First Impression: Layton's Mystery Detective Agency - Katrys Mystery Solving Files

Synopsis

Many know the puzzle solving Professor Layton and all of his adventures. However, this is not his story, rather, this is the story of his daughter Katrielle and her mystery solving adventures along with her talking dog Sherl and assistant Ernest Greeves.

The Good

For this writer, it wasn’t that the work was a spin-off adaptation from a known game series that caught my eye, it was the art. It was simple, different, and gave a nice change in pace for the season. Other than the art, the music was also cheerful, and the animation was well done throughout the episodes. More than art and music however, it is the characters that truly stand out in the episode.

There was a fun note to be found in the introductions and throughout the episode, there was a solid establishment in the portrayal of the characters. The mystery, though simple had a nice number of layers to it and the way that the episode laid out all of the key points gave the fun aspect of involving the viewer in solving the mystery. Basically, the strongest and most interesting aspect about the episode is in how well it established the characters and tied everything together.

The Bad

Seeing as this is pretty much adapted from a game, there are aspects that one cannot fully appreciate unless they had played the game. An example of this would be how the clues were noted. Then there is the way that the main characters seem to poke at the fourth wall, at first it came off as rather amusing, but it can get somewhat strange, luckily it was only done one at certain points and wasn’t too in the face.

Another point that takes away from the series is the sudden art change when they start solving the mystery. In fact, there were more than one moment that the episode came off as slightly exaggerated or off to say the least.

Conclusion

The art is different, the characters fun and the mystery of the story was simple but engaging piece. For those who are familiar with the franchise, this makes for a lovely spin-off work. On the other hand, those who are not familiar with the franchise will find themselves introduced to a fun mystery work that has some charming characters and good art. Basically, this is a work that seems simple but has many enjoyable points to it that make it worth sticking to.

Rating: 7.5/10