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The Detective Is Already Dead Episode 9 Review – Quick Summary
In The Detective is Already Dead episode 9, “SPES,” Siesta, Kimihiko Kimizuka, and Charlotte Arisaka Anderson set off on a yacht to the island of SPES. There, they hoped to rescue Alicia, identify and capture or kill the leader of SPES, and bring to an end the conflict between Siesta’s organization and SPES. Unfortunately, no plan survives intact contact with the enemy, and within minutes of Kimihiko and Charlotte storming the headquarters, they found their plans in tatters. Could they complete their mission? And where was Siesta?
Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious.
Favorite Quote from The Detective Is Already Dead Episode 9
I keep getting the impression that there are times Siesta is not taking the situation seriously. Capture from the Funimation stream.
While the yacht sped towards SPES Island, did it seem to you that Siesta, Kimihiko, and Charlotte were really, really relaxed? Shouldn’t they have used the time to refine their plans and tactics or something?
Anyway, my favorite quote came from the opening scenes. The three of them had been talking in general terms about how this was a good time to attack because the hearts SPES had stolen were likely wearing out. Kimihiko sounded almost philosophical that all these years of chasing SPES was about to come to an end.
Out of nowhere, Siesta asked (00:41), “Sidekick, shall I stroke your head?”
“What was the segue into that?” Kimihiko asked.
I’ll miss their banter.
Best in Show Moment for The Detective Is Already Dead Episode 9
Hel defeated the Resident Doom Evil beast. And in doing so, gave one of the first recorded examples of The Chewbacca Defense in the wild. Capture from the Funimation stream.
Setup: One of My Middle School Plots…
Back in the mid 1970s when I was in middle school (sixth grade, I think), I wrote a short story. Of course, it sucked, because back then, my writing sucked even more than it does now. If you can believe such a thing. Which I know is hard, but work with me here.
I added a plot twist: The administrator of the moon base was actually a double agent! I felt quite pleased with myself when I showed it to a teacher. Fortunately, one of my friends read that scene said that made no sense. I said, “But it was a cool surprise!” My friend remained unconvinced and asked why the character would do such a thing. I had no answer. Why? Because I didn’t have the skill or experience to understand that I need to bring the reader along with me. Major surprises need to be foreshadowed, even if subtly. The reader should be surprised, then say something like, “Ahh! I see where that came from!”
See? Neither Kimihiko nor Charlotte saw that coming, either! And they had access to more info than I did! Capture from the Funimation stream.
Put another way, I should not put the reader into a position of being surprised, then saying, “What the f*ck was that?”
In this episode, the science fiction reader in me was in the latter mode for most of the episode.
But my mission on this site is to celebrate anime, and by God, I’m going to celebrate this anime. I’m just struggling with the “how” in this episode.
What made it so difficult? Well, to start with, we learned that SPES is a front for alien plant-based creatures intent on killing all humans to reduce competition for resources.
Delivery: But… I… Must… Celebrate…
Ummmm… They’re what, now?
“Hawk Eye” Kimihiko took a shot at the Big Bad Plant Alien, but a plant clone got in the way. The shot destroyed the clone, but Kimihiko was so overwhelmingly astonished that he simply could not pull the trigger again. Maybe the gun jammed? Off screen, where we couldn’t see it? Or hear it?
We learned that Kimihiko and Charlotte are happy to turn their backs on an enemy and then act surprised when that enemy and allies attack. From behind. Where they’d just left a gap in their defenses.
We learned that Siesta can stop her heart, which she did along the side of the road where Kimihiko could find her, because why not?
We learned that Siesta and Kimihiko were happy to sit around flirting while Charlotte fought for her life against the leader of SPES. Because, you know, they trusted her so much, and really they haven’t had much alone time lately, what with Charlotte riding along with them on their expensive yacht. So they had to steal what time they could.
Charlotte? Charlotte who? Oh, that girl! She’ll be fine. She can take care of herself! Capture from the Funimation stream.
We learned that Hel just wanted love. Okay. I guess becoming murderous is one way to attract attention… On, and the only love that would satisfy her was from an alien plant-based life form. Because, you know, why not, take II?
Oh, and we learned that the big critter (the one that looked like a Resident Evil monster had a baby with a Doom 3 monster) emits memory-erasing spores when it dies — just in time to infest Kimi after Hel harvested Siesta’s heart. Because the plot said it had to. Though we never saw an indication it could do that before now. That I can remember.
We learned that it was Hel who plunged her hand into Siesta’s chest and extracted the heart. Which was perfectly fun to watch, having just seen Siesta and Kimihiko have such a nice chat just moments before. Because what I’ve always wanted to do is watch a character I like quite a lot great an organ torn out of her dead body.
Damnit, I got nothing. Not since Taboo Tattoo has a series so thoroughly fought every attempt I made to find something good to say. I’d be embarrassed if I weren’t still fuming about what this episode did to my sensibilities…
Am I being too harsh? Did you find something to celebrate in this episode? If so, please share in the comments! There’s still a chance to restore some of my faith in humanity!
The Detective Is Already Dead Episode 9: Other Posts
Other Anime Sites
- Reddit: Tantei wa Mou, Shindeiru. – Episode 9 discussion
- Watch Party: REACTION / The Detective Is Already Dead Episode 9 SPES
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
What you say about surprise reminds me of my experience watching The Dark Knight Rises. Specifically, the moment Talia is revealed, and my immediate reaction was to realize that I *could* have figured that one out… *if* I had thought about it for two seconds, which is why the movie kept constantly busy.
I wish I had made time to watch that movie — the last Batman movie I watched was Batman & Robin. I’ve heard a lot of good about Christopher Nolan’s vision. The technique he used sounds great!
Oh, I highly recommend the entire trilogy. 🙂
Thanks! I’ll have to check it out.
“Convenience.” Plot points are introduced simply because that’s how the author wants it. You’re middle school anecdote was very apt. Perhaps some writers never grow beyond the middle school level. Unlike you, who is very insightful in your analysis and entertaining in your explanations of those insights.
Your*
Thanks! I certainly try. But man, this show is making it really though to generate insights!
I forgot to say that this episode pretty much confirms that Hel is Nagisa, which fulfills her book’s prophecy that Kimihiko would be Hel’s partner.
So maybe the Resident Evil/Doom 3 evil spawn spore erased Hel’s memory, too? That’s be a little interesting at least…
I’ve said it before, but making sense is not this show’s forte, and that’s an understatement.
There are some series that make no sense, but make complete sense later. Like Kyousou Giga. I don’t think this series is going to end up in that category…