It’s challenging to classify anime like Odd Taxi (ODDTAXI). Kazuya Konomoto’s passion project ODDTAXI, set in a Tokyo filled by anthropomorphic animals, relates the tale of grumpy walrus cab driver Odokawa and the captivating mystery surrounding him. ODDTAXI has the feel of a Quentin Tarantino film, with all the intrigue, witty social criticism, comedy, and darker, more mature tone that you would expect from a Tarantino plot. Dealings with the mafia, the underground, the sinister side of idol culture, and even modern societal problems like social media addiction and online dating frauds are shown.
The following six anime series were chosen because they cleverly weave together their many plot lines, portray the dark side of urban life, feature strong main characters and a huge cast, share odd and funny language, and have a lot of mystery. Most of them include social criticism at their core, and some of them even feature animal characters in stories about large city life. Let’s look at it!
1. BEASTARS
When Beastars originally came out, several people mistakenly thought it was a Zootopia knockoff. In comparison to anything Disney could ever envision animating, this examination of societal dynamics involving predator and prey is significantly more complex, explicit, and even brutal.
Like Odd Taxi, the episode also features mystery aspects, with Legoshi attempting to determine who recently consumed a pupil at the school he attends. It’s a tonne of fun and one of the greatest anime Netflix has recently added to its library.
In Beastars, a wolf wants to have sex with a rabbit but is concerned that the rabbit may be eaten instead. It’s a metaphor for puberty, in my opinion. Perhaps it is shining a spotlight on campus sexual assault. Or perhaps it’s a tale of a generation of young people coming of age where the quickly shifting social conventions have cut them apart from their parents. Since I no longer care about the subject,
When I stop attempting to draw parallels between our world and the metropolis of lusty young carnivores and herbivores in Beastars, it begins to work. When I accept the show’s inherent logic as it is, I find that I appreciate it more. Beastars is comparable to Romeo and Juliet in that regard. Star-crossed lovers are held apart by society in this seductive, violent, and frequently infuriating story. Beastars may also be transformed into anything else you wish it to be, just like Shakespeare’s plays.
2. Paranoia Agent
Shounen Bat (Lil’ Slugger), a little child who is said to go about on golden rollerblades and hit people with a baseball bat, is said to be terrorising Musashino City. After the initial assault on character designer Tsukiko Sagi, who reports being hit with a bat by an elementary school boy, the rumours spiral out of control. From that point on, both young and old people started to hear the rumours, and the number of victims of the unknown perpetrator increased. As reality and illusion merge and paranoia increases, the narrative unfolds as detectives Keiichi Ikari and Mitsuhiro Maniwa look into the case.
All otaku should watch Mousou Dairinin (Paranoia Agent), a classic mystery, urban, psychological, and detective anime. With each episode concentrating on a new individual, Paranoia Agent, created by the one and only Satoshi Kon of Paprika and Perfect Blue, has an urban mystery feel similar to ODDTAXI. The investigators look into the incidents where Shounen Bat attacked victims, and they are finding evidence that link all of these individuals.
We see an early 2000s critique of the internet, cyberbullying, and violent video games, which makes us think of ODDTAXI’s social commentary on the influence of social media on our contemporary life. Can we believe Odokawa’s perception given the mystery surrounding him and his condition, which is connected to designer Tsukiko’s mental health issues? ODDTAXI continues the heritage of Paranoia Agent by similarly manipulating our perception and expectations.
3. Africa no Salaryman
Three anthropomorphic animals who work together in a large Tokyo company are introduced as Lion, Lizard, and Toucan. Although Lion tries to do his job properly and is kind, Toucan frequently gets him into trouble. Lion must cope with a variety of adult life issues, like finishing a project, getting along with tough coworkers, and adjusting to the harsh Japanese office environment full of deadlines and overtime. It is not all fun and games in the concrete jungle.
For those who enjoy metropolitan settings with anthropomorphic animals, slice-of-life rather than mystery-heavy anime, and who wish ODDTAXI had more jokes and humorous moments, there is Africa Salaryman. You’ll be reminded of Odokawa’s pal Kakihana and his peculiar clientele by the ridiculous predicaments Lion finds himself in.
4. Monster
Renowned brain surgeon Dr. Kenzou Tenma is of Japanese heritage and based in Europe. He is fortunate with a lovely fiancée and is about to receive a significant promotion at the hospital he works at. His peers highly praise him as one of the brilliant young brains who would revolutionise the profession. But all of that is about to change when Kenzou encounters a dire choice one night: whether to save the life of the town’s mayor or that of a little child.
While under pressure from his superiors to operate on the mayor, he is compelled by his principles to save the other crucial patient’s life rather than the mayor’s by performing the surgery. All life is taught to be equal, but a surgeon’s ideals are challenged when a string of murders take place in his neighborhood with all the evidence pointing to the youngster he saved. Kenzou learns that the fate of the world could be linked to the mystery youngster as he sets out on an expedition to uncover the identity of his little patient.
5. Another
Misaki, a well-liked pupil at Yomiyama North Middle School’s class 3-3, passed away unexpectedly in the middle of the academic year in 1972. The instructor and pupils were so distraught by the death that they acted as though Misaki were still present, which created an odd presence in the graduation picture. Kichi Sakakibara joins Yomiyama’s class 3-3 in the spring of 1998, when he meets Mei Misaki, a shy student that both their classmates and instructor appear to neglect.
The class quickly becomes involved in a weird phenomenon in which pupils and their family members start passing away in sometimes horrifying ways. Kichi and Mei try to figure out how to stop it before it kills any more of their classmates or them after realising that these killings are connected to the “Misaki of 1972,” an annual catastrophe that has nearly always affected every class 3-3 since 1972.
Because I saw this anime as a roller coaster from beginning to end, I found it to be entertaining. The characters were continuously shifting and altering along with the fast-moving narrative, so I never knew what would happen next. As violence often hits harder when it is coupled with fast-paced storytelling, this served to truly accentuate the violent aspect of it. I believe the voice actors did an amazing job with the tale and characters they were given to deal with, and I truly liked the characters.
6. Great Pretender
According to legend, Makoto Edamura is Japan’s biggest con artist. He tries to con a Frenchman in Asakusa with his buddy Kudo, but unanticipatedly they get conned. It turns out that the Frenchman they were trying to scam is Laurent Thierry, a considerably more powerful “confidence man” who runs the mafias. Edamura has been doing the dirty work for the Frenchman, but he hasn’t yet learned what destiny awaits him.
Check out these six recommendations from the Honey’s Anime staff if you love ODDTAXI as much as we do. After ODDTAXI and the Spring anime season of 2021 conclude, these urban mysteries, some of which are set in Tokyo, interactions with the underworld, strange comedy, close-mouthed MCs, and several plotlines coming together will keep you company. It’s difficult to choose suggestions for a game as unusual as ODDTAXI, but we promise that our list has something for every lover of Odokawa!