Background on me In a vacuum Dr. Ameku ticks so many of my boxes for my personal interests. The medical aspect is super engaging for me as someone who is a former premed and is still working in biomedical science. As well I love detective stories and try to watch all that release each season. Needless to say I really wanted Dr. Ameku to be great but I think it falls short of that as Ill lay out in this review. Animation/Visual style The visual style is nothing special with functional animation lacking a lot of flair. The most notable visual element is the closeups of moving objects like Dr. Amekus record player used occasionally which are a good mixup. I saw a lot of complaints online about long pans during dialogue scenes but they didnt personally stick out to me. This may be because I was focused on reading subtitles and thinking through the mystery and it probably is more apparent to a Japanese or dubbed viewer. Plot and mysteries: First of all there isnt an overarching plot to Dr. Ameku which is typical of the detective genre and fine. I personally prefer when theres a loose connection between cases or something overarching to chase after but its all a matter of opinion. However I will note that they also lack any overarching theme or analysis across the cases which I think is a missed opportunity to add depth. The lack of consistency alluded to earlier is one of my largest issues with the show and it can be seen in their quality and topic choice. It gyrates between housestyle inhospital medical mysteries and outofhospital detective dramas with a medical flair. I think in a vacuum this is a cool idea to add variety to the series but it often feels like the two concepts are crowding themselves out and one has to take the backseat. As far as the writing of the Mysteries they range from very simple to decently fleshed out which can create a weird mental feeling. This becomes especially frustrating when they show an easy clue repeatedly on screen far after the point where the audience has got the idea. This choice in certain scenes is made even more odd by how the show is at other times extremely good at subtly conveying medical information through body language or a wellindicated background detail. This feels great when you notice it before the reveal and can gloat to yourself that you put that together. Character Design: The character design doesnt stand out like the animation with the exception of Dr. Ameku who feels unique and vibrant compared to the rest of the cast. The other standout is the Columbolooking detective who I cant help but really enjoy. There are some clashing designs such as a doctor in the last mystery with strange massive eyes but its not common. Characters: Side characters have their motivations plausably shown but I didnt find myself compelled by their stories. They do a passable job of giving contextualizing the case but its usually nothing more. Of the main cast Dr. Ameku is by far the most interesting with her inability to control her emotions and tsundere demeanor. I really wish the show had spent more time giving her opportunities to display this because its a very strong aspect and is fun to watch. Her aide Kotori works as a narrative device and as a straight man but is often flat. His biggest hits come from how he changes a little bit over the series and whenever there is relational tension with Dr. Ameku. Like Dr. Amekus emotions I wish they had developed their relationship a bit more actively as I think there is some interesting potential for tension in his caretaker vs student vs romantic ? dynamic. Treatment of women/minorities: The depiction of autism is very engaging and conveys an interesting dynamic but is undercut by how Dr. Ameku is infantilized. Shes depicted struggling to engage with social dynamics sitting strangely failing to sit still and having issues interacting with others. This part is really good even especially when she talks about how her struggles make her feel. However at the same time its made fraught by the choice to depict a 27yearold woman as looking like a child. It unfortunately feeds into the long history of highfunctioning autistic and women people being treated like they arent adults. I find this difficult to get a pulse on because this moe aspect is part of the reason a lot of people come to shows like Dr. Ameku but it often makes me pretty uncomfortable. Its possible this is an intentional decision to pair her childlike actions with a more suiting form but if thats the case I think its a bit of a copout. To me it would be more intellectually interesting to see the discontinuity of Dr. Amekus actions in an adult body as done for male genius detectives. As far as everyone else other women are all portrayed in a strictly average way with all the positives and negatives of normal Japanese societal expectations. Conclusion: In conclusion Dr. Ameku is a series with a very interesting premise that often falls short of its potential. For people who like mysteries and medicine stories this is a mustwatch only because you are unlikely to find anything else like it. However for everyone else I find this to be a much harder show to recommend and Im going to leave my final score as a 7/10.