I had never heard of Butt Detective before this week. I happened to be reading an article from The Guardian on a current escalating trade issue between Japan and South Korea and this sentence caught my eye: “Sales of trips to Japan, Japanese beer and even tickets for the anime work Butt Detective the Movie have all been affected, and there are demonstrations outside Japan’s embassy in Seoul, though some now worry the campaign is setting Koreans against each other.”
Butt Detective? That’s a typo, right? It sounds like more like pornography than anime, although with hentai, one never knows. So I looked it up. Turns out there is a series of children’s books in Japan called Oshiri Tantei. He’s a detective reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes and apparently the books are quite popular in Japan and have been around since 2012. As of last year, there’s also a full 26 episode anime from Toei Animation featuring the lovable posterior-faced investigator. And now, a feature length movie, suffering in South Korea thanks to a trade war instigated by Japan downgrading South Korea’s preferred trading partner status.
It’s honestly rather astonishing that the show and books haven’t been more widely circulated in Western markets. In addition to somehow managing to channel a Professor Layton vibe, it looks hilarious, the animation is excellent and unique, and apparently, the content of the books and show are surprisingly serious in nature, making it a unique franchise, one that likely deserves an English release.
But let’s be honest here. You saw Butt Detective: The Movie and you want to know what the heck is going on. And as it so happens, you can judge for yourself with the trailer to Butt Detective: The Movie, provided conveniently in English courtesy of YouTube! Take a look!
If you’re not sold by now, I’m not sure what to tell you. It’s honestly hard not to check this one out. I was immediately surprised at how hard this lovable sleuth was to understand, since he seems to be voiced similarly to Bane from The Dark Knight Rises. Aside from that however, this is a series that is begging to rise to stardom! And Butt Detective and his faithful dog Brown (oh yeah, that’s real) will be ready to help you investigate the series with all the stuffy British charm they can muster! Oh yeah, and it seems there’s a costumed poo villain too with a nod to Persona 5. Simply delightful!
The original Oshiri Tantei book is available in Japanese on Amazon here if you’re interested, can read Japanese, and haven’t already got it. All images in this article are the property of and copyrighted by their respective owners. If you’re particularly dedicated and have more free time than me, consider starting a petition to Toei Animation to get Butt Detective brought over in English! I suspect we won’t regret it!