Audience reviews
16 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
ekla
First thing first: this series is not for everyone. Only a handful of anime fans would like slice of life - police drama, for them its dream story. But for the rest, the series is a big no no.
Story: A simple one where a girl joins police force and the experience/hardships she faced as the days goes by. Several characters comes as the journey progresses but there is no dark tone that we generally observe in the real life. It starts in relaxing tone, gradually picks up it pace and ends in a thrilling mode. The presentation of the story took a feministic approach but I think this is the good type of old school feminism, that we will all like. It has fair share of funny moments as well.
Characterisation: Kawai, the main protagonist, is typically a nervous newbie. She fears a lot, fails a l…
Read at the sourcekchakrak
Slice-of-Life police drama? Not sure how to describe this, but SoL is definitely part of it, and true SoL too. Outside of an ending arc these are individual stories about how hard it is to be a police officer told by a frankly hopeless cast of cops. Well, are they hopeless or brilliant? That's honestly part of the charm. Also, I don't know how true to life this is so I recommend taking it with a pinch of salt and not a true representation.
The characters are fun, not super fleshed out but they are enjoyable to spend time with and they do have unique personalities. The animation style is clean but on the budget end of things, beautiful isn't a word I'd use but distinctive is. The stories are fun for the most part, but it doesn't shy away from harder topics, though it also doesn't really dw…
Read at the sourceNightscape00
Had this been a pure police drama, I would probably be giving this anime an eight or nine right now. During the few times the anime strictly focused on the drama and dropped the jokes, it was quite good, but those times are so few and far between that it just highlighted how bad the rest of the show is.
The problem is that the anime has a bad case of identity crisis. It doesn't know if it wants to be a gag comedy or a serious drama. The anime will go from all out comedy one minute then become knee-jerkingly serious the next. There is no build up to the serious scenes and by the end they were even using jokes and gags during the serious parts. Considering the type of crimes and accidents this anime tackles, the jokes make the show seem insincere and juvenile - it felt cowardly, as if the…
Read at the sourceSuperAdventure
If Buddy Cop anime are your thing- and even if they're not- I couldn't recommend this more strongly: it far surpassed my expectations and probably will yours too.
The story of Mai Kawai is a reminder that, not everyone can be top of the class. Not everyone gets accepted into the #1 High School, or can get into college. So what happens to all the ordinary people left? Japan has a fairly large underclass of people living on benefits, and not all of them are elderly... Mai confronts an adulthood unsure about her future; and wanting to avoid the fate of her father who is an alcoholic; she finds herself a rookie recruit to Japan's civil service. It's a job that doesn't require an entrance exam, has a low but stable salary, and at first glance appears easy enough; and she gets partnered up with…
Read at the sourceTopikBagus
+ One of those underappreciated anime with a work-life theme, because of its realistic mature theme and ordinary-looking characters.
+ Started out strong and kept that momentum going throughout the series. The plot is lighthearted enough and full of comedic moments, but there is always a that serious moment where the plot twist finally kicks in.
+ There is no romance narrative involved, only healthy workplace competition, but this keeps the series focused on police work-life rather than an unnecessary plot.
+ This anime also demonstrates that while government organizations are flawed as a whole, there are individuals within who do their jobs well regardless of their end target or agenda.
+ The series uses some real-life crimes or incidents, which can be highly unsettling at times, but…
Read at the sourceZanryu1337
Hakozume (Police in a Pod) struggles with its identity a bit. It oozes the feel of a Saturday Morning Cartoon / Slice of Life show, but strangely enough it later reverts into a traditional anime story line. And within that, it doesn't really have the space to breath properly.
To row back a bit: Hakozume is somewhat sectionalized into three parts: the introduction, the middle, and the anime. All parts share some distinction thou. The general episode length is halved to around 11 minutes and they mostly encapsulate the protagonist Police Box Women Kawai and Fuji in their work.
And the introduction part in a good step in into their world and their personalities. But the show uses all its positive traits here.
The middle section is a big let down in terms of characterization. This is highly l…
Read at the sourceMakuG
Hakozume: Kouban Joshi no Gyakushuu (Police in a Pod)
Police in a Pod follows Mai Kawai, a police officer that has grown increasingly disgruntled and disappinted with her job. Kawai decides to throw in the towel and is about to turn in her resignation only a few months into her work when Seiko Fuji, a star member of the Criminal Affairs Division, enters their precint and becomes her new mentor and partner.
PLOT - 9/10
The premise and concept of Police in a Pod is extremely unique and I believe is the strongest point of the show. It provides a glimpse into the lives of police offers and the various struggles that they face while serving the people. With the author having served 10 years in the police force as a female officer, Police in a Pod serves as her way of shining a light on the f…
Read at the sourcecat_coffee
Sick of only hearing about police brutality, reactionary men's rights advocacy, and slick TV crime dramas? Police in a Pod spits in the face of all of that. Police in a Pod is what you'd call a "true slice of life".
Police in a Pod does something amazing - the serious scenes are intentionally brain-dead predictable. By not introducing some crazy plot twist, it gives itself room to present each situation for what it is. It's like an adult sitting you down and explaining to you an uncomfortable concept. No hot takes, just what it is and what it feels like. And it always tops off by having Kawai redeem her stupidity in other ways.
The show goes in depth into how much it sucks for women working for the police in Japan and also how women really do have their strengths and weaknesses compared…
Read at the sourceThe_Namer
Equal parts workplace comedy and straight police procedural, this show has a ring of authenticity that some other police anime lack, thanks to the author having worked in law enforcement for a decade. The show's comedy and drama elements both work well, but it has an unfortunate habit of placing them too close together at times. Each episode typically adapts two or three standalone stories, bolted together with no particular theme, so it can be focused on lighthearted workplace drudgery one minute and the minutiae of examining a corpse the next.
I don't normally comment on a show's OP and ED, but it's worth mentioning that they are misleading, throwing fan service shots into what is otherwise a generally reserved series that would feel more at home alongside live-action cop shows than oth…
Read at the sourceWallanimx
I realize this won't be everyone's cup of tea, but I swear its worth a watch as all hidden gems are.
This isn't a hard dramatic cop anime. Its kinda slice of life mixed with real Japanese police tactics, and it doesn't really try to be more than that. Yes, there are are very sad/even horrific scenes in this anime, but the tone tends to stay lighthearted.
I enjoyed that it talks about how being a cop in Japan can obliterate your private life in certain aspects. As your on call in case of a harrowing event and will have to drop everything in a matter of minutes. In case of a natural disaster, you probably won't be there to protect your own family...and yet that's the job they signed up for. Its really sad, but realistic. And they just learn to live with that...kinda. Sake helps when dates…
Read at the sourceGoatshigami
Police in a Pod Review
After graduating from high school, Mai Kawai's priority was to find a job with a stable income. But the only institute she was accepted in was the police academy, which she reluctantly joined. Now, she's a police officer who's unexpectedly treated and criticised harshly by the citizens. Disheartened, she decides to leave the job after only few moths of appointment until she meets Seiko Fuji, her new senior and decides to give this job a second chance.
Story:
The plotline is intriguing. The execution is decent. The pacing is perfect. However, the humours didn't hit the right spot at all. It has a comedy tag but in no way made me laugh. If not for the Slice of Life content and the last case, this aspect would have got an even lower rating from me.
Characters:
There'…
Read at the sourceMoeBlargus
Police in a Pod is a very unusual show, and one which I greatly enjoyed.
Other reviews talk about its background and Manga more (which I have not read) so I'll just be focusing on a brief, spoiler-free breakdown here.
The story is fairly simple, following the lives of two policewomen - the young Kawaii and her more mature partner, Sergeant Fuji - as they go about their lives as members of the police force. Though often comedic, the show still manages to carry a serious tone when dealing with the darker aspects of police work. The characters are what really sell the show though, and I found them to be very enjoyable, particularly once the wider cast of supporting actors is introduced and fleshed out enough to begin to have some real depth. The comedy was mostly on point for me, with there…
Read at the sourceSpirit_Chaser
Since I have a biased hatred for the police, it will affect this, and there is no point in hiding it. This series did not deviate much from what I thought about it in the first episode. A cute and funny, mediocre, slideshow presentation tier, police propaganda series. It's an episodic series about two police women and the rest of their coworkers. They go on to battle crime in Japan with a story written by a former police officer. As a result, there a lot of interesting insight into what it's like working for the Japanese police. It amazes me that amount of hand holding that happens here seeing as though where I live the police will usually shoot first and ask questions later, and have a rotten history in general that leaves no room for respectability. I've had my own experiences with psych…
Read at the sourceApocalypSnow
This is the Daily Lives of Police Officers. Like Judy Hopps from Zootopia, the main duo spends most of their time writing speeding tickets. And since this anime takes place in Japan, half their time is also spent catching underaged smokers and teenagers who skip school.
Mai Kawai is a new police officer fresh from the academy. Why does she join the police? Her father lost his job due to a company scandal, so he wanted her to work in civil service. And this was the only civil service job she could get. Such noble intentions! And she hates the work! Or at least, she feels uncomfortable when civilians insult her as a police officer, so she’s about to resign when she meets…
Sergeant Seiko Fuji, a former member of the Criminal Investigations Department. When her “aggressive pep talk” gets rep…
Read at the sourceMareep-chan
It is really just a dumb show about policemen work with a low budget. Everything about this show is average. The jokes and funny situations aren't extra funny, but I find them funny sometimes. Especially if the characters grow on you a little you start to enjoy it more.
But I wanted to highlight something else. The show doesn't forget to remind us of the harsh reality, that world is a cruel place and people die sometimes. And imo portrays it very well and in just right ratio to the funny situations.
If this show was just a plain comedy I probably would've give it lower score and not even write this review, since it's not really that interesting, unless you have a personal interest in how police works in Japan/ police overall. But thanks to those not so funny stuff that ocassionally poppe…
Read at the sourceKANLen09
Of all the series starting off the new year of a very dry Winter season, mangaka Miko Yasu's Hakozume a.k.a Police in a Pod definitely stood out for being one of the most interesting works ever made. A manga that clinched a win in the 66th Shogakukan Manga Awards in the Best General Manga category, alongside Inio Asano's Dead Dead Demon's Dededede Destruction last year (which is now finally getting an anime adaptation), it's no secret that this work is truly something special, and it all had to do with the fact that Miko Yasu herself, was once an ex-cop working in Japan's kouban (a.k.a police box) police force.
Before I go further, I would like to elaborate specificially that the police culture of the East and the West are vastly different, and that has lead to some unnecessary triggering…
Read at the source