English Dub Review: Pretty Boy Detective Club “The Dark Star that Shines for You Alone Parts 1 & 2”

Overview 

Based on the Manga franchise by Nisio Isin with art by an Anime Artist who calls himself “Shaft” the story begins with the introduction of Mayumi Dojima, a second-year student at the exclusive Yubiwa Academy middle school, who has lost something – a star she glimpsed just once, ten long years ago. But help is on the way, in the form of the unofficial, secretive, and thoroughly mysterious Pretty Boy Detective Club!



Our Take

This show definitely lives up to its show’s title as the show itself has some of the most effeminate designs on men I’ve seen in anime and this feels like it was clearly designed for girls much in the same way Fruits Basket was. Mayumi sure got herself into a frenzy with the Pretty Boy Detective Club, Having a barbecue in the midst of figuring out Mayumi’s issues, every pretty boy has their signature hits to the hearts of their clients, and Mayumi is no different.

The characters are not the most original on an archetypical level. But they all feel like their own which is very important. Many of the standout moments would have to be the colorful visuals of the night sky and the stars as Shaft’s artstyle knows how to cut loose when it comes to showing the beauty of background scenery and at times the whole episode felt very dreamlike and illusory with upbeat and lighthearted music and a catchy intro to accompany the proceedings with an elaborately unexpected twist involving the “Star” Mayumi has been seeking, and the solution they have to help Mayumi in her new predicament and a twist at the end the left me wanting more.

This two-part episode/introduction was a unique and colorful visual feast. Even if I’m not sure what direction this is going and while I’m enjoying the aesthetics so far,  I can completely do without the disturbing “Arranged Marriage” subplot with one of the pretty boys that’s for sure…