Strange+ is a comedy manga series with an anime adaptation that started airing in January 2014.
The plot (such as it is) goes that Kou is searching for his older brother Takumi and finds him working for a detective agency. Kou gets dragged by Takumi into the business and, together with Masamune and Miwa, take whatever jobs come their way, not all of which have necessarily to do with detective work, but all have the commonality of being incredibly bizarre.
The anime adaptation foregoes Kou and Takumi's backstory entirely and drops the viewer into the dynamic of the already established team. Episodes are about four minutes long.
A second season premiered in July 2014.
Strange+ contains examples of:
- Almost Kiss: Kou and Kiyoko in episode 11.
- Ambiguously Gay: Masamune is implied to like yaoi.
- Aren't You Going to Ravish Me?: Miwa beats up Baron Eros for ignoring her. Similarly, Takumi doesn't tolerate the Baron trying to harass other people than him.
- Ass Kicks You: Butts made of plastic being used as weapons is a Running Gag.
- Ass Shove: Dr. Ozu gets a bamboo shoot sprouting from the earth up his ass in episode 10.
- Bad Luck Charm: Episode 10 is about the detectives being hired to guard one of these. Pain and hilarity ensue.
- Big Little Brother: Kou is significantly taller than his older brother.
- Bodyguard Crush: Kou and Kiyoko.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: Many times, as expected of a Gag Series.
- The Chew Toy: Rusty Nail gets painfully humiliated whenever she runs into the detectives.
- Don't Try This at Home: Takumi claims his body survived getting splashed with acid because he had eaten natto before and it made his body alkaline. Masamune holds up a card quoting the trope.
- Erotic Eating: Kou eating ice cream in the OP card of episode 9.
- "Everybody Laughs" Ending: Episode 1. This includes Rusty Nail who's just been blown up and the guy who just lost his two billion yen house in the explosion.
- Fanservice: At the beginning and end of each episode, there are cards showing characters in fetish-y situations.
- Foe Romance Subtext: Takumi and sex criminal Baron Eros. The Baron chases him wholeheartedly and Takumi gets mad when he chases someone that's not him.
- "Freaky Friday" Flip: Kou and Takumi in episode 2, season 2.
- Gag Series
- Heroic Comedic Sociopath: Takumi is a serial flasher and huge Jerkass, and Miwa and Masamune are just plain insane/violent. Thankfully we have Kou to balance them out.
- High-Pressure Blood: In episode 4, Masamune gets hurt and his blood gushes out like a geyser, allowing Takumi and crew to climb on it and overcome a wall in their way.
- I Just Want to Be Normal: Kiyoko doesn't care for being treated like a princess and would rather know the feeling of hanging out with friends at a fast-food joint.
- Indy Escape: Happens in episode 1.
- Josei: The manga is serialized in the josei magazine Monthly Comic Zero Sum.
- Just Like Robin Hood: Rusty Nail claims to take from the rich to give to the poor. Yet she attempts to rob the forever poor detective agency.
- Lonely Rich Kid: Kiyoko's first friends are the guys hired to protect her.
- Ms. Fanservice: Miwa tends to wear outfits that show off her cleavage and sometimes her midriff.
- Mugged for Disguise: In episode 5, the gang attacks one guard so they can infiltrate a building. Since it's only one, everybody but Kou tries wearing one piece of the outfit, with Takumi completely naked except for the hat. Kou scolds them for this.
- Mundane Luxury: Takumi's most prized possession (valued over his own brother) is his very old and outdated television, and he has set traps around it to prevent anyone from stealing it. Remember that the agency is dirt poor.
- Mushroom Samba: Much of episode 6 is Rusty Nail's allucination caused by touching a mushroom that was growing in Takumi's leftover ramen.
- My Little Panzer: Dorothy has a stuffed lion plush which turns into an incredibly ripped lion Beast Man if she's in danger.
- Not Listening to Me, Are You?: When Masamune voices his fear that he's being followed, Takumi replies with "Sounds delicious".
- Ojou: Kiyoko is the daughter of a rich family and is unused to typical teenage interaction.
- Older Than They Look: Takumi looks about 12, but is older than his brother Kou who's 18 and looks his age.
- Only Sane Man: Out of the team, Kou is the one most likely to act sensible when needed or to call his colleagues out on their antics.
- Otaku: Masamune and his rival Kyouya.
- Out of Focus: Miwa doesn't have an episode dedicated to her and generally has less screentime than her colleagues.
- Perpetual Poverty: The detectives. They are poor by definition, and they often have to give up their payment because of the destruction they cause.
- Phantom Thief: Rusty Nail.
- The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: Despite being detectives, the gang is more often hired as bodyguards or hostage rescuers.
- Private Detective: Is the base of the setting, though it's not taken seriously or played straight at all.
- Red Right Hand: Ozu has different colored eyes to emphasize what a creepy Comedic Lolicon he is (still played for laughs though).
- Rooting for the Empire: In-Universe. In episode 12, during the street performance of Bloomoon, the crowd roots for the bad guys because the heroes are being played by complete sociopaths (i.e. our protagonists).
- Shameless Fanservice Boy: Takumi likes to strip in the middle of a mission to distract people.
- Shipper on Deck: Everyone for Kou and Kiyoko.
- Ship Tease: Kou and Kiyoko.
- Uptown Girl: She's a rich girl and he is an incompetent detective (?) forced to commute with 3 other people.
- Shout-Out: In episode 2, when confronting Kiyoko's attackers, Masamune says "In the name of the moon, I will punish you!" and strikes the pose. Also, the entirety of episode 12 is a parody of Sailor Moon, where the main characters are hired to act in a street performance of it.
- Season 2, episode 4: the gang dresses up as a bunch of Disney Princesses; then there's Kiyoko Sho Ryu Ha!, with Kiyoko drawn in Masami Kurumada's style.
- Smoke Out: Parodied when Kyouya throws one as a grand departing gesture, but the smoke clears away in time for the gang to watch him leave through the door.Kou: What was the point of that?!
- The Smurfette Principle: Miwa is the only girl in the detective agency. She still manages to be manlier than Kou, Takumi and Masamune.
- This Is Reality: In episode 5...Takumi: Don't compare this to some spy movie! This is 100% reality!Masamune and Miwa: It is?
- Those Two Guys: Kaori and Mera, buddy cops.
- True Love's Kiss: In episode 11, the only way to get a ghost out of Kou's body is this trope. Kiyoko tries her hand at it but gets interrupted by another ghost. They're later seen ascending to heaven together.
- "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue: Parodied at the end of Kyouya's introductory episode. The narrator boredly says "After that, he kept appearing for some reason".
- Wholesome Crossdresser: Takumi is often put in feminine clothes. He once pretended to be a young rich girl who bore a striking resemblance to him.
