A Study in Crime

A Review of Moriarty the Patriot

If you’ve checked out my Spring into a New Anime Season post you’ll know I recently discovered the existence of the anime, Moriarty the Patriot. True to my word I watched all eleven episodes within the span of a few evenings. I will say I am even more excited for the second part to air in April.

Moriarty the Patriot from Production I.G. is an adaptation of by the manga written by Ryōsuke Takeuchi and illustrated by Hikaru Miyoshi. As indicated by the title, the anime mainly follows the exploits of William James Moriarty, crime consultant. For anyone familiar with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s work this does not come as a surprise. He is a criminal genius. What is interesting here is how the story is crafted. Here Moriarty is the protagonist while Sherlock Holmes plays the role of a foil. The anime presents us with a full view of his background and motivations for his actions. Each episode dives deeper into how his mind works and builds upon his true end goal for society. All together it’s an intriguing twist on our view of the narrative.

Balancing a cleverly crafted story is beautifully drawn art. As I mentioned in my previous post, the key visual is what drew my eye in the first place. This extends through the entire anime. The setting 19th century Britain and it’s exactly how I picture it to look. Since the story follows the darker side of London society, the colors appropriately reflect the moments we are seeing on screen. The act of a crime is always in darker tones, at times dramatically muted with only intentional splashes of red. The art captures the gravitas in poetic detail.

Bookending each episode, we have a well executed opening and ending song. “DYING WISH” by Tasuku Hatanaka perfectly sets the tone. The opening sequence sums up exactly what you can expect from the anime, darkness, anticipation, and a complex web of mystery. You can see right off, as I mentioned earlier, red plays a large role throughout the anime. It’s striking every time the color is used, capturing your attention in full.

Closing out each episode is “ALPHA” by STEREO DIVE FOUNDATION. This is a lighthearted shift from the opening and depicts our cast as their younger selves. It’s the brightest use of colors we see yet ends in the rain with the lyric “there is no turning back.” It is an appropriate parallel for their journey.

Overall I was very impressed. It’s a refreshing take on The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I would recommend to anyone who is a fan of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries. While overall the tone is dark, it’s beautifully clever and captivating. A must watch.

Moriarty the Patriot is currently available on Funimation.