he idea of an anime series where the Norse gods are reincarnated as children and play out their traditional battles on Earth may sound dynamic and exciting, but in reality, nothing much happens in the initial episodes of Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok—the first episode doesn't even get into the identity of its lead character, let alone the reasons behind his earthly sojourn. The series actually opens with energetic teenage detective-wannabe Mayura Daidoji, a blithe, bubbly student obsessed with mysteries and the spirit world. When she hears a report of a haunted tower, she runs out of school without a second thought to go explore it, and when she finds a spooky doll with supernatural powers, her first reaction is to plan out the press conference that will make her famous. It doesn't even occur to her to be scared.
But when she casually draws quaintly dressed child detective Loki into the haunted-doll mystery (mostly because his loyal servitor Yamino is cute), Loki is more cautious about the doll, and far quicker to delve into its origins and intent. In the process, he reveals that he's more than the grave and formal kid he appears to be. But not until the second episode does the series reveal that he is actually the Norse god Loki rather than a namesake. Briefly seen being forcibly exiled from Asgard by Odin, and forced into the form of a child in an awful Victorian-looking suit, Loki is trapped on Earth until he can find a way back. In subsequent episodes, other members of his pantheon come looking for him, also in kid form, and with varied intentions, and they rapidly settle down to become ongoing cast members. In the meantime, Loki looks into odd happenings around the city.
But the series takes a new tone in episode four, when Mayura's irritable father comes to tear her away from her newfound attachment to Loki and her devotion to mysteries. Loki's magic reveals their shared past, and lets them explore forgotten memories that explain her obsession and her father's bitterness, and let the two of them come to new terms.
The gods are just kind of dull
A lot of interesting ideas are at work in Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok, but the first four episodes don't do much with them; instead, they plod along with fairly standard stories that don't do much to draw in new viewers. The series' animation is terrific, with sharp, appealing character designs and a penchant for going from sunny beauty to a dark, shadowy, dramatic color palette, and whenever Loki manifests his magic, the vivid hues and sharp contrasts are fun to watch. But while the imagery is spectacular, it isn't being put to much worthwhile use. In particular, the initial episode is an entirely standard demon mystery that would pass for an episodic filler in most series, and its slow pace and lack of unique story hooks seem deadly to a show that's trying to establish itself as interesting and different.
Subsequent episodes, with the arrival of Loki's rivals, are a bit livelier, but the series still feels a bit too much like Oh My Goddess! with the sweet love-story angle excised, and nothing much brought in to replace it. It almost feels like the creators don't want to get into Loki's backstory and motivations right away, lest they not have any material left for later in the series, but as a result, he's not much of a character. His otherworldly stiffness and lack of affect are a bit spooky in an entertaining way, but he's inconsistent and unfocused.
Comedy fans may find more to like in Mayura, one of those bossy, loud anime girls who forces her way into other people's lives and takes over mostly by utterly refusing to hear the words "no" or "go away." If nothing else, her episode with her father is melancholy, sweet and well put together. But she still seems like a minor character given free rein to run roughshod over the series. Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok has yet to find its feet, and an unremarkable opening doesn't necessarily indicate a problem with the whole series. But it's hard to get into a show that seems apathetic from the start about drawing viewers in or making them care.
One of the main things I felt was missing from Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok was a sense that Loki really was the god of old. Where's his vaunted sense of mischief and malice? This Loki seems more like a child robot with occasional silly spells.
— Tasha
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