Danica Davidson
May 6, 2025 
Version 1.0.0
Detectives These Days Are Crazy! opens with a scene of Nagumo’s glory days, when he was a genius teen detective. Now he’s 35 and feels past his prime. But Mashiro, a high school girl who wants to be a detective, is determined to become his assistant.
The two are very different. Mashiro is up to date on technology, but she can also be over-the-top, like using a flame thrower when a lighter would do. Nagumo is lazy and complains about his back and gets in some pretty good lines about fashion. Mashiro thinks Nagumo is too old school, and in their first case together, she gets the evidence they need. However, she can’t be too proud for long, because Nagumo’s “old school” ways sometimes also win the day.
It’s one of those stories where characters who are very different . . . and who theoretically shouldn’t get along . . . are actually perfect for each other. The leads do complement each other well, not just in solving cases, but in bringing humor and pathos out in the story. Detectives These Days Are Crazy! never gets too serious, and it has some major gag moments. At the same time, it does like to drop little clues that there’s something in the past that matters to the characters in the present.
For the most part the artwork is “typical” manga style, but then there are some scenes where the creator goes hyper realistic to get some humor across. There are also scenes that do the opposite, and get really vague and sketchy for the humor. In whatever style is used, Masakuni does a good job of capturing the characters.
Detectives These Days Are Crazy! is getting an anime adaptation that will begin in July. It feels like a manga that will adapt well into the anime format, where animators can really have fun with the winning characters and their quirky detective cases.
Story & Art: Igarashi Masakuni
Publisher: One Peace Books
Translator: Emily Balistrieri
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
