I won’t claim credit for calling Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de a sleeper. But I did at least say it was “at a major stretch”, which I suppose is better than nothing. There were basically three reasons for this:

• It’s based on a novel. That improves the odds of at least avoiding the cookie cutter.
• It’s NoitaminA (not nearly the weight that once pulled, but not meaningless).
• It’s Madhouse, and they’re more likely than a generic replacement studio to produce something interesting.

As it turns out, I might have been a little conservative with that call. It’s way too early to make any assumptions, but for one episode at least The Dinner Table Detective was throughly enjoyable. Certainly, it’s been the biggest overperforming premiere of the first week to date. In addition to the above factors we also had a strong director in Masuhara Mitsuyuki (Shirokuma Cafe, Chi’s Sweet Home, Waka Okami ga Shougakusei) at the helm, and I should have weighted that more heavily than I did. Directors influence anime in subtle ways, but it seems most pronounced with comedy. Timing, tone, attitude – all these reflect the director’s influence.

Nazotoki starts us out with a young heiress named Houshou Reiko (Hanazawa Kana) attending a 60th birthday party for a wealthy industrialist. Incidentally, I was today years old when I learned it was traditional (in Japan at least) to wear red to a 60th birthday party (it symbolizes longevity). Reiko runs into three old schoolmates at the party – like her all dressed in red, which will prove plot-relevant – and they have a typical snarky abusive-affectionate banter session. The subject of another friend, Mai, comes up when she’s “inadvertently” shown on the photo montage. Mai was in love with the young man set to inherit the hotel hosting the event, who threw her over for a spouse arranged by his family (who turns out to be one of Reiko’s three friends).

A bespectacled attendant (Kai Yuuki) keeps turning up helpfully in close proximity to Reiko. She then gets a call that there’s been a crime at the hotel, and that her partner, Inspector Kazamatsuri Kyouichirou (Miyano Mamoru) is on the way. Reiko panics, as she’s apparently keeping her ojou-sama status a secret from her fellow officers. But the attendant, Kageyama, thoughtfully provides her with “work clothes”. The twist is that Kazamatsuri is a bocchan himself, but unlike Reiko he broadcasts it proudly to anyone willing to listen (and willing is strictly incidental).

Mysteries are pretty much a dime a dozen in anime these days, and only very rarely are the mysteries themselves instrumental to their success (slightly more often to their failure) – it’s the character writing that mostly tells the tale of the tape. The mystery here is perfectly fine – another of the heiress group, Mizuha, has been assaulted (with a lead pipe? No, a potted plant) in the conservatory. But what makes this episode click is the way it embraces the absurdity of the situation and the snappy dialogue. Both of these rich buffoons are clueless as detectives, implying that they’re only on the job because of family influence and that this is some sort of wish fulfillment. Fortunately Kageyama seems to be a meitantei, and he’s got the case solved already.

I’m not a huge fan of either Hanazawa or Kaji as seiyuu – both can be fine in the right roles (especially her) but neither stretches very well. They’re both in that “fine” category here, though one can see much more in Kageyama that a better actor would have gotten at. Miyano is of course utterly typecast in this role – he’s been anime’s go-to ludicrous popinjay for more than a decade. But there’s a reason for that, namely that he’s very good at it. Miyano is genuinely funny here, and he’s got a lot to work with in Kazamatsuri.

I don’t know anything about the novels Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de is based on. But I do know NoitaminA, Madhouse, and Masuhara, and I know that novels as a rule can be sources for good anime. The machine-gun patter of the dialogue, the way the scenes are composed, the crisp pacing – this show has the hallmarks of a successful old-school comedy-first mystery. It certainly achieves the status of “sleeper” now, even if I need to see a little more before I’m convinced that this early success is sustainable.