Odd Taxi is an interesting show. Although you could say it is quite odd per say. You have this anthropomorphic world where the protagonist is a walrus who runs a taxi. Odd Taxi is an example of what you do with a premise that matters, not what the actual premise. The story of Odd Taxi plays as a slow-burn mystery where it isn’t until the final episode where everything is done and concluded. Which I would say it is masterly done.
One issue with many slow-burn mysteries is keeping your audience engaged. In between in this anime you have a lot of social commentary. With Odokawa you have the central piece of his cab being the place for so many notable events. So much of the storytelling in these episodes is social commentary. But what makes it stand out is how it does not feel preachy and very natural. A lot of what the cast goes through is relatable or something that you can understand. Their issues feel real.
To add on the characters in this series make mistakes. In so many ways this is how the characters feel real. So many of them make dumb choices, but these are dumb choices are very human. We see how these mistakes are various costs to the cast and at the end we see how each of them is pushing themselves forward. The saying life is not fair is because we have examples of those feeling the consequences are not the ones directly responsible. That realistic feeling really makes the world of Odd Taxi feel alive.
Production wise Odd Taxi won’t wow you as the studio and director were new on its release. But with the quality of the anime that could be a minor nitpick. The storytelling is so strong that it keeps you immersed in every episode. What makes it even more impressive is that this is an anime original story. It able to tell a complete story with this level of quality is impressive to say the least.
Odd Taxi might not be a series that can capture you initially, but give it a shot, and you will get an anime well worth your time.