Winter Anime Season (Part 6)

Title: Hamatora
Release Date: January 7, 2014
Studio: Naz
Genre: Detective, Action/Adventure, Supernatural, Comedy
Synopsis: Friends and business partners Nice and Murasaki are the joint leaders of Hamatora, a freelance detective agency operated from inside a bar. Each member of Hamatora possesses a type of Minimum, or a special ability that activates when certain conditions are met.

Verdict: This may only be the second ever project for studio Naz, but it is already making the case for being one of the most fun and exciting series of the year. The pilot serves as a nice introduction for each member of the team and his/her special power. Nice, the scatterbrained leader, has the ability to see sound waves; much like his namesake, he often takes jobs that will allow his to help others. This often puts him at odds with the more practical Murasaki, who blames Nice's predisposition for their inability to pay the bills. To drive this point home, two jobs, one well-paying and one well-intentioned, arrive simultaneously; thinks go about as well as you'd expect.

Not pictured: Two rational adults reaching a consensus.

Meanwhile, their coworkers and fellow Minimun users, Birthday (yes, that's his real name) and Ratio, leave to work a third job as bodyguards. This allows veteran director Seiji Kishi (Seto no Hanayome, Angel Beats!) to highlight each character's separate strengths and, when a lead reveals that the cases are all related, how they work well together. By the the time the loose ends have come together, Hamatora is firing on all cylinders. The team members each have their own personal charm, and, more importantly, their own set of sweet moves to bust out when they activate their Minimum. Nor is the story lacking; the solution to the cases is unexpected (and amusing), and the first hints of an overarching villain are introduced as rumors of a Minimum user serial killer begin to spread. Between the winning cast, slick visuals, jazzy score and enticing plotlines, Hamatora is looking to be a fun watch.