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Anime: Sherlock Hound

A co-production between the Japanese studio Tokyo Movie Shinsha and the Italian channel RAI, Sherlock Hound (a.k.a. Meitantei Holmes) is a Funny Animal adaptation series of the English character Sherlock Holmes, featuring the characters... as dogs! The famous Hayao Miyazaki, famous for his work on Studio Ghibli, directed six episodes of the series. Unfortunately, there were problems with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's estate, which led to a suspension in production. By the time the issues were resolved, Miyazaki had turned to another project, and the remaining episodes were directed by Kyosuke Mikuriya. It was broadcast on TV Asahi from 1984 to 1985.

This anime is really a Lighter and Softer interpretation of Sherlock Holmes, but there are really awesome moments (especially in the episodes made by Miyazaki). If you like anime with more innocence and more of a sense of adventure than fighting, like those of Studio Ghibli, you will like this one.

As of May 19, 2009, TMS Anime has posted all 26 full version episodes in English on Youtube, right here

. Although not for every country and out of order. A correctly ordered playlist can be found starting here

The series is not related to the childrens novels by Karen Wallace, which have a similar premise.

Tropes:

Adaptational Attractiveness : In the original stories, Mrs Hudson is elderly. Here, she's an attractive young widow.
Author Appeal: If you're wondering why all of a sudden Marie, the only female character in the group, starts to be more competent than Sherlock and Watson and about the reason for the flying scenes...well, the answer is obvious...
Big Bad: Moriarty.
Camera Sniper: At the beginning of the fourth episode of, as Moriarty spies on Holmes to find out his weakness.
Cartoon Physics: Pretty much any Crowning Moment of Awesome revolves around this, most notably the airplane scene.
Chikao Ohtsuka: As Moriarty. His later role as Dr. Eggman in Sonic Adventure and Sonic X series bears a great resemblance to this one.
Continuity Snarl: In the second episode, "The Crown of Mazalin", Watson first moves in with Hound and meets Mrs. Hudson for the first time. Hound and Moriarty already know each other; however, in a later episode, "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle", Hound and Moriarty face each other, and it is implied that this is the first meeting between the two. The reason for this, is because "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle", as well as "Treasure Under the Sea", were released prior to the actual TV series with the release of Nausica� of the Valley of the Wind. The Japanese TV release version remedies this problem by removing the scene in question, but the scene remains in the English dub of the show.
- This particular continuity error exists in the original books, although in different stories. Moriarty is discussed in 'The Valley of Fear', which takes place before 1891, but in 'The Final Problem' Watson has never heard of him.
Deadpan Snarker: Almost everyone gets their chance, though Watson and Lestrade do this the most.
Lestrade: So Hound gets all the credit and I get stuck with all the medical bills.
Detective Animal: Sherlock Hound. It's sort of the entire point.
Determined Widow: Mrs. Hudson which also counts her as a Plucky Girl. She'll make sure, whoever is doomed in a plane crash, must be saved. Note that her husband died this way.
Fantastic Foxes: As you may not know, Sherlock Hound is actually a red fox. The species is still canine so it fits to a world full of dogs.
- We do have Moriarty as a wolf after all.
Great Detective: Sherlock Hound.
Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: Moriarty and his men. In later episodes they become increasingly comedic.
Inspector Lestrade: What Sherlock Holmes adaptation would be complete without him?
- Although his depiction as a big, beefy bulldog fits more closely with the books' descriptions of Gregson. Lestrade was described as being small and skinny, with something of a weasel about him (perhaps a dachshund would have been more appropriate).
The Lancer: John Watson.
Lighter and Softer: As mentioned above the show is a more kid-friendly version of Sherlock. According to the art book it seems they were thinking of a more darker storyline, with Sherlock digging up graves and using drugs, but decided against it.
Minion with an F in Evil: More on Smiley since he has somewhat of a limited intellect and a bit of an optimist. Amongst the three main antagonists (who can also be jerks with hearts of gold), he's the nicest.
Only Six Faces/Palette Swap: Some of the guest character share character models, with different colour schemes. Somewhat interesting is an example in the final episode, where the groom and his father share character models with a father and son from the second episode.
Pet the Dog: In the episode "Mrs. Hudson is Taken Hostage", Mrs. Hudson is taken hostage by Moriarty. Despite being kidnapped, Mrs. Hudson treats Moriarty very kindly. Moriarty is so moved, once his plan blows up in his fac he releases her and vows never to involve her in his plans again.
Setting Update: The series seems to be set in the 1900/1910s, with cars, aeroplanes and clothes (roughly) from this era instead of the traditional Holmesian Victorian London.
- Though still within the Official Canon — Holmes was officially active from 1891 to 1917.
Smoking Is Cool: This is canon in Holmes' interpretation here. He's almost constantly seen with his tobacco pipe.
Spell My Name with an S: Interesting example. In the English dub, everyone addresses the main character as "Hound", but whenever his name appears in writing, it's Holmes. This never appears to cause any sort of confusion. In Japanese he's always called Holmes and the Japanese name of the series is Meitantei Hoomuzu which means Great Detective Holmes.
Spotlight-Stealing Squad: Moriarty and his men.
Terrible Trio: Moriarty and his two henchmen.
Token Human: Well not exactly, but there are some human artifacts that appeared throughout. Such episodes like "Mrs. Hudson Is Taken Hostage" and "A Sacred Image Disappears" featured the Mona Lisa (along with a few other paintings) and a golden angelic statue respectively.
Villainous Crush: Moriarty has one on Mrs. Hudson.
What a Piece of Junk: Holmes' runabout. It's lampshaded by several characters that his car is outdated even during the time period of the show. However, despite how many times it gets parted out and/or smashed to pieces, it is still quite fast and can even pull a traincar for a long period of time.
- Considering how much time Holmes spends tinkering with it on-screen, and how it ends up when pushed hard for a long time, it's an exemplary representative of this trope.
Your Favorite: Kidney pie for Moriarty.