#dead boy detectives review

[sunnywalnut]

Finished watching Dead Boy Detectives. Here are my honest thoughts.

-If you're going into it expecting another Good Omens, stop. Our protagonists are all minors. Teenagers. They cuss, they have total dirty mouths and sexual humor, but they are not eternal beings pretending to be middle aged men. They're ghosts. Dead Boys, if you will. Also this might be a stretch, but I'm assuming from the slightly less good CGI that the budget for this series was a LOT less than what it was for GO

-Edwin is kind of a dick in the first episode. But it's okay. Because character growth is swag.

-REALISTIC CHARACTER GROWTH!!! I liked Edwin a LOT more during the second episode BECAUSE of the character growth. And honestly? It's completely natural that bro is more than a little prickly after only being able to trust one guy for an extremely long time. Fair enough my guy. Carry on.

- this show kinda has Nimona vibes. If that makes sense. Witty humor, somewhat sexual dialogue, funny moments during serious times, though geared towards a younger audience. If you like those kinds of things, you will like this, I'm sure of it.

- In the early episodes, the pacing/character relationships feel a little off??? I'm not sure if that was because I was expecting another Good Omens or what. But after 2-3 episodes, the dust quickly settled and we got into the actual storyline. Which was extremely appreciated✨

-these villains are FUCKED up. I'm telling you. They are HORRIFIC. Had me squirming and cringing through their intense scenes. And gosh. That was a TRIP.

-TY TENANT PLAYS THE MAIN GUY EDWIN!!!! And he plays him WELL. I did not realize this going in to the show and thought his face was VERY familiar. Only after I looked it up did I realize why. He's our sassy son of Job. (EDIT: turns out Ty plays the Doom Patrol version. Not the one on Netflix. My bad! They do look pretty similar though, so ykw. Great casting. Also my point still stands. This guy is a pretty fuckin awesome actor. 10/10)

-Cat King is such a wild card holy SHIT.

-Charles is cute as fuck. His backstory HURTS. But also. I love the way his ears look. Like in the pictures that I saw of him they were of when the Cat King impersonated him so I was like oh chill. So he's got pointed ears bc feline but NOPE. He's just like that!! And honestly? Slay. I fuckin love it.

-oh did I mention tragic backstories???? Yeah we got those :D for everyone :D

-Niko is the best and I love her. Also I love how the letters on her desk are written in Japanese. That is a VERY nice touch of character building.

-hot butcher lady with throat tattoo

All in all. A truly delightful series and I genuinely hope it gets another season because I NEED to know what happens next. My little sister LOVED it and the ending had us all staring open mouthed at the TV screen in shock.

This 15yo girl is literally ranting my ear off, having adventures with the Dead Boys in her dreams and chatting with me about it, searching up fanfics and drawing fanart, the whole shabang. And it is DIFFICULT for this girl to get into shows like this. So honestly? This is perfect. Thank you, Neil. For giving us a whole other banger.

That being said. If anybody else has some younger siblings that are around 15-17 and are looking for shows to binge watch together, this is the perfect one. I'm telling you, you will NOT regret it (except maybe emotionally)

Thoroughly recommend.

[afabstract]

Dead Boy Detectives Review - Gothic Horror Gets Gen Z Flair

Picture Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John H Watson re-imagined as amateur teen detectives, infused with gothic horror elements and modern Gen-Z sensibilities - you get the 2024 Netflix series "Dead Boy Detectives". Sort of.

⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 3 out of 5. Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram) Picture Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John H Watson re-imagined as amateur teen detectives, infused with gothic horror elements and modern Gen-Z sensibilities – you get the 2024 Netflix series “Dead Boy Detectives”. Sort of. Its leads Charles Rowland and Edwin Paine have many things in common – they are both inquisitive teen boys, they are…

[neil-gaiman]

"In the funny, terrifying, colorful, oddly lovely, lovably odd Dead Boy Detectives, premiering Thursday on Netflix, deceased putative teenagers Edwin (George Rexstrew) and Charles (Jayden Revri) investigate what’s troubling troubled ghosts...."

[kaylabrookee]

DEAD BOY DETECTIVES !!!!! 💜💜💜💜

I watched this show about a week ago when it first came out and I have been thinking about it since. I recommend everyone who hasn't seen it go watch it now !!

I fear Neil Gaiman has done it again - complex characters, agony, pining, good representation and a dynamic plot.

*MILD SPOILERS *

Highlights :

Cat King, I've always had a soft spot for Lukas Gage since T@gged in 2016. This was yet another intriguing character brought to life by him. I think Cunty and complicated would be how I describe the Cat king.

Edwin, I love everything about his character. His sassiness with strangers but his deep care for his friends. I love itttt. And his backstory is so sad but how he is still able to put his friends first.

I also loved Charles. There's always something about the sunshine characters who are overcompensating for their sad past that gets me. Like him trying to make sure everyone never felt like how he did. Anddd him literally going to hell for Edwin, to have a love like that omg.

Tbh there wasn't any characters I didn't love this season, even the villiains of the season were interesting in there owns way and often funny as well. Because I don't want this review to be hours long I'll limit who I talk about, just know they are all fantastic in their own right.

My last honourable character mention is the sprites, Litty and Kingham, they were hilarious. Everytime they came on screen I was dying of laughter. Also I have been following Caitlin Reilly's comedy sketches for a while so that was an added bonus.

[winterkittenreads]

Review: Dead Boy Detectives [Season 1]

Audience: 16+

Stars: 4.7/5

dear radish,

I LOVED this show. I felt so alive at the end of it. Go watch it!!!

Things I loved:

Found family

Tied to the Sandman universe but tells its own story in such a wonderful, engaging way

The way our titular dead boy detectives Edwin and Charles have been through the meat grinder, but still want to help others. The way they keep each other afloat omg. Precious.

A LOVE TRIANGLE THAT I ACTUALLY DON'T HATE OMG. I know who I'm rooting for though ;)

The way it doesn't shy away from depicting violence. Because the world IS brutal, even as there's pieces of light in it.

Crystal finding strength through the past women of her family. Loss of memories as a metaphor for how the slave trade stripped Black Americans of their history and identity (maybe). And the empowerment that comes with reconnecting with one's roots/lineage.

Pacing. Look, I admit it. I'm someone who often watches shows at 2x speed. Well buddy, this show moved so fast that I felt no such compulsion to speed it forward. Possibly because the show's creators needed to fit so much within just 8 episodes. But they pulled it off!

Niko's room is full of manga and anime posters, and I loved that for her.

Spoilers:

I HOPE NIKO COMES BACK IN SEASON 2 ARGHHHHHH.

WAS THE GUY IN THE FISH DESTRUCTION???

Night Nurse redemption arc I'm readyyyyyyy

CHARLES IS A BI-KING CHANGE MY MIND

[sunshinedisposition]

you are in love // taylor swift x dead boy detectives

[forgotten-daydreamer]

not to be a hater, but... what's dead boy detectives?? like... i don't know if it actually has to do with detectives but... it's almost as if dc already had... many... detectives... as if they had a wholeass family who's specialised in detective work...

[ladykailitha]

Fair warning this isn't my usual sandbox (giggles at the pun, sorry), but I feel the need to address something that has been getting on my nerves about the new series on Netflix Dead Boy Detectives.

That everyone is comparing it to Lockwood & Co.

Similar gets tossed around. A LOT.

And I think that comes from the fact that people are only familiar with one or the other and not both.

They see ghosts in England with trio of young teenagers, two boys and a girl and think "they're the same!"

Only that's where similarities end.

Lockwood & Co. is about a trio of ghost hunters operating illegally because they don't have an adult supervisor. They are all mediums of a sort (from what I gathered watching the show) and they can all see ghosts. Only the girl, Lucy can hear ghosts. Anthony and Georgie have only had the agency for about a year and are struggling.

Dead Boy Detectives is about two ghosts Edwin and Charles and their psychic friend, Crystal. The two boys have been together since Charles died in 1989 and are currently avoiding Death, Dream's (The Sandman) sister. Their goal is help ghosts move on, to solve their deaths so that they can be at peace.

Like Lockwood & Co. would hunt the Dead Boy Detectives, because that's what they do. Edwin and Charles would find them barbaric.

The Dead Boy Detectives actually like each other. Granted they have been together far longer then Lockwood & Co, thirty years to Anthony and Georgie's single year. Lockwood & Co. spend the entire first season (which adapted two books) lying to each other, talking bad about each other behind their backs and to their faces, and wouldn't trust the others as far as they can throw them.

But we keep being told in the series that they are the best agency because of the power of friendship. You're also basically shown any adult who tries to befriend any of them is the bad guy. And yes, I'm including Inspector Barnes in that.

While there are a couple of adults in DBD who aren't as they seem, but they do have two adults they can rely on on, Tragic Mick and Jenny the butcher.

Lockwood & Co. was canceled on Jan. 27th 2023 and Netflix picked up The Dead Boy Detectives (which was picked up originally by Max in April 2020 but they ultimately passed on it) on Feb. 24th 2023. Almost a whole month after the previous series was cancelled.

Plus anyone saying Netflix cancelled something because it was like something else, has never watched Netflix.

Their favorite thing to do is "Oh this popular? Here's twenty copies of that thing!"

I don't know what kind of numbers Lockwood & Co. got but in my opinion, the show wasn't that great. Plus as someone with photosensitive epilepsy let me tell you the bad lighting plus the ultra bright ghosts caused more than one headache.

They didn't set up the characters well, we got told more than we were shown, and there didn't seem to be any chemistry between the leads.

One thing in particular I wasn't a fan of was having the series backstory play out in the opening credits and if you blinked or looked away or even skipped them the plot doesn't make any sense.

But with DBD you have characters talking out their problems. You have their backstories told through clever flashbacks and even some spectacular animation. You have a moment between the two boys (which I won't spoil) that not only cements how much they care about each other. That despite everything they've been through, the jealousy of the other's interactions with the new people they meet, the fights, the terrifying cases they take, the people out to separate them, they are 100% it for each other (at the moment platonically though that could change).

This show has heart and charm and properly well-thought out villains and villainous characters.

They aren't the same and they really shouldn't be compared. Also... go watch Dead Boy Detectives. I really REALLY want to see Desire make an appearance!

[someonexsomeone]

Okay thought about it and!! I think I really liked Dead Boy Detectives!! I think there are good things and bad things, so here are my (spoilers) Thoughts:

Positives!!

- casting was amazing!! I thought everyone did an excellent job, and while I don’t personally love all the actors, I think they played their roles excellently (faves: Esther, Cat King, Niko <333, Jenny, Tragic Mick)

- each character felt unique, even the minor ones

- the beginning was a little rough but once the plot started going it kept my interest peaked without feeling overwhelming

- Charles and Edwin’s relationship was wow so heartbreaking but oh my hod the way they met the staircase scene the way Charles foiled Edwin’s grumpiness yes yes yes

- NIKO AND EDWIN MY BELOVES

- Niko making things right with her unconditional kindness. I hate when shows have the main characters kinda lack social awareness and manners in order to push the plot along faster because it makes them seem like bad people when they aren’t. Niko giving a voice to characters who are otherwise pushed aside by the others (the sprites, Tragic Nick, Jenny, and even the Lighthouse Gift Shop owner) makes her that much more endearing :((

- I love Tragic Mick and his story and the store. What a compelling side character??

- the setting was oh my god so perfectly moody

- the Cat King forcing the characters to stay in one place when they notoriously can fast travel was so perfect to raise the stakes without making it feel forced

- I lowkey love they made Crystal a bad person because the way she was introduced made it seem like she was gonna be this perfect average joe (also what happened to that little girl ghost that originally started this all???)

Negatives :((

- okay so minor but wow I did not like the blurred edges in the show. I think it worked a lot of times to give everything that sort of dreamy look, but most times it made it hard to focus and distracting from the scene

- sometimes the writing and pacing felt…off. Like the fact that some of the opening dialogue was such Wattpad esk “hey best friend remember how we’ve been friends for 30 years? I’m the goofball to your serious branic haha brills!” And then were immediately given Edwin’s backstory with no context?? Like yes good I’m glad I know it now but it took like 5 episodes to learn Charles’? Also, the fact that we only learn Charles is abused like 10 mins before he has a breakdown with no indication earlier is crazy to me?? We even get a scene where he talks about his parents, and there was no foreshadowing to his dislike of his father??

- speaking of pacing; sometimes it felt very mechanical. Get case, case is actually something more, oh no it’s Esther, easy peasy defeat Esther she’s def done for this time, case closed, oh no she’s alive!, repeat. She just wouldn’t stay down and I love her for that lmao

- I’m trying to find solace in the fact that EVERY relationship in that show got fucked up/was fucked up but honestly the fact that anytime we were really close to having a gay relationship that was then brutally ripped away was crazy and sometimes unnecessarily brutal. I mean — Jenny finally taking a chance and opening up only for her secret admirer turning out to be a stalker and a killer?? Monty getting rejected then ripped to pieces?? The Cat King admitting he likes Edwin more than a toy and being beaten to death?? Also the bait and switch with Niko’s sprites and lowkey highkey making it seem like Crystal was in love lmao

- the way they portrayed Despair was honestly such a shameful choice for me. I would understand if they were going for a modern version to smth, but they were literally in Hell where they crafted a monster out of babydoll parts. You’re telling me Despair, creeping sadness that consumes your soul, with countless reasons and outcomes from it, and countless manefestations, was given a shlumpy cardigan??? Was given no real care beyond a human actor with minimal make up?? We literally MEET one of the, practically, Gods of Hell and that’s the best we came up with?!

- getting out of hell was surprisingly SO EASY like I think it needed /something/ else because at no point did I think they wouldn’t make it out

- DONT EVEN GET ME STARTED ON FUCKING SIMON?? No way in FUCK did they try to redeem to me a character who bullied Edwin to the point of sacrifing him to a demon (doesn’t matter if he didn’t think anything was going to happen, his intentions were still malicious) by giving him the biggest cop out “but I was secretly in love with you the whole time” BULL SHIT and then the fact that he got to ascend to heaven after???? ALSO THE FACT THAT EDWIN HAD TO BE CHASED BY A DOLL MONSTER AND RIPPED APART WHEN SIMON ONLY GOT PAPERCUTS ARE YOU KIDDING ME???

- WHY TF DID THEY KILL MY GIRL NIKO (I know implied she’s alive somewhat at the end but still). Also, you’re telling me they didn’t even wait until they saw Niko’s ghost and just assumed she moved on that fast without saying goodbye?? Ridiculous??

TLDR: despite some of its shortcomings, I am super excited to see what they do with Season 2, and I hope we get a more expanded universe and cast of characters!!

[capncarrot]

Dead Boy Detectives – The Case of the Lighthouse Leapers

[mileenaxyz]

They are so goofy 😄😄😄

[extrarosie]

So I just watched Dead Boy Detectives

Finished after a week or so. Not gonna lie, at first it caught my eye because of the similarity at first glance with Lockwood and Co.

So I gave it a chance, knowing absolutly nothing about the lore nor the comics. Even when I watched the first scenes and part of the intro I though "Huh, this really feels like a Neil Gaiman work", and then his name came up on the screen. So, yeah, very true to his style or at least from my perspective it seems like it is.

I liked it. I didn't love it. But the plot was interesting, the characters weren't 2D at all and it never felt like the story was stuck on any part. The first chapters were the weakest to me but halfway through it caught all my attention.

Loved Niko, loved Jenny, Crystal, Edwien, Charles. The characters were great. It really felt like they had a real friendship. I liked the character development.

The VFX were... mediocre. The fire drink that Esther had was really cool and the glowing squid was beautiful, but then there was stuff like the giant mushroom that looked like a 3D model from a PS3 game that came out years ago, or whenever Edwin and Charles travelled through the mirror or doors the green screen was painfully obvious.

Overall, entertaining and interesting to watch but didn't blew my mind away.

[loreleyfromouterspace]

I found this german review of Dead Boy Detectives (translation in alt if anyone's curious) and it calls Jenny 'strange' which is so funny to me because she's arguably the most normal person on this show

[kaylabrookee]

I haven't made a crystal post yet so .... THIS IS MY CRYSTAL APPRECIATION POST !!!!

Crystal is such an interesting and layered character :

- I love how she is able to reclaim her power and literally bury her abuser in her mind like that is so cool... and on that just her powers and mind are so interesting to me, I hope that if there's a second season we get to see more of that explored.

- I really love her dynamic with Edwin and Charles and the scenes of them trying to communicate in public will never fail to crack me up.

- I love her and Edwin bickering specifically.

- I love that she becomes a good person when out of her shitty environment because people underestimate how that can affect someone.

- I love that she was relatable, she made mistakes but she was fixing them.

- I loved how she cared about Niko ( only slightly sad it wasn't romantic tehe)

[porto-rosso]

brother where is the charles appreciation

[whimseysthrone]

Dead Boy Detectives (Netflix 2024)

I’m two episodes into Dead Boy Detectives and I’m having a blast. Something about this feels wonderfully light and playful, despite the show’s somber, grisly, and morbid elements. What can I say? Continue reading Dead Boy Detectives (Netflix 2024)