Detectives These Days Are Crazy! Volume 1 Review

For those of you who frequently read my reviews here, you’ll know that I am quite a fan of mystery stories. One Peace Books has been scratching that itch with Usotoki Rhetoric in recent years, but now that has reached its end, it’s time for something new. And that comes in the form of Detectives These Days Are Crazy!, which is set to receive an anime adaptation later in the year. Does the original manga impress? Let’s find out!

The story follows Keiichiro Nagumo, a 35-year-old detective who was once renowned for his deductive abilities but now struggles to make ends meet. One day his office is visited by the energetic Mashiro, a high-school girl who dreams of becoming a great detective and wishes to work under Keiichiro as his assistant for now. Of course, Keiichiro can’t afford to pay anyone and has very little interest in having a teenager for an assistant, but when Mashiro proves her worth on a stakeout, he slowly changes his mind.

Mashiro is determined to work under Keiichiro no matter what it takes, for reasons that are so far shrouded in mystery. It’s hinted that the two have some kind of prior connection that Keiichiro simply doesn’t remember, but whatever that is isn’t revealed in Volume 1. Still, she’s a smart girl and our protagonist can learn a lot from her. Not least because he’s still doing his work the old-fashioned way (such as taking a bulky camera on a stakeout instead of using a smartphone) which makes him stand out from the crowd. And that’s not what you want in his line of work.

The other major difference between the two is that Mashiro is something of a superhuman. She seems to have gone through some kind of strict training in preparation for becoming a detective, which allows her to jump from the window of fifth-floor apartments without injury and single-handedly take down crime syndicates…

Yes, Detectives These Days Are Crazy! is a series that isn’t particularly grounded in reality. While it isn’t a fantasy or supernatural series, it’s not afraid to lean into those elements for comedic value (Mashiro at one point is shown to have infinite pocket space, for example). I was slightly disappointed by that, since mangaka Igarashi Masakuni has a perfectly good premise without the eccentric actions of Mashiro. It’s not that it’s bad, I was just hoping for a more serious storyline and perhaps we’ll see that as time goes on.

The bigger issue with the series for me is that Keiichiro is only 35 but acts like someone in his 50s or older. And maybe the fact Mashiro is so eccentric is to help balance out how absurd his behaviour is in that respect, but I never managed to put it aside. I’m hoping that as the story progresses, Keiichiro will begin acting his age thanks to Mashiro’s influence and it won’t feel so odd.

The series has been running in Dengeki Maoh since 2016 and is Masakuni’s first long-running serialisation, although they have gone on to create Senryuu Girl (unlicensed, but received an anime adaptation) and current Weekly Shounen Magazine series, Tune In to the Midnight Heart since (also set to receive an anime adaptation!). The latter of these I’ve been reading since it started and there’s a big contrast between Masakuni’s artwork here in Detectives These Days Are Crazy! and in their more recent work.

Still, it’s not to say that there’s anything wrong with the artwork on display in this first release either. The character designs are attractive and plenty is happening in each panel, even when Mashiro is not engaging in any kind of ridiculous stunts. I’m looking forward to seeing how this one develops in that department over time. It’s fair to say that Masakuni’s work has proved popular over the years, whatever the case!

As mentioned, Detectives These Days Are Crazy! Volume 1 comes to the West thanks to One Peace Books and has been translated by Emily Balistrieri. The translation reads well and brings the cast to life well, particularly when it comes to the difference in vocabulary the two main characters use. There are no extras to speak of here and print quality in places isn’t particularly stellar. There are quite a few panels where you can see artefacts, which could just be an issue with the original materials the publisher was supplied with as this isn’t a problem we usually see from them. It’s not a major issue, but it’s frequent enough to be noticeable when flipping through certain chapters.

The series is still ongoing in Japan with 15 volumes currently available. Here in English, Volume 2 is scheduled for a release in August, but #3 isn’t coming out until May 2026 even with the anime set to air this year, which seems like a missed opportunity given how many new fans that is likely to create.

Overall, Detectives These Days Are Crazy! is off to an interesting start. There are certain elements that I’m not quite sure what to make of yet and it’s entirely possible that it will get too silly as time goes on, but for now, I’m invested enough to carry on. Particularly given the creator’s other works. Just don’t go into this expecting any kind of serious drama series.

Our review copy from One Peace Books was supplied by Turnaround Comics (Turnaround Publisher Services).