>>280174405 (OP)
The introduction to this jaded detective/rambunctious rookie dynamic is Nagumo accidentally looking up her skirt, followed by wild slapstick violence where she accuses him of being a pervert, and he insists it was an accident, all the while the camera highlights her cleavage and skirt hem. He calls her a tender young girl while his POV latches onto a shot of her school uniform clinging to her thighs. To use the official media criticism terminology, ugggghhhhhhh.
Clearly, Mattaku Saikin is playing on a particular fantasy: a man yearning for his adolescent glory days feels heโs over the hill, but a hot young girl bursts into his life to pull him out of his slump and put his fractured ego back together. It would be easy enough for Nagumo to recognize his own younger self in Mashiro, or to feel paternal towards her in his lonely life, but neither of those are the framing this series has opted for. Itโs jokes about Mashiro being young and hot, leaping at the chance to disguise herself as his girlfriend, revering him even as she teases him about being an old man. I canโt say if itโs setting up a romance, per se, but the direction of the fan service is crystal clear.
It also sucks that his chronic pain is a running gag. While this is funny and relatable to a point, after so many repetitions it feels mean-spirited. Not to mention the fact that Nagumo collapsing from a back spasm is what lets him see up Mashiroโs skirt. Diversity winโdisability used as a trigger for fan service!
I wonโt belabor my point. You donโt need to be a detective to deduce that I did not enjoy this episodeโit squandered any goodwill I had towards its slapstick action or genre jokes by hinging its premise on a sexist, ageist character dynamic and inviting me to oogle a teenage girl through the POV of an adult. I will not be following this duo on future cases.
