At first glance, I was ready to write this anime off as a weird and almost budget title, as nothing impressed me within in the first minute or so. But as this show went on, man did it catch fire.

Taxi Driver vibes are hard to fend off as our main character’s occupation is taxi driving. However, were far too early to truly understand the main character’s, Odokawa, reason behind taxi driving. Though we do know he is sarcastic and brutally honest. He rarely leaves to doubt what’s on his mind. No, he’s not likeable and you’d have to have his sadistic sense of humor to love him. Yet, over time you find yourself rooting for him. I dont know if I would say he becomes more noble or more relatable (I really want to say he becomes more humanized since all the characters are animal.)

With early thoughts out of the way, let’s jump into the plot. A teenage girl has disappeared. She was last seen getting into Odokawa’s taxi and was not seen again. Of course suspension is turned onto Odokawa following the news. However, there’s a baboon named Dobu who is a gangster. Some people believe he is the one who kidnaps her. Dobu is interested in talking with Odokawa because Dobu believes Odokawa kidnapped the girl and Dobu is being set up. Dobu’s boss also has interest in finding the girl and hires him to do some snooping on Odokawa to get to the bottom of it.

So, more or less, that’s the plot. Why did this girl get in Odokawa’s taxi? Why is she hiding from her father? How does the mob tie into all this? Not to mention wondering how all the side characters fit into the puzzle. There’s an alpaca nurse who is believed to have stole a ton of drugs from the pharmacy. Odokawa’s buddy, Kakihana the gibbon. And the latest development, a girl band lead by a trio of puddles. Their agents are sneaking around in the background. And a radio duo are trying to navigate their careers.

What’s makes this show so darn exhilarating is, first and for most, the main plot. This show is not afraid of some really cool scenes. Such as when Dobu gets in Odokawa’s taxi and tells him to drive while he holds him at gun point. On top of the mystery and noir genres being perfectly executed, theres all the background subplots. On top of the main genres, we have a slice of life, a buddy film, flashes of musical, and so many other genres and plots flawlessly being weaved together. The characters are not only very well written, they are well performed as well. Most of the dialogue is so fluid and smooth. It’s like watching Pulp Fiction meets Taxi Driver and for that, I think we can call this one heck of a ride.

Of the animes I’ve seen this season, this one has been my favorite for sure. I can’t wait for more episodes to roll out. This one was very hard to review. It does not fit in a generic mold. It’s unlike most animes I’ve seen. It has so many highlights it is hard to pick a favorite aspect. Yet, at the same time, there’s so many mysteries. It is hard to gauge how good the characters are right now. Will the subplots have pay offs? There’s a lot still up in the air. With that said:

Score: 9.5 out of 10 (For now)

Watch it on Crunchyroll now: https://www.crunchyroll.com/oddtaxi/episode-1-the-eccentric-driver-810846

Next up is probably To Your Eternity.