REVIEW: ‘RoOT: Route of ODDTAXI’ Episode 1 — “This is the Ibusuki Detective Agency”

Rena (Yūmi Kawai) is a veteran, a 19-year-old detective at Ibusuki Detective Agency. Her partner, Sato (Ryôta Bandô) is a rookie with no instincts but a fair amount of luck. When a mundane investigation into a banker’s affair goes sideways the dou are drawn into something much more mysterious in RoOT: Route of ODDTAXI Episode 1, “This is Ibusuki Detective Agency.”

A great mystery often takes time. You have to build it up. Leave clues that draw both the characters and audience into the plot that looks to unfold. That why it is important for a series to have an element that can speak to the viewer before the mystery is fully present. Something to keep them engaged till the mystery can take over. For Route of ODDTAXI Episode 1, the show introduces the audience to the wonderful chemistry of the series stars.

Rena and Sato form a great balance around which to build a series. The pair form a classic odd-couple dynamic, without overdoing it. Rena is experienced and a bit jaded, and Sato is optimistic and naive. The duo creates enjoyable interactions as they go through the classic P.I. motions of a stakeout. The series’ writing is careful to make Rena pessimistic, but not to the point of making her genuinely unlikable.  She’s a veteran, and her boss saddles her with a newbie. Her mild annoyance with the situation feels relatable to anyone who has been in a similar situation. This is especially true when we learn why Sato got his job.

As part of the hiring process at Ibusuki Detective Agency, a 50-question true or false quiz is administered. Defying all odds, Sato didn’t get a single question right. This statistical anomaly prompts Rena’s boss to hire he young man as a curiosity. While this result could imply Sato has bad luck, the episode makes the character’s situation not nearly so cut and dry.

When we first see the character, he’s getting drinks from a street-side vending machine. And he keeps winning free drinks. He also manages to get the crucial photograph of the adulterous banker due to accidentally setting off the car horn. While getting all 50 questions seems like horrible luck, remember that it got him his job. What kind of luck that counts as is debatable. After all, an average score doesn’t net him the result he wants. This mixed luck appears again at a crucial moment at the halfway point of the narrative.

Sota runs into a hired goon later that night. Looking for the photos Sato took, he’s unwilling to take no for an answer. After a bit of roughing up, the goon departs with the incriminating evidence. Sato and Rena desperately search for a place to get him some help. Finding only a small bar just as it closes, the proprietor is kind enough to let them in.

While Sato rests and applies some much-needed ice to his nose, the owner starts telling them about a strange cab driver who regularly visits the bar. The pair are intrigued and soon agree to look into the individual for the barkeep.

When Route of ODDTAXI Episode 1 sees the duo return to their office, they learn a young girl has gone missing. Suspicions of kidnapping are already making the rounds. However, their boss still wants them to look into the strange cab driver. A penance for losing the photos their client needed. Shortly though, random links begin to form, indicating their strange cab driver is somehow involved with the missing girl.

How fluidly this opening episode draws random events into a larger plot is masterful. The unconnected introduction allows the series to focus on the main characters, using the time for a deep introduction. Allowing the disc0neccted opening to transform into the core plot is a wonderfully shrewd way to make it feel more meaningful.

Likable characters, slick plotting, and an intriguing early setup come together to make Route of ODDTAXI Episode 1 a memorable opening entry. While no one element feels strong enough to grab a viewer’s attention on its own, the sum of its parts creates something that inquisitive minds and fans of strong character writing will both feel drawn to.

Root: Route of ODDTAXI Episode 1 is streaming now on Crunchyroll.