Name: Matantei Loki Ragnarok
Genre: Fantasy
Year: 2003
Rating: Average
Loki, the Norse god of mischief has been banished into the world of humans by Odin. The main protagonist is a god trapped in his infant form. Though a child he is far from helpless after all he is still a god. To return to the land of gods he must collect evil spirits, hence the creation of Rnjaku Detective Agency. Whilst searching and ridding the world of spirits, ghosts and evil beings he is confronted by a girl with a special interest. Daidoushi Mayura is far from an average girl, she is one who holds a strong interest in mysteries. Having grown up with the desire to become a detective, Mayura instantly volunteers to become a member of Loki’s group. Loki on the other hand is more interested in how he will return to his former self and why Odin has sent assassins to take his life. Soon we find out that it is believed that Loki will be the cause of Ragnarok. (The end of the world) Despite being completely different from the conventional myth the series has its own adaptations of the Norse gods some of which is quite amusing.
When I first heard of this series I instantly thought that it was a detective anime much like the famed Detective Conan series. However I must stress that this impression is wrong. Although there are “mysteries that need to be solved,” they are much more like demons/evil spirits appearing and Loki eliminating them. The series doesn’t involve having the protagonist solve puzzles and look for clues. Though the words “mystery” and “detective” echoes throughout the series they end up as nothing but repeated phrases. Despite this Loki did remind me of Detective Conan after all he is a adult trapped in a boys body and every now and then we see his true self appear. With regards to the content, the battle scenes are far from spectacular. Though I found this series quite boring at times because it did have characters from Norse mythology it still kept my interest. The series does put an interesting spin on the physical appearance of the famed Norse gods however the way their personalities are portrayed did please me. I guess if your a fan of Norse mythology then maybe this series might entertain you. Don’t expect a very good interpretation of the story of Ragnarok as you won’t be getting it here. However the series does have some good points of which may please some.
