「きちがいじゃが仕方がない」

「備中笠岡から南へ七里、瀬戸内海のほぼなかほど、そこはちょうど岡山県と広島県と香川県の、三つの県の境にあたっているが、そこに周囲二里ばかりの小島があり、その名を獄門島とよぶ」

『獄門島』

"Seven ri south of Bicchuu Kasaoka, around the middle of the Seto inland sea, about where the three prefectures Okayama, Hiroshima and Kagawa meet, there is a small island barely two ri wide and its name is Prison Gate Island"

"Prison Gate Island"

Like I mentioned in the review for Yokomizo Seishi's Honjin Satsujin Jiken ("The Daimyou's Inn Murder Case"), secondary literature on the genre often include spoilers on novels. Which is of course totally acceptable if that specific plot-point needs to be discussed for the writer's argument. And like I mentioned in the same review, I have spoiled myself on same (extremely) famous Japanese detective novels in the past, as I hadn't expected I would be able to read them any time soon (and the academic articles did look very interesting).

Honjin Satsujin Jiken was one of the novels I had already spoiled for myself before I started reading it (though I enjoyed it immensely despite that). And the same holds for Yokomizo Seishi's Gokumontou ("Prison Gate Island"): I already knew the basic plot and the solution to the story thanks to an (interesting) article by Sawana on the adaption of nursery rhymes in Japanese detective fiction (see the attic). Gokumontou is the second novel in the Kindaichi Kousuke series and certainly one of the most famous Japanese detective novels of all times.

And Gokumontou (1977) also happens to be the third movie in Ichikawa Kon's Kindaichi Kousuke film series starring Ishizaka Kouji as private eye Kindaichi. Yes, this movie was released the same year as the second movie in the series (Akuma no Temariuta), indicating how popular the character had become in Japan. The boom was so big that Kindaichi also started to appear on TV that same year, with the Yokomizo Seishi TV-series starring Furuya Ikkou as Kindaichi. Because a TV-adaption of Gokumontou was shown just slightly before the theatrical release of Gokumontou, Ichikawa changed the ending of the movie so the public could still have fun guessing whodunnit.  In fact, Yokomizo Seishi himself appears in the trailer of Gokumontou, saying that even he doesn't know who the murderer is!

Kindaichi Kousuke is asked by a friend to go to the titular Prison Gate Island, a small island in the middle of the Seto Inland Sea. Kindaichi is supposed to inform the Kitou family that Kitou Chimata, the heir of the Kitou family, has sadly died during his repatriation after World War II. Just before he died, Chimata seemed to have feared something terrible, crying out that his three sisters will also die if he died. Kindaichi's friend was a friend of Chimata and he hopes that Kindaichi won't just inform the Kitou family of Chimata's death, but also find out what Chimata meant with those words and if they are true, he hopes that Kindaichi can prevent the sisters' demise.

Arriving on Prison Gate Island, Kindaichi encounters the elements which would grow out to be the typical Kindaichi background setting. 1) A secluded mountaineous area with small village communities that don't particularly like strangers. Prison Gate Island is quite some way from the mainland, resulting in a very tight community on the island. This is also seen in other Kindaichi novels like Akuma no Temariuta and Yatsu Haka Mura. 2) Power struggles between wealthy and powerful main and branch families. The Kitou family is the most important family not only on Prison Gate Island, but is known on all the islands in the neighbourhood. With the heir dead, major changed are expected in the power-balance on the islands. These power-battles are also seen in Akuma no Temariuta and Yatsu Haka Mura. 3) The fear of repatriated soldiers who may have gone mad during the war. With the war just over, people are a bit afraid of ex-soldiers, who may have developed a lust for blood in the war. The war is often mentioned in the Kindaichi novels, but this particular motif is also used in Inugamike no Ichizoku.

The three sisters of Chimata, who are next in the line of succession in the main Kitou family, also seem a bit mad actually, or at least a bit immature for their age. But that doesn't really matter, as they die. Or to be precise: they are murdered. In hideous ways. One sister is hanged upside down from a tree, another is found inside a gigantic temple bell, while the third is found dressed in a priest's clothing. Kindaichi clearly fails in protecting the girls, but he sure isn't planning to let the murderer escape. The problem is:  as an outsider, people seem relunctant in cooperating with him. The policeman explains it rather simple at the beginning of the story: the villagers don't trust outsiders and they'd rather lie about thefts, saying they misplaced it or something, than report the theft to the police. It almost seems unclear who Kindaichi's biggest enemy is on Prison Gate Island: the murderer or the inhabitants.

Gokumontou is considered as one of the masterpieces of Yokomizo and I totally concur: this is one of the most entertaining detective stories I know. Yokomizo was a master in creating an eerie traditional, closed community setting and the same holds for this story. But the most impressive has to be the plot structure, which like Honjin Satsujin Jiken invokes a part of traditional Japanese culture and is expertly woven into the plot. The main hint that points to the murderer is actually just as brilliant and in fact one of the best hints I've seen in a detective ever. It's just too bad that due to circumstances in Japan, it's actually very hard to use this hint in the current modern society. I actually heard they censored the hint in some TV broadcasts of this movie. Which is a bit... annoying if you want to solve the murders yourself.

As a movie, Ichikawa Kon continues the high standard he set with the previous two movies. The movie has some fantastic shots of the island that really convey the feeling of a secluded island. Ishizaka Kouji is still strong as Kindaichi Kousuke, while personally, I love the return of Sakaguchi Ryouko in the series: she played the talkative maid at the inn in Inugamike no Ichizoku, and she plays a similar role in this movie. The changed murderer in the movie was taken up quite big at the time: it seems that besides Yokomizo Seishi appearing in the trailer, special signs were placed at the theaters saying they had a different murderer! In retrospect, the change isn't as big as they'd want you to believe and it sadly changes some of the symbolism in the original story.

Just like Inugamike no Ichizoku and Akuma no Temariuta, Gokumontou is an excellent murder mystery film. Even though this movie was released the same year as Akuma no Temariuta, the quality hasn't suffered a bit and this film is at least as fun as that one. But actually, all Ichikawa Kon / Ishizaka Kouji Kindaichi Kousuke movies seem to be this good.

And no, I'm not actually planning this as a review series of the Ichikawa Kindaichi movies: things just happened to work out this way.

Original Japanese title(s): 『獄門島』

「俺は愛のために人を殺さない。でも愛する人を、絶対に死なせない」

「お客さん、探偵でしょう」

「メイ探偵だ。メイを忘れてもらっちゃ困る」

『名探偵コナン　工藤新一への挑戦状』

"Mister, you're a detective, right?"

"A Great detective. Don't forget the Great"

"Detective Conan - A Challenge Letter for Kudou Shinichi"

Doing these weekly reviews for Meitantei Conan - Kudou Shinichi e no Chousenjou ("Detective Conan - A Challenge Letter for Kudou Shinichi") is fun, but also quite difficult. Writing reviews is hard enough, but with books, or complete series you usually have enough material to write about. However, it's quite hard to write something substantial about a single episode of a running series. It's like writing a long post on a single short story. Depending on the story, it can be done, but that's rare. The same with these episodes. Meh, at least I have a whole Conan review database to refer to when discussing Conan-related media...

Meitantei Conan - Kudou Shinichi e no Chousenjou (Detective Conan - A Challenge Letter for Kudou Shinichi)
Episode 1 (July 7, 2011): Before he turned into Conan, the high school detective solved the mystery of the adultery murder!
Episode 2 (July 14, 2011): The locked room murder commited on air! Reveal the secret cursed by the psychic
Episode 3 (July 21, 2011): Murder Case in a Locked Courtroom! Reveal the Trick of the Hostess Murder
Episode 4 (July 28, 2011): Perfect Crime! Murder Notice at a Wedding, Reveal the Locked Room Poisoning Trick
Episode 5 (August 5, 2011): The Glamorous Murder Trick of the Actress who lost her Memory - Perfect Murder at the Summer House
Episode 6 (August 11, 2011): The Magnificent Murderous Kiss of Twenty Beauties! The Murderous Intent Hidden in the Murder Equation!
Episode 7 (August 18, 2011): Inheritance Murder Among Bloody Relatives! Reveal the Mystery of the Kidnapping Trick!
Episode 8 (August 25, 2011): A Woman's Determination, Revenge on the Molester! The Murder Trick hidden in the Security Camera
Episode 9 (September 01, 2011): Hattori Heiji and the Mystery of the Invisible Locked Room Murder Weapon! Deduction Battle between the Detectives of East and West
Episode 10 (September 08, 2011): The Mystery of the Body that Moved 200 KM Within An Instant! Reveal the Perfect Crime Scheme of the Evil Woman
Episode 11 (September 15, 2011): A Kiss Is the Reason for Murder, A Revenge Murder After 20 Years! The Mystery of the Perfect Alibi
Episode 12 (September 22, 2011): I Killed Her! 3 Single Murderers? Reveal the Mystery of the Fake Murder!
Episode 13 (September 29, 2011): Ran Dies! The Final Challenge of the True Criminal to the Genius Detective - Reveal the Mystery of the White Room

Last week's episode was not really enjoyable, so I wasn't really looking forward to this week's episode, but it actually turned to be OK-ish. In episode 6 ("The Magnificent Murderous Kiss of Twenty Beauties! The Murderous Intent Hidden in the Murder Equation!"), the whole 'a nightly Conan' theme of this series comes back as the story is set within a hostess club. The main Conan series often refers to these clubs as a place where Kogorou likes to spend some time, but I think this is the first time that a hostess club is used as a setting. Which is somewhat understandable, as you can hardly bring in Conan or the Detective Boys to such a place.

Anyway, Shinichi, Ran and Takagi have been following Kogorou to a hostess club on request of Ran's mother (Takagi was needed to get Shinichi and Ran, who are minors, inside). Kogorou is one of the two participants in a drinking game with all 20 hostesses. The hostesses are all lined up in the club and the participants take turns in choosing girls. Each turn, they can choose up to three girls, who will give them a kiss and pour wine in their glass. With each turn, the participants move up in the line of hostesses. The winner is the one who chooses the twentieth hostess, the no. 1 hostess in the club, who will give a kiss to the winner. Kogorou loses, but the real loser is probably the no. 1 hostess, who dies after drinking the wine that was poured out by the hostesses during the game.

Another poisoning story?! That was my first thought. Which wasn't making me very happy, as the previous two episodes were also poisoning stories and they ranged from OK-ish to bad. But luckily, the focus of this story was different from the previous two stories. Those stories focused on the direct poisoning method, how the poison entered the victim's body. This is actually how a poisoning story in Conan usually turns out to be, the search for the item that was used to introduce the poison in the victim's body (see for example, Kaitenzushi Mystery (Conan 63) or China Town - Deja Vu in the Rain (Conan 34).

In this episode however, the focus lay on the method the murderer used to manipulate the drinking game. It made the episode feel quite fresh compared to the previous two stories, which were essentially Queen-ish search stories. This change made this episode feel quite fresh, something the series was really needing by now. I won't say that this episode's trick was very good or anything, but it was original enough for this series and I could totally see this trick being used in the main series (be it in a different, non-hostess club setting). And that's maybe the most important for a series carrying the Conan brand, it has to fit the main series' atmosphere. Poisoning stories for example wouldn't be as fitting for a Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo series (unless it was one of many tricks used by the murderer).

The episode also had a distinct Galileo-ish atmosphere: mathematics and Descartes play a big role in the story, as the trick used by the murderer was fundamentally based in mathematics and one of the suspects is actually a mathematician. I really wouldn't be surprised of the scriptwriter was influenced by Higashino Keigo's scientific detective series when (s)he wrote this story. The episode also reminds me of a series like Liar Game, which relies heavily on mathematics, game theory and all kinds of sciences in explaining the awesome things the characters do to win games.

The main story (with Shinichi, Ran and Kogorou trapped) seems to be moving on too, as Shinichi and Kogorou manage to save Ran by retrieving the antidote, but Kogorou gets seperated from Ran and Shinichi in the process. Kogorou still has the spoon he took with him in episode two, so he might use that in one way or another. Or am I just too fixated on that spoon.

I'm also very happy to see that the next episode isn't a poisoning story! Kidnapping stories are not rare in Conan, but for some reason I associate a kidnapping story more with Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo, than with Conan. Even though young Kindaichi only handled like two or three kidnapping cases in his career, with most of them ending in murder...

Original Japanese title(s): 『名探偵コナン　工藤新一への挑戦状』　サブタイトル「美女20人の華麗なる殺しのキス! 殺人方程式に隠された殺意!」
Date & Password: 2010.06.10; デカルト

「蘇る思い出の歌この胸に今も優しく」

童謡殺人、という言葉が適当なのかどうかわからない。しかし古今の推理小説の中には、いくつかこういうパターンのものがある。こういうパターンというにはつまり、童謡や数え歌、詩のとおりに殺人が重ねられていくという形式だ。見立て殺人、という表現を使う場合もある。

「日本で有名なのは『悪魔のＸＸ唄』ですかね」　

（中略）

「その作品では、使用される唄 も作者自身が作っているな。だからまあ、ストーリーに都合のいいように作ればよかったと思う。難しいのは、やっぱり、既存の唄をしようする場合だろう。同じ作者の『獄Ｘ島』がそうだ」　

（中略）

「むっ、そういえばそのマザーグーズの唄と今回の子守唄は酷似しているな・・・・」

「気がつきましたか」天下一はニヤッとした。「どうやら作者がパクったらしい」

『名探偵の掟』

I am not sure whether the term nursery rhyme murder is fitting. But this pattern has popped up in all sorts of mystery novels. This pattern, this formula where murders follow a nursery rhyme, a counting song or a poem. They sometimes call it a mitate satsujin, a murder made to appear like something.

"Here in Japan, a famous example would be The Devil's OO Song, right?" 

(...)

"In that novel, the song used was made up by the writer. So he could just create one to fit his story. But it's difficult when you have to use something that already exist. From the same writer, there is Prison OO Island"

(...)

"Now that you mention it, that mother goose song thing and our case with the lullaby seem awfully alike..."

"So you noticed it," Tenkaichi smiled. "It seems like our writer has been busy copying other books"

"The Laws of the Great Detective"

The very first time I used something detective-related in my academic career was when I discussed Ichikawa Kon's 1976 movie Inugamike no Ichizoku ("The Inugami Clan")  for a course on Japanese and Korean movies. Ichikawa is one of the more famous Japanese film directors and there is quite some (academic) information to be found about him and many of his movies, but his six Kindaichi Kousuke films are usually skimmed over in the material. 'Cause they're just detective movies based on some popular novels.

Of course, Ichikawa did often base his films on books and his Kindaichi Kousuke films rank among the most popular of his movies with the public, so I still don't see any good reason to exclude these movies from academic analyses... But besides that: Ichikawa Kon's Kindaichi Kousuke films, starring Ishizawa Kouji as the long-haired private detective, are excellent movies. When people think of Kindaichi Kousuke, they think of the image that was established in this series (also because Ichizawa was the first actor who actually was trying his best to stick to the character of the novels). The first movie in the series (and the first movie of Kadokawa studios), Inugamike no Ichizoku, was such a blockbuster (in 1976) that it actually sparked a Kindaichi Kousuke boom in Japan, with other film studios also trying to cash in on the boom with other Kindaichi movies. Few productions have the flair the Ichikawa/Ishizaka films have though.

The second movie (1977) in the Ichikawa/Ishizaka Kindaichi Kousuke films is Akuma no Temariuta ("The Devil's Handball Song"), based on the book of the same title (see also the awesome trailer). Whereas the previous movie was set around the mansion of a wealthy family, Akuma no Temariuta is set in a small mountain village on the border of the Hyougo and Okayama prefecture: Onikobe ("Demon's Head") Village. Kindaichi Kousuke is asked by an old friend, police inspector Isokawa, to come to this village because the inspector wants Kindaichi to solve a case he handled 20 years ago. He fears that he made a huge mistake in the past and he wants Kindaichi to settle the case once and for all.

The case of the past soon has to make way for the present though: things get complicated when Kindaichi and the inspector discover that a villager has disappeared, with signs of violence in his house. This is quickly followed by the discovery of the dead body of a girl, Yura Yasuko. The murder scene is truly grotesque: after strangling Yasuko, the body was placed beneath a waterfall, with a funnel in her mouth, thus leading the water, through a vassal, straight into the poor girl's mouth!

It is first thought that the girl might be the victim of an old family fued between her family and the Nure family. Yasuko and Nire Fumiko also happened to be fighting over the same boy, so that also forms a motive. However, old granny Yura tells Kindaichi something frightening: it seems that the bizarre murder scene of her granddaughter was exactly like the lyrics of an old handball song in the village. Children would sing the song while playing with a ball in the time when the granny was a young girl. The song actually has three parts, but sadly enough, granny Yura can't remember the lyrics to the whole song. With more murders occuring in the village, it takes a lot of head scratching by Kindaichi to solve this case.

Murders following the lyrics of a song? Yes, this was Yokomizo Seishi's second try at a nursery rhyme mystery. The first try, Gokumontou ("Prison Gate Island") actually used haiku from that old master Matsuo Bashou, but it seems like Yokomizo also wanted to write a nursery rhyme mystery with... a real children's song. He had actually almost given up on it as he couldn't find a suitable song until someone gave him the rather obvious advice: come up with your own song if you can't find one. The result is a very engaging mystery, as Yokomizo combines the nursery rhyme plot with the remote, secluded community setting he excels in. The power-struggle witin the large families of the village, the fights between the younger generation and the older generation, the strange lyrics of the handball song and the case of 20 years ago Kindaichi was asked to solve, they serve as the main elements of a two-and-a-half hour treat of a mystery film.

It's not just the original story: Akuma no Temariuta is really an engaging mystery film. Ishizaka Kouji's second time as Kindaichi Kousuke is really fun to watch and is the definite Kindaichi in my opinion. I read the novels with his face, his voice, his mannerisms in my head. The film is filmed at location and the mountains and the village serve as a fantastic background for the murders. As the Kindaichi Kousuke film series only became an actual series with this second entry, it's fun to look at the little parallels with Inugamike no Ichizoku. Scenes like Kindaichi talking with the maid at his hostel, Kindaichi refusing any pay at the end of the movie and him leaving on a train are all clear references to the previous movie. It's also quite funny to see Katou Takeshi in this movie: he played Tachibana, the police inspector in charge in Inugamike no Ichizoku and he actually plays another inspector Tachibana in this movie. The two Tachibana characters played by Katou are in fact two totally different characters (their names are actually written differently, but they share the same mannerisms). Katou actually plays three different police inspectors in Ichikawa Kon's Kindaichi Kousuke film series (two Tachibana's and a Todoroki), each time having a different relation with Kindaichi.

Like Inugamike no Ichizoku, Akuma no Temariuta is an impressive movie, as both purely a film and as a mystery. I know that Ichikawa Kon's own 2006 remake of Inugamike no Ichizoku was shown in the States but as 'Japanese' movies seem to be quite popular lately (even older movies) and with the acting of Ishizaka, the directing of Ichikawa and the original source story by Yokomizo, you'd think something could be done with the Kindaichi Kousuke film series?

Original Japanese title(s): 『悪魔の手毬唄』

『よくあるパターン』

「でもさ、 桜は警察の人がみんなつけてるマークだよ！強くて優しくてカッコイイ正義の花なんだから！！」

『名探偵コナン』

"But the sakura is the mark of the police! It is a strong, gentle flower of justice!!"

"Detective Conan"

 
It's been almost a month since the last post, but here's the seventh part of the big Detective Conan series overview. This is also the last post in this series for the time being. The newest volume, Conan 73, is scheduled for September and it will probably take almost two years before volume 80 is released (assuming the series won't stop before volume 80). If a volume is interesting enough, I might do an individual volume review whenever a new one arrives, but I think I prefer these bigger overviews on the series, as it's easier to pick up the little details that make up the big storyline of Conan. So yeah, spoilers to be found here.

For me, this particular set of Conan volumes is a bit special as I bought most of these volumes in Japan. On the release day of course. I associate these volumes, the stories very strongly with my time in Japan, so I might sound a bit too positive at times. But ignoring nostalgia (which can be quite dangerous, as Tezuka told us in Phoenix), volumes 61~70 does really feature some great stories showing Conan is still going strong after almost 20 years of (very!) active duty.

Detective Conan manga & movies:
Part 1: Volumes 1 ~ 10
Part 2: Volumes 11~20; The Timebombed Skyscraper (1) / The Fourteenth Target (2)
Part 3: Volumes 21~30; The Last Wizard of the Century (3) / Captured in Her Eyes (4)
Part 4: Volumes 31~40; Countdown to Heaven (5) / The Phantom of Baker Street (6)
Part 5: Volumes 41~50; Crossroad in the Ancient Capital (7) / Magician of the Silver Sky (8) / Strategy Above the Depths (9)
Part 6:  Volumes 51~60; Private Eyes' Requiem (10) / Jolly Roger in the Deep Azure (11)
Part 7: Volumes 61~70; Full Score of Fear (12) / The Raven Chaser (13) / Lost Ship in the Sky (14)
Part 8: Volumes 71~80; Quarter of Silence (15) / The Eleventh Striker (16) / Private Eye in the Distant Sea (17)
(You will find the links to the reviews of volume 70, 72~76, 78, 82~87 and the films Quarter of Silence (15), The Eleventh Striker (16), Private Eye in the Distant Sea (17), Dimensional Sniper (18) in the library)

Volume 61
Keyhole: Suzuki Jiroukichi
Cases: Kaitou KID's Teleportation Magic; Blue Spark of Hate; Deduction Battle! Shinichi vs. Okiya Subaru; A Delivery from the Real Culprit
Plot: Conan asks Ran not to tell Okiya too much about himself

While KID stories seem to pop up rather often, Kaitou KID's Teleportation Magic is a real treat. How is KID able to steal a jewel and teleport away to the top of a building in mere seconds? A great impossible crime story with a devious hint to the solution. This story is a lot like Kaitou KID's Miraculous Air Walk (volume 44), with Suzuki Jiroukichi challenging KID, an big open, urban area as the battlefield and KID easily acquiring his target. I think Teleportation Magic is the better of the two stories, but they're both great. Blue Spark of Hate is a Detective Boys story that involves murder, which is not too often. The main problem is finding out how the main suspect managed to set fire to the garage, blowing up the victim; the solution is a simple, yet effective one that is hinted at at many stages in the story. Deduction Battle! Shinichi vs. Okiya Subaru is an interesting story, as the type of storytelling used here is usually reserved for Hattori stories: in this story Conan and Okiya simultaneously solve the mystery behind the paper airplanes that have been found on the streets the last couple of days. Interesting is that it's the first time that Ran (and Sonoko) get to know that Okiya is living in the Kudou residence and Conan asks Ran not to tell Okiya too much about him (Shinichi). Aoyama is clearly trying to set Okiya up as Black Organisation member Bourbon (who was mentioned in volume 60). A Delivery from the Real Culprit is a short story involving the brother of Poirot waitress Azusa, who is the main suspect in a murder case.

Movie 12: Full Score of Fear
Release: April 19, 2008

After the disastrous Jolly Roger in the Deep Azure, I was kinda afraid to start with this movie, but Full Score of Fear is luckily not a total disaster. Conan's keen ears (despite being unable to hold a tone when singing) were already mentioned in Dissonance of the Stradivarius (volume 46), but as this movie features music heavily, this ability of Conan gets abused. The plot is decent enough, I guess, but that's probably because anything after Jolly Roger in the Deep Azure feels good. I can remember very little of this movie actually, which is usally not a good sign. Actually, I can only vividly remember the last scene, with Conan confronting the murderer and a scene somewhere in the middle, with Conan in a boat trying to use a phone by singing and me rolling my eyes very hard because things were getting a bit too ridiculous. People who have seen it, should know what I mean.

Volume 62
Keyhole: Shiragami
Cases: A Delivery from the Real Culprit; Softness Overcomes Mystery; Murderer Kudou Shinichi / Shinichi's Real Identity and Ran's Tears/What I Really Want to Ask
Plot: Haibara's working on a set of antidote pills

A Delivery from the Real Culprit is not a really interesting story though, more like one of those two-hour drama stories. Softness Overcomes Mystery is a fun little story with Eri, Ran and Conan, who are being used by a judoka for her alibi trick. The trick is easily enough to see through, but it's fun to see that Mouri Kogorou can really pull through as a real detective when it's needed. The final story-arc in this volume is the first of three big story arcs in volumes 61~70. Kudou Shinichi apparantly made a horrible deduction mistake one year ago and he is asked to review the case. Conan and Hattori arrive at the village where the incident happened, but due to some circumstances, Conan gets seperated from the rest and what's worse: he has accidently taken one of Haibara's experimental antidote pills. Hattori and the others are thus very surprised when they suddenly discover Shinichi, who is suffering from amnesia. What's even worse, Shinichi seemingly commits a murder! Hattori has much trouble solving the locked room murder case and protecting Shinichi/Conan's secret (having an amnesiac Shinichi does not help), but the case is really an awesome one, with a really sad ending. The hinting is done quite good, I think, and while all the Shinichi cases are fun, this is one of the better ones.

Volume 63
Keyhole:  Kojima Genji
Characters: Kojima Genji
Cases: What I Really Want to Ask/Kaitenzushi Mystery/The Criminal is Genta's Dad/The Witch Shrouded in the Fog

What I Really Want to Ask is a pretty interesting story: a man is found strangled in a running car. A moving locked room! It's a great little case that is sure to entertain; the main problem is fun, the story develops quite fast and the solution is realistic. Kaitenzushi Mystery is a personal favorite, as it features a poisoning in a kaitenzushi restaurant. The location is great for such a story, with moving belts and foodstuffs. The deductions that involve food etiquette within such a restaurant make the story feel quite realistic. The Criminal is Genta's Dad is a mix of the standard which-of-the-three formula with a The Red-Headed League-ish story. Genta's dad is one of the many participants to TV-show featuring people with the family name Kojima and he ends up as one of the three finalists. The one who came up with the show is found dead in the studio; pushed of the stairs. The only suspects: the three participants. Conan has to find out which of the three Genta's dad is, as well as find out who the murderer is. It's clear that the victim had been pulling some strings behind the scenes, selecting the three finalists himself, but why and is it related to his death? The Witch Shrouded in the Fog is a fun urban legend story involving a car that challenges other cars in races down mountains. It's even said that the witch's car can float in the sky! At the core, this is just a which-of-the-three story, but the urban legend makes this a blast to read.

Volume 64
Keyhole: Matsumoto Kiyonaga
Cases: Ikkaku Rock, Where Fish Disappear; Scar of a First Love/Scar that Invokes the Past; A New Scar and the Whistling Man/An Old Scar and a Detective's Spirit/Kaitou KID vs. the Strongest Safe
Plot: Matsumoto Kiyonaga likes the Beatles; Satou and Takagi's first kiss

Ikkaku Rock, Where Fish Disappear features some characters from Tragedy of Marumie Pier (volume 45). The setting is also the same, on a secluded space on sea, but this is not a poisoning story, but a dying message story. I think it's mostly difficult for kids (and foreigners), but it's a fun little dying message that is probably hard to translate. We also have a short Okiya scene who seems highly trained in hand-to-hand combat. Scar of a First Love/Scar that Invokes the Past is a lot like Ellery Queen's The Witch of Time Square (Q.B.I.), with a woman who wants to share some of her fortune with someone she had last met as a child. Her only clue: a long scar on his body. The problem is that two men claim to be the man she is looking for. The solution is easy, but the story mostly serves as an introduction to the next story. Whereas volume 28 explained why Megure's always wearing a hat, this story explains why Superintendent Matsumoto Kiyonaga has a big scar over his eye. The story is also a lot like MPD Detectives' Love Story 3 (volume 27), as both stories feature an old case and a race against the time (statute of limitations). I'm not particularly a fan of the puzzle-plot here though, as the clues consists of some specific jargon, but as a police-drama story, this one ranks with the best. The KID story is a bit tame compared to the excellent Kaitou KID's Teleportation Magic in volume 61. A fake Kaitou KID says he'll open Suzuki Jiroukichi's special safe, but it seems clear that the real KID will appear too.

Movie 13: The Raven Chaser
Release: April 18, 2009
Police: Police Inspector Yamamura Misao (Gunma; promotion)
Black Organisation: Irish

Being the first Conan movie I actually saw in the theatre, I particularly like this movie, but with a plot that heavily features the Black Organisation, you really can't go wrong. The trailers promoted this movie as a battle mystery, which it clearly is. Taking cues from Captured in her Eyes, this movie features a big police investigation across several prefectures (enter many guest appearances, including a recently promoted Yamamura Misao). The movie also features an internal affairs investigations, as Satou and Takagi (and Conan) fear someone (the Organisation) might have infiltrated the investigation. Other cues are actually taken from volume 64 (released just days before the movie), but to mention them would be a bit spoiler-ish. But I have to say, it's pretty cool to have the manga and movie work together so well) And of course, the new Organisation member Irish, who actually discovers Conan's identity. This movie just has everything: an internal affairs investigation, the Organisation, a great confrontation scene. One of the must-see movies (but please watch it only if you're up-to-date; being familiar with all the characters is especially with an internal investigations story quite important).

Volume 65
Keyhole: Morofushi Takaaki (Koumei)
Cases: Kaitou KID vs. The Strongest Safe; Detective Boys vs. Robbery Gang (Turmoil/Silence); The Dangerous Duo; Mansion of Death, the Red Wall  [Three Visits/Within My Grasp/Koumei Dies/Empty Fort Strategy]
Police: Police Inspector Morifushi Takaaki (Nagano (local))
Plot: Man resembling Akai Shuuichi appears, is seen by Jodie;

Suzuki Jiroukichi's safe is actually a safe designed by Samizu Kichiemon, a name first mentioned in volume 46. Samizu was a trick artist in the Edo period, specializing in building houses with secret hallways and stuff. Jiroukichi's safe is also loaded with death-traps and other tricks to scare away thieves. Samizu adds something I'm not sure I like or not. Samizu's inventions are a bit unrealistic, but then again, I accept Shinichi being a kid and Agasa's inventions. Detective Boys vs. Robbery Gang (Turmoil/Silence) is very much like The Mysterious Passenger (volume 29); both stories feature a hostage situation, both stories have Jodie in a semi-active role and finally, both stories Akai Shuuichi. Or do they? A man resembling Akai (with a burn scar on his face) appears in the bank, but disappears after the hostage situation. As he should be dead, Jodie is quite confused. The plan the bank robbers have is interesting, but I have the feeling I have seen it somewhere else before. Or did I read it here and forgot where I got it from? The Dangerous Duo is just a misdirection story (that mimicks volume 39's Contact with the Black Organisation - Chase) that leads into the second 'grand' story in this set of volumes: Mansion of Death, the Red Wall. The story introduces us to the highly intelligent Police Inspector Morofushi Takaaki, nicknamed Koumei. The story actually features a fantastic dying message, a really original way of leaving a message to point to a murderer. I'm almost sad I read this story in the manga first, 'cause some elements of the trick aren't conveyed that well in this medium. This is also the second story to feature references to Romance of the Three Kingdoms, after The Red Horse in the Blaze (volume 39). I also suspect some influence of Arisugawa Alice's Soutou no Akuma, as both stories feature a bohemian heaven for artists.

Volume 66
Keyhole: Uehara Yui
Cases: Mansion of Death, the Red Wall [Empty Fort Strategy]; Police Inspector Shiratori, Memory of the Cherry Blossom; Treasure Battle in the Haunted Storehouse; The Whereabouts of the Embarrassing Omamori; Alibi of a Black Dress
Plot: Shiratori tells about his first love

Using a police officer in an alibi trick can be smart, but it's seldom so in Conan. The trick used by a woman to fool the Detective Boys and Shiratori is a bit unrealistic and is only memorable, as a story, because of Shiratori's confession why he's in love with Satou (or so he thinks). Treasure Battle in the Haunted Storehouse features another of trick inventor Samizu Kichiemon's buildings and is a story I don't particular like. Most hints are easy enough to get and seeing the Detective Boys outsmarting Conan is fun too, but it's just... Samizu's buildings are just too fantastic. Even in Conan. The Whereabouts of the Embarrassing Omamori is a short Hattori story, with the gang trying to find out why one of Kazuha's neighbours (who accidently took her omamori with him) was attacked in a sports bar. A standard which-of-the-three story, but a bit too easy. It sorta depends on jargon, but this jargon is widely spread it's a bit too easy (except for children, maybe).

Volume 67
Keyhole: Kir
Cases: Alibi of a Black Dress; The Danger Envoked by the Red Omen; Suggestion of the Black 13/The Nearing Black Time Limit/The Shaking Red Target; Teacher Kobayashi's Love/Police Inspector Shiratori's Lost Love/Cherry Blossom's Love Transcending Time
Plot: Camel also sees the Akai look-a-like; the Organisation is aware of the Akai look-a-like; Okiya is looking for the Akai look-a-like; Shiratori finds out Kobayashi is his first love

Alibi of a Black Dress is a short, rather easy story involving gothic lolita's. The main problem is very easy and the final problem to be solved by the police is a bit easy to if you know a bit about these kinds of styles. Or if you're forced to read about at university courses. The following story is a very short, yet fun enough Detective Boys story who meet up with a nice elderly man whose actions seem a bit contradictory. Saying more would spoil the ending. Suggestion of the Black 13 is a strange story: it features the Black Organisation, the Akai Shuuichi look-a-like, Okiya and the FBI, but it's not really about them. Akai look-a-like, Okiya and Conan, Ran and Kogorou just happen to get caught up in a bomb hostage situation. And it just happens that the Organisation was hunting for the Akai look-a-like. The bomb hostage situation is resolved rather quickly and not particularly exciting IMHO, but it might be important to note that Gin states that nobody actually knows what Bourbon's plans are, even though (s)he has infiltrated the cast by now. The organisation probably doesn't even know who (s)he is at the moment. Thus heavily suggesting that Bourbon is actually Akai look-a-like IMHO, but anyway... Teacher Kobayashi's Love/Police Inspector Shiratori's Lost Love/Cherry Blossom's Love Transcending Time as a love story is cute and all, but the puzzle plot is way too easy. If you make a pick-out-the-odd-one-out-of-three story, you shouldn't create a story with a character who is obviously the odd one. It makes for a story that moves rather slow and actually feels boring at times.

Movie 14: Lost Ship in the Sky
Release: April 17, 2010

And the other Conan movie I saw in the theaters. As this movie isn't a pure detective, but a hostage movie (and includes Kaitou KID), it's kinda hard to compare to the other Conan movies. As a action movie, it totally works, with some crazy stunts by both Conan and KID. As a mystery movie... the movie doesn't work. Depending on what you like, you either like it or not. My companions loved the movie, while for me, the only thing that saved the movie was KID. And some of the action scenes. Strangely enough, Lost Ship in the Sky also reminded me a lot of the movie One Piece: Strong World, which I had seen in the winter. Both movies also obviously action-oriented movies with a hostage situation and they also feature the sky as a background, with the main characters being forced to the ground and needing to find a way to get back up again. Yes, I analyze Detective Conan movies using One Piece movies as a reference point. The way my head works.

Volume 68
Keyhole: Samizu Kichiemon
Cases: Cherry Blossom's Love Transcending Time; The Worst Birthday; The Kirin's Horn That Disappeared into the Darkness/KID vs. the Four Divine Detective Boys; Detective Memoir of a Monkey and a Rake

The Worst Birthday parallels Suspect Mouri Kogorou (volume 27): both stories feature a hotel setting with people moving around and the discovery of a dead body inside a locked room. Suspect Mouri Kogorou obviously had Mouri Kogorou as the main suspect in the story (being inside the same room as the dead body), The Worst Birthday features Eri. This main trick used by the murderer is unveiled rather quickly, changing to main problem to who was able to pull off the trick. The Kirin's Horn That Disappeared into the Darkness/KID vs. the Four Divine Detective Boys is a KID story, so I should like it, but it also features the Detective Boys and one of Samizu Kichiemon's inventions, so I'm not too big a fan of this story. Interesting is how Conan seems to be quite famous in the media nowadays as KID's rival: you'd think he needs to keep a low profile as he's still on the run for the Organisation. At least Haibara is sensible enough to keep a hat on her head. While this is not the first story with both KID and the Detective Boys, it is the first story that actually sets these forces against each other. Detective Memoir of a Monkey and a Rake is a which-of-the-three story featuring a dying message by a man stabbed by a purse-snatcher, but the message is way too obscure to be any fun.

Volume 69
Keyhole: Akagi Hideo
Cases: A Request from the Swamp; Scenario of a Locked Steam Room; White Day of Betrayal; The Secret the Diary Plays

A Request from the Swamp is a spooky story, with a man seemingly drowned by a kappa in his own home. The trick is rather easy to see through, but the story-telling makes up for it. Yamamura Misao's promotion in The Raven Chaser is also maintained here, and he is still having trouble getting Mouri to call him by the title of police inspector. Scenario of a Locked Steam Room is a great little locked room story at an onsen resort. The resort is being used for a movie shooting by a famous movie director, who had filmed one of his earlier movies (a locked room mystery!) at the same place. He is found dead in the women's bath one morning, but he was the only person to have entered the building. The solution is good and the set-up and execution of the whole plot is great. White Day of Betrayal is more like a Kuitan story, with its strange emphasis on the workings of food. And like Kuitan, it's kinda hard to solve completely without some specific food-related knowledge. The Secret the Diary Plays is a Detective Boys-in-a-haunted-house story with a lot of misdirection. I don't like the story at all, but I have it a lot with this type of stories.

Volume 70
Keyhole: Chaki Shintarou
Cases: The Secret the Diary Plays; Conan vs. KID - Ryouma's Treasures; The Victim is Kudou Shinichi/Inubushi Castle - The Flaming Demon Dog
Characters: Kaitou Shukujo Phantom Lady

I actually discussed this volume in a seperate post, but to keep up continuity: Conan vs. KID - Ryouma's Treasures is a great story, with Kaitou KID saying he'll return some items of Sakamoto Ryouma, stolen many years ago by the female thief Phantom Lady (and it's heavily implied at the end that Phantom Lady is actually the current KID's mother, which makes things really weird). Changing the problem from 'how's KID going to get away with the loot' to 'how's KID going to enter with the loot' makes for a very interesting story. The Victim is Kudou Shinichi/Inubushi Castle - The Flaming Demon Dog is a fairly long Hattori story, that begins very strong: Conan and Hattori encounter a locked room murder and solve it practically instantly. The problem is that this murder is probably just the first in a series, as an inheritence dispute and a legend of a flaming demon dog are the standard ingredients for a juicy and long serial murder story. The story, naturally, reminds of The Hound of the Baskervilles, but features loads of original elements (actually, only the demon dog reminds of the Hound). I'm sorry for the one who'd have to translate/localize this story though. The plan of the murderer is pretty complex and reminds of Ellery Queen. Though Queen novels don't really feature demon dogs and legends and stuff.

Compared to the previous sets of volumes, these 10 volumes are kinda tame. Not boring or anything at all though. This set has some excellent stories like Kaitou KID's Teleportation Magic (volume 61), Murderer Kudou Shinichi / Shinichi's Real Identity and Ran's Tears/What I Really Want to Ask (volume 62-63), Mansion of Death, the Red Wall (volume 65-66) and The Victim is Kudou Shinichi/Inubushi Castle - The Flaming Demon Dog (volume 70), which rank among the best of Conan stories. But the overall storyline with the Black Organisation is certainly not as strong as in the previous sets of volumes. Volumes 40 ~ 60 featured great Black Organisation stories, but there is only one Black Organisation story here and even then it's not really interesting. The whole Okiya/Akai Shuuichi look-a-like/Bourbon storyline is moving rather slow (and a bit too much like the Vermouth storyline), so it's hard to see where that's going.

As for the movies, The Raven Chaser deserves a special mention being a movie featuring the Organisation in a way that fits the Organisation as it's been been portrayed in the last couple of years. Countdown to Heaven also featured the Organisation, but its presence was never so intense as in The Raven Chaser. For Conan fans, The Raven Chaser is a must-see.

Going through 70 volumes in a relatively short time period was kinda exhausting, but never boring. It's almost 10 years since I first started reading Conan (and despite that, Conan is still in the first grade), but re-reading this series from the beginning again confirmed it: this is an awesome series. Conan's body may have shrunk, but the mysteries he solves are still those worthy of a Great Detective.

Original Japanese title(s): 青山剛昌　『名探偵コナン』第６１巻～７０巻 / 『名探偵コナン 戦慄の楽譜（フルスコア）』 /　『名探偵コナン　漆黒の追跡者（チェーサー）』 / 『名探偵コナン　天空の難破船（ロストシップ）』

『ＷＩＳＨ ＲＯＯＭ』

検死官はあくびをして体を動かした。「夜殺人をやるのいたしかたがない。そうする理由があると思う。しかし、死体を発見するのは、私が朝食をすましてからにしてもらいたいんだな」」

『エンジェル家の殺人』　（訳：大庭）

"The medical examiner yawned and moved his body.

"I can't complain about murders being commited at night. There are reasons for doing that. But it'd be nice if they would discover the stiff after I had my breakfast""

"Murder Among the Angells" (Ooba translation)

Even though most of my book purchases are made in second hand bookstores like the Book Off when I'm in Japan, I do go to 'normal' bookshops occasionally. But I only go there when I need to purchase specific books. While my purchasing habits in a Book Off are kinda chaotic (and bad for my wallet), my visits to Fukuoka's Junkudou were like well-planned military missions, purchasing only the books I had planned to buy before entering the building (or occasionally not buying anything at all, instead only acting as a guide as I knew all bookstores in the neighbourhood).

The single impulse purchase I made at Junkudou was that of Roger Scarlett's Murder Among the Angells (1932). Well, technically it's Enjeruke no Satsujin ("The Murder of the Angell Clan"), a translated version (by Ooba Tadao). The title had been in my head for a long time. Why? Well, the novel was mentioned in the very first pages of Yokomizo Seishi's Honjin Satsujin Jiken ("The Daimyou's Inn Murder Case") as one of the books that inspired Yokomizo in writing that novel. I also knew Murder Among the Angells was praised very much by Edogawa Rampo. In fact, Edogawa was so impressed by the book that he made his own adapted/localized version of the story, renamed as Sankakukan no Kyoufu ("The Terror of Triangle Mansion"). A book that inspired two of my favorite authors was simply a must-read.

The problem: it seems like nobody outside Japan knows about this book. Murder Among the Angells is sorta known among Japanese detective critics because of the reasons mentioned above, but a quick Google search for the book and author Roger Scarlett didn't give me any results. At least, I had quite some Japanese results, but practically nothing useful in English on neither the novel nor the author. Which was kinda surprising. So I did something I basically never do: read the commentary at the end of the pocket (Japanese pocket often include by commentaries by other writers. It seems in the West, introductions are used more often).

And commentator Togawa did write up a nice story. As Togawa also noticed this distinct lack of information on Roger Scarlett, he (with some help) dug through many old English crime writer magazines and guides, resulting in the following findings: Roger Scarlett was the pen name of the Americans Evelyn Page (1902~???) and Dorothy Blair (1903~???). Nothing is known about Blair, but Page seems to have written her own novel (The Chestnut Tree) and even made it to associate professor at several faculties at Connecticut College. Page & Blair's debut work as Roger Scarlett was The Beacon Hill Murders (1930), followed by The Back Bay Murders (1930), Cat's Paw (1931), Murder Among the Angells (1932) and finally In the First Degree (1933) (Of these novels, only The Back Bay Murders is not translated in Japanese). So in only a couple of years, this duo wrote five books.  But they stopped for some reason after that and the name Roger Scarlett seems to be totally forgotten nowadays. Except for in Japan, where a translation can purchased at any store for 900 yen + tax. Go figure.

Anyway, Murder Among the Angells. Like the title suggest, murder happens within the Angell clan. The Angell clan consists of two families: the family of elderly Darius Angell (two sons) and the family of his twin brother Carolus (son, daughter and son-in-law) (I'm totally guessing the spelling of the names by the way: Japanese is not particularly clear when spelling out Western names). The two families live under one roof, in a curious L-shaped mansion. The Angell mansion has been split in two, with a wall seperating the two sides. The brothers live their own lives in their own wings. The two wings are connected only by the front door (+ small hallway) and the elevator in the back of the house, which opens on both wings.

Darius and Carolus used to be best of buddies actually, until their father died, leaving a rather troublesome will. While they both receive quite some income from their father's fortune as long as they live, the whole fortune is to go unconditionally to the son who outlives his brother. Fast-forward many, many years later, with the brothers living in seperate wings and a heavily weakened Darius who might die any day. Fearing his sons will be left with nothing if he dies now (which would make his brother the only heir), he hopes to convince Carolus to sign an agreement that they'll split their father's fortune with both families, no matter who dies first. Carolus refuses though, and is found the same night dead, shot by an unknown assaillant. And more developments follow throughout the story, with a new will by Darius (who really seems to want to divide the fortune with his nephew and niece) and a murder happening inside a moving elevator!

Murder Among the Angells might be quite unknown outside of Japan, it's pretty clear why it has some fame in Japan. This is clearly a yakata-mono (a 'mansion' story; see also Jukkakukan no Satsujin), with the strangely divided mansion with an elevator in the middle of the building. With many maps throughout the story, rooms that have doors at the weirdest places and the way people have to move about to get from wing to another, this novel practically screams yakata-mono. The strange architecture practically functions as a silent extra character, not unlike the House of Usher and succeeds in providing a very entertaining location for the murders. The movements of the suspects inside the mansion also plays a big role within the story, with both murders being strongly connected with the way the mansion is built and the way the mansion has been divided into two wings. The Angell mansion is a very impressive force within the novel. Edogawa Rampo didn't rename his adaptation The Terror of Triangle Mansion for nothing.

And setting aside the mansion,  I have to say that the plot is, on the whole, pretty good. My major gripes are some of the lucky breaks of the criminal has and I have some doubts about the executability of the locked elevator murder (the trick is, fundamentally, good though). But I'm overall quite pleased with the novel, as it's a good example of what an orthodox detective should be. Edogawa Rampo said this about the book:

I have nothing but admiration for Angell (...) the way the plot develops, the way the mystery is solved, the level of suspense, this novel has these elements in a strange way no other novel has and it suits my humble taste perfectly (...) yes, this is it, this is it, this is the style of writing I like the best, that's what I think as I read every line.

I won't go as far with my admiration, but Edogawa is right about that that the plot develops at a nice pace. The puzzle plot is constructed very neatly, with enough clues to point to the murderer (the main hint pointing at the criminal is a nice one, reminding me of some stories in Conan and Furuhata Ninzaburou). Like I said, the murderer had some lucky breaks IMHO, but nothing game-breaking. The motive is done quite nicely well and in fact, besides the points mentioned at above, I have no real complaints about the plot of Murder Among the Angells. It's a nicely constructed mansion-story that is sure to entertain readers.
 
I had troubles getting through the Japanese though. Ignoring the spelling problem (I'm not sure whether the detective is called Kane, Caine, or Kain or some other spelling actually), prose in Japanese is very different from prose in English. While I've read plenty of Japanese translated in English, this is probably the first time I read a real translation of an English novel in Japanese (the Lupin novels don't count. Besides being originally French, the translation is clearly smoothed out to normal Japanese). But how tedious Murder Among the Angells was! Part of this tediousness might be blamed to the fact the original text is not contemporary, but even accounting for that... I had never felt this big a gap in writing styles across languages before, but this really caught me by surprise. I'm not talking about a bad translation or anything, but just the way people describe things, where the focus of the paragraphs is placed at and how paragraphs are structured... You just don't repeat a personal pronoun sentence after sentence normally, nor are long passages with only short pieces of dialogue (one or two sentences) pleasant to read. It's really different from a novel that was actually written in Japanese (as opposed to a translation). Like I said, I liked this book, but I'm not really looking forward to reading more of Scarlett in Japanese.

I'm actually quite surprised why nobody seems to know Scarlett outside of Japan. This encounter was pretty pleasant and they did write five books in total, so why did the Scarlett name disappear practically competely?  If I hadn't seen the name mentioned by Edogawa and Yokomizo, I doubt I'd ever found about this book, actually. Which is a shame, 'cause Murder Among the Angells is an entertaining mansion-story which I think doesn't deserve to be forgotten ... this extremely. As for the people interested in Japanese detective fiction, I think the mere mention by Edogawa and Yokomizo warrants a look at this novel

Original Japanese title(s): ロジャースカーレット　（訳：大庭忠男） 『エンジェル家の殺人』 (Roger Scarlett, Murder Among the Angells)

「恐らくこれで、明日からは《ご飯がおいしくない》などのワガママを吐かすことはなくなるだろう」

- Well, what would you order?

- A very simple crime. A crime with no complications... very unimpassioned, very intime.

- I can't see any excitement in that.

- No, because there are no curiously twisted daggers, no blackmail, no emerald that is the stolen eye of the god... you have a melodramatic soul, Hastings.

"The ABC Murders"

My previous encounters with Yokomizo Seishi's Kindaichi Kousuke short stories have not been very succesful. Kindaichi Kousuke no Shinbouken was very disappointing and while the stories in Nanatsu no Kamen weren't that bad, they were clearly not in the same league as Yokomizo's longer stories. One of Yokimizo's stronger points is that he's able to come up with a complex, multi-layered story, that is supported by a wide-variety of tricks. Even if not all tricks are original, the way Yokomizo strings them together with the other tricks and the plot is certainly impressive. The problem with his short stories is that while Yokomizo comes up with great premises, they always seem a bit disappointing because they miss the sense of scale found in the novels. The problem I have with Yokomizo's short stories is that I have too many short collections lying around; as I was expecting better stories when I purchased them.

So I started rather relunctantly in Kubi ("Head"). With only four stories, this is the shortest collection I have of Yokomizo, but to be honest: I liked this collection! Something I really hadn't thought possible. I really do hope it's because these stories are actually fun and not only because the previous stories were bad.  Anyway, the stories previously discussed were rather weak on the puzzle-structure side, but the four stories of this collection were done pretty well. The four stories are pretty similiar in set-up, sharing one important characteristic: in the stories, something is done to the victim's body. Always. Decapitation is the most normal act done to a dead body in the stories here. It gives these stories a distinct, disturbing vibe and yes, that's precisely when Yokomizo starts to shine.

Ikeru Shikamen ("The Living Death Mask") starts with a reference to the story of Aozukin ("Blue Hood") from the Ugetsu Monogatari. Fast-forward to the post-war period, where a similar incident happens: a patrolman happens to discover that an artist, who is known for his homo-sexual tendencies, was sleeping with the practically decayed dead body of a young man. As the artist had made a death mask, the police is able to identify the body, but with more body parts popping all over town and doubts about the body's identity, Kindaichi Kousuke is asked to solve the case. Which he does, of course. With a disturbing atmosphere and a properly clued story, Yokomizo finally delivers a story I feel satisfied with.

And he (mostly) continues this good trend with Hanazono no Akuma ("Demon of the Flower Garden"). The naked dead body of a young woman is found in a flower garden of a tourist resort. She is quickly identified as a nude model who had her picture taken in that same flower garden some time ago. To the police's surprise, it seems like the criminal raped the victim after the murder. The murderer luckily enough left enough clues for the police to quickly identify him and soon enough, the murderer's picture is in all the newspapers. However, nobody seems to have any clue to his whereabouts. It's Kindaichi Kousuke who reveals the horrible truth behind this strange murder. While the trick used by the murderer was OK, it's too bad that one part of the solution doesn't seem properly clued, making that deduction (which was important) seem rather forced. A good story nonetheless though.

I'm not sure whether this story was very advanced for its time or not, but Roubijin ("The Wax Beauty") is about forensic facial reconstruction. Which was kinda surprising. A professor claims he is able to reconstruct the face of the skull of an unidentified woman who committed suicide. To everyone's surprise, the reconstructed face is awfully like that of a murdereress who was thought to have fled overseas. Add in a second murder (of the professor who made the reconstruction), a man who says he has slept with the dead body (when she was not as decayed) and we have a very busy Kindaichi Kousuke who is investigating both the murder commited by the ower of the reconstructed face as well as the current murder. The story is not as well-polished as the previous two stories, with some hard to swallow coincidences and such, but amusing due to the subject matter.

Kubi ("Head") is like a Yokomizo novel, condensed into 60 pages. We have a) a story of a decapitated head placed on a cliff of a waterfall 300 years ago, b) the same crime repeated half a year ago and c) once again while Kindaichi Kousuke and police inspector Isokawa are in the neighbourhood. The latest victim is a film director and the circumstances of his death are precisely the same as of the incident half a year ago: three men sleep near the top of the waterfall, the next morning two of the men discover that the third man has disappeared and they finally discover his head on the cliff sticking out of the waterfall, with his body in the water at the end of the waterfall. The plot could have easily been used for a longer story and I do think that it might have been better, as some parts of the story seem rather short and under-used, but this is nonetheless a fairly good story. Two minor points: that one hint Kindaichi has that makes no sense at all. At least, why would the murderer leave that hint? And two: the trick itself wasn't too special anyway, but I got it literally the instant I read one sentence near the beginning of the story which was practically screaming "I'm a hint! I'm a hint!". Could have been hidden a bit better.

While I liked this collection, I'm afraid I can't be that positive about the remaining short collections I have. One is a collection of stories that have been rewritten at a later stage, while the other consists of stories that have been rewritten, but I didn't like them very much the first time, so I don't expect too much from them.

(Oh, and just to push myself; I will finally finish and write a review of Roger Scarlett's Murder among the Angells this week)

Original Japanese title(s): 横溝正史 『首』/ 「生ける死面」 / 「花園の悪魔」 / 「蝋美人」 / 「首」

『毒婦』

"There are two things that I consider inexcusable. Poisoning, and betrayal! Only a coward would hurt people using either of these tactics"

"Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney - Trials & Tribulations"

About halfway through Meitantei Conan - Kudou Shinichi e no Chousenjou ("Detective Conan - A Challenge Letter for Kudou Shinichi"), the show starts to have some really awful episodes. Never a good sign. I hope they come up with the stories based on the manga soon....

Meitantei Conan - Kudou Shinichi e no Chousenjou (Detective Conan - A Challenge Letter for Kudou Shinichi)
Episode 1 (July 7, 2011): Before he turned into Conan, the high school detective solved the mystery of the adultery murder!
Episode 2 (July 14, 2011): The locked room murder commited on air! Reveal the secret cursed by the psychic
Episode 3 (July 21, 2011): Murder Case in a Locked Courtroom! Reveal the Trick of the Hostess Murder
Episode 4 (July 28, 2011): Perfect Crime! Murder Notice at a Wedding, Reveal the Locked Room Poisoning Trick
Episode 5 (August 5, 2011): The Glamorous Murder Trick of the Actress who lost her Memory - Perfect Murder at the Summer House
Episode 6 (August 11, 2011): The Magnificent Murderous Kiss of Twenty Beauties! The Murderous Intent Hidden in the Murder Equation!
Episode 7 (August 18, 2011): Inheritance Murder Among Bloody Relatives! Reveal the Mystery of the Kidnapping Trick!
Episode 8 (August 25, 2011): A Woman's Determination, Revenge on the Molester! The Murder Trick hidden in the Security Camera
Episode 9 (September 01, 2011): Hattori Heiji and the Mystery of the Invisible Locked Room Murder Weapon! Deduction Battle between the Detectives of East and West
Episode 10 (September 08, 2011): The Mystery of the Body that Moved 200 KM Within An Instant! Reveal the Perfect Crime Scheme of the Evil Woman
Episode 11 (September 15, 2011): A Kiss Is the Reason for Murder, A Revenge Murder After 20 Years! The Mystery of the Perfect Alibi
Episode 12 (September 22, 2011): I Killed Her! 3 Single Murderers? Reveal the Mystery of the Fake Murder!
Episode 13 (September 29, 2011): Ran Dies! The Final Challenge of the True Criminal to the Genius Detective - Reveal the Mystery of the White Room

Like the previous episode, episode five ("The Glamorous Murder Trick of the Actress who lost her Memory - Perfect Murder at the Summer House") is a poisoning story. The murder victim is a famous film director who was working with Shinichi on a movie. The victim died after drinking his tea and everything seems to point to his wife as the main suspect (whose motive would be that her husband was having an affair). The problem? The wife lost her memory when she saw her husband die.

This was an awful episode. Really, really awful. I have seen my share of boring, bad stories, but this one ranks among the 'best' of them. The poisoning trick is like the very first trick that will come into your head when you see the scene, while the amnesia subplot is as bad as you would expect it to be. Though I have to admit that even that subplot was better plotted than the poisoning story. The trick used by the murderer could maybe fool the peole who were at the scene at the time of the crime, but never the police. And the way the murderer tried to wipe the evidence was awfully stupid. It's like screaming you're the murderer yourself. And seriously, visual hints in a visual media are alright and such, but this was a bit ridiculous. The only good point about the story is the somewhat downer-ending, which was quite darker than what you'd expect from Conan (which has its share of downer-endings).

I associate poisoning stories very strongly with Conan, as they occur very often in the manga. And they are often done quite well, with a good mix of (usually visual) hints and a sound foundation in 'the real world'. For example, last night I was re-reading Conan 63 (yes... the last Conan manga post is still coming), which has a story with a poisoning in a kaitenzushi. The location makes up for an interesting spot for a poisoning, with all the moving parts and etiquette involved and the trick was indeed well integrated in the location. The trick used in this week's episode of the Conan drama, is just boring and the most basic of basic tricks. The previous episode, while certainly not a perfect story, at least had a better trick.

On the slightly bright side: the overall storyline is finally moving. At the end of the episode, after they move into the next room, Ran gets hit by a poison arrow, and Shinichi and Kogorou have five minutes to figure out the next password. Still not sure what's going to happen, but as we enter the last half of the series, we should see more of the overall storyline. I hope. Of course, if they stay at the quality of this episode, they might do all the main storyline-things in just the last 10 minutes of the final episode...

Original Japanese title(s): 『名探偵コナン　工藤新一への挑戦状』　サブタイトル「記憶を消した女優の華麗なる殺人トリック 避暑地での完全犯罪」
Date & Password: 2010.08.12; ジョユウ