There are times when the title of the series is just too ambitious for what it turns out to be. Fantastic Detective Labyrinth is one of them. Based on the manga of the same title by Meito Manjō and Seiji Wakayama, the plot limps along hampered by the fact that it dabbles in multiple genres but commits itself to none. A pastiche of harem, mystery, supernatural, and science fiction, the only one it comes remotely close to succeeding in is the first, as about half the cast is female with all but three of them having crushes on hero Mayuki. This may be mildly creepy to some viewers, however, because only two of the women in question are girls Mayuki's age – the others are old enough that having a thing for a twelve-year-old is a little disturbing, especially one as apparently immature as Mayuki. Still, the generic conventions for a harem title are met with much more success than the other elements of the story, so fans of that genre may be the happiest with this aggressively mediocre show.

The plot revolves around the fact that members of the Hyuga family possess a strange power, the true meaning of which is not truly revealed or explored until over half-way through the show's twenty-five episodes. Mayuki, as the current leader of the family, is especially gifted with this talent, and when the show begins, he's using it to help the police solve what they call “phantom crimes,” which are seemingly impossible to solve. While the police are wary at first, they soon are totally comfortable letting not only Mayuki but also his four school buddies tag along on their cases. Given that the kids can get themselves into plenty of trouble all on their own, perhaps they've decided that it's safer to just take them with: over the course of the show Kota, Rakuta, Yaya, and minori manage to sneak into the ruined Tokyo Tower (where they almost die) and nearly get eaten by giant sandworms in part of Tokyo that has inexplicably turned into a fantasy desert, among other less dangerous adventures.

One of the elements that is frustrating about Fantastic Detective Labyrinth is that there are some genuinely good moments. A lot of the backgrounds, along with the opening theme images, are really good. There's an art nouveau theme to much of it that is beautifully decorative, and the tattoos that appear on Souka and Yuuhi are complex and attractive. Scenes where Mayuki and the others are walking along the buried streets of a Tokyo destroyed by an earthquake are haunting, and there's some good visual symbolism as well, particularly how when Byakko acts without orders, the peonies she wears in her hair are open, as opposed to tightly closed when she's at her master's beck and call. Some of the sound design is very well done, such as the use of a vinyl record in episode 8, and the slow increase in supernatural elements as Mayuki comes closer to the truth does feel well-paced. To pair all of this with the excessive expository conversations, hodgepodge of genres, and too many moments that call for too much suspension of disbelief leaves us with a sense of dissatisfaction, like we were promised much more than what we ultimately got. The show also seems uncertain of how to use humor effectively, ruining a very good scene in episode four with a goofy moment and throwing in pretty much all of episode twelve, which mixes the obligatory “bathing suit” episode with the equally required “Christmas” one, doing neither of them anything remotely close to justice.

Perhaps the most upsetting part of the story (apart from the fact that it introduces a new character in the very last moments of the final episode) is the way that it uses the fighting women called “ayas.” Mayuki lives with his butler Seiran, whose family specializes in a mysterious art known as “dollmaking” - by poking someone (apparently a woman) with a special needle in a certain way, the woman can summon an alternate personality or false persona. Seiran, who I thought was either evil or Batman for most of the series given his behavior, has two aya, the previously mentioned Yuuhi and Souka. In real life, both are teenage girls, and neither of them are aware that they are aya and certainly didn't consent to becoming them. This feels like dangerous ground – they are fighting life-or-death battles, so shouldn't they have some say in the matter?

At the end of the day, Fantastic Detective Labyrinth is anything but – Mediocre Psychic Muddle would have been a more honest title. The voice cast tries its best, the design can be lovely (although most characters look very generic), and parts of the premise really are interesting, but when you come down to it, there's very little to recommend about this series. Even the band kannivalism (who sing the opening theme) look utterly bored during their included video interview. This is one labyrinth it might be best not to enter at all.