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The Detective Is Already Dead Episode 5 Review – Quick Summary
In The Detective is Already Dead episode 5, “That Was Directed at One Year in the Future,” Kimihiko Kimizuka and Siesta enjoyed a brief lull in the action before going after a villain named Cerberus. Cerberus’s murders involved stealing the victim’s hearts. Siesta had a simple idea to capture Cerberus: use Kimihiko as bait! Will Kimihiko attract the murderer? If he does, can he keep himself alive until Siesta arrives with her rifle?
Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious.
Favorite Quote from The Detective Is Already Dead Episode 5
Because apparently, Siesta wasn’t adorable enough. Capture from the Funimation stream.
I’m beginning to think this series has a nasty cruel streak. The first episode introduced me to Siesta, a character I adored. The second episode killed her. Off screen, but she was still dead. The third episode told me her body parts were still in service. And now, we get a flashback that includes Siesta frolicking on a beach.
Seriously, what the hell, The Detective is Already Dead?
Because she wasn’t already adorable enough, this episode had to give us an SNPE (Siesta Near-Pout Event). This flashback showed Siesta and Kimihiko hanging out on a beach. She hit a beach ball to him and he just caught it and wondered aloud if beach volleyball was fun with just two people.
“You don’t enjoy playing games with me?” she asked (00:55), her face on the verge of a pout.
This show obviously likes messing with us.
Best in Show Moment for The Detective Is Already Dead Episode 5
Siesta knows how to make an entrance! Capture from the Funimation stream.
Setup: More Hints about Siesta’s Feelings
The end of the fourth episode introduced us to Charlotte “Char” Arisaka Anderson. So this episode dealt with her, right? Oh, good Lord, no. She wasn’t even in it. A monster looked like her showed up briefly, but she wasn’t in it. Because of course she wasn’t.
But I’m going to put that aside. I’m also going to put aside my irritation that we keep getting teased with “look how great Siesta is; too bad she’s dead!” theme this anime has going on. I’m going to focus on the moment in this episode that I thought was seriously cool. Yes, it’s based around Siesta and yes, it’s unlikely we’ll get more of them except in flashback. But we got what we got, and dang it, I’m going to celebrate it!
Siesta’s near pout from my favorite quote gave us an early hint: She seems to like Kimihiko. She seemed hurt that he might not want to play with her. But that wasn’t the only hint in the early part of the episode.
Siesta and Kimihiko seem very comfortable with each other. Capture from the Funimation stream.
As they discussed a plan to trap Cerberus, she mentioned that she worked so hard mentally that her “three basic cravings” (07:59) were a bit higher than most people’s. When Kimihiko thought about what those three cravings were, he could come up with how much she enjoyed naps and how much she enjoyed food. He couldn’t think of the third.
“My mistake,” she said. “I only meant food and sleep.”
With this show, it’s hard to tell for sure. But I think her third appetite is for affection or romance. And maybe I’m reading too much into it, but I get the distinct impression that she wants Kimihiko to fall for her.
Delivery: More or Less Confirmed… in a Mech?
Before I share my favorite moment, I should note that I think I’ve figured out how to interpret this show. We’ll see if subsequent episodes support this theory, which is: This series is an absurd fantasy/sci-fi/romance mashup. If it were a mystery, the narrative would share clues with us. The narrative would give us a chance to solve the mystery. But it doesn’t.
Instead, what’s it give us? Bat’s combat ear. Let’s face it, combat ears aren’t all that common. In this episode, we got a shape-shifting werewolf that probably had a combat-grade nose. We also got a monster that looked like a hybrid between something from Resident Evil and Doom 3. That monster, by the way, sounded a lot like the Tyrannosaurus Rex from the original Jurassic Park.
Man, I’d hate to have to clean up after that thing! Capture from the Funimation stream.
What do those have in common? Very little. They’re just window dressing to give the show a certain feel. What the show’s really about is the deceased Siesta’s relationship with Kimihiko. As proof, let me offer this. Remember near the end when Kimihiko was waited for her to show up? We heard her voice coming from the walls.
“Sidekick!” she said, sounding nearly panicked (21:25). “Sidekick, where are you?”
That was shortly before she burst through the wall. She was driving a mech at the time. A mech? Yep! But that didn’t matter. It’s just more window dressing. The real story was the panic that Saki Miyashita, the voice actor, injected into Siesta’s voice. That was more than just concern for her sidekick. At least, that’s how it sounded to me.
What did you think of way they took down the werewolf? What did you enjoy about this episode? Please feel free to let me know in the comments!
The Detective Is Already Dead Episode 5: Other Posts
Other Anime Sites
- Reddit: Tantei wa Mou, Shindeiru. – Episode 5 discussion
- RABUJOI: The Detective Is Already Dead – 05 – To Hel and Back
- AH Brandon Reviews: WELL THAT ESCALATED QUICKLY | THE DETECTIVE IS ALREADY DEAD Episode 5 Review (YouTube)
This Site (Crow’s World of Anime!)
- The Detective is Already Dead Episode 1: Attention Passengers: Is there a Detective on Board?
- The Detective is Already Dead Episode 2: I Still Remember, After all this Time
- The Detective is Already Dead Episode 3: That’s Yui-nya Quality
- The Detective is Already Dead Episode 4: What I See in That Eye
- The Detective is Already Dead Episode 5: That Was Directed at One Year in the Future
- The Detective is Already Dead Episode 6: Crimson Devil, Ice Queen
- The Detective is Already Dead Episode 7: In Time, You Will Recall This Day
- The Detective is Already Dead Episode 8: With That, We Set out on a Journey Once Again
- The Detective is Already Dead Episode 9: SPES
- The Detective is Already Dead Episode 10: So I Can’t Become a Detective
- The Detective is Already Dead Episode 11: A Light in the Midst of Hope
- The Detective is Already Dead Episode 12: Those dizzying Three Years I Spent with You
Well, to be upfront about it, I only caught glimpses of this series–no, I haven’t seen any manga or light novel material on it either. But since you wanted comments and input on this episode, this is the episode I happened to see, and I ended up making an observation that I’ll put forward for what it’s worth.
It began by looking at the Yu-tube series “5 Facts About (insert whatever anime characters)” They selected Siesta as a subject, and lot of what the episode (and much of the reaction they had to that clip) was to point out that Siesta seemed to be an espy of the character Origami Tobiichi (she starts out as an AST officer who is a vengeful enemy of Ratatoskr and spirits in general, but she ends up falling for Shido and ironically he saves her when Oragami becomes a spirit herself). Yes, there is certainly a strong resemblence between Origami and Siesta in many respects–but “5 Facts About…” seemingly missed a subtle point when comparing Origami’s and Siesta’s hairstyle and hair clips.
This episode apparently was the only show in which Siesta wore a hat, and I spotted a detail which suggested that Siesta’s hair clips ARE NOT simply a cool fashion accessory. Now this view you used doesn’t show it, but you see some scenes during this episode sequence in which the camera pans back to reveal Siesta’s entire hat. And lo and behold, the design of her hair clips are replicated in the hat band!
Only, the clip design is flipped 90 degrees, and what strikes the mind that the design is about identical to Roman numeral for the number 12! And the “5 Facts About…” show mentions in passing that Siesta and all her fellow colleages are supposed to represent a constellation in the Chinese zodiac… Well, think about it–how many houses are there in the Chinese zodiac? Exactly 12! Way too much of a coincidence for me…
Well, what does it mean ultimately? Dunno really. By now you know much more about how the anime ended than me, and I don’t know what plot and character developments have occurred in print. Still, it’s such an interesting detail that I think it would be a shame to not at least mention it.
I won’t spoil the ending for your, but I will say that — unfortunately! — the series did not explore that idea.
But it’s fascinating! The way Siesta is presented (and this _might_ be a spoiler, so be cautious, please!)…
Space to avoid accidental sight of spoiler text!
More space…
I think the way the narrative presented Siesta, it’s impossible for her to be human. But it doesn’t explore what she really is. Given what you observed, it’s a shame. Building on that detail could have had a significant positive impact on where the anime went!
For me, the biggest mystery is exactly how old Siesta is.
For real! I’ve never bought the idea that either of them were middle-school aged. And just judging by her demeanor and vocabulary, I’d put her at college age.
Based on how she looks in a swimsuit? Yeah, that’s not like any high school figure I’ve seen. But then, it’s anime.
Part of me hope she’s at least college-aged. Anilist says, “Her real name, age, and nationality are unknown.”
But I guess she belongs to the ages now! Being dead and all…
Okay, with this episode I’m out. Everything feels unmotivated to me. I don’t get it, and I likely never will. That ending scene last week? Siesta knew she was going to “die”. There are artificial bodyparts, so I’m still expecting the twist to be that she’s not really dead, and she needed a proxy. I’m probably wrong, but I don’t much care, to be honest. I’m going to read your posts, but likely not reply, as I’ll have little to say if I don’t watch the episodes myself. I very nearly didn’t watch this episode. I was staring at the screen all episode pretty much with indifference. I didn’t expect a giant monster and a mech, but I felt pretty indifferent about the surprise, too.
Look, if we get the return of siesta, a giant monster, and mech entry, and I *still* don’t care, it’s time to call it quits.
That’s a bummer — I’ll miss reading your perspective! But I can’t blame you. I had to generate a new fictional genre to stick this into so I could pretend to get it.
“Look, if we get the return of siesta, a giant monster, and mech entry, and I *still* don’t care, it’s time to call it quits.”
That’s pretty airtight logic!