Review of Midnight Occult Civil Servants

I'm writing my first review ever simply because I find this show's low rating on MAL baffling. Well, not exactly baffling, but rather a pointed demonstration of how restrictive some people's view of what anime should be really is. The show doesn't have an overarching plotline, intense action, or romance. That is to its strength. It's a calm, thoughtful, and steady excursion into an intriguing world. In each episode you'll see the cast interact with supernatural creatures, drawn from mythologies all over the world, and explore how the existence of those creatures can create problems and solutions for people living in the modern world. The charactersare grounded but interesting, and the show is not afraid to deal with mature themes without feeling the need to wallow in them. More than that, the show is judicious with its characters, with one of the main characters not appearing in multiple episodes when he would've distracted from the narrative.

This is an episodic series, and it knows how to play to the strengths of an episodic series. As long as you're willing to sit down and enjoy some thoughtful worldbuilding, creative takes on traditional mythology, and an overarching theme of making the world better by creating a place for everyone, then you'll have a good time. This show is adult not because it depicts anything explicit, but because it expects the viewer to be a little worldly and to appreciate the nuanced tensions that we encounter in our day to day lives. If you're an adult who's curious about the world, and willing to reflect on it, then watch this show.