Detective/Who Done It anime shows can either go one of two ways… you can either get one that’s clear cut and dry as what you would expect within the genre and the other way is that it goes out of its way to try to put a spin on it. ID:INVADED is one of those shows that opted to go for the latter and because as such it is fated to fall into one of two categories: a show that got it right or a show that tried too hard to think outside of the box and ended failing in its premise and execution. Which one was ID:INVADED?
Let’s Go!
First Episode Synopsis
The first episode introduces us to our main character Sakaido. What we can gather is that he is in another reality which is severely broken and fragmented. He has to put the world back together in order to solve the crime of a girl who was murdered. Right off the bat, this hooks the viewer but then it gets a bit deeper as they begin to explain things about the world that Sakaido is in.
It ends up being like a virtual reality generated by a criminal’s intent to kill. Only detectives who have killed before can safely enter this area, referred to as The Well. Here, everything, including the detective, becomes fragmented and it’s his job to piece the puzzle back together. Meanwhile, while he’s doing that, a real-world team of investigators is receiving bits and pieces of the information as it is being uncovered and they use that in order to track down the suspect in question.
This is about as high-tech and sci-fi as a detective story can get without reaching Minority Report levels. While the first episode was broken into two parts as part of its debut, it didn’t take both parts to get me hooked. This is a really interesting spin on mystery shows. The last one I actually enjoyed was GOSICK. I have seen Danganronpa after that but it didn’t really do much for me. ID:INVADED’s first episode, however, give us a breath of fresh air and if you want a mystery show with a twist, then there is plenty to like here!
Worth Watching?
YES – One of the things ID:INVADED does is it comes into the series as if people know everything about the world. Instead of just trying to flat out explain things and introduce elements slowly, it simply just jumps right in and forces you to pay attention to what is happening. You need to go with the flow which may end up confusing you a little bit as you begin to watch but as long as you’re not checking your phone while you pretend to know Japanese while ignoring the anime, you should be able to understand what’s happening as things begin to click. When they do, you realize the potential of this show and I think this has all the makings to be an anime of the year candidate IF it continues to do all the right things and, so far, it is.
P.S. That opening, “Mr. Fixer” by Sou is AMAZING! Full version is out. Find a way to listen to it! In fact, I typed this entire reaction while listening to it on repeat!
