We get several different cases for our young detectives, spanning between two to three episodes each. After Mayumi’s case is solved and she joins the club as an official member, they all engage in surreal cases, like exposing the cheating methods of a high school casino president or finding out the truth behind a former art teacher’s disappearance act.

Not every case would make a lot of sense but this doesn’t stop the show from being downright charming, if not a bit confusing at times. Our favorite case was the one with the art teacher that set up a “heist” with her students, to teach the school a lesson about the value of creativity and freedom of expression. The final case is also really smart and perfect for a strong finale, bringing Mayumi’s coming-of-age story full circle.

If you were expecting another Moriarty the Patriot but with younger characters, you will be disappointed. Pretty Boy Detective Club is more about encountering different life approaches, finding out about people with a different worldview, and doing things in good style. A coming-of-age story at its core, we watch the club solving cases all interspersed by the melancholy of fleeting youth. After all, the rules are clear, you’ve got to be a boy to be a member, not necessarily in gender, but more so as a broader definition: with a child-like spirit, ready to engage fully with life, the emphasis being a sense of wonder, not of maturity. This is not a show to watch over your lunchtime, because you don’t want to miss the dialogue, and there’s a lot of important—and not so important—talking going on.