The Secret in the Stars

夜空を見上げ一人ほうき星を見たの

一瞬ではじけては消えてしまったけど

「ほうき星」（ユンア） 

Looking up at the night sky alone, I saw a comet

But it appeared and was gone in a second

"Comet" (Younha)

First time I read something by Kurachi, but certainly not the last!

While he may have been morally right, Sugishita Kazuo knew there would be consequences for the undiplomatic, and especially physical manner in which he dealt with his abusive superior. He liked working at the marketing company, so he feared he'd be fired, but surprisingly, he was "only" moved to a completely different part of the company to give the whole deal some time to die down. Given that he liked marketing, he wasn't especially happy with his appointment to the new and small entertainment section, but it was better than losing his job. Sugishita is made manager-in-training (basically just a personal assistant) of Hoshizono Shirou, a "star watcher" and popular television personality who's been making women crazy with his handsome looks and romantic talks about the stars and constellations. Sugishita develops an instant dislike for the arrogant and showy Hoshizono, but the day after they first meet, he's already forced to go on a trip with him, as Hoshizono has been invited by the boss of a big land development company. This Iwagishi has recently bought a run-down campsite in the mountains. The original owner was a lover of camping, and wanted people to come down here in their caravans and spend a nice time in the nature, but financially, this wish was just not feasible and Iwagishi got the whole campsite, complete with ten log houses and a main building, for a dime and nickle. His plan is now to develop this campsite into a kind of leisure facility with the stars as the theme, as the location in the mountains make it perfect for stargazing. 

The camp is still in its original condition, but Iwagishi has invited a few guests who he thinks can help make his stargazing leisure facility a success: besides Hoshizono, he has also invited the highly successful romantic novelist Kusabuki Akane as well as the famous UFO expert Sagashima Kazuteru. The three guests (and their assistants, as well as two female companions) are to spend a night here at the camp with Iwagishi, to see what suggestions they may have for the facility and whether they would be could involved in some way, like having Kusabuki write a novel set around the location. The initial talks about the facility during dinner are good, but the following morning, Iwagishi is found murdered in his log house at the camp. The camp has no phone lines however, and when Iwagishi's assistant tries to drive down the mountain, he finds that the heavy snowfall of last night has completely blocked off the road. The survivors realize they are trapped by the snow on the campsite with a murderer on the loose. To Sugishita's great surprise however, he learns that Hoshizono is actually a lot sharper than he pretends to be, and together, the starwatcher and the assistant start investigating the murder on Iwagishi in the hopes of preventing more murders in Kurachi Jun's Hoshifuri Sansou no Satsujin ("The Murders in the Mountain Lodges beneath the Shooting Stars" 1996).

I have mentioned quite often on this blog that the logic school of mystery writing, as seen in the works of novelists like Ellery Queen and Arisugawa Alice, is my favorite. Some might prefer the 'flash of inspiration' style of writers like Agatha Christie and to a lesser extent John Dickson Carr, where a small clue is supposed to tip off the detective or reader on the whole crime and you're expected to "just" suddenly see how everything fits, but I always have been a fan of the slower, and more deliberate manner of the logic school, where you add up a lot of minor clues like 1) the murderer was right-handed, 2) the murderer had to know fact X because they did action Y, 3) the murderer only learned of fact X after time Z, 4) the murderer is not one of the characters who were at A, etc. to eventually find out who the murderer was and how everythhing fits together. I spent a whole post trying to explain why I love this kind of clewing and my feelings on this have not changed: I love how this kind of plotting tries to really make mystery fiction like a game, because it makes the process more fair. This kind of whodunnit-focused novels often have you identify a list of characteristics of the murderer and compare them to the known suspects. These stories feel fair because as you slowly start to cross off suspects on the list, you usually figure out for yourself you're still missing one or two identifying conditions: perhaps you already know the murderer must be right-handed based on Scene 37, and you know they had to know about the clock in Scene 23, but it's only when you're left with three suspects and go over the story again that you realize the fact two of those suspects didn't take sugar in their tea was significant!

Hoshifuri Sansou no Satsujin is a fantastic example of the logic school of mystery writing. It might have a rather familiar story setting, with a group of people trapped in the mountains due to heavy snowfall and the murders are certainly not committed in a spectacular or baffling manner, but it's completely focused on offering a puzzle that challenges the reader to logically infer who the murderer is. The reader is actually made aware of this the moment they open the book, for this book has a very unique chapter naming convention. The chapters are not really titled: they always open with a two, three sentence notice that summarizes the contents of said chapter and notes what's important or not. For example, the first chapter literally opens with the notice that the protagonist of the story will appear there and that "The protagonist is the narrator and the Watson. They share all information they learn fairly with the reader and are not the murderer." The next chapter, where Sugishita meets with Hoshizono for the first time too starts with a notice that "the detective becomes involved with the case by pure coincidence and is not the murderer", while in a later chapter where Hoshizono and Sugishita discuss the murder and they focus on several important facts, the chapter opening states that these observations made by Hoshizono are indeed correct. The whole book is playing the game open and fair from start to finish, and it's almost surreal to see little post-its by the writer that say what's important and whether some incident was just a coincidence or not. They do make Hoshifuri Sansou no Satsujin an exciting read though, because at the same time, you know it really won't be that easy and that Kurachi is trying to present a puzzle that will surprise the reader with how the murderer will be identified in the end. It's also fun to go over the chapter introductions again once you're done with the book: some of these notifications might seem a bit too cryptic the first time you read them, but they make more sense once you know everything and some of them are quite clever! I played Umineko: When They Cry after reading this book, but the chapter 'titles' here are somewhat similar in idea to the concept of Red Truths in that game.

And yep, the whodunnit puzzle is pretty ingenious even with the help of those chapter openings. If you love early Ellery Queen or for example The Moai Island Puzzle (disclosure: I translated that book), you're in for a treat, because Hoshifuri Sansou no Satsujin is exactly what you're looking for! Finding all the clues that will eventually lead you to the identity of the murderer is very tricky, but never unfair: each time one of the identifying conditions is mentioned, it's likely you'll have noticed (part of) it, and even if you didn't, you're sure to realize that they are very convincing logical conclusions drawn from what you have seen at the crime scene and in other parts of the story. It's of course ultimately combining all these facts together to form an image of the murderer which will prove to be difficult: I for one had a good idea about who the murderer was, but I really couldn't find the clues that could logically exclude everyone else besides the person I had set my eyes on, as I always would end up with other suspects based on the clues I had found! It's at these moments I love this kind of mystery fiction, where I have to decide whether I'm just on wrong track, or simply missing some kind of clue or misinterpreting a clue that would allow me to logically arrive at a different person. You'll need to identify quite a few conditions to be able to cross off all the names save for the murderer and that does mean some of these conditions are a bit easier to identify than others (and some of them feel will probably feel familiar as they're popular ideas in mystery fiction), but getting all of them is difficult and some of them are pretty clever that make good use of this particular story setting, like strange circling mark in the snow as if made by a rotating UFO's expulsion device.

In terms of appearances, Hoshifuri Sansou no Satsujin might feel a bit too familiar, with its tense closed circle situation in the snow, and the familar story beats like the surviving people becoming suspicious of each other, attempts to get through the snow to find help and more, but I think Hoshifuri Sansou no Satsujin is a great showcase that it's possible to write a great tale of mystery and logical reasoning even when using familiar building blocks: Hoshifuri Sansou no Satsujin is easily one of the best mystery novels I've read this year, because it's so dedicated to offering a solvable logical puzzle, where the reader is rewarded for activally thinking along and trying to figure out whodunnit by carefully considering the clues and considering the precise implications of each action of all the characters. Some readers might feel this book feels a bit too like a puzzle, but for me, this is exactly the kind of mystery story I love. 

Original Japanese title(s): 倉知 淳『星降り山荘の殺人』

Doing All Right

「事件に大きいも小さいも無い」 

『踊る大捜査線』

"There are no major or minor cases."

"Bayside Shakedown"

How I want to see the latest Detective Conan film! Afraid of spoilers, I've only seen little bits of people writing about The Darkest Nightmare, but it's apparently an awesome film, even if light on the mystery-side of things. Guess I'll wait for the home-video release..

April is traditionally the most important month in Detective Conan's yearly schedule. It's when the latest film is released (just in time for Golden Week), which is also accompanied with the release of the latest volume. In my review of the previous volume, I lamented how utterly boring it was, as it only featured two complete stories, which weren't that great anyway. Detective Conan 89, released last month, on the other hand is one of the best volumes in recent years, despite not featuring a high profile story! It starts with the final chapter of The Girl Band Murder Case, which started in the previous volume. A member of an amateur girl band is murdered inside a rented studio, but 'luckily', Ran, Sonoko and Masumi were also at the rental studio complex to rehearse for their own girl band. The problem revolves around a security camera that was partially blocked off and what the other band members did as they went in and outside the studio. This is a very decently constructed mystery story, with a fairly clever way of getting rid of the murder weapon. At the core, this is a very by-the-numbers story, with three suspects, a limited setting and a gimmick trick, but the trick is both simple, yet smart and I'd say this is a fantastic example of how to do a good short story.

And the same holds for Inconsistent Testimonies. During Dr. Agasa's Christmas shopping for the kids, a chef of a restaurant in a department store is stabbed. The attempted murderer runs down the staircase, and Conan quickly gives orders to the Detective Boys, who are all on different floors, to keep an eye out for the person. In the end, three persons trying to quickly leave the department store are detained, but the Detective Boys all make conflicting testimonies about the person they saw fleeing through the staircase. The gimmick of inconsistent testimonies is something that has been done earlier in the series, but it was not done as elegantly as in this story. Like many of the short stories, this story revolves around a gimmick, but the gimmick is transformed and rearranged three times, to result in the three different testimonies. A lesser writer might've stuck with the initial gimmick, but Aoyama cleverly changes this in a much more complex story, without making it feel cheap. Once again, a prime example of a good short story.

The title of The Suspect Is An Alien tells it all. Mouri Kogorou is hired to find out the truth about an UFO a high school student saw flying some time ago, and during the investigation, the gang stumble upon Detective Chiba, who is investigating a murder apparently commited by an alien. The editor of a magazine on extraterrestials was choked to death and his body left on (at the time still) wet concrete. A UFO maniac was found lying next to the dead body in the concrete, who claims an alien killed the other man. The man is obviously regarded a suspect, but the footsteps left in the concrete show that it was unlikely he could've commited the murder, and gotten rid of the murder weapon. As an impossible crime story, this one is okay. It is mostly built around some trivia knowledge, which is something I seldom like in detective stories (if not properly hinted at), but there are some other features about the impossible situation that are actually quite neat. And there's a running gag about Chiba suddenly losing weight A LOT which is hilarious.

In Search For The Lost Marriage Registration Form!, Yumi of the Traffic Department has mislaid a rather important document: a marriage registration form already signed by her boyfriend (Yumi: "Ex-boyfriend!"), who is a celebrated shougi player. The caretaker of her apartment building (and hardcore shougi fan) has found the document, but refuses to return it to Yumi, unless she solves his riddle and proves she is actualy worthy of marrying the shougi master. Luckily for Yumi, she's accompanied by Detective Satou, the Detective Boys and Conan. Usually, I'm not a fan of code cracking stories, and the way the old geezer messes around with people's private lives is more than a little bit disturbing, but I thought the code was surprisingly fun, though that was probably because it's connected to some random trivia I do happen to have learned recently. If not, it's kinda random, and overall, this is the weakest story of the volume by far. The volume ends with the first chapter of The Message Cut Out With Scissors, which will apparently reveal a bit about the history of the toxin that shrunk Conan to his current size.

Detective Conan 89 was all in all a huge improvement over the previous volume. It might not have big, long stories, but it shows that good short stories are still good and this volume has a good collection of those. With volume 90 appearing in the summer, we'll finally have reached that last stretch before the series'll hit the 100s. Perhaps I should start working on my big Conan posts on volume 80-89 soon.

Original Japanese title(s): 青山剛昌『名探偵コナン』第８９巻

He Came With The Rain

I'm singing in the rain

Just singing in the rain

What a glorious feelin'

I'm happy again

"Singin' in the Rain" (From: Singin' in the Rain)

Today's topic has a rather long title. I think the longest and boring title that has passed by on this blog for now is of a game though: A Steamy DS Suspense Mystery - The Data Files of Freelance Writer Tachibana Maki - Toyako / The Seven Spas / Okuyu no Sato.

One day, mystery writer Ishioka Kazumi tells his friend and detective Mitarai Kiyoshi about an interesting story he heard on the radio: according to the caller, some nights ago, during a heavy rain, he saw a beautiful woman dressed in a white one piece place her umbrella on the road. Several cars evaded it, but finally one car drove over the umbrella, breaking it. The woman then picked up the umbrella and continued down the road. Ishioka thinks it's a mystifying tale, but Mitarai quickly deduces that there must have been a reason for the woman to do so and infers a criminal event behind it all. A corpse is indeed discovered in an apartment building near where the woman was seen and the police once again (unofficially) depend on Mitarai to help find the women in white in the TV drama special Tensai Tantei Mitarai ~ Nankai Jiken File "Kasa wo Oru Onna"~ ("Genius Detective Mitarai ~ Difficult Case Files: The Woman Who Broke Her Umbrella") (or Kasa wo Oru Onnna for short. Why do Japanese TV specials always have these impossibly long titles?!)

The Mitarai Kiyoshi series is a long-running novel series about the astrologist-turned-private-detective-turned-neurologist Mitarai Kiyoshi and his mystery writer friend Ishioka Kazumi, written by Shimada Souji. Since their debut in The Tokyo Zodiac Murders (1981), the duo have been solving a great number of strange cases, with some of their adventures widely seen as among the best of Japanese detective fiction in general. The TV drama Kasa wo Oru Onna ("The Woman Who Broke Her Umbrella"), broadcast on March 7 2015, is the first time the series has been adapted to the screen and is based on a short story originally included in Shimada's novelette collection UFO Oodoori ("UFO Main Street", 2006).

I have not read the original story, but overall, I quite liked this TV special. The opening parts are definitely the best: it starts off with a great scene where Mitarai and Ishioka show off their Sherlock Holmes-Watson-esque relation and where Mitarai manages to deduce a shocking truth behind Ishioka's story about the woman and her umbrella. The problem itself resembles one of those everyday life mysteries (a woman purposely breaking her umbrella in the rain), but it soon turns into a full-fledged murder investigation, where Mitarai manages to show his superior intellect. I really enjoyed the first quarter of the special.

But the special then fails to get in a good pace then, which is partly intentional, partly unintentional, I think. The first half of the special is mostly done with just four characters: Mitarai, Ishioka and two police inspectors, who discuss the case from various angles. This is a set-up I usually really like in novels, just characters bouncing off ideas of each other, but in Kasa wo Oru Onna, it is a bit dry, even if actually a lot of ground is covered through those discussions. I can definitely understand if people find this part too boring too, as there is little tangible progress done in these scenes. By the time we reach the latter half of the TV special, I feel the novelette has been stretched out too thin: most of the elements needed to solve the case have already been mentioned, but it still takes ages to get to the conclusion. The final solution to the mysterious case of the woman and the broken umbrella is okay: its scale works for a TV production (I'd love to see Naname Yashiki no Hanzai on the screen, but whether it would work?), and it has the TV-drama angle, but personally, I find the deductions that started the case a lot more interesting than the truth revealed in the conclusion.

Oh, and a highlight in Japanese TV dramas of the last 10 years or so are the scenes when the detective solves the case in his/her head. Catchphrases have always been a thing, but I think the first 'big' one is Galileo, where the titular Yukawa "Galileo" Manabu suddenly starts writing equations at random surfaces (ground, windows, tables, glass showcases...), and it appears that each new TV drama tries to top that with its own take on it. Recent examples of fairly elaborate "it's solved" scene are throwing paper in the air (SPEC), random flashes of the relevant facts together with irrelevant and slightly disturbing shots of an unknown woman (Watashi no Kirai na Tantei) and multiple personalities talking to each other (Subete ga F ni Naru). Kasa wo Oru Onna naturally also features one that visualizes the way Mitarai sorts out the case in his head.

I have to say, the actors chosen for Mitarai Kiyoshi and Ishioka Kazumi were quite interesting, to say the least. Mitarai was played by Tamaki Hiroshi, who fairly recently played the lead detective in the TV series Watashi no Kirai na Tantei. Ishioka Kazumi is a non-detecting Watson-esque role, but actor Doumoto Kouichi played the armchair detective in Remote (2002), as well as the supernatural-werewolf-detective in Ginrou Kaiki File (1996). I wonder if there's some kind of shortlist for possible leads in detective series in Japan.

Also, I thought it is worth noting that the leads were two males. The last few years, Japanese TV dramas based on novel series seemed to have been pushing the male + female duo as protagonists (for the romantic tension it creates on screen). Well, I guess Subete ga F ni Naru is just following the original S&M novels, but the original novels behind TV drama like Galileo and Watashi no Kirai na Tantei did not feature (heavily) the male+female duo: characters were rewritten just for the TV series. But on the other side, this series was also (slightly) catering to the fangirls(or boys) with some lines between Mitarai and Ishioka, similar to what Sherlock has been doing. I think it is also (slightly) present in the original novels, but never as obvious and elaborate as in Arisugawa Alice's Writer Alice series.

I think they were planning to produce more of these specials in the future, depending on the ratings. I am not sure how well it did, but I think Tensai Tantei Mitarai ~ Nankai Jiken File "Kasa wo Oru Onna"~ was a fun TV special that serves as a good introduction to the long-running series. Now I hope they take on one of the older, grand-scale locked room mysteries in the series.

Original Japanese title(s): 島田荘司（原) 『天才探偵ミタライ～難解事件ファイル「傘を折る女」～

Turnabout Academy

「へえ、容疑者が三人かあ。ちょうどいい数だね。それ、教えてよ」

「いいけど、『ちょうどいい』ってなんだ？　なにが、『ちょうどいい」んだ？」 

「霧ヶ峰涼と瓢箪池の怪事件」

"So there are three suspects. Just the right number. Tell me who they are"

"Okay, but what do you mean with just the right number? The right number for what?"

"Kirigamine Ryou and the Strange Incident at Gourd Pond"

Of course, now I regret not having waited with posting my translation, but for those who want to get into a Chrismas detective mood, I recommend my translation of Oosaka Keikichi's short story, Kan no Yobare I posted two months ago. It has Santa Claus disappearing in the snowy sky, what more do you want?

Koigakubo Academy Detective Club series
Manabanai Tanteitachi no Gakuen ("The School of the Detectives Who Don't Learn")
Satsui wa Kanarazu Sando Aru ("Murderous Intent Always Comes Three Times")

Spin-off series
Houkago wa Mystery to Tomo ni ("After School, Together With Mystery")
Tanteibu he no Chousenjou - Houkago wa Mystery to Tomo ni 2 ("A Challenge to the Detective Club - After School, Together With Mystery 2")
 

Higashigawa Tokuya might be best known for his Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de series, which has also been made into a succesful TV series, motion picture, but it's not my favorite series by him. Nor is it his Ikagawashi town series (which is also being made into a TV series). No, my favorite is the Koigakubo Academy Detective Club series. Or to be precise, the spin-off series of that. I absolutely loved the misadventures of high school girl Kiragamine Ryou in Houkago wa Mystery to Tomo ni, and by now I have written reviews of the NHK radio drama, the Momogre audio drama, the stories that weren't adapted and even made translations of two stories (here and here), in case you hadn't noticed I had a weak spot for the series. So when I heard the second volume, Tanteibu he no Chousenjou  - Houkago wa Mystery to Tomo ni 2 ("A Challenge to the Detective Club - After School, Together With Mystery 2"), was released, I knew I had to read it immediately. Like the first volume, Tanteibu he no Chousenjou is a short story collection starring the vice-president of the Koigakubo Academy Detective Club, Kirigamine Ryou. And make no mistake: the Detective Club is not a club where they read and write mystery fiction (like the Kyoto University Mystery Club), but a club where the members try to solve real-life cases (they don't really have results, so the school just barely acknowledges them as a club though).

The main Koigakubo Academy Detective Club follows third year students Tamagawa (club president), Yatsuhashi (fake Kansai dialect speaker) and second year student Akasaka Tooru (duped into becoming a member) as they get involved with murders and other heinous crimes (they never manage to solve the crimes themselves though). The Houkago wa Mystery to Tomo ni spinoff series however has less bloody crimes: Kirigamine Ryou's misadventures all spring forth from non-bloody, normal school activities. The first volume had fellow students assaulting each other, people disappearing from hallways and more of these (mostly) non-violent, yet not less mystifying puzzles. Tanteibu he no Chousenjou continues this tradition with another set of impossible school mysteries.

The first three stories are set in the fall, with school activities like the sports festival and the school festival on the mind of both students and teachers. In Kirigamine Ryou to Watarirouka no Kaijin ("Kirigamine Ryou and the Phantom of the Passageway"), (self-proclaimed) superstar of the trackfield, Adachi Shunsuke, is once again knocked out by someone, this time in the middle of a covered hallway connecting two buildings. The hallway also divides an inner court in two, and because the exits into the buildings were locked, the assailant could only have fled into either side of the inner court. The problem: witnesses on both sides say nobody fled through there, and footprints on the wet ground proof that. How did the assailant get away? The solution is a bit difficult to deduce, maybe, but it works because of the school setting of this series, as well as the humoristic tone of the story and the characters. Not the best of Kirigamine's impossible capers, but fun.

Kirigamine Ryou to Hyoutan Ike no Kaijiken ("Kirigame Ryou and the Strange Incident at Gourd Pond") is a special story, even if only for the fact that this is the first time the vice-president of the Detective Club actually meets the protagonists of the main series! Like they comment: 'they must have just missed each other all those times they were involved with cases'. The case itself involves a student infamous for his aggresive love life being assaulted by a girl during the school festival. The members of the club happened to witness the incident and they all swear the victim was attacked with a stick-like object, yet the victim has distinct cutting wounds, and no weapon was found despite the assailant having fled without anything in her hand. Where did the weapon go? The idea behind the disappearing murder weapon is great and really fits the setting of the story (the school festival), but pulling off the trick seems much more a hassle than worth it. The final story of the collection, Kirigamine Ryou to Oreimairi no Nazo ("Kirigamine Ryou and the Mystery of The Getting Even Tradition") is very similar as it also features a disappearing weapon (with a teacher being assaulted by a graduating student as a way of 'getting even' for the past three years), but this one works better because of the better hinting and foreshadowing (though it lacks the chaotic antics of having all members together at the school festival).

And the school festival is a very popular day for cases, because immediately after the Gourd Pond incident, another one pops up! In Kirigamine Ryou he no Chousen ("A Challenge for Kirigamine Ryou), our heroine is fooled into entering the Koigakubo Academy Mys-Contest. Not Miss Contest. Mys-Contest. As in Mystery Contest. Kirigamine Ryou has made a name as a (self-proclaimed) detective beauty, but she'll have to fight for that title now, as she is being challenged by the club president of... the Mystery Club (i.e. the school club where they read and write detective fiction, as opposed to the Detective Club, where they solve crimes). Can Kirigamine Ryou solve the locked room murder (it's murder because the student playing the victim has a piece of paper on him saying he's dead)? Is it a fair mystery? Yes... and no, but this story once again shows that Higashigawa Tokuya is really good at combining humorous storylines with good detective plots with well-written hints and foreshadowing. The competition element only adds to the fun of this story. This is done again in Kirigamine Ryou he no Nidome no Chousen ("The Second Challenge for Kirigamine Ryou), where Kirigamine Ryou is challenged to solve the murder on her fellow member Akasaka (once again, he's dead because he is holding a piece of paper saying so) and a variation on the footprints-in-the-snow puzzle. Once again hard to say whether this was a fair story, and the solution is not particularly original (in fact, I am pretty sure I've seen a variotion on it in another Higashigawa story before), but the whole rivals element does make it one of the more memorable stories in the collection.

In Kirigamine Ryou to Juunigatsu no UFO (Kirigamine Ryou and the December UFO"), a priest is knocked out in the middle of a muddy church court, with no footprints but that of the two first on the scene, Kirigamine Ryou and her geography teacher, Ikegami (who still has that obsession for aliens). With no footprints and a witness saying she saw something fly away, it seems like an UFO might have been responsible... Very similar to the first story in the collection in idea, yet very different in execution and pretty funny too (especially because of the enigmatic (foreign) sister, whose Japanese is... very interesting). A trick that would only work because of the setting and atmosphere of this series, but it works well because of it.

Kirigamine Ryou to Eigabu no Misshitsu ("Kirigamine Ryou and the Locked Room of the Movie Club") is a varation on a plot that was featured much in the first collection, the disappearance from a building of which the exits were watched. The TV from the Movie Club (they don't just watch movies, they make them) was stolen from the club room and found damaged behind the incinerator, but the two exits to the club room building were under constant observation by the drama club members and a smoking, delinquent student. How did the culprit carry a 40 inch TV out of a building without being seen? Probably the easiest to solve of the whole collection, but even then one has to admit that some of the hinting was done really well.

Like Hoch's Dr Sam Hawthorne series, the Houkago wa Mystery to Tomo ni series features mostly impossible crime situations in a limited setting (Koigakubo Academy). The way the stories develop is as predictable as the Dr. Sam Hawthorne series, but they do feature similar situations very often. Footprint-less paths, disappearing weapons and disappearances from observed locations cover about 80% of the series, and it can feel a bit tiring. Kirigamine Ryou to Hyoutan Ike no Kaijiken and Kirigamine Ryou to Oreimairi no Nazo for example are extremely similar, and it's like Higashigawa came up with two solutions for the same situation, and decided to use both of them. I would't have minded a bit more variety.

Though I must say this again (I say this every time I do a Higashigawa Tokuya review), but I really, really love how he manages to combine the humorous aspects of a story with his mystery plots. At his best, Higashigawa can show you a vital hint ten times without you even realizing it's a hint, simply because it's so well hidden within the humurous parts of his story. And then you realize that the gag wasn't just a gag. He does it with all his stories, but I've always thought it worked best with the Koigakubo Academy series, because the light-hearted school setting seems the best fit for his style. Some tricks you can only pull off with the energy and imagination of kids.

And this is the first time Kirigamine Ryou actually meets the other members of the club, which is fun, yet a bit strange. Yet, I hope that Kirigamine Ryou's adventures stay as murder-free and light-hearted. I definitely wouldn't want her to appear in the main Koigakubo Academy Detective Club series with 'normal' murders and such, because it doesn't really fit her character. But the ending of this volume really makes me wonder how both this spin-off series, and the main series are going to continue.

Tanteibu he no Chousenjou  - Houkago wa Mystery to Tomo ni 2 was not as surprising as the first volume, but it still offers a unique experience as a humorous collection of impossible crimes incidents set at a high school. You don't need a corpse for a good mystery, no matter what Van Dine might say.

Original Japanese title(s):  東川篤哉『探偵部への挑戦状　放課後はミステリーとともに２』: 「霧ヶ峰涼と渡り廊下の怪人」 / 「霧ヶ峰涼と瓢箪池の怪事件」 / 「霧ヶ峰涼への挑戦」 / 「霧ヶ峰涼と十二月のＵＦＯ」 / 「霧ヶ峰涼と映画部の密室」 / 「霧ヶ峰涼への二度目の挑戦」 / 「霧ヶ峰涼とお礼参りの謎 」

『帰ってこさせられた33分探偵』

「えー、『あの泥棒が羨ましい』 二人のあいだにこんな言葉がかわせるほど、そのころはーって渋いね、菜緒ちゃん、こんなの読んでるんだ」

鞄の中に江戸川乱歩の『二銭銅貨』を忍ばせている女子高生。どうやら僕は高林奈緒子という同級生に対する認識を改めなければならないようだ。この娘、只者ではないのかも。 

「霧ヶ峰涼と見えない毒」

"Hmm, 'That's one lucky thief'. During the time these words which passed between those two.... Hey, that's sneaky, Nao! You read this too!"

A female high school student who hides a copy of Edogawa Rampo's The Two-Sen Copper Coin in her bag. It seems like I will have to revise my image of my classmate Takabayashi Naoko. This girl, she might not be just an ordinary person.

"Kirigamine Ryou and the Invisible Poison"

Still alive! I think. Reporting live from Japan. Have I ever mentioned how I always suffer quite a lot of jetlag? The last time I had it this bad... I made my first translation for this blog. It's not that bad this time, but I'm still 'off' a couple of hours from my usual schedule. Anyway, it's been a long time tradition that first days back in Japan include a search for (preferably second hand) book stores in the neighborhood. The closest one I've found at the moment is five minutes away with the bike, so I'll be swinging by often. Unless a storm suddenly decides to visit Kyoto, like two hours ago.

And the first book I bought here... is a familiar one. By now, we've seen Houkago wa Mystery to Tomo ni pass by at this blog as a radio drama, a CD drama and two translations (based on the radio plays). Which is quite often, considering the original work is just a single volume (and not that big either). But yes, the reason why it is featured here so often is because I absolutely love this short story collection starring the tomboy Kirigamine Ryou, the vice-president of the Koigakubo Academy Detective Club who despite being the protagonist of the stories, never seems to be able to solve a case on her own. I am not going to review all the stories again, as I already did that in my review of the radio drama, but I did mention there that the radio drama had left out two short stories from the book. Which is just enough material for a short review.

Kirigamine Ryou to Mienai Doku ("Kirigamine Ryou and the Invisible Poison") has Ryou and her friend Naoko trying to figure out whether somebody is trying to kill old man Kadokura. Kadokura is a distant (and rich) relative of Naoko and she lives with him (and his family) because it is closer to school. Some days ago, a roof tile just barely missed falling on Kadokura's head and Naoko suspects that someone in Kadokura's family, consisting of his son, daughter-in-law and his grandson, doesn't have the patience to wait for the old man to die a natural death. Just as Ryou and Naoko are investigating the case, the old man is poisoned (though he survives!) as he was drinking his coffee. His last words before he passed out were 'poison in the coffee', but forensics show that the coffee wasn't poisoned at all. So how did the would-be murderer introduce the poison to Kadokura's body and who is (s)he?

Like many of the stories in Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de, this story hinges on customs, movements and other little things that are part of what we call 'common sense'. In Higashigawa's stories, the clues often hinge on either a situation that doesn't seem to comply to 'common sense', or even erratic situations that become perfectly understandable if you just apply common sense to it. The same holds for this story, though I have to admit that the story doesn't feel as satisfying as some of the Nazotoki stories.

I had high expectations for Kirigamine Ryou to Ekkusu no Higeki ("Kirigamine Ryou and the Tragedy of X (Ekkusu)"). Why? Higashigawa himself said that it took him ten years to write the short story, as he just couldn't find a way to make his initial trick work. Anyway, the final version starts with a meteor shower party at school, organized by the geography teacher Ikegami. The party is not really a succes, but Ikegami and Ryou suddenly spot a strange flying object that emits a greenish light and flies in an erratic pattern. Ikegami immediately decides that it is an UFO (the alien kind, not the literal definition) and starts chasing it (taking Ryou along with her). The UFO disappears though and in the middle of the field where they last saw it, the duo spot the body of a unconscious woman. The woman presumably lost her conciousness because she was strangled by someone (as seen by the marks on the neck), but the only footsteps on the wet field are those of the woman. The only logical explanation? The UFO dropped the woman off in the middle of the field!

Well, there is another explanation too, of course. I have no experience in writing stories and plotting, but I have to admit that my reaction was 'did this really take ten years to write?'. Which doesn't mean that this is a bad story. Actually, it is a very good impossible crime story that is quite dense for the short page count and the atmosphere of the story is also entertaining. Strictly speaking, the solution is a (much altered) version of a well-known impossible situation, but it's done so well and originally that it really doesn't matter. A very cool story, but it doesn't need the 'ten years' story. I am sorry I brought it up.

I'm still not sure how things will work out with the blog as I'm in Japan now. There is certainly no lack of material unlike the last three months (hoho, books of 800 pages, double columns for 200 yen?), but I need time/intention to read and write. Which might be the bottleneck this time.

Original Japanese title(s): 東川篤哉 『放課後はミステリーとともに』:  「霧ヶ峰涼と見えない毒」 /　「霧ヶ峰涼とエックスの悲劇」

「迷宮」

愛する人がどんどん増えてく

それって素敵な事ね　きっと人生

宝物なんだ

『ありがとう』　（レミオロメン）

More and more people I love

That is a wonderful thing

Life is really a treasure

"Thanks" (Remioromen)

Second part in the Tantei Gakuen Q ("Detective Academy Q") case by case review series. Yes, I am going fast, but it's also because I kinda skimmed throught the stories I still remembered. Which was about half of the stories here. The previous four volumes formed a solid foundation for this teamwork based detective series, but volumes five to eight are more focused on developing the characters and the main storyline.

Detective Academy Q
「迷Ｑ!?」: Volumes 1 ~ 4
「迷宮」: Volumes 5 ~ 8
「MAKE★YOU」: Volumes 9 ~ 12, Premium

Kateikashitsu no Nazo ("The Mystery of the Home Economics Classroom") continues the trend of cases tailor made for individual students of Q Class. This time the story is set at Kazuma's primary school, where Kazuma's favorite teacher gets attacked by somebody with a cursed poison blowpipe in her office. The would-be murderer flees into the home economics classroom, next to the office, but when Kazua enters the room, he is astounded to find it completely empty, with every window locked from the inside and no other ways of escape. Oh, I did mention cursed poison blowpipe, right? Those things apparently can be found at primary schools. Anyway, the trick behind the impossible disappearance of the assailant is really smart and it is almost a shame that it was 'just' for a story two chapters long!

Alibi Ressha de Ikou ("Let's Go With The Alibi Train") is one of my favorite stories of the series, even though it is nothing special. I just have a thing for inverted detective stories. Kyuu and Kinta are sent away on an assignment for DDS and travel by train to their destination. The same train an illustrator (and murderer-to-be) has chosen for her alibi trick. She starts up a conversation with Kyuu and Kinta, making sure they remember her as she will need them as decisive witnesses she couldn't have commited the murder during the ride (of course, she did). Of course, using two members of the prestigious DDS's Q Class as pawns in your murder plan is definitely going to fail. Especially if one of them is Kyuu. The story mirrors a series of short inverted stories of the Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo, complete with the humorous tone and the elegant simplicity of the slip-up and it is really a shame there are so few inverted stories in Tantei Gakuen Q.

The trio of Megu, Yukihira and Kuniko (of A Class) are sent to help Kyuu and Kinta, as they were mistaken for gropers on a train in the last case. Thus Bishoujo Tantei (Trio The Beauty) Kikippatsu ("Beautiful Girl Detectives (Trio The Beauty) In A Pinch") starts off with our three girls taking the train (which is packed because of the rain), but during the trip Kuniko is molested by a groper. As Kuniko screams, the groper's arm disappears into the mass of people, but Megu is able to find the groper thanks to her photographic memory and bring the man to the train police. The suspect denies all charges though and claims that he wasn't even on the train during the period Kuniko was being molested.

By now, we've seen quite a lot of gruesome murders in this series, yet I was kinda surprised to see a story addressing sexual harassment here. The story is pretty simple, but the problem of proving someone's guilt or innocence in a grope case are quite well known in Japan. Famous are the 'women only' sections in trains during the busy morning rush in Tokyo. I have the unforgetable memory of being squished every morning in the train in Tokyo for three months and I can say that as a male you do make an effort to make sure the position of your hands isn't going to be mistaken for a more criminal act. Which isn't always easy if there is literally no place to move because everybody is leaning against you. The movie Soredemo Boku Wa Yattenai (based on a true story) is pretty famous, where a man is accused of molesting a high school girl in the train and he sees no way to proof he did not do it.

Gensoukan Satsujin Jiken ("The Gensou Mansion Murder Case") goes back to the format of a long Kindaichi Shounen-esque story. In fact, this story is remniscent of Akuma Kumikyoku Satsujin Jiken ("The Devil's Symphony Murder Case"), originally a Kindaichi Shounen audio drama. Both stories are about the legacy of a eminent musician, with a lot of rivalry and hatred amongst his disciples. In this story, the disciples of Yuge (who is still alive, by the way) are all hoping to get the Testa di Drago, a magnificent violin. A threatening letter has been sent to Yuge, supposedly sent by a disciple who died six months ago, saying the Testa di Drago belongs to her and that she'll come get it. But what is even more interesting is that the Testa di Drago was made by Kuzuryuu Takumi, the mysterious allround artist who also designed the old school building with a hidden prison (volume 4). Thus Dan Morihiko sends Q Class to investigate the case, hoping they will find out more about Kuzuryuu too. And of course people die during Q Class' stay at the Gensou Mansion, a mountain villa where Yuge and his disciples reside.

I think this is one of the last stories incorporated in the anime and it is a pretty interesting story, even if a bit straightforward. The scale of this story is mostly derived because the murderer commits several murders, but the individual murders are not all that interesting to be honest (except for a cool alibi trick used in the first murder). Suspense in this story is mostly derived from the fact the people in the Gensou Mansion are cut off the outside world because of a storm, while Kinta and the DDS teacher Hongou are still on their way to the villa. The closed circle setting and the motive behind the murders is definitely a throwback to Kindaichi Shounen, but 'fresh' in this series.

Maybe the more interesting part of Gensoukan Satsujin Jiken is that Hongou finally explains the truth behind Pluto, the criminal organisation that sells perfect murder plans, to Q Class and its connection to the cases Q Class has solved in the past. They also manage to capture Miss Kaori, one of Pluto's agents, but not before Ryuu was stabbed by the murderer (who was hypnotised to fight back if he was caught). Ryuu also finally realized his connection to Pluto in this story, which is made even more clear in Shisha wa Kurayami Yori ("The Messenger from the Darkness"), a transition chapter that introduces Kerberos, a high ranking Pluto agent who will act as the face of Pluto for the time being.

Shounentachi no Yoru ("Boys' Night"), Kuzuryuu Takumi no Nazo ("The Mystery of Kuzuryuu Takumi"), Shiunryuu no Hen'i ("The Change of the Shiunryuu"), Uketsugareshi Mono ("He Who Inherits") and Kuzuryuu Nikki no Himitsu ("The Secret of the Kuzuryuu Diary") is a little story arc that I think is missing from the anime. After the events surrounding Pluto, Ryuu decides to leave his home and decides to live in Kyuu's home. There the two boys decide to do more research on the mysterious Kuzuryuu Takumi, whose art seems to have the strange power of bringing the worst out of people. Thanks to a lucky break (Kyuu's mom once had a translation assignment connected with Kuzuryuu), the duo manages to track down the Shiunryuu, a beautiful vase Kuzuryuu made. There is a little disappearing case with the Shiunryuu during their visit, but they manage to solve that and also a small secret behind the vase. It appears that there is a secret behind every thing Kuzuryuu made (for example the secret prison in the old school building) and when the boys get hold of a translated copy of Kuzuryuu's diary, they suspect there is a secret code hidden there, but they can't solve it.

Leaving the secret behind the diary, Q Class is sent away on another assignment in Mayahime Densetsu Satsujin Jiken ("The Princess Maya Legend Murder Case"), because a threatening letter has been sent to a politican regarding the construction of a dam. Q Class quickly find out that many villagers of Jinchuu, the politican's hometown, are not happy at all with the plans and it should not come as a surprise that the murder of this story turns out to be the politician. No, the surprise lies in the fact that the man was found inside a locked storage house. And with locked I mean it was blocked by a block of concrete used for building the dam. What has this to do with the legends surrounding the human pillar sacrifices that are told in this village? A funny code is also added to the locked room mystery, but the latter is certainly the star of the story. Why use a key or a bolt to lock a door if you can also use a concrete block? Just going that extra mile in the presentation makes this an interesting locked room story.

Mittsu no Yubiwa ("The Three Rings") is a supplement story about a ring Megu wears, but nothing special (cute though!). Hikari to Kage no Kizuna ("The Bonds of Light and Darkness") is another transition story, where we learn a bit more about the fate of the Pluto agent Miss Kaori, who has lost her mind ever since Kerberos hypnotised her. Dan Morihiko still has no idea how to retrieve her mind (so he can question her about Pluto). At the DDS, Megu is presented with a code she has to solve herself, which is I guess to be considered her 'own' case like Kyuu, Kinta and Kazuma got? Or it was volume 5's Bishoujo Tantei (Trio The Beauty) Kikippatsu, but that was actually done with three people...

Kochira DSD Kagaku Kenkyuushitsu ("This is the DDS Laboratory") is a short story that introduces Doctor Skull, the man responsible for the gadgets used by the DDS. He is short on hands and he asks Kyuu, Megu and Ryuu to solve a case for him (while smart, Doctor Skull is technically not a detective, so he leaves this up to the real detectives). The case involves a murder of a woman in her own flat, with the main suspect living two apartments above her. The problem is that the suspect has an ironclad alibi, as he had friends over at his apartment during the time of the murder. The trick is a good and simple one, which is also the best way to describe this story. While this case is solved completely at the DDS laboratory, the live action drama turned this story into a case Q Class actually has to investigate themselves. And added in a weird idol otaku subplot.

Shinrei Camera de Scoop ("A Scoop With a Ghost Camera") is the first in a series of stories related to supernatural phenomena. During school, Kuniko of A Class shows off some of her ghost photographs. Most of the students think that they are fun, but nothing more than retouched pictures, so they don't think much more about it. On their way back home, Ryuu and Kyuu are witness to an awful train accident and help out a bit with identifying the man. They have a feeling something is wrong though and visit the victim's closest relatives, his brother and sister-in-law, but come up with nothing. But imagine the surprise as Kyuu makes a photograph of Ryuu (Kyuu has been playing with his new camera for some time) and they discover the face of the deceased man floating behind Ryuu on the photograph! The mystery the ghost picture is surprisingly clever and one of the most original tricks in the series. This might be a short, relatively light-hearted story, but the quality is still as high as any other story.

Contuining the investigation into urban legends, Q Class investigates the mystery of the headless woman dressed in kimono who is supposed to haunt a certain neighbourhood in Meirokouji no Kubinashi Onna ("The Headless Woman of the Road Labyrinth"). Kyuu, Megu and Kinta stake the place out and actually see the headless woman and they decide to chase and catch her. The ghost (?) runs into a small labyrinth of walled off alleyways, with Q Class right behind her, but when Q Class arrive at the end of the labyrinth, the ghost has disappeared. This is a really light and easy mystery, not much more to be said about it.

After ghost pictures and monsters, now aliens in UFO Kara Ai wo Komete ("From UFO with Love")! Kazuma has a mail-friend from Hokkaidou who has made a picture of an UFO and she also says that a certain class of her school has been acting very strange ever since the appearance of the UFO. Q Class flies to Hokkaidou (paid by Kazuma) to investigate the case, but who would have expected that even crop circles would appear near the town?! A case of misdirection, with some smarter mysteries hidden behind the main mystery, which is not really difficult to deduce.

The previous stories already refered to an upcoming exam at DDS, that determines your class ranking. Q Class naturally has to take the exam too and there is a real danger of being degraded to a lower class. The five students therefore decice to go on a training camp in Kurayamidera Yuurei Jiken ("The Kurayamidera Ghost Case"). Their training location is at the summer house of Kinta's family, a place deep in the mountains where he spent his youth. There they meet Sumire, an old friend (love interest?) of Kinta and she convinces the five members of Q Class to do a kimodameshi (test of courage) in the Kurayamidera temple, involving passing a candle in a relay. But even though one of them chickens out of the test, the relay doesn't end in a failure. Which is impossible with just four members due the rules. The only conclusion: a ghost took over the place of the one who chickened out! Another light-hearted story, but this story is actually set up to serve as a meaningful introduction of the following story. The kimodameshi is a trope that is used a couple of times in Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo actually. They always ended up in murder.

Setsugekka Satsujin Jiken ("Setsugekka Murder Case") is a very long and complex story, probably the longest of the series save the last case and includins substories titled Q Class De Aru Tame Ni ("Because We Are Q Class"), Abakereta Katachi ("The Blown Cover") and Setsugekka no Shinjitsu ("The Truth Behind Setsugekka"). The Setsugekka are a set of scrolls painted by Kuzuryuu Takumi and in the possesion of the Kiryuu family. Kiryuu Ukon, the youngest son of the family, is a childhood friend of Kinta and Sumire and was once known as a genius trickster, but some years ago his mind suddenly turned for the worse and nowadays has a very childish personality. He is still best friends with Kinta though and happily shows Q Class the three Setsugekka scrolls, depicting a demoness with a snow, moon and flower setting.

But the Kuzuryuu Takumi art objects are always connected to crime and the following night one of Ukon's stepsisters is found stabbed in her neck in the room of the scrolls. Seeing only Ukon and his father have keys to the room (and Ukon's father isn't able to walk anymore), Ukon is seen as the main suspect of the case by the police. Kinta has to solve the case to save his friend, but little does he know that Kerberos, the top Pluto agent, is behind this case.

And what a case this is! The live action drama did a poorly distilled version of this story, but that really didn't do any justice to this impressive case. It's a very deeply layered case that is sure to fool most readers and is made even more impressive as Amagi ups the Pluto storyline, by letting Kyuu discover Ryuu's connection to the criminal organisation. This story is also the first time we see Kerberos in action and what a debut! He takes his cues from Kindaichi Shounen's Hell's Puppeteer, as both are extremely smart criminals who sell murder plans, but don't dirty their own hands (which in turn builds on the identity of the criminal in a certain famous novel I won't mention by name). Kerberos easily uses several psychological tricks on Ryuu, tricking him into making rash deductions and it takes the likes of Nanami Koutarou and Dan Morihiko himself to cope with the watchdog of Hades. This is the most satisfactory story in the whole series until now, splendidly mixing in the whole idea of detective teamwork, visual clueing and the idea of fighting a criminal organisation that are central to this series with a really complex detective plot. One of the subplots also eerily mirrors the Conan story KID and the Four Masterpieces (volume 53).

Amagi seemed eager to further the main story line and in thus deals with the 'mystery' behind the mysterious detective who taught Kyuu everything he knows in Sono Na wa Renjou Satoru ("His Name is Renjou Satoru"), Oshie wo Tsuide ("Inheriting the Lessons") and Takusareta Inori ("The Entrusted Wish"). It shouldn't be a big surprise to hear that Kyuu is the son of the (deceased) first assistent of Dan Morihiko and while it makes for a nice 'now-the-circle-is-complete' feeling, no mystery is present in these chapters. Well, except for the fact that Kazuma makes the daring (yet perfect!) guess that Pluto might have infiltrated the DDS, seeing as several of Pluto's actions lately seem to rely on information that must have come from the DDS itself. This is confirmed in Akuma no Egao ("The Devil's True Face"), where Dan Morihiko manages to release Pluto agent Miss Kaori's hypnosis and asks her the question: who of the people he brought with him here is the spy inside DDS?

Volumes five to eight really show the difference of this series with series like Conan and Kindaichi Shounen, by focusing much more and better on the main storyline and the fight with Pluto. There are some great short and long stories in these volumes, which really shows off the diversity of this series and it also moves away from the impossible crime-oriented beginning of this series. We also see that Amagi tries to develop the characters a bit more by giving everyone their own story arcs and while Ryuu and Megu seem to have little attention at this point, their importance will be shown in the last part of the series, so Amagi was able to pay a little bit less attention to them.

Even though I already read this series, I am actually really excited to read the last part now!

Original Japanese title(s): 天樹征丸（原）& さとうふみや（画）『探偵学園Ｑ』　第５巻～８巻　（文庫）