Kaito Daimon is a master puzzle solver. With a little help from his best friend Nonoha, he solves a massive labyrinth designed to kill anyone who doesn't solve it correctly. The prize is a magical armband that enhances his puzzle solving ability. It also sends him into a world of deadly puzzles being thrown at a small group of students at his school. These four students have the potential to solve the Puzzle of God, unlocking all the secrets of the universe. Phi Brain: Puzzle of God is simultaneously strange and familiar. It has the same kind of dramatic structure as many other competition as storyline series (Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Digimon, etc.), yet there actually are deadly stakes to the story. There are random characters who only appear for one episode, but the core cast is developed beyond the young male lead. Each of these core characters is strong in their own way, but not held so high up that they can never be used for humor.
The most impressive element of the series is the puzzle concept. Somehow, the show wrings so much tension out of very standard puzzle concepts. Magic circles, Sudoku, parking puzzles, and so much more are turned into games of life or death on a grand scale. One episode sees a park in the center of the city turned into an explosive hidden object puzzle. Another run of episodes is all about a teenage TV superstar creating elaborate puzzles all about the regulation of rules and information. It seems ridiculous for a show to revolve around puzzles, but Phi Brain does it right.
Each episode features a different puzzle and it works. The show shifts the stakes every few episodes so a formula cannot develop. The example of Kaito Daimon convinces fellow Phi Brain Children Ana (a cross-dressing artist) and Cubik (a middle school inventor) to actually pursue puzzles for the first time. Their abilities (Ana reads emotions because of his years studying art, Cubik has an unending series of inventions to help with any set of circumstances) outside of puzzle solving prove invaluable to solving the deadly puzzles thrown at the group. Even non-Phi Brain children like Nonoha get in on the action.
Nonoha is part of why the series works so well. She's such an atypical anime character yet she doesn't push the standards too far. Nonoha has a photographic memory, is extremely intelligent, and just happens to be the best athlete in the school. She also cannot solve a simple maze by herself or admit her true feelings about anyone or anything. She is an incredibly strong, but flawed, character and is never mistreated because she's different.
Ana actually turns the corner from being a very problematic character to one of the most important in the series. Ana, originally assumed to be a girl, does identify as a boy. He speaks in the third person because his world view is so attuned to art and aesthetics. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of art and no lack of confidence. When Ana surprisingly wins a teen drag contest without entering at the school fair, he's genuinely honored. The students are not mocking Ana for failing to follow social norms; they're celebrating Ana's style and confidence. The show introduces the cross-dressing aspect as a joke, but not at Ana's expense. Nonoha and Kaito are the ones we laugh at for getting worked up over another girl in the puzzle solving world who really is a boy.
All of the characters, even the one-off puzzle givers, are treated with respect. They can laugh or be laughed at, but they're still humans with flaws like everyone else. The crux of the series eventually turns on the need of the chosen Phi Brain Child to abandon empathy and teamwork to tackle the Puzzle of God and he refuses. The core group has bonded so much and used their strengths to work through any challenge that none of them will abandon their humanity and respect to be victorious on their own.
Phi Brain: Puzzle of God is obviously a niche series. I'm big on puzzles, so seeing these old forms come to life in grand and devious ways excites me. You'll know by the end of the first episode if the show works for you.
This post was part of AniMAY 2014. Click through for more.