Detentionaire

Framed for the biggest prank ever Lee Ping finds himself in an impossible situation and must sneak out of detention every day to gather more clues as to who the real culprit is all while his psychotic cyborg principle hunts him down and the school is completely convinced he did it.

The show really shines in its layout of the story. Instead of just having a cliché rehashed story of every suspect didn't do it there are layers to the mystery. Each time you find an answer more are raised. Instead of going back to character development it spends a few episodes introducing the cast and just puts them into situations in a sort of "How did we get here" story.

The further along you get the more interesting things get as more and more clues are dropped. I respect how the show manages to tell you the characters are intelligent with visuals. Instead of just saying a character is smart they show them thinking logically and intelligently. The main character isn't making dumb moves. He's making very good choices on solving the mystery. There are a few awkward moments but you kind of stop minding them because the characters are fleshed out so much.

I'd at least give it a shot. Plus that awesome theme song!

Detentionaire is one of those shows I loved to watch in my childhood. Every Thursday, a new episode would drop, and after that, my mind would focus on where the story would go next. I loved it, but I was worried that it wouldn't hold up if I revisited it. Well, after a rewatch, I am happy to say that 10 years later this series still rocks!

The show follows Lee Ping, a 10th grader who is framed for a huge prank he didn't do, and thus has to prove his innocence, "breaking rules to prove he didn't break any rules" as he puts it. This setup seems like it would be a simple whodunit type of plot, but the more Lee (and the audience) learn about the prank, the deeper the mystery gets. I love how even when the stakes are high, there are still callbacks to earlier seasons. It's clear that everything in this show happens for a reason, like an intricate puzzle. Despite the show touching on some dark themes, it also knows how to have a sense of humour, and has lots of funny quotable moments!

The characters are really likable because they subvert your expectations. While at first glance they may appear to be tropes you can find in any other show set in high school, each character soon reveals there's so much more to them, or a trope is flipped on it's head entirely. A "dumb jock" could actually be pretty smart, a big tough guy could actually be a softie, and the shallow popular girl could have many insecurities of her own. The voice cast helps to bring these characters to life. In particular I loved Jonathan Tan as Lee, David Berni as Chaz, and Brian Froud as Lynch. Each performance is just oozing with charisma, helping the characters stay that much more memorable.

While we can always hope for a continuation of the show, one thing is for sure: Detentionaire is one of the best story-based mystery cartoons out there, and is criminally underrated. If you see this review, I urge you to go check it out for yourself!

Obviously, I'm not expecting huge production value, but seriously, the characters are all great fun to watch, the dialogue and interactions are surprisingly well done, and the story is good lighthearted fun, and amps up at the perfect pace. Bit of a shame they don't make shows like they used to.

One of the best cartoons to come out in the past years with an actual plot, twists, suspense, and great character development; probably one of the few shows on 'Teletoon' worth watching. Definitely a worthy cartoon, even if you aren't keen on animated shows. I would recommend this show, I feel it's very appealing to teens. You really start to love the characters and want to find out what happens next!The story just gets better and better so if you're looking for a good conspiracy-themed show, put this on your summer list! I hope the creators of the show do decide to create Season 5, because the last episode of Season 4 left with a major cliffhanger. They must tell us what happens, and do an official end!!

This show deserves so much more love and attention than it currently has. It's not perfect, but it's genuinely one of the best mystery shows, best cartoons, and best overall tv shows I've ever seen.

The writing in this is absolutely phenomenal! I went into this as an adult who loves cartoons with good stories, having never seen or heard of it before, and holy cow it did not disappoint! From episode one, every single episode, and countless seemingly minor details, are all about foreshadowing a number of huge plots down the line that all fit so well as they come together.

The character are honestly so much fun both on their own and in all their interactions with others. I love that as the story progresses, more and more side characters join in on important aspects of the plot, and you get unique teamups between characters that aren't the same main three. Which, those teamups are still just as good, but it's fascinating to me that the world and characters are so well developed that each character can play their own pivotal role, merging different groups or cliques together to create unique interactions and unique solutions to problems that would have otherwise been impossible to face. It makes it feel more real than what could have been a small, forced, consistent teamup in a world where everyone is involved in the conspiracy. Detentionaire isn't afraid to show that.

Around Season 2 was when I realized just how clever the story was. Each season has it's own unique and interesting plot that is built up in every single episode. But the later seasons aren't built upon only those specific episodes. From Season 1, and even the first episode, huge plots for the rest of the show are foreshadowed in a seamless way that makes the end so much more satisfying. You can easily tell that the entire plot was conceived before the first episode was written. There are no plot points thrown in at random as the show was preparing for each season from the very beginning.

If you're not convinced after the first couple episodes, where you're hopping into a world that feels so strange and different but seems so normal to the characters, then keep watching. There are reasons for every strange creature, event, etc. That are slowly revealed throughout the series. Not to mention the show is full of funny moments, jokes, and high school experiences that make the world feel so much more vibrant and fun.

If you like shows like Gravity Falls, Over the Garden Wall, Infinity Train, The Owl House, or any shows in that vein, you'll love Detentionaire. Here's hoping the show gets a renewal one day so we can get the final season that ties everything together!