The most unique take on Sherlock Ive seen so far. Plenty of Sherlock adaptations go the Sherlock but in insert location here and attempt to tell the same story over and over again. Many are boring or at the bare minimum uniform. They dont take risks. Kabukichou Sherlock AKA Case File n221: Kabukicho took a lot of risks. An anime original story produced by Kadokawa and I.G. Productions Case File endeavours to shake up the classic character with a fresh coat of paint and mostly succeeds. A case of the week murder mystery makes up the first half or so of the season which can get a tad repetitive. However the second halfs twists enable the story to shift in a direction I didnt see coming. Some plot points you will see coming if you have ever seen or read a Sherlock story before however the execution is far more unique than what you would expect. I watched the show dubbed on Funimation so that means I got to see Justin Briner shine among a lovely cast of Funimation regulars keeping the absurdity of the animation and the story alive and well. Kabukicho is an absurd place and the cast sells it. It would be easy to allow the performance to fail to sell the story and they manage to pull it off under the careful direction of Cris George and the strength of the rest of the cast. There are some issues with it I cannot go into them too much without entering spoiler territory but I will say that the portrayal of LGBTQ+ characters is mixed in the show with positive and negative representation causing me some concern. Its great to see an anime with so many LGBTQ+ characters but again there is some representation which can be interpreted in a concerning way. Some reviews Ive read discussed how those issues ruined the story for them but despite my gayness I still managed to look past them and enjoy it for what it is There are uncomfortable moments in the show it is not a pure comedy play. There are entire portion of episodes without humour which you need to be aware of. The show can and often is lighthearted... but it doesnt stay that way throughout its entire run. Nonetheless I really enjoyed it. The animation is gorgeous the opening is fantastic how often do we see a jazzstyle song in an anime opening? and wish it would be able to continue but I doubt it. If you have no interest in mysteries or a new take on Sherlock Holmes that is verrry different from what youve seen before dont watch this show. However if you want an eccentric adventure that you wont forget this is the show for you. There is no word yet on a second season but the complete Season 1 is available subbed and dubbed + a subbed OVA on Funimation. It could have been better it had some weak episodes but overall it was fine but memorable.