Hidden fantastical Treasures, a man-made Island, unique characters and a ghost searching for her murderer are just the beginnings of Nanana’s Buried Treasure. There is a lot of mystery in this series, and it’s incredibly entertaining to watch the characters stumble through as they discover new treasures, frenemies and dungeons.
Yama Jugo is disowned by his father, and after leaving home he enrolls in a school on Nanaejima Island. It’s artificially made and boasts a Special School Zone perfect for his new found freedom. In need of a cheap place to stay the Happy House seems like the right price. Jugo pays a years worth of (non refundable) rent up front, then he is shown to his room by busty landlord Maboro Shiki. He also scores a surprise room mate, the ghost of Nanana Ryugajou resides there after she was murdered 10 years ago. She is linked to the room and cannot leave, which makes it difficult for her to investigate her murderer. Nanana is incredibly up beat and friendly despite her being in the same room for 10 years, and I think she has online gaming and room mates to thank for that.
At his first day at school Jugo meets Tensai Ikkyu, an aspiring Master Detective who is a great puzzle solver and enthusiastic to put her skills to good use. She has an assistant too, another class mate called Daruku Hoshino. Daruku a pretty little thing wearing a maids dress and head piece. As it turns out, Daruku is actually a boy, a shameless, shameless boy in a dress. It’s not revealed why he dresses and acts the way he does, but it usually works to his advantage. Tensai and Daruku start following Jugo around as they find him suspicious, and soon end up conquering their first dungeon together.
As the story progresses, more is revealed about Jugo’s family and what he is running away from, and their connections to Nanana’s Buried Treasure. Tensai’s investigation into Jugo intensifies, and her closeness to him usually ends with them working together when they find a new dungeon. Tensai is incredibly flexible when it comes to figuring out the puzzles and how the dungeons tick, and she is by far one of the most reliable of the group. They soon come in contact with the schools Adventure Club, and are invited to join by the president Isshin Yuiga. Along with the other two members Yuu Ibara and Kagetora Tsurezure they too are collecting Nanana’s Treasures. With some already in the club for general use, each Treasure has its own unique properties like making rain, revealing lies and making nice tea.
It’s a small club, but there are links to Nanana from some of the previous members and even the antagonist Hiiyo Ikusaba was the previous Adventure Club President. If any new Treasures are found, people are welcome to bring them to Nanana for an explanation on it’s special properties and uses. The links between Nanana’s Buried Treasure hidden on the island, the Adventure Club and Jugo’s past all intertwine together one way or another. When the previous Adventure Club president Ikusaba finally shows up, the mood changes to a darker theme and the race is on to see who will find the treasures first. He is a dangerous person, and with Treasures already in his possession he is a great threat to Jugo and the others.
Being only 11 episodes, not too much is crammed in and I think the story moved at a reasonable pace. The character development was also really well done, and most characters find their strengths during times of trail. By the end, Jugo makes a solid decision about what he will do with his life from then on, and it’s a sweet ending. The anime series is open ended, so there is a possibility of a second season but there’s no information just yet. You can however continue the story through the Light Novels by Kazume Otorino which spans several volumes, if you can get your hands on them.
All in all I actually really enjoyed this series and I am a bit sad there is no resolution yet for Nanana. There are also a few characters we are yet to meet, and it would have been great to see more of Nanana’s original adventure party the Great 7. The animation is pretty high quality throughout, and there aren’t many shonky scenes like with longer series. The DVD only has the original Japanese in 2.0, and the voice acting is pretty good too. There are some little extras, like trailers and clean Opening and Close scenes but not much else.
Nanana’s Buried Treasure is a fun series and I would highly recommend if you enjoy the likes of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.
A review copy was provided by Madman Entertainment to the author for the purpose of this review.
