The case files of Jeweler Richard

This looks pretty gay but if it has all this information and shit on gems, jewels and meanings and shit, then fuck yeah this is my shit. And the names, so refreshing!
 
The synopsis sounds pretty bland imo. Ya'll been watching too much Isekai? THIS sounds interesting? :seriously:

Gonna give it a try because of who I am as a person, but not confident that I'm going to stick with it.
 
All the pv clips gave me the impression that this show is actually some kind of slow burn jewelry-themed romance and nothing about the first ep actually dispelled me of the idea.

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Yes, yes, do call him, Seigi. And you can ~drop the honorifics~ too. That op was jammed full of romantic imagery and the ed song lyrics were just... really, though? Really? You can draw Seigi blushing over the woman he met all you want to, but it's gonna take a lot for me to not just conclude that Seigi is very bi and Richard wants to hit that.

Anyway, if they keep telling stories about jewelry like they did with Seigi's grandmother's ring, I think this'll be pretty interesting (if probably not the Best. Show. Ever. or anything). I liked hearing about both women's perspectives on the ring theft and what the ring meant to both of them - an anchor weighing them down in both cases. I hope we get to hear more stories like that, more small-scale personal stuff, but I'm curious to see what else they're gonna bring to the table case-wise.

(Though I am wondering why a man with a Sri Lankan grandmother is such a pale blond. I know irl it's perfectly possible and in anime all European foreigners are invariably blond, but still.)
 
Well, that was pleasant. It's too slow paced and lacking in consequences to be to most people's tastes so I see what the rating is so low. However, there's something comfy about the slow pace. The episode introduces a little moral complexity to give it some substance. The subject matter isn't interesting on its own, but the story behind the ring gives some insight into the sad lives women had to lead in the past despite their social standing.

It's very much a talky light novel adaptation, but it reminds me a bit of Master Keaton. I like it, but it's going to live and die by the quality of its episodic storytelling because this could easily turn into a slog.

The jazzy soundtrack is cool. The character design is decent, but the animation is lacking. I'm not expecting any kind of powerhouse here, but the still frames and cut corners are quite apparent.

MisterDapper said:
I'm shipping these two
https://imgur.com/gallery/0UDBzaE
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There's definitely a low key sexual tension between those two.
 
Episode 1:

This was a lot better than I thought it was going to be. That being said it's still not all that great? The art style is pretty standard and I'm really annoyed by all the CG Gems. Ya'll couldn't draw some gems? The opening and ending videos would look WAY BETTER if there weren't clunky af CG gems flying around everywhere.

The story of this episode was cute and also kind of unsatisfying. Like, he found the owner of the ring and she was totally chill with this event that his grandmother carried with her the rest of her life like a heavy burden. There was really no closure for him or his dead grandmother in any of that, which sucks. Maybe that'll come at a later episode? idk.

This richard dude seems to know everyone. "I've known that lady your grandmother stole the ring from for ages, also, that specific ring was made where MY grandmother was from.! FATE! Come work for me."

I'm going to keep watching so far, but from what I've seen of this season so far this is pretty mid tier for me. Not amazing but not the worst either. Her'es hoping it will get better.

AND A LOT MORE GAY.

Cuz I ship them. Fight me.

XD

This whole show is probably fujoshi bait tho. RIP us.
 
I don't think the result of the meeting is unsatisfying for Seigi.
He comes away with a better understanding of and appreciation for the grandmother he loved. There's a lack of big emotional catharsis, but the events happened long ago and Tae had moved on with her life. She didn't want the ring back for obvious reasons, but Seigi can now keep it as a keepsake of his grandmother's tough life that forced her into a life of crime that estranged her from her daughter. It's a more complex and nuanced resolution rather than some grand forgiveness.
 
ZetsubouKaiji said:
I don't think the result of the meeting is unsatisfying for Seigi.
He comes away with a better understanding of and appreciation for the grandmother he loved. There's a lack of big emotional catharsis, but the events happened long ago and Tae had moved on with her life. She didn't want the ring back for obvious reasons, but Seigi can now keep it as a keepsake of his grandmother's tough life that forced her into a life of crime that estranged her from her daughter. It's a more complex and nuanced resolution rather than some grand forgiveness.
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There's also an indication that he might be able to use the story as a means of healing part of the rift between his grandmother and his mother and maybe by extension between him and his mother. Obviously it's not enough on its own to be all oh look, everything's better now! with a relationship that was clearly strained for decades, but finally being able to explain a situation that his mother was too young to understand at the time could surely help.
 
-Gets on the shipping train with the others- owo,

Like others have stated, it's nothing special, but it's also not bad. It's a nice little slice of life and I guess some mystery.

Being a single mom and stealing to survive, my mother did that. I believe she got caught once, but she didn't go to jail as far as I know. It was way before I was born, though not long after the middle sister was. Much like Seigi's mother resents the grandmother, my two older sisters resent our mother, so that struck home for me a bit.

Two different sides of a story. I loved how both sides were told. Both had tragic pasts, but the ring being stolen from Tae helped her get a brighter future.

I hope the jewels that are brought in hold more stories like this, it was interesting.
 
ZetsubouKaiji said:
The gay isn't strong enough for that. I kind of wish it were though.
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I'm so out, I watch gay shit for the gay and good conversational dialogue that feels natural yet with enough gay innuendo that it feels naturally charismatic and charming. If it builds up to Richard finally inspecting some jewels, maybe polishing a pair or two later on, then I'll put it as WtW.
 
Episode 2:

Now I'm impressed.

An episode addressing the pain of the social stigma on non-heteronormative relationships in Japan. The complex emotions here really hit on some great themes. Wanting to live a normal socially acceptable life is some thing everyone wants. She just wasn't willing to do it at the expense of some poor guy that loved her even though she didn't feel the same way. He deserves better and so does she. I can feel for both of them and that's what makes this episode aces.
 
Oh, I really hope they keep up with these more nuanced stories each week.

Ep 2:

The second Mami said that about trying to grow a garden in the desert, I knew the problem was that she was gay. What a way to put it, that hurt like a blow. No one was really at fault for the situation - she obviously cared about Homura, even if it wasn't in the same way he cared about her, and there's nothing wrong with wanting to live a life that you've been raised to want by your parents and society and everything - but oh, it hurt. And how the ruby played into it with "I want to know if he cared enough about me to buy this very expensive jewel because if he didn't care about me that much, it'd be okay to marry him", ouch. I'm so glad she broke it off, for both their sakes.

I can't even be all "Seigi's sexuality is people who are super into gemstones" now because the show just went and undercut the teasing with surprise lesbian treated seriously, damn them!
 
This is pretty interesting; reminds me a bit of Teramachi Sanjou no Holmes...but with gemstones instead of antiques.

Episode 2

A big minus for me (thus far) is that within the first couple episodes, Richard still has the personality of stale bread. I mean, I can garner that he tries to stay neutral on pretty much every subject...and it's great that he isn't discriminatory...but he just feels lacking in a personality.

I enjoy seeing Seigi in action because he has a "protagonist" vibe to him but isn't overbearing.

That said...what exactly was so offensive with the things he said those couple times?
To me, the first one was just a question out of curiosity (wondering if the man got hot under the garb), and as someone who is nonbinary, I don't get what's so offensive by saying "that sort of person" in the way Seigi used it about Mami. It's not like he said she was "abnormal" or anything.

Perhaps it's just that I'm blunt and socially awkward, but it feels more like the anime isn't drawing the line between "question out of curiosity" and "actual discriminatory language/behavior". Asking questions is how one learns about things, and it's not like Seigi did it in front of the people in question either.

Maybe it was in the way it was phrased, or perhaps the anime is a little too uptight about that. It's great that they're trying to throw in "acceptance" and "diversity" into the series, but some of it feels like it's coming across too forced.
Unless it's not socially acceptable anywhere to ask (innocent) questions about someone's culture? But then, how can people understand each other if folks don't ask those questions?

If people don't ask questions, they don't get answers...and thus, their minds fill in the blanks for them and that's where assumptions and presumptions come from.

Or, maybe I'm just not understanding something properly (or misunderstanding those scenes). But to me, those scenes feel like a parent scolding their child for asking a question out of innocent curiosity...and that rubs me the wrong way.
 
mdchan said:
That said...what exactly was so offensive with the things he said those couple times?
To me, the first one was just a question out of curiosity (wondering if the man got hot under the garb), and as someone who is nonbinary, I don't get what's so offensive by saying "that sort of person" in the way Seigi used it about Mami. It's not like he said she was "abnormal" or anything.

Perhaps it's just that I'm blunt and socially awkward, but it feels more like the anime isn't drawing the line between "question out of curiosity" and "actual discriminatory language/behavior". Asking questions is how one learns about things, and it's not like Seigi did it in front of the people in question either.
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The main issue to me was that his questions and comments were kind of... othering? They weren't awful by any means and it's pretty clear that Seigi doesn't mean anything bad by them, but there was a bit of "those people" quality to them that could easily slip into his interactions with people if he's not careful. Microaggressions isn't the right word here, but a similar sense of "very small things add up when you experience them over and over and over" and it's best if Seigi pays very close attention now to his mindset while he's still a part-timer learning the business instead of accidentally offending someone well-off enough to deal with a jeweler later. I'm bi and am not fond of the "that sort of person" kind of language about myself because it's been too often used by judgmental people around me with an air of "they could never be like us", though I would've been fine with what Seigi meant to say when he was talking about Mami without that wording.

I also expect that Richard is especially sensitive to certain things, particularly being an obvious foreigner, and that comes into play too. Having questions doesn't always mean you're entitled to answers.
 
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