The Angler Mystery Anniversary Special Edition Review
A heartfelt reflection on The Angler Mystery anniversary special. Written in a restrained yet sincere manner.
The Angler Mystery Anniversary Special Edition Review
As a die-hard fan of the Angler Mystery, I have to say, the latest anniversary special left me feeling pretty disappointed.
I get it. The series has become commercialized now, but they've taken it too far! Back in the early years, the Angler Mystery still had some detective work and logical reasoning. But what is it now? It's all about flashy, over-the-top scenes! I know what those publishers are thinking. The end-of-year specials have become a tradition for the series, and they hate it when us long-time fans that grew up with the Angler get more critical. Plus, it's been two hundred years, and they've pretty much exhausted every crime trope in the cosmos. So what do they do? They create these ridiculously badass criminals and give the villains insane powers! Find differentials and increase the extent of crimes on an industrial scale! I get that they want to maximize the commercial value of this series, but they can't just throw in elements that don't fit! Guess what? Every villain in the Angler Mystery is all about destroying the whole Xianzhou or blowing up planets.
It always goes like this: A deus-ex-machina device saves the day, or a super powerful football comes from hundreds of miles away and breaks through the villain's starskiff, or some super-duper guy shows up and tears apart an aurumaton with their bare hands. It feels like I'm watching an exaggerated superhero extravaganza! You know what? I think the Angler should just quit being a detective and join the laser-ball tournament in Taikiyan! Not even the brutal Chainsaw Overlord Zakk would stand a chance against him!
And let's not forget how repetitive the recent stories have become. It's like they were written by an AI following a pattern:
The Angler presents his deductions. The Angler has an emotional scene with the heroine, his childhood sweetheart. The Angler sympathizes with the second heroine who has also undergone a hatching rebirth. The Angler's sidekicks reminds you of their and the plot's existence and give right-to-the-point hints. Detectives from the Realm-Keeping Commission and the heroine's dad show up and make deductions, but of course, they're always wrong. At a crucial moment, the Angler conveniently solves the crisis using some new expertise that has never been mentioned before, and he'll say, "I learned it before my previous hatching rebirth" to make it sound believable. The heroine interacts with her wealthy foxian friend. The officers from the Realm-Keeping Commission drag others down and only show up after the case is already solved. And don't get me started on the miraculous inventions sent just at the right time from the head of the Artisanship Commission that defy all types of physics, along with his terrible jokes that nobody laughs at. Oh, and let's not forget the heroine's ancient martial arts skills. And the fact that the Tea Society always has undercover agents from the Ten-Lords Commission. And that chivalrous master thief who looks exactly like the adult version of the Angler ...
Yeah, the Tea Society is just a joke now. At the beginning of the story, they seemed like the most badass gang ever, and look at them now? EVERY SINGLE MEMBER is a covert agent from the Realm-Keeping Commission, Ten-Lords Commission, Seat of Divine Foresight, or some other organization. So, in reality, there are only two people who actually work for the Tea Society, Pu'er and Longjing, right?
And to those die-hard fans who accused me in my previous comments, I have something to say. I used to be a huge fan of this series, just like you. Every time a new novel or immersia was released, I'd be the first to buy it, and I never missed paying for any of the end-of-year or limited or special series.
But you know what? I just can't keep up anymore! Come on, Master Su Fang, use your brain! Can't you write at least one decent detective story like you used to? Do you really think you can write nonsense like this and still rip our hard-earned money?