Odd Taxi Review

Odd Taxi Review

Anthony Kuczynski

September 2021

There may be a reluctance to watch Odd Taxi due to its simplistic visual aesthetics featuring a cast of animals akin to anime like Beastars. Despite the cutesy character design and overall visual aesthetics, this anime has a suspenseful premise with heavy dialogue. This anime's lead character, Hiroshi Odokawa, is a Walrus taxi driver who is quite peculiar. Throughout the film, Odokawa drives around many diverse characters that somehow all connect, each contributing to the mystery of the disappearance of a young girl that is the central plot of this anime.

In the bustling metropolis of Tokyo that is populated with animals, Odokawa meets intriguing characters; a yakuza member, a gacha addict and other characters that have interesting quirks. Among my favorite characters in this anime is Kabasawa who is addicted to social media and whose self-esteem depends greatly on the number of likes his social media posts receive. The characters in this anime all have distinct personalities and backstories that make each character fascinating.

As in Quentin Tarantino films, this anime offers witty and thought-provoking dialogue. This anime has social commentary interwoven throughout, addressing issues such as social media addiction and gambling mechanic's that is embedded in games such as FIFA and the entire genre of Gacha games .

Everything has a purpose in this anime, each detail contributing to the main narrative of the story. Even the visual aesthetic of this anime is purposely done. It's a masterfully crafted anime with an intriguing dialogue, setting, and narrative. I highly recommend it.

*Anime: Japanese style animation

*Beastars: An anime featuring animals

Anthony Kuczynski