YUUKOKU NO MORIARTY

DESCRIPTION

CAST

MANGA MysteryYuukoku no Moriarty
ANIME DramaYuukoku no Moriarty Part 2

REVIEWS

• 

  notpettan

  80/100
  A solid series that acts as a great complement to the Holmes franchise and also as a standalone show.

  __{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, as I have, 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.

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• 

  grusomhed

  80/100
  ‘My horror at his crimes was lost in my admiration at his skill.’

  These Japanese do love Western detective fiction and, of course, no one would dare to skip the masterpiece of Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle in particular. This is understandable, because Holmes is one of the most popular detective characters in the whole world. After all, there are far too many movie adaptations around the whole world. Unfortunately, many people seem to miss another genius that you can analyze over and over again and find something new about him, someone who is not less charismatic and talented than Holmes himself. Someone who could have been even more of a genius than Holmes, had he not been a villain. Of course, I mean Professor James Moriarty, the ‘Napoleon of the crime world’, a professor of mathematics and the person who gained recognition of Sherlock Holmes.

  For some reason, this particular character is often forgotten. And this is something Japanese mangaka decided to fix in 2016 and make a story about the youngest professor of Durham University (Sherlock Holmes: The Unauthorized Biography), a brilliant mathematician and a criminal, William James Moriarty. No, this is not a mistake. Rather, Conan Doyle himself was mistaken, (and, most likely, he simply did not think of it) when he gave the two Moriarty brothers the same name.

  ‘Watson does, however, refer to the name of another family member when he writes of ‘the recent letters in which Colonel James Moriarty defends the memory of his brother’. In ‘The Adventure of the Empty House’ (1903), Holmes refers to Moriarty on one occasion as ‘Professor James Moriarty’. This is the only time Moriarty is given a first name, and oddly, it is the same as that of his purported brother. In the 1914 novel The Valley of Fear (written after the preceding two stories, but set earlier), Holmes says of Professor Moriarty: ‘He is unmarried. His younger brother is a station master in the west of England.’ In Sherlock Holmes: A Drama in Four Acts, an 1899 stage play of which Doyle was a co-author, he is named Professor Robert Moriarty.’

  What is the point of quoting the book, if we are talking about the anime adaptation? But the anime was created only thanks to the masterpiece of Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle, which means that facts like the name of the main character should be taken into account. So what do we have? Three Moriarty brothers, who are united by one name - James. How can you tell them apart? Make ‘James’ a middle name. This is how Albert James Moriarty, William James Moriarty and younger brother - Lewis James Moriarty appear.

  Story
  ‘The end of the century before last, the British Empire rules the world, and the class system is the heart of this system. And then suddenly James Moriarty appears - a young man who wants to destroy the evil arising from class discrimination and create an ideal country, where there will be no place for oppression and your social status will be nothing, an empty sound.’ Moriarty the Patriot offers a new look at the world of Conan Doyle (the story is made in such a way that ‘A Study in Scarlet’ and ‘A Scandal in Bohemia’ are only small parts of Moriarty's big plan), and the unsightly side of the aristocracy that treats ordinary people like cattle or wild animals, which is why, while watching the anime, you can involuntarily begin to agree with the protagonist’s worldview, who does not even deny that he is ‘evil’. However, is evil done in the name of good truly evil? If this is evil, then who decided it? Maybe this was decided by the evil itself, which must be destroyed. Those who have read Conan Doyle will encounter many familiar names in the anime. Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, Colonel Sebastian Moran, Fred Porlock, etc… and the best girl, Mrs. Hudson.

  Overall
  I am disappointed. But I do not want to share my criticism(salt) with you and I think that the mangaka and the people responsible for the anime adaptation could have made a much better research; there are far too many flaws that are beyond obvious. But I forgive you, Japan. Though, you could have followed Yukimura Makoto example and made a better research. Anyways, this was, indeed, a very unusual watch and I would highly recommend to each and every anime fan to give it a try. No question about it, there are flaws, but there is something enjoyable about this anime adaptation.

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• 

  NagisaUchiha

  80/100
  A solid and enjoyable watch

  Moriarty the patriot is my one of my favorites from this season. I’ve never really gotten into Sherlock content and the ones I had are limited to a cartoon I watched when I was younger and a live action series. But this was a solid and enjoyable watch, nonetheless.

  

  Story

  Moriarty the patriot is in Moriarty’s POV who plans to abolish the unfair class system between nobility and the lower class. While this first cour may be short it’s solid and demonstrates how the class system has thrown people of lower class into despair. Like a boy who fell in love with a girl of lower class than himself and as result she was killed or a Noble who ignored and let die the son of his gardener who was ill. The Scotland yard or any other official for the most part overlooks this because of their status and while Moriarty methods are out of the law manages to give these people justice. There are some episodes that feel very episodic but were still a nice watch.

  Characters

  We’ve seen a handful of scenes from the main cast. They introduce who these characters are and what they’ll bring to the show. We have moriarty who has shown time and again his powerful intellect and resolve to cast out the noble devils. His backstory being one of the most powerful moments in the show. Not just for character development purposes but to show the strong bond between him and his brothers. His intelligence who can only be rivaled by Sherlock Holmes who in this version is quirky as he is smart and to moriarty the man who will help bring the corrupt nobility to light. We also have Moriarty’s reliable group of his brothers Louis and Albert, Sebastian Moran, and Fred Porlock. And sherlock’s colorful bunch of friends John H Watson, Ms. Hudson, and Inspector Lestrade. Hopefully in the second part we seem more moments and dynamics between the characters.

  

  Art/Animation

  The animation is one of the best parts of the anime in my opinion. The character and setting designs fit well together and are really great. Sometimes it gives me black butler vibes. The animation is especially great when Moriarty puts his plans in motion. The colors in scenes sometimes change into different shades of red or like in ep 4 a black and white pallet to set the mood.

  

  Music
  
  I won’t lie and say that music is something I heavily pay attention to. Unless it’s prominent. But the opening is my favorite from this season. It’s really good and gets me ready for the episode. The ending is great as well.

  Enjoyment

  This is probably my favorite from this season. I don’t openly look for the mystery or thriller genre. But I’m really happy when I find one I like. Just seeing what job the Moriarty crew would take on next was exciting, and if Sherlock appears in the episode even better. It even prompted me to read the skipped chapters in the manga. I’m not sure how the second cour is going to go but I’m pretty confident I’ll like it as well

  Overall

  A solid introduction to the world of Moriarty the patriot that sets up the sort of world and characters that will be covered in the story. Filled with beautiful animation and music. Although due to my very little knowledge about Sherlock related stuff or the time period I can’t really tell if any of the stuff happening is accurate to the time period or doing justice to the original works. Despite that I would happily recommend this to any anime fan interested.

  
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