Yuukoku no Moriarty,” or its English counterpart name “Moriarty the Patriot,” is nothing short of a love poem to the original Sherlock Holmes series. But instead of taking an approach we see in other Holmes-related media by adapting different stories from the original books or making non-canon stories around Holmes, it takes an original take on the Holmes franchise by adapting an already pre-existing story by making the villain, more specifically, William James Moriarty, the protagonist of the story. Professor William James Moriarty is a criminal mastermind behind many of the evil that happens in London. Unlike many other Sherlock Holmes villains, he goes undetected because he is never in direct contact with any of his accomplices. Holmes even acknowledges Moriarty as his equal, and to quote Holmes in the novels, “he is a genius, a philosopher, an abstract thinker. He has a brain of the first order. He sits motionless, like a spider in the center of its web, but that web has a thousand radiations, and he knows well every quiver of each of them.” Even though Conan Doyle, the author of the original Sherlock Holmes series, managed to create such a potentially great and compelling villain to the franchise, Moriarty was left underutilized and only appeared in two chapters of the canon. But even in those two chapters, Moriarty made his mark on the Holmes franchise by proving himself to be the most dangerous criminal Holmes has ever encountered for his intelligence and cunning nature that was rivaled by only Holmes himself. Under these circumstances, what does any avid Sherlock Holmes fan do with some writing and drawing talent? This anime series is the perfect answer to that question. The series starts by introducing us to corrupt London,where the rich stay on top while the poor get gutted and exploited by those same rich people, and our antihero protagonist William. We begin to see William’s cunning wit when he acts as a consultant to the poor and rich, even as a child. His soon-to-be brother, Albert James Moriarty, notices him and chooses for William to be his new adoptive brother after his father asked him to choose an adopted child to gain a better reputation within the first class (you see where this is going?) And because of this class divide, William gets mistreated by his new “family” members, but eventually gets his revenge by enlisting the help of, and essentially manipulating, the remaining Moriarty brothers to burn their house for the exploitation and mistreatment of the lower classes. Even though William did a terrible deed by murdering his adoptive family in cold blood, was his motivations wrong? That’s the question that’s brought up multiple times through the anime as he continues fighting for justice for the lower class soon, the main driving force for the climax of the two-cour series. Although I do not want to address anything more because this anime is truly spectacular and new watchers should go in without much of what goes on, Production I.G does a near-flawless job of both being a perfect complement to the original tale and a great stand alone series by outlying and highlighting James Moriarty’s origins, motivations, and builds up perfectly to the climax of the story we will get in the second season: the clash between the wits of Sherlock Holmes and James Moriarty. The production value also heightens the tension with the great action animation and moving shots along with unforgettable facial expressions; the theme colors of the backgrounds and characters blend in the dark red colors of cunning evil and the dark green glum of London, setting the story's tone perfectly. And as someone who has never experienced the Holmes series himself minus a few movies, I can confidently say this is all I've ever wanted from a series like this. I will be eagerly waiting for its continuation in the spring, hungry for more.

Now i will solve a crime, a crime named Yuukoku no Moriarty. Given the theme, its obvious that the author is a Sherlock Holmes fan itself, choosing the battle between Moriarty and Holmes, that Conan Doyle never wrote, because it was a pretext to stop writing about the great detective, but the idea was charming to the fans, and till now, because it is always appears in any modern atempt to write about Sherlock Holmes. Second, i presume that the author is not a good writers itself, choosing to take Moriarty point of view, in the thrive of originality. It wouldnt be a poor choice itself, but to make use sympathize with the villan, unable to give him a compelling personality, he tries to give Moriarty some complexity, by turning him in a anti-hero, a vigilante, a revolutionary. Thats why he fraud the sociology of Britain, inventing a class struggle that didnt exist, using an outdated economic history of England. The life post industrial revolution was better than before, although we still learn the oposite in school. 100 year of obsolete historiography. In a historic novel, this is fatal. Of course, i didnt expect this show to be Manzoni's "Promessi sposi", it was still possible to create a enjoyable story with this rotten basis, but to make the crimes of Moriarty less terrible and, to some extent, justified, he turns nobles in cynical psychos, ruining all the possibilities of moral dilemas and simplifying all. The author have fear that we stop reading or watching because Moriarty is rotten, but, make the society worse, we wouldnt have this problem. In Death Note, Raito is capable of murdering inocent people for his ideology. Moriarty no. Who draws more your attention? The show gets better when Sherlock appears and the mastermind battle begins, make the show slightly better. But tha last episode, making Sherlock incapable of seeing what he would is kind of desapointing. The diference between the twos would only rest in the means, and the last two episodes was to give us that impression. Despite the distortions of Sherlock's personality, he still has moral dilemas, he is a better character than Moriarty and is him that mantains this shipreck alive. The two episodes retelling "A Study in scarlet" were the best part of the show. Plus, the BL character design and ludicrous and exagerated reactions dont make the experience any better. This show could be great. Just watch Frtiz Lang's "Mabuse the gambler" and "The testament of Doctor Mabuse" to know how this show could have been if the theme, Moriarty vs Holmes, was done right. This show is just a bad maniqueist fanfic. The only mistery that i couldnt solve is how so much people enjoyed it to the point of getting an 7.9 in MAL.

The show is just some mid tier revenge porn for impotent poor people that needs to parasitically latch on to a famous body of work (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's) to even manage to be remotely successful. The setting is quite uninspired, the characters are one-dimensional, the premise is far-fetched and far from believable, and the plots are for the most part basic. The visuals are fine, albeit bland. The intro and ending segments are a terrible mismatch, but at least they can be skipped. All-in-all, if you're poor and feel powerless in life you'd probably enjoy it. If your standards are high, odds are that you won't. And it probably would appeal a bit to people that enjoyed shows such as Dexter.

Sherlock Holmes. One of literature’s most iconic characters. Whenever people think detective, one of the first things people will think about is Sherlock Holmes. The man has just been integrated into our popular culture and will most likely never fade from memory. Yet, I have never really gotten into Sherlock Holmes material and adaptations with the exception of BBC’s Sherlock (Because come on, that show was brilliant). Of course this time last year, we had an anime adaptation of Sherlock Holmes called Kabukichou Sherlock. I watched 3 episodes, got bored, dropped it and never looked back. Now a year later, we have a new adaptation but this time, from the perspective of Sherlock’s rival and intellectual equal, Moriarty. That’s enough to get me intrigued right there. An anime from a villain’s perspective? Yes please. And I have to say, this has been one of the most enjoyable Sherlock adaptations I have ever experienced. Sit back and relax. Why? Because it’s elementary my dear Watson as I present to you the anime review of Moriarty the Patriot. Now, let’s talk about the one and only crime consultant shall we? Story: 9/10 Set in Victoria era London. Our story follows the titular William James Moriarty, the second son of the Moriarty household, Mathematician and self proclaimed “Crime Consultant;” helping the common citizen with their pressing matters with the aristocrats of this twisted and unjust society of different social classes. Along with his brothers, Albert and Louis, William wishes to see the social standings of this society crumble and rebuilt from the ashes with a new outlook on society. But for him to do that, he will need to burn it all down first. The thing that this show wants to establish first and foremost is the social standings that this society is based around. With the common citizen unable to make a living and the wealthy seeing them as nothing more than lower beings of humanity that should grovel at their feet. The show does a great job of this and helps make William’s goal more justifiable by explaining that morality is non existent in this society of the rich and the poor; helped by the fact that this was the case during 19th century Britain. The show presents the rich as d**ks and act like d**ks to make their demise all the more satisfying that this was coming to them (aka, Karma). Yet, it also presents the poor folk as prone to anger and violence, with all this pent up frustration towards the aristocrats which could lead to murder, terrorism and riots. We see how f**ked up this society is from both sides and makes you want to route for William more just because of how screwed up this society is. But, it’s the methods that William uses that makes his ideals morally questionable. The show is from the perspective of a villain so his methods will undoubtedly be questionable with how William plays the people into his hands. It does question your stance on this. Yes, this society needs to be reset, but do you ultimately agree with the methods? To burn it all down and rebuild from the ashes as equals with no care who gets hurt along the way? That’s what I like about this show’s narrative is the morality question behind it but is helped by the world it establishes and the people that live in it to help give that clearer answer. With each episode, you wonder what kind of method William uses to deal with the rich and help the common folk resolve their grudge or get their revenge. It helps make each episode exciting to watch (for me at least) to see how the stage is set and how the audience will react, quite literally at times. Characters: 7.5/10 Since the show revolves around William, let’s start with him. William James Moriarty is a calm, calculating and unfeeling man with one goal in mind. Rebuild the society they live in and with his mind, status and money, he can very well do that. But he is presented as the villainous crime consultant we know him as. So while his motivation is noble and justifiable, his methods are not so, making him a rather compelling character who knows what to do, how to do it and when to do it. While you do question his methods, it is fun to watch his methods in action. Episodes 6 and 7 especially as he stages it like a play to grab the people’s attention (and subsequently, your attention as well). This works because we see things from William’s perspective first and foremost to make the why aspect of his actions more justifiable. Anyone can kill an aristocrat, but with William, he wants to make it more attention grabbing to start shaking the very foundation of this society, while leaving no traces that he was the mastermind behind it. While the show’s focus is on William, it does make the cast around him less significant. I would have thought Albert and Louis would be more significant characters, especially after episode 3, yet they really aren’t. One of William’s motivations was his brother Louis and how the upper class treated him when he had an illness. Yet, he is more of a background character than anything else. Same goes for Albert as well, considering he does make an interesting case early on. An upper-classman who is disgusted at how they treat the common folk and believes in William’s ideals. Yet his notoriety is severely hampered as the season goes on. There is also Sebastion Moran and Fred Porlock as well that are more of the hands on kind of people that help William yet they don’t get much screen time. While the show does let you know that they are important to making sure that William’s plans work and their absence would change the outlook quite a bit. In terms of individuality, it’s lacking in that regard. Now, I couldn’t go through this review and not mention Sherlock himself who appears about halfway through. Sherlock is every bit as an intellectual as William but is more charming about it and looks like he’s having fun doing it. While being equal on that front, I like the way the show presents Sherlock as the complete opposite of William as it really should be. From his demeanour, the way he looks (which I will get to when we get to character designs), his social status and his ethics. Sherlock Holmes is the Ying to William James Moriarty’s Yang and I have really warmed up to this version of Sherlock Holmes. Animation: 7.5/10 Production I.G takes the reins for this show and it certainly does have that usual Production I.G clean and polish look to it to make it look solid. Character and art designs certainly look thematic for their time period to make it feel like we are in Victorian Era England. Art design especially looks good. Yet the one standout is William and Sherlock's character design and how they contrast one another. William looks more sophisticated and dressed neatly to not arouse attention and look like a standard upperclassman. Whereas Sherlock looks more messy and rugged with his hair untidy and has a small ponytail at the back, his shirt not buttoned up all of the way and his jacket only buttoned up in the middle. It helps highlight the contrast between Sherlock and William. Also props to the staff who did the photography to make scenes more dramatic and tense. Sound: 8.5/10 Like the art design, the ost certainly feels thematic to the setting but with a bit of a modern touch to it. It’s definitely sounds more tense than I would expected but definitely adds to this criminal mastermind atmosphere that suits the crime consultant very well. Expect quite a few violins and organs when listening to this ost to give it that grim but dramatic atmosphere. Then there is the opening. Now I’m going to be one of those people and say Jujutsu Kaisen’s opening, despite being considered best OP of Fall 2020 by the masses, is not the best of Fall 2020. Why? Because, "DYING WISH" by Tasuku Hatanaka is best OP of Fall 2020. Staying with the ost of it sounding thematic for the time period with a modern touch, “DYING WISH” captures the cold, calculating mindset of Moriarty…

Ok, that ends the 1st sequel and now on to the 2nd sequel in 2021....I hope , Covid 19 pandemic would be over ASAP...But, anywayz, let's get down to business, for this fall of 2020, this is one anime that is a breath of fresh air, given, that this isn't your typical anime that has the usual Mystery, Psychological, Historical and Shounen, here the title maybe a mislead, since the main character itself happens to the very arc enemy of a well known detective, Sherlock Holmes and yes it is William James Moriarty who is the main character here , in fact to call him the protagonist would be an understatement, cu'z as we all know he isn't a typical good guy but more like a bad guy taking out other bad guys , in which we associate them as "Anti Heroes," so without any further adieu, here's how I rate this: Story-Very Good 8: This is probably the only anime where a bad guy is the protagonist, and tbh, it probably one of the original creator, Takeuchi, Ryousuke's success. Almost pretty much is what you expect as to how the villain would do it and it is in a form of poetic justice, yes poetic as it is, this is where the whole anime ploy relies on. Art- Decent 4: IMAO, the character's illustration were just too GAY! Sound-fair 6: TBFH, I just don't give a shit as who did who about them characters voices, and I hate both opening and closing theme. Character- Great 9: I really don't go beyond 8 when giving out my rating for such category, but given that in this anime is was Morarty who is the protagonist , I'd decide to make an exception, thought I kinda feel bad that Sherlock is downgraded, well it wasn't always that bad guys can have their day...btw the rating is only for the certain character only, cu'z the rest like William's close associate, Louis, Albert, Moran and his main henchman Porlock were just garbage and so as Sherlock and his partner Watson. Enjoyment- Great 9: It is just not too boring to watch. Overall- Great 9: TBFH to title this as Yuukoku no Moriaty is pretty much misleading ...I may have said that already,,,,cu'z a we know Morairty is anything but Patriotic in fact his analogy of wiping out the nobles meant that he is a communist, but never mind that , as long as this 1st sequel delivers that's all that matters.......now, on to the 2nd sequel.....in 2021.

Perhaps I might be biased on the topic of this particular anime, since I have grown up with the stories of Sherlock Holmes and I've always made it a priority to check out every type of adaptation I would encounter. That was the exact reason why Yuukoku No Moriarty caught my attention - i hope my affliction with the franchise could make for my opinion to be considered valid. As it turns out, I found myself not disappointed at all after finishing the first season; the interpretation of the characters was one I have never seen before which allowed me to feel a very different type of enjoyment while watching it. The character backstories were original and intriguing; I can't wait to see Holmes' one in the upcoming season. The story was well done; the art is very beautiful and does justice to the characters and scenery. Also the opening was immaculate, period. Despite the fact that the Moriarty siblings felt dehumanized for some of the time, that has always been the case for Sherlock Holmes characters. Sherlock Holmes is meant to be looked up to for his intelligence; in Arthur Conan Doyle's works he is often seen as a detective rather than a person; that is also the case for James Moriarty and it is due to that that I don't view the occasional two-dimensional behavior of the characters as something that takes away from the plot. In addition to that, the outline of each case was not repetitive in the slightest; unlike other works which had a certain theme to every episode - e.g. Kakegurui - I am glad that the creators of Yuukoku no Moriarty did not allow for such a thing to happen; each episode is different in its composition and character behavior (Though I'd like to see more of Louis as a person rather than William's right hand). The season finale felt well done to me; hopefully the cliff-hanger in the end also makes for an interesting second season. I strongly recommend Yuukoku no Moriarty to fans of the criminal genre, even to those who are not particular anime watchers. I do not generally rate so high, however I could hardly find anything that would potentially take away "points" from it. It did not butcher the original works, the thrill of it is great, it's intriguing in the way it was conducted and I expect great things in the future.

Who doesn't like to watch good old Sherlock Holmes solving crimes with his unmatched intellect. There wasn't anyone who could have escaped from the hands of sherlock holmes. But there was a person who was trouble for even Sherlock Holmes, i.e, James Moriarty. This is the story about that man and what he did in his life. To be honest it wasn't what i expected it to be. If you have watched Sherlock Holmes starring Benedict Cumberbatch or even the movies starring Robert D. jr then there's a high probability that you won't find this interesting. If you’re a die-hard fan of the classic literature of Sherlock Homes then you might have issue with the titular character’s lack of screen time. Try to go into Moriarty the Patriot with an open mind if you want to watch some mysteries being made and solved. Synopsis: William James Moriarty is a wealthy mathematics professor. He also works as a criminal consultant in an era where the despicable nobility rules over average citizen. He provides murder plans and aids people in killing the rich. Mid-way through the series, detective Sherlock Holmes is introduced and the classics of Sherlock and Moriarty begins. One thing i liked most in the whole season was the character design, its over the top. They are not made how they wee supposed to be in novels but the way they were portrayed was the one of the few things that intrigued me to keep on going to further episodes. Overall it might not be mostly amazing, but it’s an all-around solid shows the very idea of James Moriarty's intentions, doing so with enough satisfaction that it becomes a fun watch.

"Crime is not the end; it is the means, Moran." - William James Moriarty This anime could be taken politically. It could be interpreted as a question of universalism. Is it moral to erase a crime with another crime? Is vengeance the only way to clear the emptiness after losing someone dear to you? Will killing help the grief of the killed? This story is a spin-off of the famous Sherlock Holmes. However, the story sets off from the perspective of William James Moriarity, a genius of crime. Instead of the classic detective concept of showing the crime and then the process of solving it, "Moriarty the Patriot" does not do this. Rather, it shows in-depth that crime has many layers. The impurities and imbalances of social classes in society cause this. Crimes that brings people to think: "I can't believe another human being did this." Such a thought is what makes someone human. William James Moriarty is a very interesting character. His vast amount of knowledge is his most significant aspect; it is what brings those around him to seek his wisdom. This includes Albert Moriarty and the other two who seem to be ready to hand their lives over to William at any request. William James Moriarty is a man who grants acts of vengeance for others. He helps the kind by exterminating evil. Sherlock Holmes, in contrast, cannot bring himself to kill even one man despite the benefits for the both of them. This contrast is interesting, and it's one reason I'm looking forward to the 2nd season. I like conversations regarding morals. One thing this show reminded me was that fear is the only substance that spurs people from mind to action. And in this show, Moriarty takes the route of fear.

I'll start this with something no one has pointed out: The title. "Patriotism​" can be written in two ways: "Aikoku" (愛国: Love for one's country) and "Yuukoku"(憂国:concern for one's country future); what means the title con be understood as "Moriarty's concern for his country"... I know is a futile detail, but it basically tells us the whole tone of the story ahead. Specially since we have now 3 James Moriatys in the story... --- After this, this anime is pure premise… I like it, but exactly for the opposite objective of it: The story of Yuukoku no Moriarty is meant to show us the story of how James Moriaty became the "Napoleon of Crime" under an antihero glass. In other words, it is meant to show us a story about a devilish good guy destroying (murdering) actual criminals. (Basically Light Yagami without a Death Note.) Now the best and worst part of the story is SHERLOCK HOLMES!! Why? Because this is meant to be MORIARTY'S (NO SHERLOCK'S) STORY!!! My God! Moriarty and his crew are so damn boring that I was going to score this anime with a 5, but once Sherlock appeared, it went right up to an 8 (I didnt' give it a 9 exactly for what I said: this is meant to be Moriarty's story!!). William is basically a Gary Stu! He will never show a single emotion to which you can relate; there are some reactions, especially toward his little brother, but those are not enough to tell us that James is human (actually, those felt as if he was a robot/doll faking human emotions, coldly and calculated). Then we have Louis Moriarty and Albert Moriarty introduced as the other two parts of what it's James Moriarty, but Louis ends stuck as a counterpart of Watson (the one that reacts to the observations) and Albert ends out of the picture. I know this season is meant to be a mear introduction, I get it; but exactly that's the worst part!! The family bond is barely explored (summirised in episode 2 and 3). Then with get 3 more wasted episodes where nothing happens… where they could have explore how Moriarty recruited the other members of the "gang", but no, they just appeared there. Finally we reach episode 7 and the screen is completely stolen by Sherlock Holmes: sarcastic, impulsive, sinic, obsessive, friendly, funny… HUMAN!! My gooooooooooodness, I finally felt something when Sherlock appeared. I laughed, I got excited, I got curious, I finally had a character to which I could related!! And furthermore, at the end of episode 11 we get a cliffhanger with few screen seconds of Irene and Mycroft!! I'm hyped!! But once again for the wrong reasons!!! I liked this story and I'll see the next season; however, I can't accept that a series that should be focused in Moriarty is making him the most boring and forgettable character in his own series!! For good sake, if the original author wanted to keep the low profile of Moriaty up to the climax of the series, he should have gone and do another adaptation focused on Sherlock instead!! The whole development is just absurd as it is now… (sigh) … But we have Sherlock.

As a fan of Sherlock Holmes I was really excited to know about this anime, and I'm sure that everyone know the basics of Sherlock Holmes, BUTTTT this story is about Moriarty or at least the beginning, then it shifts toward Sherlock to end in a sweat place between the both of them, and it was done brilliantly. The crimes and the smart people stuff you would expect to be in a Sherlock story is there here, and its not like solving the crime and discovering who did it is everything no no no, the story goes deeper, from Moriarty-sama's goal who would break anything to get it, to Sherlock's love for mysteries who has the same mentality, BUTTTT we should not forget Watson and mini-Moriarty, Watson has the role to keep Holmes in the right direction and even though mini-Moriarty's role isn't big I suspect he will play the role of "No one will stand in my brother's face" in the second season which I am really waiting for. Everything is well done, the suspense, the crimes, the characters, and the clash of the titans. Usually I want to root for Sherlock, but it isn't his name in the anime title isn't, so I have absolutely no clue who should I root for, the usual villain is the mc here and the mc is usually the villain. This anime will take you on a roller-coaster ride and you will have your fun here OWARI.