Holmes of Kyoto Episode 7: Straying and Enlightenment

The Moriarty of this story strikes again! And he's still as ridiculous as the first time we met him. The only positive thing about this episode is establishing that Aoi has a talent for appraising antiques. And that's about it. The stepbrother's relationship with Holmes is worrying. The face-off with the villain is ridiculous because instead of catching him and taking him to the police for his scams, the script dictates that he's free to continue his schemes so our protagonist can look super cool solving the mysteries.Frankly, I'm not enjoying this anime at all. It's normal to see the puppet strings when it's being pulled, but if the puppet's movements don't distract you from seeing the strings, then the show isn't good. In short, I can see all the tropes and mechanisms of this script to keep it going, because the story isn't interesting enough to distract me from their existence.

Rikyu is annoying and I wish he can be MORE annoying in the sense actually have visual gags that makes him funny. And after half of the season, Aoi's "discerning eyes" finally play a role in the narrative that makes her shine instead of simply an observer to Holmes. The appraising method sounds more like a vibe check than anything. But it is one of the most emotional episode and explore the different dynamics Holmes have with the people around him.

A good episode. The confrontation between Holmes and Ensho made it much more interesting. The game with Aoi was enjoyable as well, especially seeing her win by applying what she had learned from Holmes as an appraiser.