Shortylynnchaos

Hey all! Avid fan of Sherlock Holmes movies, shows, and games here! I watched this anime with friends as a "Friday Night Anime Night" So you will see "we" alot.

SPOILERS AHEAD!!

Alrighty so stepping into this anime we weren't sure what it was going to be like at all. We honestly were not hopeful but oh boy were we pleasently surprised! And personally I dont normally watch animes like this at all, they just arent my style. But man oh man was I looking forward to the next week to continue the anime.
So lets get to the reviewing!

Story:
This gets a 8/10. We follow William Moriarty and his brother as they explain how they got to where they are, including all the way from childhood. This was a nice change, as I had only really met Moriarty in Frogware games before and he was always "the big villian that Holmes must stop at nothing to stop" kind of deal. Whereas in this anime we got to see into Moriartys mind, we got to see what HE cared about, how HE cared about getting things done. His style is very specific where he doesnt ever do the dirty work himself, he always gets others to do it for him in convoluted ways. And honestly pretty graphic ways as well. Which only add more to his character in all honesty. Except for the house fire, nothing else is directly done by him. He's just that manipulative, yet this anime doesnt portray that as evil, it makes you fall for him more and sympathize with him and what the aristrocats have done to him. Its insane.

Animation:
This gets a 10/10. The animation was amazing. Like for an anime thats based in London in 1860's and based on real life (compared to say fantasy creatures and such) it was incredibley well done. The motion of the characters was carried very well and while some of the actions of the characters dont seem possible, it adds to the mystique. Such as Fred jumping like an acrobatic up ontop of buildings, or when Sebastian was shooting a gun that left virtually no noise but went off really quickly as a rifle to make that horrible man dance. Neither seemed really possible but we're entertaining nonetheless. Now there is one scene in particular that all of us agreed was one of the best anime scenes we had ever seen. 
In the last episode sherlock finds moriarity on the train and is talking to him about his case, then he bluffs and says something along the lines of moriarty being the one pulling all the strings in the background. Moriarty not only calls his bluff but confirms nor denies the accusation which then gives him one of the most evil grins he has ever given that sends chills down the spine, followed by holmes' giddy as absolute fuck expression. That one scene had all of us gushing from the emotion conveyed and how well it was done both via voice acting and animation. I think it may be one of my own personal favorite scenes between characters of all time! I actually found a youtube vid of that exact moment here: Youtube Link To "Catch Me If You Can Scene"
But anyways! The animation was superb, and we loved it all through the anime

Sound:
10/10 I still am not sure how to grade sound unless if it just sucks or if it  works to be honest, so we're just gonna say it worked with the anime and the OST was great. The OP and END were poppin and I may have to look those up to add them to my spotify playlist if I can later XD

Characters:
I like to talk about specific characters so this may be long

William James Moriarty: Ok this man. This beautiful man XD He is amazing and portrayed so friggin well. At first we didnt know what to think about him, thought him arrogant for no reason, but once his backstory came to play it became very obvious why he was the way he was. And you start supporting him. Again I have played frogware games and knew he wasnt liked, but dang if this anime didnt make me change my mind. He is manipulative and sly, and very good at not answering questions. But not in a bad way? If that makes sense. Also I loved when they made his eyes glow when he was pulling off something. Just fantastic.
Louis James Moriarty: The shy brother who would do anything to help Will. He is a cinnamon roll and must be protected at all costs. While also being capable of murder himself??? He is so dedicated to his brother and its a bit inspiring. 
Albert James Moriarty: Wait why are all of their middle names James? Is that a thing? Anyways! Honestly they didnt touch up much on this character other than his childhood and that he is the original heir that is more than willing to help Will achieve his goal no matter the cost. Thats kind of all we know since they kinda just sit there drinking tea and talking about what to do. So yeah thats kind of all I know? Still a nifty character tho.
The rest of Moriartys crew: I like them, they are all known for specific things and they do those things well. The animation budget was spent on them quite a bit too lolz
Sherlock Holmes: Ok at first did not care for how young he was, BUT as the anime progressed, the more we liked him as a character. He is extremely expressive with his face and you can almost always read his emotions unlike Moriarty who was stone faced- aside from his eyes- all the time. He played out super well as himself, and he FELT like Sherlock Holmes. Coming from someone who writes for fun, writing a character like holmes is actually quite difficult. So it was nice to see him being representated correctly and in a fun way.
John Watson: Again SO YOUNG! Like holy crap I am so used to the older mustached gentleman. However he still felt like Watson, as he kept the reigns on holmes when things got bad, which is what I am used to. I am more used to Watson being more medicine forward as well, as hes a doctor from the war, but as this was an anime focused on Moriarty that didnt come up as often.
The rest of the characters on Holmes' side: Other than Miss Hudson being SUPER young- She made up for it with personality on the spot though so dont fear- the characters played about how you expect and I dont have any major complaints

Now overall this anime was superb. It was nothing like I expected it to be and I personally expected it to be boring as all get out. But it was not, it was thrilling, and you may have been able to guess how some things were going to end, you were constantly surprised by some of the endings. Some of them we personally didnt call at all either, which as common as anime tropes are, this is a nice surprise. Overall I give it a 9/10 as some of the characters were a bit lacking and I feel like more of the story could have been explored a bit more. HOWEVER I thouroughly enjoyed myself and am beyond excited for season two, which has started airing this last week I believe? My friends and I start watching eps 1 next Friday!

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy it!