The Secret Lost at Sea

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know.

"Oh, The Places You'll Go!"

Ashibe Taku loves his classic mystery fiction and often writes pastiches of classic detectives and other stories strongly inspired by them. His two-volume series The Exhibition of Great Detectives for example was a collection of entertaining pastiches which had familiar fictional detectives like Lupin and Holmes, or Charlie Chan and Sam Spade team up in criminal crossovers. What Ashibe also showcased in these stories is not only his immense knowledge of the fictional characters and their respective universes, but also of the real-life publication history. A major characteristic of Ashibe's writing is the never-ending stream of literary references and references to all kinds of trivia regarding how these stories were actually created, sometimes even to a fault as occasionally when there's a bit too much trivia.

The famous fictional detectives Akechi Kogorou (by Edogawa Rampo) and Kindaichi Kousuke (by Yokomizo Seishi) have of course also been used multiple times by Ashibe in his pastiches and he even had them team-up more than once. In those stories, the two famous detectives met while working on the same case, but Ashibe Taku has a more interesting concept prepared in Kindaichi Kousuke, Panorama-tou he Iku ("Kindaichi Kousuke Goes To Panorama Island", 2016). This book collects two novellas in which the two detectives visit locales where the other detective famously solved one of their iconic cases: one of Edogawa Rampo's more imaginative novellas is Panorama-tou Kitan ("The Strange Tale of Panorama Island"), while Gokumontou ("Prison Gate/Gokumon Island") is one of the best-known Kindaichi Kousuke novels. In this book, the always shabbily-clad Kindaichi visits Panorama Island many years after the incident that made it famous, while in the meantime, the gentleman-detective Akechi Kogorou, his wife Fumiyo and the boy detective Kobayashi Yoshio travel to the once horrifying island of Gokumon.

Let me start with saying right away that this is a book for the fans. If you haven't read the original stories and preferably even more adventures starring the respective two detectives, there's probably too little to genuinely enjoy within the pages of these two stories. Ashibe goes full-out fanboy with his references to both series, and sometimes (or even often), the trivia will only appeal to the knowledgable fan. We're talking about references about the release years of stories, or how certain stories were only serialized and never released as books and talk about the appearances of characters that only appeared on one single novel. I was familiar with both the original stories and many other sotires in both fictional universes, but some of these references are really nitpicky (in a good way, I guess). A fan will surely grin while reading this, but for someone who has never touched any of these stories,  Kindaichi Kousuke, Panorama-tou he Iku will be hard to follow, especially as the core mystery plot of both stories do touch upon the details of the original work. Of course, pastiches always rely on references, but I think in this case the core mystery plots aren't really entertaining if you go in completely blank.

The first story is the titular Kindaichi Kousuke, Panorama-tou he Iku ("Kindaichi Kousuke Goes To Panorama Island"), which has Kindaichi's old friend Kazama buy up the now defunct Panorama Island. In the original story, this island was rebuilt to be a (fake) paradise on Earth, being a gigantic, island-sized panorama rotunda that not only showed the wonders of the world as a panorama, it also offered all the pleasures of the human world to its king. After the conclusion of the original story, the island was abandoned and allowed to fall apart, until Kazama (a contractor) decided to buy the island and turn it into an entertainment park. Kazama invites Kindaichi along to view the place, knowing his professional interest in the location. After their visit, they return to the mainland and stay in an inn in a bay across the island. That night, Kindaichi is haunted by a nightmare, which seems to have come true: workers of Kazama had gone to the island that morning and discovered a corpse there, whose face had been destroyed completely. The man had been murdered in the night and been left on top of some minature buildings (a panorama works with perspective, so objects in the back are made as scale miniatures). The island is hardly accessible though, and Kazama and Kindaichi had not seen the body during their inspection the day before, so how did that body end up on Panorama Island and why in the first place? It's interesting to see how Ashibe imagined the aftermath of the original story (loads of references to the characters of the original story) and ultimately, the core mystery is actually neatly connected to the original Panorama Island story. The core mystery plot isn't really that complex and the story could easily have been half the length if it wasn't imbedded in this pastiche form, but on the other hand, this trick is one that worked because it was set in such a unique place. It's a funny story for people that know the original tale, though I think it is arguable whether this story needed Kindaichi to be the detective (though there is a reason).

This story is followed time-wise immediately by Akechi Kogorou, Gokumontou he Iku ("Akechi Kogorou Goes To Gokumon Island"), where Akechi Kogorou, his wife and the boy detective Kobayashi visit Gokumon Island, one of the first big cases Kindaichi solved right after he returned from fighting in World War II. Akechi is quite interested in seeing the small island community some years after Kindaichi famously solved the "Gorgon Sisters Murder Case" and meets with a lot of people he already knew from the novel by Y (Yokomizo Seishi) based on the events. As the famous detective and his entourage are being led around the island though, the reader is made aware not all is as it seems though, and it seems Akechi is planning to pull something off on this island, but what? Similar to the Rampo stories, we follow an Akechi who is aware of a lot more facts than the reader, and it's seeing the mysterious events work towards a finale orchestrated by Akechi that makes up most of the fun of this story. It's not really fair because Akechi basically already knows what's up from the early stages of the story on, and the reader is just left wondering why this or that is happening. This story too builds on the aftermath of the original story as imagined by Ashibe, but both the scale and the type of mystery is so different from the original story that it kinda misses the mark: the first story was much better in really feeling like the mystery plot built on specific details of the original story. The real-world references are also incredibly detailed and nitpicky here (and even somewhat confusing as it mixes real and in-universe chronology) and in the end, this story really feels like one for the fans.

Obviously, Kindaichi Kousuke, Panorama-tou he Iku is not going to be an universal recommendation. It's playing up to a very specific target group and there's little to appeal to people outside of that group, as the two stories here don't work well as standalone mystery stories. As someone who does know both stories, and the extended series of both Akechi Kogorou and Kindaichi Kousuke, I did have fun seeing familiar locales and characters, but seen from the point of view of another great detective. The concept is pretty fun, with these characters visiting the places from the stories of the other character, but the result is really only reserved for a small group of readers. You will know of yourself whether you're interested in this story collection or not.

Original Japanese title(s): 芦辺拓『金田一、パノラマ島へ行く』:「金田一、パノラマ島へ行く」/「明智小五郎、獄門島へ行く」

The Most Crucial Game

から紅に染まる渡月橋

導かれる日願って

川の流れに祈りを込めて

I've been thinking about you

I've been thinking about you

いつもこころ君のそば

「渡月橋　～君　思ふ～」（倉木麻衣）

The Togetsukyou-Bridge is colored crimson

Oh I wish for the day that we'll be led here

Sending my prayer along the stream of the river

I've been thinking about you

I've been thinking about you

My heart is always by your side

"Togetsukyou ~Thinking About You~" (Kuraki Mai)

Drawing manga for a weekly is a pretty stressful job, as the average manga artist has deliver about twenty pages each and every week, which means they not only have to plan, plot and illustrate the chapter of the week, but also plan all the storylines ahead together with their editors, do research and more. And sure, the really succesful artists will have assistant to help with backgrounds or inking, but still, it's a lot of work. Which makes that more impressive that Aoyama Goushou will be publishing the thousandth Detective Conan chapter  in next week's Shonen Sunday (first week of August)! He originally thought this series would only last for a few chapters when he first started in 1994, and he never could've guessed his series would grow out to be such a mammoth in the world of Japanese entertainment.

Volume 93 of Detective Conan starts with the final two chapters of Three Detectives and Hyakunin Isshu, which started in the previous volume. Conan and Hattori are having a short break in the restaurant Poirot, located right beneath the Mouri Detective Agency. A small group of friends is also having a drink there, but then the lights suddenly go out, and when the lights return, the people present inside Poirot are shocked to see that one of the friends has been stabbed in the back. But to the great surprise of Conan, Hattori and secret agent Amuro (who works part-time at Poirot), they also learn that none of the others have blood on them, even though the stabbing was so gruesome that even Conan and Hattori, sitting at the table next to the victim, had splatters on them. The resulting story is a fairly basic which-of-the-three-suspects set-up, though with a strange execution. It is more-or-less an impossible story, in the sense that it appears that none of the suspects could stabbed the victim without getting some blood on them, but strangely enough, this part of the mystery does not form the focus of the story, as the three detectives basically figure out that part out almost instantly with almost no clues and swiftly brush that away, shifting the main problem to that of opportunity, as it appears like the person who's most likely to have done it, couldn't have committed the murder they way the detectives think they did. This struck me as very odd though, as the problem of opportunity is a lot less interesting and inspired than the problem of how the stabbing was done, while the clewing of both pillars were a bit poor. The opportunity problem is poorly clewed, because it involves the use of a bit of trivia, while the clewing for the stabbing was apparently less elaborate because it was demoted to secundary importance, even though it's actually quite original. So Three Detectives and Hyakunin Isshu turned out as a story with some good ideas, but where the execution was unbalanced. The story also introduces us to another new face who I think is an important character in the 2017 Detective Conan film, The Crimson Love-Letter, but I haven't seen that one yet (waiting for the home-video release near the end of the year).

The Kisaki Eri Kidnapping Case is easily the most entertaining story of this volume. Kisaki Eri, mother of Ran and succesful lawyer, has been kidnapped by a gang of three men, but she manages to temporarily escape from their clutches, though still unable to leave the building they're helding her captive. She also managed to steal the phone of one of her kidnappers during her escape, and while she doesn't dare talking on the phone for fear of being heard and found by her kidnappers, she does manage to contact Ran with a chat app. The kidnappers however quickly catch on and use Eri's own phone to chat with Ran too, making it impossible for Ran, Conan and Kogorou to figure out which of the messages is coming from the real Eri and which ones from the fake. What follows is a thrilling game of hide-and-seek with the kidnappers hunting for Eri in the building and sending fake messages to Ran to confuse them, while Eri is trying to figure out where she is so she can tell her husband and Ran. The story re-uses some elements from previous stories (Eri uses a trick a murderer used in an earlier story to hide herself), but it's overall a nice change of pace, with a more action-packed story (this would've been perfect for the movies!) and some nice ideas involving how Conan figures out where Eri is, and also the use of a chat application as a tool in a detective story. Whenever chat rooms/applications are used in mystery fiction, you can bet that there will be the not so shocking revelation that somebody was pretending to be someone else. This story however tells you right from the start that this is the case, and uses it as the starting premise to do much more original things with it.

Match-Up Of The One-Eyed is another camp story with Conan and the rest of the Detective Boys, but this time, they are joined by their assistant-teacher Wakasa instead of Doctor Agasa. We as the readers have known since her first appearance that something is up with Wakasa, and it appears Conan is also starting to suspect that his new teacher might not be all she seems at first sight. The kids become friends with the members of a basketball club who are out camping too, but one of them rather prefers locking himself up in his tent to enjoy some beers and comics than sit outside with the others. While the Detective Boys and the other member of the basketball club are having a curry dinner outside, the loner's tent suddenly catches fire, and the others are sadly enough not able to save their teammate. As the fire started inside, with the tent locked from the inside, and with witnesses having seen the victim moving around inside the tent until the moment the fire broke out, it appears that this was just a sad accident, but Conan suspects this was murder, an opinion shared by Police Commissioner Kuroda, who "happened" to be camping there too and totally not stalking Conan and/or Wakasa. The mystery of the fire is a bit too brilliant for its own good. It's a great idea, that it certainly is, combining a locked room tent with a fantastic manner to start the fire, but I wish the story offered a few better hints. The decisive hint is given in such an unnatural manner, it feels like Aoyama just gave up on natural clewing and decided to brute-force one in the plot. The story is by the way also connected to the ongoing storyline involving the unknown character RUM, as both Police Commissioner Kuroda and teacher Wakasa seem to fit the description Conan has of the elusive Black Organization member.

The final story included in this volume are the first four chapters of The Two Swordsmen from Naniwa, which is basically a sequel to a story from volume 31, as this story follows the same plot in a way: a murder happens during an important inter-school kendo competition, with Hattori being a contender for the gold. The victim is a judge in the competition, which means he's an experienced swordsman himself, which in turn means that the person who was capable of cutting his neck in just one move must've been a talented swordsman themselves. While three suspects are quickly detained, Conan and Hattori have trouble figuring out who the murderer is, which is not helped by the fact that while there's a witness to the murder, this witness is completely blind and only heard bits and pieces of what happened. Without the conclusion it's hard to tell how the mystery plot will end up (though it does neatly involve all sorts of things related to kendo) and there's a lot here for fans of Aoyama's works, as like the story in volume 31, The Two Swordsmen from Naniwa is basically also a crossover with Yaiba, a hit comedy-adventure series which Aoyama created before Detective Conan. The volume 31 story featured the genius swordsman Okita, who returns in The Two Swordsmen from Naniwa as one of Hattori's greatest rivals in the competition, while the perhaps the most dangerous character from Yaiba makes his first appearance in Detective Conan too in this story.

Detective Conan 93 was on the whole a decent volume. No real duds in terms of mystery plots, but also no particularly memorable ones, save for the kidnapping case, I guess. It's only natural that things go a bit slowly now, after the revelations made in the previous volume, and the camping story does tie back to the ongoing RUM investigation, but it'll probably take a while for things to really get moving again. That said, this volume offers fairly diverse stories and even volumes of Conan without any really impressive stories still tend to be much better than your average mystery story.

Original Japanese title(s): 青山剛昌　『名探偵コナン』第93巻』

Golden Cocktail

危険。混ぜるな。

Do not mix. Hazardous.

Seems like it's been a while since I did a review on a 'proper' Japanese detective novel, instead of a Japanese translation of a Western novel or reviews on (Japanese) games.

Akechi Kogorou tai Kindaichi Kousuke ("Akechi Kogorou VS Kindaichi Kousuke") is a 2002 short story collection by Ashibe Taku, and the second volume in his The Exhibition of Great Detectives series, a showcase of pastiches starring famous detectives from both East and West. Like many pastiches, these stories also feature an element of parody, and they are best enjoyed if by the reader if they do actually know the detective beneath the spotlight. The story which lends its title to this collection for example, Akechi Kogorou tai Kindaichi Kousuke, features arguably the two most influential detectives in Japanese detective fiction: Edogawa Rampo's famous gentleman-detective Akechi Kogorou and Yokomizo Seishi's quintessential Japanese detective Kindaichi Kousuke. And the reader is sure to enjoy this story if they know something about these detectives, because at the core, this is a very Kindaichi-esque story, about two rival pharmacy shops which used to be one single shop (many Kindaichi stories about the troubles that exist between main and branch families). I already discussed the 2013 TV drama adaptation back then, so I refer to that review for more indepth views on the story. It's a good mystery yarn, with a surprising conclusion, and I definitely prefer the stort story to the drama version, which had some questionable direction in terms of characterization. In the end, this story is still not really a "Versus" story though, so the title might be a bit misleading.

French Keibu to Raimei no Shiro ("Inspector French and the Thunderclap Castle") has Freeman Wills Crofts' Inspector French going on a well-deserved holiday with his wife Emily. The couple needs to change trains at the station of Cranerock, but there they run into a little problem. Old man Smithers, butler of the Callaway family, has been waiting for ages for a "famous detective from London with the initial F", and thinks that he has found his man in Inspector French. The Inspector learns the story of Harriet Cathaway, last of the Cathaways and owner of Thunderclap Castle in Cranerock. She has recently become of age, but her legal guardian, Mannering, wants to sell the castle behind her back to settle his debts. Mannering is willing to do anything to accomplish this, which is why Harriet's grandfather had arranged for the "famous detective F" to watch over Harriet after his demise. Inspector French and his wife stay for the night in Thunderclap Castle, but the following morning, the body of Mannering is found in the Cathaway Crypt. What's more baffling is that no footsteps of anybody leaving the crypt were found on the snowfield surrounding the crypt, and the crypt was locked from inside, with the key found inside Mannering's mouth.

To be honest, I was a bit confused when I started with this story. An Inspector French story, with a Gothic feel and an impossible crime? I had expected an alibi deconstruction story, like Mystery on Southampton Water. But there is a perfectly good reason why this story does not feel like an Inspector French story and a lot more like a story featuring a certain different character, though it would spoil a bit of the surprise if I'd tell you now. Suffice to say that not all is what they appear to be. The impossible crime plot is great by the way, as it ties in fantastically with that one plot-point I can't tell you about here. Is it a completely fair story? No, as it requires some information not explicitly made known to the reader until the conclusion, but for readers who know about the characters featured in this story, French Keibu to Raimei no Shiro is nothing less than fun, that is a great pastiche, parody and impossible crime story. Definitely my favorite of the book.

Brown Shinpu no Japonisme ("The Japonisme of Father Brown") is based on a fanzine story by Komori Kentarou, but heavily rewritten by Ashibe. G.K. Chesterton's Father Brown finds himself at the residence of Lord Huntington, recently deceased, as the request of his old friend Flambeau. Under the influence of his wife, Lord Huntington had become a great collector of anything from the Far East, especially Japan, and he had hired Flambeau for his detective services. The lord however was found murdered yesterday inside a locked exhibition room, filled will Japanese collectibles. His body was stuffed inside a nagamochi storage trunk, while the murder weapon, a pistol, was found inside an urn. Suspects include the lord's wife, a socialist journalist, who had just had an interview with the lord and a Japanese businessman who had a big row with the lord. The solution Father Brown poses is absolutely brilliant, but almost cheating. It's a wonderfully Father Brown-esque solution, reminiscent of the famous The Invisible Man, but taken to the extreme. It's a bit hard to swallow, especially in this time and age, but it's not one I would deem utterly impossible, and I think it works quite well here, though I do wish there were more hints to this solution. Brilliant, but so utterly crazy it wouldn't work in something outside a pastiche or parody.

Soshite Orient Kyuukou Kara Dare Mo Inaku Natta ("And Then There Were None On The Orient Express") is a very short epilogue set in an alternative universe to Christie's Murder on the Orient Express, which focuses on the Yuguslavian Police Force, who were given a dead body and a report of Hercule Poirot's solution to the crime after the events in the book. It's a simple story that with a surprise ending gimmick, which was not bad. It's not a mystery story though, it's just offering a different way to look at the ending of Murder on the Orient Express.

Q no Higeki - Mata wa Futari no Kurofukumen no Bouken ("The Tragedy of Q - Or: The Adventure of the Two Men With Black Masks") starts with the discovery of the body of Professor Cotswinkel  in his research room in the Detroit Public Library. A witness (and suspect) says the last time he talked with the professor, the man said he had just seen Ellery Queen. The problem is: which Ellery Queen? Because both Manfred B. Lee and Frederic Dannay were in Detroit to do a lecture as Ellery Queen and Barnaby Ross. This is an original pastiche about the Queen cousins, as opposed to the character, set in the time when Lee and Dannay were posing as both Ellery Queen and Barnaby Ross. The story makes good use of this past of the Queen cousins and the solution to the problem is solved in a typical Queen manner, by logical reasoning. The denouement scene is golden by the way: with both "Ellery Queen" and "Barnaby Ross" deducing their way to the murderer in front of an audience. 

Tantei Eiga no Yoru ("Night of the Detective Films") is not a pastiche, but combines an essay on Hollywood adaptations of mystery novels with a locked room murder. A big fan of mystery films is murdered inside his house, and several witnesses swear they saw a strange green, alien-like creature inside the house just moments before the murder was committed. But when the victim's fiancée and the local beat cop enter the house right after the murder, they find only the mask of the alien, with no sign of the person who should've been wearing it. A simple story: the impossible crime is just a minor variation of a familiar pattern. I described the story as a combination of an essay and a mystery short story, but that's really what it is. The first part was intended as an essay on Hollywood adaptations, but it was expanded a bit to include a mystery story.

The final story in the collection, Shounen wa Kaijin wo Yume Miru ("The Boy Who Dreamt of a Fiend"), is basically impossible to describe without giving it away. It's not a mystery story actually, more a fantasy/adventure novel and it ties in eventually with one of the more well-known figures in Japanese mystery fiction, but yeah, mentioning who would spoil the whole thing. Not a big fan of the story, but it is also a very different kind of story compared to the rest.

Overall though, I'd say Akechi Kogorou tai Kindaichi Kousuke is a very amusing pastische collection. The book features a lot of impossible crime situations, and I'd say most of them are actually quite good (especially the first half of the book), though I have to say the collection feels a lot more rewarding if you actually know the many characters that appear here, because the book definitely has a slight parody-angle.

Original Japanese title(s): 『明智小五郎対金田一耕助』: 「明智小五郎対金田一耕助」 / 「フレンチ警部と雷鳴の城」 / 「ブラウン神父と日本趣味（ジャポニズム）」 / 「そしてオリエント急行から誰もいなくなった」 / 「Ｑの悲劇　または二人の黒覆面の冒険」 / 「探偵映画の夜」 / 「少年は怪人を夢見る」

Make Me A Perfect Murder

「この程度の謎で頭を悩ませておいでは、お嬢様は本当に役立たずでございますね」

 「彼女は何を奪われたでございますか」

"My lady, you really are good for nothing if you need to puzzle over a problem of this level."

 "What Was Stolen From The Lady?"

Man, I love these stylized covers.

Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de 3 ("Mystery Solving Is After Dinner 3") is the third volume in Higashigawa Tokuya's popular armchair detective series. In the past, I've written about the TV drama adaptation (which was based on the first two volumes) as well as the motion picture, but this is the first time I wrote about the original books, I think (I do have all of them). Anyway, the third volume is at the core precisely the same as the previous two volumes. We follow the adventures of Houshou Reiko, a young police detective who, unknown to her collegues, is actually an insanely wealthy heiress of the gigantic Houshou Group. Every day, after a hard day of work, she enjoys a luxurious banquet, during which she often spews complaints about how difficult her cases are. Luckily for her, her butler Kageyama can usually point out the truth behind each case just by listening to her stories. Unlucky for Reiko however is that Kageyama has no qualms whatsoever about ridiculing and insulting his mistress' intelligence while explaining everything. The bunko (pocket) version of this third volume (released in January 2015) collects six stories, as well as one bonus short short not included in the original release.

Reiko and her boss Inspector Kazamatsuri investigate the death of an old man in Hannin ni Doku wo Ataenaide Kudasai ("Please Don't Provide Poison To The Murderer"). The man died of some arseneous acid, but it is unclear whether it was murder or suicide. At one hand, the family appears to have enough motive to want the man dead, on the other hand, the victim is also said to have been depressed lately because of the disappearance of the family cat. Kageyama however points out a very neat solution. This story is not brilliant or anything, but is a good showcase of Higashigawa's MO: he is very experienced in leaving little hints in the story (often 'dressed' in a comedic manner) and then connecting everything in good order. These stories are actually quite solvable for the reader if the reader tries a little. In a way, it feels like Higashigawa's writings often reward the reader with the feeling of "I solved it!". They're never too difficult or easy. 

Kono Kawa de Oborenaide Kudasai ("Please Don't Drown In This Rivier") is one of the better stories in the volume and deals with a drowned corpse found...just a little away from the river. Everything points to murder and Reiko and Kazamatsuri manage to discover that the man had lately been living off a distant (and wealthy) relative. The police discovers everyone had a motive to do the man in, but also that the family has an alibi for the time of the murder, as they were holding a party at their home. The solution Kageyama points out to is not particularly surprising, but again, the solution is not screaming-in-your-face obvious and requires a little effort from the reader. The hints are elegantly hidden and overall, this story is a very solidly constructed plot.

Kaitou Kara no Chousenjou de gozaimasu ("Presenting A Challenge by A Phantom Thief") is the only story where Reiko doesn't act in her role as police officer, but as her heiress self. The phantom thief Legend declares he is going to steal the "Golden Pig", a piece of art owned by Reikos father. Her father tells Reiko to call their family detective (something like a family attorney) and they try to prevent the theft... with some success. For Legend doesn't manage to steal the "Golden Pig", but does get away with the "Silver Pig", the counterpart to the "Golden Pig". But why did Legend steal the wrong statue, and more importantly, how did he manage to steal the thing from inside a locked room? A large part of the story is quite obvious, and sadly enough, the solution to the locked room is not really satisfying because it's not really well hinted at. As shown in the other stories of the volume, Higashigawa is quite good at hinting and hiding those hints in plain sight, but it doesn't really work here.

Satsujin ni wa Jitensha wo Goriyou Kudasai ("Please Use A Bicycle For Murder") is my favorite story of the volume, and involves a case where Reiko and Kazamatsuri suspect a man of killing his aunt, but he has an almost perfect alibi. On the night of the murder, two friends visited him, but he was out for 15 minutes for a smoke. And the only way he could've made his way to the murder scene was by bike, but that would mean he would have needed to go a steady 40 KM per hour to pull the thing off. The basic trick of this story is very similar to another story in this volume and I think the solution is also a bit more obvious in this story than the other one, but I like this story better because the narrative is simply more fun to read.

The title of Kanojo wa Nani wo Ubawareta no de Gozaimasu ka ("What Was Stolen From The Lady?") asks the most important question in the newest case Reiko and Kazamatsuri are investigating: a college student has been killed, but for some reason everything she was wearing besides her clothes (belt, shoes, etc) was removed. Reiko soon guesses that the murderer only wanted to take one thing, but took everything as a camouflage, but what was the real object? Kageyama points out a solution that takes a little jumping in logic, but overall a well-constructed mystery that involves logic you actually seldom see in detective stories. At least, it's not something you'd see in Golden Age stories, but it is something we've come to expect from modern, Japanese stories and especially Higashigawa, who is always very modern and his mysteries are often very close to 'everyday life mysteries'.

The title of Sayonara wa Dinner no Ato de  ("The Farewell Is After Dinner") is actually about the epilogue of this story, which deals with a farewell. But the main mystery is about an old man who was beaten to death in his house. It appears to be the work of some burglars who have been making their rounds in the neighbourhood at first, but a chance witness changes the case. Kageyama's solution is really fun, as it really turns all previous ideas around, yet still remains quite plausible. One of the best stories.

The pocket version of Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de 3 adds a "bonus track" in the form of a very special crossover: Tanteitachi no Kyouen ("The Banquet Of The Detectives") brings Reiko and Kageyama together with... Detective Conan! In this short short, Reiko and Kageyama make their acquaintance with Edogawa Conan and Mouri Kogorou at a party held by publisher Shogakukan (the actual publisher behind both Detective Conan and Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de). Because Conan is basically a Walking Death God, it doesn't take long for a corpse to appear: a policeman, known by all as the Columbo of Takao, was found stabbed outside on the emergency stairs. But just before he died, he managed to say one thing: Kamsahamnida ("thank you" in Korean). The solution Kageyama and Conan arrive at is...well, you have to read this one for yourself. The story is a short short and really nothing more than a little bonus, but okay.

I'd say that Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato 3 is more of the same. It differs not at all from the previous volumes, which can be taken as both a good and a bad thing. There's no really excellent or outstanding story in the volume, and nothing that makes it memorable, but on the other hand, it was always an entertaining and well-constructed read. I think any reader will have a good time with this volume, even if it's not especially inspiring.

Original Japanese title(s): 東川篤哉　『謎解きはディナーのあとで3』: 「犯人に毒を与えないでください」 /  「この川で溺れないでください」 / 「怪盗からの挑戦状でございます」 / 「殺人には自転車をご利用ください」 / 「彼女は何を奪われたのでございますか」 / 「さよならはディナーのあとで」 / 「探偵たちの饗宴」

Double Exposure

 Two's company, three's a crowd

I usually keep an eye out on Japanese TV for interesting mystery shows (I want to see Maya Yutaka's live mystery show!), but I have to admit that this one caught me by complete surprise. Had I not seen some Twitter trends for it, I would have totally missed it.

Last year, Edogawa Rampo's Akechi Kogorou and Yokomizo Seishi's Kindaichi Kousuke appeared together in Fuji TV's crossover TV special Kindaichi Kousuke VS Akechi Kogorou, based on a pastiche by Ashibe Taku. Last monday, the two best known fictional detectives from the Japanese islands reunited in a new TV special with the simple title Kindaichi Kousuke VS Akechi Kogorou Futatabi ("Kindaichi Kousuke VS Akechi Once Again"). Being hired to find out who is behind the attempted poisoning of Baron Ryuujou, Kindaichi Kousuke travels to a small secluded village in Nagano where the baron is revered as its benevolent lord. Meanwhile, Akechi Kogorou also makes his way to Baron Ryuujou's dwellings, because his nemesis the Fiend with Twenty Faces has threatened to whisk away a golden Tathāgata statue in possession of the baron. And thus Kindaichi Kousuke and Akechi Kogorou find themselves working side by side again to expose a silent murderer and a flamboyant thief.

I wasn't too impressed with last year's special actually, so I was quite surprised when I learned they made a sequel. The idea of a crossover between the best known fictional Japanese detectives is fun, of course and while such crossovers often stay within the realm of fanfiction and low-profile pastiches, this was a crossover written by a well known mystery writer, broadcasting in prime time and starring some big names (Yamashita Tomohisa as Kindaichi and Itou Hideaki as Akechi). But with last year's special I had the feeling that the mystery, while decent enough, didn't need the big names of Kindaichi and Akechi and that it didn't really fit either of the two. But a new year and new chances and this time we even have Rampo's the Fiend with Twenty Faces appear, so expectations were raised.

Well, the story and setting of Kindaichi Kousuke VS Akechi Kogorou Futatabi definitely fits both detectives, especially Kindaichi. Twisted family relations, inheritance conflicts, a secluded community with a secret, old nursery rhymes, a cave, everything you expect from a Kindaichi Kousuke story. Heck, the baron even has three daughters (a small trope within Yokomizo's novels, see also The Inugami Clan and Gokumontou) and of course, Kindaichi Kousuke mysteries often involve the aristocracy (or to be exact, the impovered ex-aristocracy, but that is because most Kindaichi Kousuke stories are set after World War II). Even Akechi Kogorou seems natural in this setting and I could definitely imagine the Fiend of Twenty Faces schemng to steal a golden statue, so in the very least, I have no complaints about the setting (there's even a small confession scene that is a straight send-up to the one in The Inugami Clan!)

But you can feel the but coming, right? I think I have three problems with this special. One is that the mystery itself is incredibly easy. Sure, they usually simply mysteries for the TV format, but last year's TV special at least featured a mystery plot that was a bit more challenging. This time, the plot is both boring and simple. It feels as if they tried to fill a two hour show with enough plot for maybe fifty minutes, and even those fifty minutes would have been pretty yawn-inducing too! The moment the mystery is explained, you can't help but shrug and ask 'so?'. This would have been a bad plot in any detective show, let alone one which borrows the name of both Rampo's Akechi Kogorou and Yokomizo's Kindaichi Kousuke. Also, the plot-lines of the attempted poisoning, and the scheme of the Fiend with Twenty Faces (who hardly does anything) aren't really connected, so it feels like you're watching to parallel stories. Which is kinda a waste, because this special doesn't feel like Kindaichi Kousuke VS Akechi Kogorou, but more like Kindaichi Kousuke AND Akechi Kogorou happen to be at the same place but they are actually working on different cases so they have nothing to do with each other (but that would be a rather long title).

A second gripe I have is that though the setting itself was good, this stage is never used to its full potential. A creepy secluded community.... but we only see maybe two minutes of that, tops. Twisted family relations... that never feel twisted enough because most family members have little screen time. A climax in a creepy cave... of which I had forgotten its existence until the very end because it was mentioned like only once throughout the show. The great nemesis of Akechi, the Fiend with Twenty Faces... but he hardly adds anything to the plot and he might as well not have been there. The Big Plot Twist at the end would also have been much better if the background setting of the village had been fleshed out more (it's also a Big Plot Twist I've seen a bit too often now too). I'll be the first to admit that I tend to focus too much on just the mystery plot, with little attention on topics like characterization and fleshing out background settings, but the original Akechi Kogorou and Kindaichi Kousuke stories were always oozing with atmosphere. The Kindaichi Kousuke stories in particular always make me feel uneasy with their human horror-like settings, but the Akechi stories too are filled with Rampo's rather addictive enthusiasm that one can sense in every page, every sentence. Kindaichi Kousuke VS Akechi Kogorou Futatabi has the right elements, but doesn't really make use of them.

I just said I hardly look at characterization, but I really have to mention this, as I apparently forgot to write something about it in the review of last year's special: the Kindaichi Kousuke in this special, is nothing like the real Kindaichi Kousuke. Petty rivalry with Akechi Kogorou? This Kindaichi is kinda childish, which makes no sense whatsoever within the 'official' chronology of the character (compare; this special is set in the same year as Honjin Satsujin Jiken, so Kindaichi should act like the calm, attentive detective he was there. Also, most of his chidish traits should be gone having returned from a short stay in the States and recovered from a little drug addiction). I probably wouldn't have mind Kindaichi's strange characterization so much, if not for the fact that Akechi Kogorou acts mostly like he should do. It's only Kindaichi who has changed considerably and the only reason I can see for that change is to be able to score some cheap laughs. The special is based on a pastiche by Ashibe Taku, but in the case of Kindaichi Kousuke, this story does not even attempt to emulate the style or atmosphere of the original character, it seems.

Overall, my feelings for Kindaichi Kousuke VS Akechi Kogorou Futatabi are the opposite of those I have for last year's special. At least on the surface, the setting this time fits the two characters quite well, but as a mystery, this year's special is kinda forgettable. In fact, while I still remember the big lines of the mystery plot of last year's special, I can guarantee you that I will not be able to recall anything of this special same time next year. I don't know if there's a demand for it (none from my side at any rate), but if they make another special next year, I hope they get all the elements right this time.  I think a special with both Kindaichi Kousuke and Akechi Kogorou deserves that (And they should probably get rid of the Fiend; it is a bit too crowdy in this crossover despite the Fiend's minimal contribution)

Original Japanese title(s): 『金田一耕助VS明智小五郎、ふたたび』

L-C Crisis

「この世に解けない謎、盗めない宝は塵ひとつ存在しねぇ」

『ルパン三世ＶＳ名探偵コナン The Movie』

"In this world, there's no mystery that can be solved, and not a treasure that can't be stolen"

"Lupin the 3rd VS Detective Conan The Movie"

It will be a while before I'll see this year's Detective Conan movie (Dimensional Sniper), so today a review of another Detective Conan related movie to pass the time!

Conan, the great detective turned into a kid and Lupin III, grandson of Arsene Lupin and the greatest thief in the world, first crossed paths in 2009's Lupin the 3rd VS Detective Conan, a somewhat disappointing TV special which should only be remembered for the absolutely magnificent performance of voice actor Kamiya Akira. But the crossover between these two series turned out to be rather succesful, because a sequel was released in December 2013, in the form of Lupin the 3rd VS Detective Conan The Movie. Lupin III and his gang are back in Japan and they are planning to steal a jewel called the Cherry Sapphire which is held at a bank near Conan's home. At the same time, Conan discovers that crackshot Jigen Daisuke, Lupin's right hand, is working as a bodyguard for the popular Italian idol singer Emilio, who will be performing in Japan soon. How are these two jobs related and what is Lupin III really after?

What once started as a funny crossover cameo in Detective Conan - Jolly Roger in the Deep Azure, made possible because both Lupin III and Detective Conan are animated at TMS, has now become a little franchise series and I have to say, I enjoyed Lupin the 3rd VS Detective Conan The Movie much better than the original 2009 TV special. Which was just weird with fake foreign countries and lookalike princesses and stuff. Lupin the 3rd VS Detective Conan The Movie on the other hand is a normal heist movie, which we see from those sides: we follow both Lupin III and the gang slowly setting things up for their heist, as well as Conan (and other characters from the series) doing detectivey stuff. It's what you'd expect from a crossover between a series starring a detective, and a series starring a thief, and it works mostly.

Mostly, I say, because the story itself is actually not very good. The plot surrounding Emilio is quite ridiculous if you stop and think about it and whenever the movie enters Story Exposition Time, you just hope it is over soon. Also a fair warning, it's preferable if you watch the 2009 Lupin the 3rd VS Detective Conan TV special before the movie: there are no strong links, but references to the TV special do fall out of the sky near the end of the movie, and if you haven't seen the special, it would just be distracting and confusing.

But what is there to enjoy if the story is bad? Two things: action scenes and character interactions. I already noticed that the action scenes in Detective Conan movies have become more spectacular with each movie the last few years (incredible skateboard scene in 2010's Lost Ship in the Sky, incredible snowboard scene in 2011's Quarter of Silence, another incredible skateboard scene in 2012's The Eleventh Striker and... incredible fight and soccer scenes in 2013's Private Eye in the Distant Sea), but because this is a crossover with Lupin III, which is more of a comedic/slapstick action series, you can expect even more over-the-top action (heck, it starts right away with incredible waterboard/skateboard action..). I wouldn't say that Detective Conan is realistic, but sometimes the action does feel a bit too out of there for Conan. But they're definitely fun scenes and whenever several characters of either series are together, you can expect something fun to happen, be it of the action variety, or just character interaction.

Lupin the 3rd VS Detective Conan The Movie is really just something for the fans (duh, it's a crossover), who of course want to see how characters from different series react to each other and this movie delivers in that category, and in a way much better than was done in the original TV special. The stars of the movie are definitely cocky kid Conan and marksman Jigen, who spend some amazing time together as a bickering father-son duo. It's absolutely beautiful (second place goes to the duo Fujiko and Haibara). But a meeting between hardboiled ICPO inspector Zenigata and the somewhat bumbling police detective Takagi works wonderfully well too.

But I guess that's the main objective of a crossover like Lupin the 3rd VS Detective Conan The Movie. Pander to the fans. I know both series quite well, so I enjoyed seeing the two series blend together in this movie (in a manner done much better than the 2009 TV special), but I wouldn't recommend the movie if you have never seen Detective Conan or Lupin III. But then again, I can't imagine anyone would want to see this movie if not already familiar with at least one side of the crossover...

Original Japanese title(s):　モンキー・パンチ　（原：『ルパン三世』）、青山剛昌（原：『名探偵コナン』）　『ルパン三世VS名探偵コナン』

Mr Short and Mr Long

森へとri ra ra ra

doorを叩く

まい散る風　悲痛な（かなしい）叫び（こえ）が

聞こえぬよう祈りながら

フラリ　フラリ　駆け抜ける

「Marionette Fantasia」 (Garnet Crow)

To the forest li la la la

Knock on the door

Praying I won't hear

The fluttering wind, its sad voice

I keep on running

"Marionette Fantasia" (Garnet Crow)

The return of Short Shorts! Most people probably don't remember this corner, but it's mostly a collection of several, unrelated items. Sometimes I just have trouble writing a full-length review of something: to prevent these reviews from staying in limbo, I just combine multiple of these items in one Short Shorts post. Usually fairly incoherent posts, though today's Short Short is surprisingly following a popular theme: the impossible crime in short story format.

I had always wanted to read John Dickson Carr's famous short story The House in Goblin Wood and because in Japan you can just walk in a bookstore and get a new copy, I did just that. Over a year ago. The collection Youma no Mori no Ie (The House in Goblin Wood) has confusingly the English subtitle The Third Bullet and Other Stories and to make the chaos complete, this collection is not the same as The Third Bullet and Other Stories released outside Japan. Anyway, The House in Goblin Wood deals with the disappearance of Vicky Adams from an observed house, one of the witnesses being Sir Henry Merrivale. Vicky had done the same disappearing act when she was a child and when she returned she said she had been with the fairies. Has adult Vicky gone to the fairies again? The House in Goblin Wood is definitely a masterpiece: short, but expertly designed. It's completely solvable (I did, actually), but the way the story develops within the small amount of pages, the spooky disappearance and the whole truth at the end are presented, fantastic!

This collection also has The Incautious Burglar (Guest in the House), The Locked Room, The Clue of the Red Wig and The Third Bullet, but none of them really impressed to be honest. The Third Bullet in particular felt too long, even though the solution seemed so obvious. The House in Goblin Wood shows that sometimes shorter =  better. The Clue of the Red Wig has a Queenish murder scene: a woman dressed just in her underwear with a wig next to her is found in a little private garden/park. The pay-off is not particularly interesting in the end, but not bad (though I am quite sure I'll forget about this story in just a few months).

Which is an art Edward D. Hoch had mastered. I had already said in my review of the third collection of the Dr. Sam Hawthorne series that I probably wouldn't do full reviews anymore (see the review for more details), which makes it ideal material for this short short. Like a lot of Tokyo Sogen's publications, this volume has an English subtitle, which is Diagnosis: Impossible 4  - More and More Problems of Dr. Sam Hawthorne and that's the best way to describe it: yes, it's 'just' more impossible problems for the New England town doctor Sam to solve, and yes, the stories are still mostly the same in terms of structure, but heck, they are fun! There is a bit of a running storyline, with Sam hiring a new nurse and all, but it's still about all the mysterious murders that make Northmont one of the scariest places to live.

The Problem of the Haunted Tepee should be mentioned, as it's a crossover story with Hoch's Old West mystery series Ben Snow. An elderly Snow wants Sam to solve the mystery behind a haunted tepee, of which Snow himself had seen its deadly powers. This volume also contains the short story Frontier Street as a bonus story, which too is part of the Ben Snow series. The best story of the volume is The Problem of the Leather Man, where Sam has a long walk with the titular 'leather man' to the next town. They both take lodgings there, but the next morning the man is gone, and everybody, from the people at the lodgings to the people Sam had seen during the walk, say that Sam had been alone. Is the good doctor going crazy? This story takes a plot device I've seen quite often lately (probably just a coincidence), but constructs it in a reverse way, which makes it feel quite fresh. Sam has always been closely related to the crimes he solves as witness, but this time there's not even a crime and it's his own sanity that is being questioned. Quite different from the other stories in terms of development and type of story, something that is quite welcome once in a while.

And that wraps up this Short Short! Again, this corner is mostly reserved for materials I have trouble writing a full post on, so it's fairly irregular. For all I know, it might take once again a year and a half for a new Short Short to appear.

Original title(s): John Dickson Carr  『妖魔の森に家』: 'The House in Goblin Wood' 「妖魔の森の家」 / 'The Incautious Burglar' (Guest in the House) 「軽率だった夜盗」 / 'The Locked Room' 「ある密室」 / 'The Clue of the Red Wig' 「赤いカツラの手がかり」 / 'The Third Bullet' 「第三の銃弾」
Edward D. Hoch 『サム・ホーソーンの事件簿』IV: 'The Problem of the Black Roadster' 「黒いロードスターの謎」 / 'The Problem of the Two Birthmarks' 「二つの母斑の謎」 / 'The Problem of the Dying Patient' 「重体患者の謎」 / 'The Problem of the Protected Farmhouse' 「要塞と化した農家の謎」 / 'The Problem of the Haunted Tepee' 「呪われたティーピーの謎」 / 'The Problem of the Blue Bicycle' 「青い自転車の謎」 / 'The Problem of the County Church' 「田舎教会の謎」 / 'The Problem of the Grange Hall' 「グレンジ・ホールの謎」 / 'The Problem of the Vanishing Salaryman' 「消えたセールスマンの謎」 / 'The Problem of the Leather Man' 「革服の男の謎」 / 'The Phantom Parlor' 「幻の談話室の謎」 / 'The Problem of the Poisoned Pool' 「毒入りプールの謎」 / 'Frontier Street' 「フロンティア・ストリート」

The Gold Solution

The Real Folk Blues

本当の喜びを知りたいだけ

光るものの全てが黄金とは限らない

The Real Folk Blues (山根麻衣)

The Real Folk Blues

I just want to know real happiness

Not all that glitters is gold

"The Real Folk Blues" (Yamane Mai)

The new Detective Conan film looks awesome! At least, the story seems, like Countdown to Heaven and The Raven Chaser before it, somewhat related to the bigger storyline, so excited! Now if only I can get myself in Japan around April...

Edogawa Rampo's Ougon Kamen ("The Golden Mask") is named after a mysterious figure wearing the titular item, a golden mask with only a set of slit eyes and a giant smile as its face. The Golden Mask has been responsible for the most audicious thefts in recent memory and is also considered the main suspect for several murders. The police has no idea of how to stop the illustrious thief, and the matter seems to turn into an international affair when the Golden Mask threatens to rob the French ambassador. But celebrated detective Akechi Kogorou is also involved and he claims he knows who the mysterious figure is, just based on the discovery of a note with the initials A.L.

Okay, I'll just spoil it now: it is Arsene Lupin. Yes, it was the famous French gentleman thief who had been making trouble in Tokyo wearing a golden mask. Of course, most people who read Ougon Kamen now, read it because they know Arsene Lupin appears in it, so it's not that big a spoiler.

Maurice LeBlanc famously pitted a certain consulting detective against his Arsene Lupin; Edogawa Rampo in turn pitted Lupin against his Akechi Kogorou. LeBlanc was forced to chance the name of this consulting detective to something less dangerous in the courtroom, but with the more lax copyright rules at the time (and most likely also the smaller market and people simply not knowing of the book), Lupin has always stayed Lupin in Ougon Kamen (though TV adaptations wisely didn't use his name).

Anyway, the basic idea shouldn't be hard to guess. Over the course of the novel, Akechi and Lupin have several skirmishes, each party trying to outsmart the other. As with practically all of Rampo's serialized novels, he seems to improvise most of the time, and what you get is a chaotic series of entertaining confrontations between the two. Nothing too deep, but simply fun to read. Especially one part in the middle, which takes place during a party styled after Edgar Allan Poe's The Masque of Red Death, is great stuff, as well as a climax that has elements of both the Lupin and Akechi series.

Ougon Kamen was written in 1930-1931, so it is not hard to see how the fight between Arsene Lupin and Akechi Kogorou seemed to have inspired the creation of the Fiend with Twenty Faces (1936), Rampo's own thief-and-master-in-disguises. In fact, the Lupin in Ougon Kamen has some character elements that seem more like the Fiend, than the actual Lupin. Sure, Ougon Kamen's Lupin is still very popular among women, but he is also a bit more ruthless, a bit more willing to shed blood than the real Lupin. Akechi says this might be because Lupin doesn't consider Asians worthy of the same courtesy he shows his own countrymen, but still, this is a weird Lupin. But it's not hard to guess why: Akechi Kogorou is the protagonist, so Lupin has to appear as an actual villain for you to root for Akechi (the same happened to that consulting detective in LeBlanc's crossovers...). In the end we're left with a Lupin who is mostly like Lupin, but also a Lupin who obviously serves as a prototype for the Fiend. I think that Akechi Kogorou himself commented that the Lupin in Ougon Kamen was weird in Nishimura Kyoutarou's Meitantei ga Oosugiru (the legal nightmare crossover with Ellery Queen, Hercule Poirot, Maigret and Akechi Kogorou vs. the Fiend with the Twenty Faces and Arsene Lupin).
  
Ougon Kamen is like most of Rampo's serialized novels a bit of a chaotic mess, but the kind of mess that is fun, amusing and bound to leave a smile on your face. It's written for the masses, which is not a bad thing per se, and the childish ideas might not be for everyone, but I know I was amused from start to finish.

Original Japanese title(s): 江戸川乱歩　『黄金仮面』

The Most Dangerous Match

「....中国の、古い故事だ。ムカシ、楚の国に、ある武器商人がいた。王の前に出た彼は、２つの商品を取り出した。１つ目は....すべてを貫く《矛》。どんな防具も貫く、最強の武器だ。もう１つは、決して破らぬ《盾》。どんな攻撃も防ぐ、最強の防具だ。」

「ふうん.......あれ。その証人の発言は、アキラカにムジュンしているッ！」

『逆転裁判　蘇る逆転』

"It's an old story from China. There was a weapons merchant in the country of So long ago. He appeared before the king and presented two of his goods. The first, was an invincible halberd. A weapon which could pierce any defense. The second item was an unbreakable shield. A shield which could fend off everything"

"Hmmm... wait, that merchant's story, is a contradiction!"
"Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney - Rise from the Ashes"

I just realized that I haven't used Japanese in my post titles for some time now. Visitor-wise, I don't think there's a significant difference though.

1937. The young Kindaichi Kousuke has recently started his own private detective agency, but has problems drawing in clients. As he has to pay his rent, he does not hesitate to take a case even if it means he has to travel all the way to the city of Osaka. He finds himself getting involved with two rivaling pharmacy shops: the two shops used to be one, but when the original master of the shop died without appointing a successor, his two disciples each opened their own shop, both claiming to be the true successor. A kidnapping case and the discovery of a burnt body keep our young detective busy in the bustling Kansai city. Meanwhile, the famous private detecive Akechi Kogorou has recently returned from Manchuria, and he too decides to involve himself with the case, albeit in the background. Thus starts the grand crossover TV special Kindachi Kousuke VS Akechi Kogorou.

Kindaichi Kousuke VS Akechi Kogorou is a 2013 TV special for Fuji TV, based on a story written by Ashibe Taku. Please note that this is different from the 2005 Asahi TV Akechi Kogorou VS Kindaichi Kousuke special, which was a crossover special set in contemporary times. Anyway, as a concept, this is pretty awesome: Edogawa Rampo's Akechi Kogorou and Yokomizo Seishi's Kindaichi Kousuke are arguably the best known fictional Japanese detectives and a crossover between the detectives of different writers is quite rare. This is something big, like a Hercule Poirot VS Ellery Queen. And of course, certain expectations are created by combining the two names (Nishimura Kyoutarou's series featuring Akechi Kogorou, Ellery Queen, Hercule Poirot and Jules Maigret was therefore doomed from the start, I guess).

 Overall, I have to be honest and say I was a bit disappointed by the special. This was not because of the plot of the special though. It was a relatively entertaining story with several good twists that kept the plot going. Hints were layed out very fairly and while the main trick is a bit silly when you actually see it in action (I suspect this part worked better as a written story), the special did provide for an entertaining 100 minutes.

But were the names Kindaichi Kousuke and Akechi Kogorou really needed? The title might say 'versus', but there is no real confrontation, or at least no fair confrontation, between the two detectives. Kindaichi Kousuke has most of the screentime, and a disguised Akechi Kogorou just appears now and then, but it is clear from the start that the famous, more experienced Akechi Kogorou is a better detective than Kindaichi. Akechi is just there to give Kindaichi hints (while Kindaichi doesn't even know he's talking to his idol Akechi Kogorou) and the whole thing feels more like Akechi Kogorou Teaches Kindaichi Kousuke, rather than Kindaichi Kousuke VS Akechi Kogorou. Both characters do sorta resemble their original counterparts, but were these two names really needed for this story?

Like I wrote in the review for Morikawa Tomoki's Two Detectives and One Watson, when you have two (or more) rival detectives in one story, you need to make them comparable in deductive powers to maintain an element of competition. This isn't the case here. Other methods might be having the two rival detectives taking on different sides of the case. Strangely enough, the best examples of detective crossovers I can come up with now, are games: Professor Layton vs. Gyakuten Saiban and Detective Conan vs. Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo give each series the same amount of time to shine, without one overshadowing the other in terms of deductive powers/usefulness. In Kindaichi Kousuke VS Akechi Kogorou, Kindaichi manages to come up with good deductions, but the viewer knows that Akechi Kogorou is always one step ahead.

Which is a shame, because the basic story does fit Kindaichi Kousuke in theme I think. The ending especially feels like it could fit in with the canon Kindaichi Kousuke stories. The use of Akechi Kogorou on the other hand adds nothing to the story, and in fact takes away most of the good feeling you'd get had this just been presented as a young-Kindaichi-in-training story.

Kindaichi Kousuke VS Akechi Kogorou is an okay detective story, but it does not live up to the expectations created by putting the two famous names together. Nothing bad, but also a bit more bland than you'd want something with such a title to be.

Original Japanese title(s): 『金田一耕助VS明智小五郎』

To Switch a Witch

"If she weighs the same as a duck..... She's made of wood"

"And therefore?"

"A witch!"

"Monty Python and the Holy Grail"

Many moons ago, I bought my Nintendo DS for the sole purpose of playing the courtroom battle detective game Gyakuten Saiban / Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney after seeing this awesome trailer. And then I switched over to a DS Lite, put gave clear instructions that 'my' DS has to play at least one Gyakuten game once a year. And once again, I bought a new game system to play one game.

Professor Layton vs Gyakuten Saiban (Nintendo 3DS) is a grand crossover between Level-5's Professor Layton series and Capcom's Gyakuten Saiban series, the former being a quirky adventure game built around the premise of solving (mostly non-story related) puzzles, while the latter is an adventure detective game built around the premise of courtroom battles. And I like both series. So there was no way I was going to miss this release. Especially not when I heard that Takumi Shuu, the original creater / scenario writer / director of the main Gyakuten Saiban series was involved with the scenario.

The game starts with both professor Layton (and assistant Luke) and ace attorney Naruhodo (and assistent Mayoi) getting involved with a mysterious girl called Mahone in London. After their respective encounters with the girl, both the Layton and Naruhodo duo end up in a mysterious place called Labyrinth City, a medieval town where magic and witches exist. Mahone ends up being arrested for suspicion of being a witch (with her seemingly incinerating two robbers with fire magic according to the witnesses) and it is up to Naruhodo to defend Mahone in the Witch Trials. And Layton is there solving random puzzles and the mystery behind Labyrinth City, like he always does.

This game really did it right by making witch trials its subject, because it is a theme that fits both the Professor Layton and Gyakuten Saiban series. What's more, it brings all kinds of new elements to the familiar courtroom battles of Gyakuten Saiban that really make it a must-play for fans of the series (the Layton part of the game is sadly enough not as interesting, with few interesting puzzles). I already wrote about how detecting works within the Gyakuten Saiban games (multiple times by now), so I will mostly look at the new things here.

And witches are definitely new. Whereas in the main Gyakuten Saiban series, you are 1) trying to prove your client's innocence and 2) trying to find the real culprit, you are doing something completely different here. Technically, Mahone is tried for being a witch, not for killing two men with magic. Naruhodo thus isn't trying to find the real culprit (witch) or trying to prove Mahone didn't kill anyone, he has to proof that Mahone isn't a witch. Which requires quite a different approach to the trials.

One might also wonder, how does a detective game work in a fantasy setting where magic and witches exist? (It is actually a bit like this) Well, by having rules to magic (akin to how alchemy works in Fullmetal Alchemist). In Layton vs Gyakuten Saiban, there exists three conditions to magic: a witch must be holding a staff as she casts magic, she must say the proper enchantment for it to work and the staff she is holding must be equiped with the proper magic stone for the type of magic she wants to cast. These conditions form the foundation upon Witch Trials are based.

The clear rules to witchcraft is what makes Layton vs Gyakuten Saiban work as a fair detective. While set in a fantasy setting, Takumi Shuu made sure that the player knows what is possible (and not) even in a world where magic exists, thus preserving a fair-play setting. Like I mentioned in my review of Mori Hiroshi's Subete ga F ga ni Naru, not knowing what is possible can have great effects on how one perceives/enjoys a certain detective story. A bit back a Guess the Criminal script presented at the Mystery Club also revolved around the existence of youkai and such, but the clear presentation of the rules of the game made it a very enjoyable story.

Abstractly seen, the whole witchcraft setting isn't that different from what you usually do in Gyakuten Saiban though: like always you're on the lookout for contradictions made by witnesses by comparing testimonies with evidence. This time however, Naruhodo is also in possession of the Complete Works in Witchcraft, where you can check what rules exist for the different kinds of magic. What is considered common sense, might be different in a world where witchcraft exists, but it is the same logic with which you find the real murderer (witch) in this game.

The other big difference in the Witch Trials compared with the main Gyakuten Saiban series is the mob examination. Instead of listening to each witness' testimony after another, you are now forced to crossexamine multiple persons at the same time, with sometimes extra people suddenly dropping in and out! It is supposed to emulate the chaos Takumi envisioned when imagining how a witch trial would proceed, and it works. Witnesses react to each other's testimonies, resulting in some very unpredictable trials. Suspense in its storytelling has always been a staple of the Gyakuten Saiban series and it is only strengthened by the mob testimonies.

It's because of these additions that the Layton part of the game feels underwhelming. Whereas the courtroom segments (i.e. the Gyakuten Saiban part of the game) have all kinds of new things, the Layton part of the game (exploration of the town, solving logic puzzles) features nothing new. In fact, it's not nearly as interesting as a real Layton game, as this game features fewer and easier puzzles compared to full-fledged Layton titles.

Though I have to admit: the new elements in the courtroom segments aren't always used as effectively as I would have liked (especially the Complete Works on Witchcraft feels underused) and the last trial segment is too long and not particularly interesting actually. The Gyakuten Saiban part of the game reaches its climax relatively early in the game, sadly enough.

Some other non-detective points of interest: the game has great production values, as expected from Level-5 (responsible for main programming). Animated sections, music, voiced lines. Seeing Naruhodo as a 3D model (instead of sprites) actually works and the orchestrated music is simply amazing (seriously, I want this running in the background if I ever get to accuse someone of murder). Too bad they used Narumiya Hiroki as Naruhodo's voice actor though: he played a solid Naruhodo in the live-action movie, but he just doesn't work as a game/animation voice actor. It's been a while since I heard such boring voice-acting (well, April actually).

Anyway, this is must-play material for fans of both series, naturally. It especially poses interesting stuff to Gyakuten Saiban fans, as expected because of Takumi's involvement with the development, but Professor Layton vs Gyakuten Saiban also serves as a great example of how to effectively present a fair detective story within a fantasy setting.

Original Japanese title(s): 『レイトン教授ｖｓ逆転裁判』