Review of Beautiful Bones -Sakurako's Investigation-

Beautiful Bones: Sakurako's Investigation is quite an unusual anime as it focuses on a strange topic which are, as the title tells, bones. Beautiful Bones tells tiny stories about cases which most of them are related to bones of victims, and how a woman named Sakurako solves the case (well, sort of). Beautiful Bones had a lot of potential to be great. However with noticeable flaws, this anime falls back unfortunately. However it still manages to be enjoyable enough to be given a chance. ~{Story}~ The premise of this anime is about a woman named Sakurako, who loves bones; studying them, organizing them, using them tosolve problems and collecting them. The “story” revolves around Sakurako and a boy named Shoutarou, a high-schooler who assists Sakurako, solving cases by examining bones. The series showcases many different cases and the two puts them into fitting conclusions. Due to the episodic format of the series, there really isn’t much of a main story in the series, until the series tries to create one near the end, only to have the series keeping it incomplete. Some of the cases in Beautiful Bones works, others do not. It really is a case of hit and miss here, which is a shame because if it could be more consistent with its content, this series could be so much more. The anime brings up a major case near the end of the anime, and the fact that it doesn’t get completed shows a lack of organization for this anime. Not to mention that backstories for the two leads were pushed for the last episode.
Story: 5/10

~{Presentation}~
The premise itself is very unique, focusing on a character’s fondness on bones, shown through someone else’s perspective. The style is very good for this anime, as it combines gorgeous, vivid art with bleak storylines, images and themes. The contrast of the two is what makes this anime’s style work well. However the presentation feels lacking due to the series’ inconsistent pacing. The anime will spend an episode worth of time of storylines that need more than that, while they’ll give two episodes worth of time to storylines that deserve much less, or maybe none at all. Not to mention, some of the placement of some storylines felt weird, especially where the backstories of Sakurako and Shoutarou’s was placed. Placing character development at the end of the series makes it completely pointless as you’re done spending time with these characters. However, it can be noted that TROYCA might make a sequel series for this.
Presentation: 5/10

~{Character}~
I’m not going to waste your time, Kujou Sakurako is a fantastic character, and she’s one of the bigger reasons why this anime still manages to be good after all those flaws. Sakurako’s fondness for bones is so entertaining, and her gaining a child’s innocence whenever she’s involved with bones are something that made me feel like she was a character with extreme depth. She’s intellectual, pretty, mature for most of the time and insanely unique. Her fascination for bones and cases is what makes her special. Tatewaki Shoutarou is the opposite of Sakurako; he as an average perspective of everything, he’s a typical high-school boy, and nowhere near as interesting as Sakurako. Shoutarou, for the most part, feels like a typical character and he’s just there to be a contrast for Sakurako. There’s nothing special about at all and all. The supporting cast is also pretty uninteresting. Kougami Yuriko, though pretty and nice, is there just for the sake of being there. There’s no depth given to her. Isozaki Itsuki-sensei, though ends up being pretty interesting, was felt underutilized. Also character relationship between Shoutarou and Sakurako is lacking, as no backstory was given to them until the end. The only thing that happens between them is the contrast they make when they’re together. It’s mainly because Sakurako seems miles of a better character than Shoutarou, which ends up making their relation lacking.
Character: 5/10

~{Art}~,
TROYCA is a really new studio and the only other anime they made was Aldnoah.Zero, which was co-developed by A-1 Pictures, which makes Beautiful Bones their first solo project. If Beautiful Bones felt lacking with its quality, it would have been forgivable. However, the production values are outstanding. The art is some of the best of this year, and that was a complete surprise. The gorgeous, vivid art makes a wonderful contrast with its bleak content and images (such as bones). The backgrounds are superbly detailed. The insides of buildings are filled with tiny detailing that it feels obvious that TROYCA spent quite a lot of time on their art. Character models are pretty good. Sakurako by far looks the best, as her mature look makes her character a breath of fresh air. They did a good job at making Shoutarou look as typical as he can. The supporting cast however don’t look any special, however, they’re still good to look at.
Art: 8/10

~{Animation}~
The animations are also top-notch in Beautiful Bones, and it doesn’t pull back the art. TROYCA seems like as if they are influenced by A-1 Pictures because their animation style feels similar to things A-1 Pictures has done before. Animation qualities are consistent and well done. However, since it’s a mystery, there isn’t really much that can test this anime’s animation quality. However it does, whatever it has to do, very well. CG is used on moving, colorful animal skeletons, which appear whenever Sakurako starts a case. The CG is done well, and it’s not that distracting. Facial animations and character movement is really good. One particular thing I like about the animations was that they animated tiny details in the background, which makes the production values much higher for this anime.
Animation: 7.5/10

~{Voice Acting}~
Itou Shizuka did a fantastic job as Sakurako. The maturity she puts into her character is outstanding. Itou Shizuka plays a big role in making Sakurako a unique and interesting character. Enoki Junya does a decent job as Shoutarou, considering Enoki is pretty new to the industry. He does a good job making the character sound as average as he can. Imamura Ayaka, who is also pretty new to the industry, does an okay job as Yuriko, it’s nothing to special though. Ishida Akira does a great job as Itsuki-sensei, which is to be expected from a well-received experience seiyuu. He does a nice job giving the sensei a lighter tone when needed. Overall, the voice acting is impressive in Beautiful Bones.
Voice Acting: 6/10

~{Music}~
Let me get this out of the way as fast as possible; the music in Beautiful Bones is spectacular. The OP, “Dear answer”, is great as it’s catchy and it’s a nice showcase for Sakurako. However the ED, “Uchiyoserareta Boukyaku no Zankyou ni”, is miles better, as it is one of he best ED I’ve ever heard. It’s mysterious, chilling and the vocals are just right. And the music for the ED is fantastic too. The background music used in Beautiful Bones is outstanding. The main theme used in the anime (which is also used in PV 1) is spectacular. There’s so many different versions of the theme (“A Corpse is Buried Under The Feet”, “Beautiful Bones”, “Solution of The Puzzle”, “Sakurako's Investigation”, and “An Answer To The Puzzle”), and all of them are fantastic. Other pieces such as “Butterfly”, “Ambition”, and many others, all help create a great mood for the anime. The mysterious tracks are by far the best of the series’ collection.
Music: 9.5/10

~{Enjoyment}~
Some cases do end up being enjoyable as some of them are quite well written, however some of the cases end up being unenjoyable due to some predictable writing and unsatisfying conclusions. The first case in the series is left incomplete, which is something that should have happened at all. Some of the character development were saved for the last and the anime itself is left incomplete. However Sakurako as a character is what makes this anime a lot more enjoyable as her character is a breath of fresh air. Also the fantastic art and outstanding music makes this anime a lot better than it is.
Enjoyment: 5/10

Overall Beautiful Bones: Sakurako's Investigation is a good mystery anime, not a great one. The cases presented in the anime is a hit or miss, the character development and relationships are bare bones, and the anime itself is left incomplete, making a sequel seasons a necessity for this series. However Sakurako manages to shine throughout the series due to her peculiar behavior. The top-notch production values and outstanding background music also help in making this anime worth watching. It’s just a shame that it couldn’t manage to get the most out of its premise as the anime only manages to be good, not great.

+ Exceptional, gorgeous art that makes a nice contrast with its bleak premise.
+ Great OP, fantastic ED, and outstanding background music.
+ Sakurako is a great character, and Itou Shizuka does a great job doing the role.
+ Interesting premise, and some great suspenseful case.
- Some cases are misses and the story is left incompletely do to terrible pacing and storyline placement.
- Besides Sakurako, the rest of the cast of characters fail to be as interesting.

Overall: 6.4/10