Moriarty the Patriot turns the familiar Holmes formula on its head by making the villain the lead. The 2020 anime series follows William James Moriarty, a brilliant criminal mastermind who believes the British class system must fall. He is not a simple antagonist. He is a strategist, a manipulator, and a man convinced he can remake society through perfect crimes.
The show is a product of the Japanese manga world. It is based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories, adapted into a shōnen manga by Ryosuke Takeuchi and Hikaru Miyoshi, who have built a world where Moriarty’s schemes are the engine of the plot. The anime, produced by Production I.G, ran for 24 episodes across one season, airing from October 2020 to June 2021 on Tokyo MX.
Trailer, via Crunchyroll Dubs.
Moriarty’s Scheme
William Moriarty is the center of the story. He was raised in an orphanage before being adopted by his older brother Albert. After murdering the real William, he took the name and identity of the dead man. He then adopted two orphans, Louis and his unnamed brother, who shared his hatred of the nobility. Together, they burned down the family estate and set out to destroy the class system.
William’s method is to help victims of class-influenced crimes get their revenge. He sets up crime scenes where the victims do the killing without leaving any evidence of their involvement behind. It is a clever and unsettling approach, one that makes him far more interesting than the usual cartoon villain.
Sherlock’s Role
Sherlock Holmes is not the hero here. He is the foil, the detective whose deductions keep uncovering Moriarty’s schemes. Their relationship is a battle of wits, with Moriarty testing Sherlock’s abilities by framing him for murder. The show leans into the rivalry between the two men, and it pays off.
The voice cast brings the characters to life. Soma Saito voices William, Takuya Sato voices Albert, Chiaki Kobayashi voices Louis, Makoto Furukawa voices Sherlock, Yuki Ono voices John H. Watson, Satoshi Hino voices Sebastian Moran, and Yuto Uemura voices Fred Porlock. The English dub also features Aaron Dismuke and Emily Neves as young William, Chris Guerrero as Albert, Howard Wang and Laura Stahl as young Louis, and Theo Devaney as Sherlock.
What Works
The series excels in several areas:
- Character depth — Moriarty is a fully realized villain, not a cartoon antagonist.
- Writing — the schemes are clever and often unexpected.
- Voice acting — the cast delivers strong performances across all episodes.
- Atmosphere — the late 19th-century setting is rendered with care.
What Falls Short
The pacing drags in the middle episodes. Some arcs feel stretched beyond their natural length, diluting the tension that the early episodes build. The show also leans heavily on Moriarty’s monologues, which can feel repetitive when they occur back to back.
Final Word
Moriarty the Patriot succeeds because it commits to its premise. It treats its antagonist with respect, giving him intelligence, motivation, and a moral code that drives his actions. The show is not for everyone, but for those who want a fresh take on a classic story, it delivers.
The anime adapts the manga, though it naturally condenses the source material. It is a show about crime as revolution, and it is willing to make that case with conviction. That conviction carries the series through its weaker stretches.
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