Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok (Vol. 1): Gods and Detectives has a great blend of brilliant animation, Norse mythology and fun characters to bring a show that appeals to kids and adults.
Gods and Detectives collects four episodes of the show and introduces Loki – a Norse god that has been banished by Odin and is now trapped in a young boy’s body. He spends his time on Earth setting up a unique detective agency and solving mysteries.
Now without his most of his powers, Loki’s life is further turned upside down when a young high school girl named Mayura, who tends to be accident prone and a little high-strung, decides to join his agency and “help” him as he investigates the paranormal.
The show’s use of Norse mythology is a unique spin on the traditional Japanese animation type shows, and makes each episode interesting to even an adult audience. Loki’s basic story is told in the show’s opening music, and then expanded on with each episode.
Loki, who is being punished for some unknown transition, is forced to not only live as a small child, but soon has to deal with Odin’s further wrath as the god sends down other Norse gods to assassinate Loki. These gods include a lot of unknown Norse characters and some that are well known like Thor.
Although it appeals to children, the dialogue and dark plots, normally involving the occult or some kind of monster, make it stand out from some of the other typical animation television shows that are geared more to a kid audience.
This mixture of Norse mythology and almost horror elements give the show enough intrigue to keep adults watching – or at least it won’t drive you as crazy as some animated kid shows.
Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok has a good blend of humor and horror
Even the show’s soundtrack help to reflect a bit of a darker tone that what you may be expecting from a show featuring “big eyed” children playing detective. It has the ability to add to the overall spooky atmosphere at different times, and also helps lighten the mood in some of the funnier moments.<!--page-->
Mayura often stumbles into scary situations
While this darker tone may appeal to adults, the show does have some scary moments that might be too much for younger children. They don’t ruin the show for kids, but some children may not expect the show’s darker side based on its fun animation. Even the darker moments of the show are never much worse than some Scooby Doo episodes, and the goofy Mayura provides plenty of laughs to help kids get over the scarier moments.
The DVD does come with several special features that fans of the show will enjoy. They include a sneak peek at Vol.2, a clean opening animation and closing animation, a character art gallery, and interview with Yuriko Fuchizaki (Loki) and Takehito Koyasu (Frey).
The clean opening and closing animation is a good way to get a look at Loki’s background story, and enjoy the show’s theme song. The character art gallery has different drawings of the show’s cast, but is rather short.
The interview with Fucjizaki and Koyasu is probably something that wouldn’t appeal to kids, but could interest some of the show’s adult fans. It is subtitled, and is basically a conversation about the show between the two actors.
The two actors discuss the show’s writers, concepts, and joke around with each other. Like most animation series, it is interesting to see the actors who voice the animated characters, but there isn’t much more to this feature.
Loki investigates the occult as a boy detective
Overall, I would recommend Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok to anyone who enjoys animation series. It has a great combination of horror and humor. The animation is crisp and at times breathtaking. The show’s music helps add to the darker story elements, such as the opening moments of the first episode, or scarier moments of some episodes.
I don’t think I would recommend the show for smaller kids. It has moments that would appeal to children, like the clumsy Mayura, but some of the series’ darker tone might be a bit much for them.
Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok (Vol. 1): Gods and Detectives is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD’s database for more information.
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