LogFAQs > #969504728

NOTE: I still haven't seen the movie for this and whatever new content that has.

22. Odd Taxi
https://myanimelist.net/anime/46102/Odd_Taxi
Spring 2021 (13 episodes)
My Score: 9/10, MAL Score: 8.72/10
Best Character: Odokawa Hiroshi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jX-Ry1VxeDQ

Premise: In a world of anthropomorphic animal people, the walrus Odokawa Hiroshi drives a taxi for a living. He often encounters strange people, and circumstances connect him to the mystery of a missing girl.

The Good: Odd Taxi is a mystery/drama anime. The main character is the taxi-driving walrus Odokawa, and hes a really interesting character. However, my favorite thing about this anime is the sheer amount of character and plotline threads it manages to weave together. The biggest hook is probably the mystery of the missing girl, but theres so much else going on that sometimes I forgot all about it. I was thankful they were all animal people, because it made it so much easier to remember who everyone was and what their relationships were. There's a gorilla doctor, a baboon criminal, a rapping porcupine criminal, police officer dogs, cat and dog idols... I havent even begun to list them all. An impressive drama slowly unfolds, and everyone has a role to play. I even liked the comedy duo. It was amazing how funny they could be while talking about how no one finds them funny.

While the majority of the story is intricately woven together, there are a few times, both big and small, where it relies on contrived coincidences to introduce a plot thread or set something up. Normally that would be a bad thing, but I thought it worked really well in this. There were so many moving parts in the story that sometimes a shortcut is just the best way. There's also the fact that life itself has plenty of coincidences, and that's one of the big themes in this. As long as the story uses them well and not just as a crutch, it's fine. Odd Taxi is a satisfying story full of neat twists and interesting characters. I don't mind if one big plot thread only started because Odokawa drove past someone, or because a selfie just so happened to catch something important in the background. Anyway, I tried to be vague about the actual plot because everything is so interconnected, and experiencing it blind was a lot of fun. Odd Taxi was great.

The Bad: Since I didn't mind the coincidental stuff, my only real complaint is this. I binged Odd Taxi in one night, and then I looked around for discussion of it in various places. Everywhere I looked, people were referencing clues and plot points that I had never seen. I didn't understand. Was I stupid? Did I miss an episode somehow? It turned out that, when this was airing, there was a bonus audio drama thing that released weekly alongside each episode. It's not the sort of thing you'd miss while watching it, but it definitely expands the world and clarifies a lot of big picture things, including one huge twist I found a little confusing. I was sad I hadn't known about the audio drama before watching the show because I think it would have enhanced my enjoyment of it.

Overall: Odd Taxi mixes a lot of different tones and styles. It tells a story using funny animal people, but the result is complex and compelling. There are so many different characters and plot threads. Some are mundane, some are serious, and sometimes the mundane turns serious in impressive and satisfying ways. I really enjoyed watching the story of Odd Taxi unfold.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/5/3/3/AAcDcBAAD5J1.png

CHARACTER: Odokawa Hiroshi (Odd Taxi)
https://myanimelist.net/character/191215/Hiroshi_Odokawa
Voiced by: Hanae Natsuki
TOP 100 RANK: 63rd

SPOILERS FOR ODD TAXI

VIDEO LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ll2-vIf5gvg

Odokawa is the main character of Odd Taxi, and a surprising amount of plot points wind up involving him. I was impressed how well he handled everything that happened. People were firing bullets into his house and he almost couldn't narrow down the suspects. He just had to piece everything together as best he could, contend with all the crazy characters involved, and keep moving forward.

The video I linked is obviously a big moment, but what I love about it is that it's the perfect representation of the kind of storytelling Odd Taxi used so well. A whole bunch of characters witness it. Some are there because they're heavily involved, but a number of them are only seeing this coincidentally. Usually in fiction, coincidences are a bad thing. I've never seen anything else like Odd Taxi where coincidences can feel so epic and earned.

I'll also talk about the big last episode reveal, because man was it ever amazing. Learning that Odokawa was the only one who saw everyone as animal people blew my mind. I loved how it was foreshadowed throughout, like the doctor wondering how Odokawa could tell people apart so easily. It also played into the mystery really well. Even Odokawa confused two similar looking black cat people. I also liked the reveal that the thing he was hiding in his house that made him look so suspicion was just an actual animal. Learning how he saw the world was one of those great twists that made me reexamine everything that had come before it. It was difficult to do a write-up for Odd Taxi because, while it had a lot if standout moments, my favorite thing about both it and Odokawa was how all the little plot threads came together.