「Welcome Trouble」

「にもかかわらず、この薄汚れたアパートの名前は白波荘という。建物は古くなっても名前は古くならないので、このようなアンバランスな現象がおこるわけだ」

『密室の鍵貸します』

"Despite that, this shabby apartment was called the White Wave mansion. These kinds of unbalances happen because even though buildings get older, names don't."

"Lending the Key to the Locked Room"

For those interested, the new look is borrowed stolen from Famicom Tantei Club. To be exact, the title screen of the first game. Random info: Sakamoto Yoshio wrote the complete script of the first game in only three days. Why I changed the look? Because I've been paying too much attention to retro games lately. And as university starts again, I'm pretty sure I'll drop back to the more sane posting schedule of once or twice a week. Instead of twenty posts a month. What the... ?!

And now on to the main course, which is Higashigawa Tokuya's Misshitsu no Kagi Kashimasu ("Lending the Key to the Locked Room"). This is Higashigawa's first full-length novel, as well as the first novel in his Ikagawashi series, a set of orthodox detective stories set in the fictional town of Ikagawashi. In fact, the first Higashigawa story I read, the short story A Locked Room at 40 KM/H, is also part of the same Ikagawashi series. There is no real main detective for this series (changing from book to book), though the private detective Ukai Morio and police inspector Sunagawa appear the most prominent in the Ikagawashi novels. The other characteristic of this series is the humorous tone of the stories, with almost slapstick-esque situations and witty conversations. But like Arisugawa Alice says in the commentary to Misshitsu no Kagi Kashimasu: the books are funny, but this humorous tone might also be a trap...

Because beneath the humor and all, there is a 'normal' detective plot. Misshitsu no Kagi Kashimasu starts with an interesting problem for the young student Ryuuhei. Things have not been easy for him, having to give up his dream as a film director and settling with a naitei (a pre-approval for a job) for a company that makes documentaries. Which in turn led into him being dumped by his girlfriend. Which is bad enough, but not as bad as that night. The night his ex-girlfriend was stabbed and pushed from her balcony. Which isn't even the worst part. Not even the fact that some time earlier, Ryuuhei, in a rather drunken state (he doesn't remember anything of it though), had yelled he would kill her in front of a lot of witnesses. No, the worst part is that the only person who can prove Ryuuhei's alibi, his university senior, was also stabbed to death. In his bathroom. In a locked apartment. And the only other person inside the apartment at that time was... Ryuuhei. Because he lost conciousness when he found the dead body of his senior and didn't wake up until the morning, Ryuuhei panicks. No way the police is going to believe he has nothing to do with either case. So Ryuuhei flees the crime scene and asks for help to his ex-brother-in-law, the private detective Ukai Morio. Who is nice enough to help him.

The novel is told from both Ryuuhei's perspective as well as that of the police, which makes for a very entertaining story. Ryuuhei is of course on the run, while the police is looking for him, so the points where these storylines intersect are really funny to read, as you see the same situation from two different perspectives (at one points, Ryuuhei is nearly run over by the police). But that is just one aspect of the humor, as Higashigawa is quite a funny writer, coming up with funny conversations and witty remarks. At times, the novel feels like a parody of the genre, but whatever it is, it's funny.

But like Arisugawa said, don't underestimate the book just because it's funny. For this is a genuine detective and quite an entertaining one too. The problem of the locked room is done quite good, even if the fundamental trick is quite basic. It is however very well adapted for the modern, urban setting of this novel. In fact, the urban setting and the humor reminds me a lot of Arisugawa Alice's Writer Alice series. Which is hardly a bad thing. I like Nikaidou Reito's novels, but his books are so often set in castles and old mansions, which feels a bit artificial. Given the choice, I do prefer the more urban settings found in Arisugawa Alice and Norizuki Rintarou novels.

Misshitsu no Kagi Kashimasu, as a locked room mystery, is not surprising like a Nikaidou Reito mystery, but it is constructed quite well and Higashigawa's writing style really adds something to the story. Misshitsu no Kagi Kashimasu is a detective novel that anyone could enjoy, I think. Like the books by Higashino Keigo, it's one of those books that are a lot easier to recommend to people who usually don't read the genre. A funny novel with a satisfying plot-structure that is sure to entertain the reader.

Original Japanese title(s): 東川篤哉　 『密室の鍵貸します』

「浪速の高校生探偵、お手並み拝見だ 」

「それより、何か分かったの？服部君が先に事件を解決しちゃうかもよ」

「別にそれでもいいさ。探偵が何人いようと、真実はいつもたった一つしかねぇんだから」

『名探偵コナン　工藤新一への挑戦状』

"But have you figured it out yet? At this rate, Heiji might solve the case before you"

"That doesn't bother me. No matter how many detectives there are, there is always only one truth"

"Detective Conan - A Challenge Letter for Kudou Shinichi"

No, I've not been very enthusiastic about the Conan drama for quite some time now. Most of the episodes feature rather predictable plots (and some are actually awful). In the manga, all the cases Shinichi solved in the past before he turned into Conan featured interesting plots, thus in my mind Shinichi case equals high standard detective stories. So my expectations for a series with only pre-Conan Shinichi stories were pretty high. The gap between my expectations and the actual series is sadly pretty big. And for the last couple of weeks, I was just watching the series out of habit.

Yet, the preview for this week's episode did spark my interest. For it was a Hattori Heiji case. Which equals awesome in my mind.

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

I'll just start with saying that episode 9 ("Hattori Heiji and the Mystery of the Invisible Locked Room Murder Weapon! Deduction Battle between the Detectives of East and West") is pretty much impossible Conan-canon-wise. Hattori and Shinichi actually meet for the first time in volume 10, which is after Shinichi turns into Conan. So the meeting of the high school detectives of the East and West is simply impossible (despite some nice tries of the scriptwriter to save continuity).

Anyway, Hattori and Kazuha are in Tokyo to attend a match and happen to run into a robber. Chasing the robber, Hattori runs into Shinichi and Ran (not knowing who Shinichi is) and Shinichi stops the thief with his football, which ricochets into a house. Cue the sound of glass shattering and the discovery that a woman has died inside the house because she was hit by shattered glass. Was it Shinichi who accidently killed her? Of course not, and the detectives of the East and West join forces to find out what did happen inside the house.

The funny part is that Shinichi doesn't want Hattori to know he is Kudou Shinichi (the high school detective of the East). So he lies to Hattori, saying his name is Doiru (戸伊流（ドイル） - Doyle). Which is actually an awesome reference to the Edogawa Conan name, so yeah, I was quite happy with that. Ok, not much is done with it afterwards, as Shinichi isn't holding back his deductive powers this episode, so Hattori pretty much figures out he is Kudou Shinichi (_thus_ making this episode impossible canon-wise), but still, a nice nod to the main series. And Shinichi should use the Doiru alias more often.

The trick of the dead woman is pretty basic though and it was funny to see that the scriptwriter of this episode also wrote episode 6, as both episodes have a clear Galileo-vibe going on, with a type of trick that seldom appears in the Conan manga. Realistically though, the trick is pretty ridiculous as it might take 100 tries before the trick becomes actually lethal. It's probably one of the most basic tricks in this particular category of tricks and has been parodied quite often actually (one of the best gags in the detective-parody drama Kaette Kosaserareta 33pun Tantei ("The Forced Return of the 33 Minutes Detective"), where detective Rokurou actually confesses he doesn't understand the trick himself, as he only saw it on TV!).

But the appearance of Hattori and Kazuha really saves this episode and actually makes it one of the better, if not best episode of the whole series. With some dialogue lifted from the manga, this 'first contact' story is really amusing. Despite the subtitle of this episodes, Hattori and Shinichi are actually cooperating quite nicely, like the later Conan-Hattori stories in the main series. Having two detectives really makes this episode fun to watch. And the two actors of Hattori and Kazuha fit their roles a lot better than the ones doing Shinichi and Ran.

It also seems like the series slowly enters its final stages. The cast is still captured in the white rooms and they got seperated from Kogorou some episodes earlier already, this time Shinichi and Ran get seperated from each other too. Which is pretty much screaming that the show is almost over. I have no idea what to expect of the series finale though. My expectations were pretty high when the series started, but that has pretty much died out now, so little things like Kogorou pinching a spoon and the fact we have all these dates and keywords might have no relation at all with the series' finale.

Not sure when the finale will be though. Wikipedia says this series will run until the end of September, which would mean another 4 episodes? 13 episodes is a bit on the long side for a normal drama series though...

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「服部平次と密室殺人見えない凶器のナゾ! 東西探偵推理バトル」
Date & Password: 2010.09.10; キズナ

「ゲームマスター・・・！ お前の正体はこの俺が必ず暴く！」

学校では教えない ウラワザ
無敵コマンド 復活の呪文のとなえ方
人生で大切な事は
すべてゲ-ムでおそわった

「ラストコンティニュー」 （中山智明）

Things they don't teach at school

cheats, invisibility commands, how to do the revival spell,

all the important things of life,

I learned through games

"Last Continue" (AP Nakayama Tomoaki)

Oh, the summer is almost over. That means it's time for the annual Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo release! I guess it's better than nothing and it's become something like a habit for me too, but it'd be nice of they would do more volumes a year. Like two releases every year or something.

The previous couple of years, two volumes were released simultaneously, but this year it's just a single normal-sized volume. Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo - Game no Yakata Satsujin Jiken ("The Case Files of Young Kindaichi -  The Game Mansion Murder Case") starts with Kindaichi, Miyuki and some other friends having fun at an amusement park. Kindaichi and Miyuki get seperated from their friends and with cellphones not working in that area, the two decide to have fun on their own. After a great day, the two discover they don't have enough money left for the bus fare back to their inn, so they decide to walk back, only to get surprised by a huge rainfall halfway. Luckily, a bus passed by them on the road and they are allowed to get on by the driver.

The next moment however, Kindaichi and Miyuki awaken in some kind of a deserted building, together with some other people. It seems all the people here were on the bus and that they were all knocked out by sleeping gas during the bus trip. A man in a cloak tells the confused party that they are in the so-called Game Mansion and that the only way to escape is to play his games. Which include things like quizzes (oh, and if you don't get a right answer in time, you get blown up) and wire puzzles (oh, and if you don't solve your puzzle in time, you might burn to death) and other fun games. Who is the Game Master and why is he forcing the party to play through his sadistic games?

I have actually never seen Saw, but I guess that this is inspired by Saw? The sadistic games that lead to death? While there's often a certain sense of danger in the Kindaichi Shounen stories because the stories are often set in closed circles, it's seldom this intense and it certainly made for a very exciting story. But Kindaichi Shounen wouldn't be Kindaichi Shounen if this wasn't connected with an orthodox mystery plot. Which is where the story both fails and succeeds. The orthodox mystery plot is really neatly integrated into the slash-horror plot, with actual proper clueing to what the Game Master is trying to accomplish. It's actually pretty cool how the hints were hidden in the 'games'. However, the clues pointing to the murderer are few and I was actually suprised when Kindaichi said who the murderer was, as there was pretty much nothing to point to that person. Of course, Kindaichi was told something the reader didn't know late in the story, so this was just unfair clueing.

But if I was asked whether I like this volume or not, I'd still say I like this volume though: the change in pacing because of the Saw-like story does changes things up a bit and like I said, it's actually done in a way to fit into the orthodox mystery genre. Because of this change in pacing, the story feels fresh for a Kindaichi Shounen story. It's a shame though that Kindaichi and Miyuki's friends (like Souta) only appeared at the beginning of the story: I had really hoped they would stick for the rest of the story, as the stories featuring the extended Kindaichi Shounen cast, mostly seen in the short stories, are usually more fun than the more classic stories.

I just wish Amagi/Satou would be a bit more active with the Kindaichi Shounen stories. Yes, I know that Amagi is a pretty busy guy, writing many, many scenarios for manga and drama using like eight different aliases, but it's been a while since he did a regularly running detective manga, right?

Original Japanese title(s): 天樹征丸、さとうふみや 『金田一少年の事件簿　ゲームの館殺人事件』

「えぇ、俺まだ分かってへんで！」

ぼく達は

A) 一旦部屋に戻って着替えると、玄関脇の談話室で落ち合った。

B) 一旦部屋に戻って着替えて、夕食までどちらかの部屋で話でもしようということになった。

『かまいたちの夜』

有野：　いや、でもちょっと、いろんな人がおるところにいって、ぼく結構社交的な面あるんですよって真理にみせる方がいいと思う。ちょっと『ときメモ』風の考えですけど

『ゲームセンターＣＸ』 #113

We...

A) went to back to our rooms to change our clothes and met at the lounge next to the entrance.

B) decided to go back to our rooms to change our clothes and talk in one of our rooms until dinner

("The Night of the Kamaitachi")

Arino: Wait, but, I think it's better to go to a place with all kinds of people, to show to Mari that I'm pretty sociable.  That's kinda more like TokiMemo though...

(Game Center CX #113)

It's funny if you think about it, but the only Choose Your Own Adventure books I have are of Super Mario Bros. Why would I need a gamebook of a game?  I had fun with them though, reading the stories, collecting items and going through all the possible endings. So it's not strange I enjoy Chunsoft's sound novels. 'Cause they are basically CYOA-esque games: interactive fiction accompanied by images and audio where you advance in the story by making choices, with as goal finding the best ending. These sound novels are usually a lot more complex than your average CYOA book though, with countless of multiple choice decision points that affect the way the storyline will develop. Especially Chunsoft's 428 ~ Fuusa sareta Shibuya de ("428 ~In a Sealed Shibuya") is amazing, with five seperate storylines that intersect at certain points, with the decisions made in one storyline affecting the other storylines.

Kamaitachi no Yoru ("Night of the Kamaitachi") is one of the more famous sound novels (maybe the most famous?) and the second sound novel Chunsoft made.  It was a big hit when it first hit the Super Famicom and has been ported to other systems like the PlaySation and GameBoy Advance. And the series is still going strong apparently, with even a new entry announced for the PlaySation Vita. At any rate, Kamaitachi no Yoru is considered a pretty important title in the Japanese game world.

And the fact that I discuss the game here pretty much gives it away, but Kamaitachi no Yoru is basically nothing more or less than an orthodox mystery sound novel.  The scenario was penned by Abiko Takemaru, a mystery writer who seems to have a very close connection with Chunsoft (he also contributed to 428 ~ Fuusa sareta Shibuya de and Trick X Logic). The story is a pretty basic one: protagonists Tooru and his sorta girlfriend Mari are on vacation, staying at the ski pension of Mari's uncle. One night, during a snow storm, one of the guests, or to be exact, many pieces of one of the guests are found in his room. A murder! In a secluded ski lodge in a snow storm? Who would have expected that?! But the more important question is: Who did this? Someone from outside? Or one of the people in the pension? Or are the titular kamaitachi to blame?

As this is still considered a game, it is expected that the player solves the mystery himself (taking up the role of Tooru). And it's here where the sound novel feels superior to 'normal' books. As you control Tooru, you get to choose what actions to take. Do you suspect someone in the pension? Do you make your suspicions clear to the other people, or  do you wait until you can get some more information? At certain points in the story you are offered the choice what to do next and this has influence on the rest of the story.

Although the basic premise (people locked up in a snow lodge with a murderer) seems pretty standard and not particularly exciting, it's fun to see how the story changes by the little choices people make.There are literally dozens of decision points in the story and more importantly: one choice can completely change the story. With every decision point, the story changes a little, making it possible to play through the game dozens of times and still experience a totally different story everytime. In fact, there is a flow-chart included in the game to show what choices you have made and how your story is developing.

And it's really needed, as there are many, many endings. One time, my story ended with the death of everyone in the pension (including myself!) except for the killer. Which is not a good ending. In another ending, I ended up outside the pension before any murders happened, only to come back to find everyone killed.Which isn't a good ending either. In another, more light-hearted ending, I ended up as the director of a small firm, apparently having left the ski pension before the murders happened.

In one of my better endings, I did solve the murders (plural), but it was also possible to solve the case earlier in the story, resulting in fewer casualties. So the reader/player has direct influence on the developments in the story. With the changes in the story, the tone of the story also changes in the latter half of the game: the more murders happen. the more the story changes into a horror-flick, with everyone afraid of an unknown assaillant.

It might sound boring having to wade through a load of endings in search of the true ending, but it's actually really fun. Bad endings are just as amusing as the good endings, so coming across a bad ending doesn't really feel bad: it's just another variation on the same basic story. And while you might know the basic story, the changes that lead up to the various endings do prevent the story from becoming boring. In fact, even the bad endings contain little clues to the real murderer, so bad endings really aren't that bad.

As a mystery game, Kamaitachi no Yoru is awesome and the plot penned Abiko Takemaru (including the variation endings) is pretty interesting, even if it's a bit standard. The 'true' ending is not too difficult to deduce for a more experienced reader of the genre (making use of some rather 'standard' tropes), but the whole concept of mystery novel in such a form is really neat. Sound novels combine the ease of a written story with the interactivity found in games (as well as being more attractive audiovisually) in a very effective way IMHO.

And yes, this probably works best in a videogame setting. While I wouldn't mind CYOA mystery novels, the complexity of such a plot is best done in a videogame. I mean, without the big flow-charts to show every decision point and the way the story nodes are connected and instant jump-functions, Kamaitachi no Yoru (and other sound novels) would probably be less appealing

Original Japanese title(s): 『かまいたちの夜』

「真実はひとつ。ただ真実だけが正義なろうかなって」

「《素人探偵浅黄蝉丸、密室首切り殺人事件を即座に解決、ただし犯人現行犯》みたいなっ！」

『クビシメロマンチスト 人間失格・零崎人識』

"Just like 'Amateur Detective Asaki Semimaru solves the Locked Room Decapitation Murder Case instantly, but only because the murderer was arrested redhandedly!'"

"Strangulation Romanticist - Human Failure - Zerozaki Hitoshiki"

By now, I only watch Meitantei Conan - Kudou Shinichi e no Chousenjou (Detective Conan - A Challenge Letter for Kudou Shinichi and write the reviews every week out of habit, not because I particularly like to do it. Which is never a good sign, I guess. 'Cause I really shouldn't write if I don't like writing about a subject. Aaaah, if only the TV series was a bit better... Ah well, I'm not sure how long the series is supposed to be, but it should be somewhere between the 10~12 episodes, so it's almost over.

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

Episode 8 ("A Woman's Determination, Revenge on the Molester! The Murder Trick hidden in the Security Camera") starts out very, very mediocre, with Ran being groped on the bus and Ran and Shinichi chasing the groper in a very, very boring chase scene (with a slight touch of Sherlock). But it seems like it was just the introduction to the main case of the episode: in an apartment Ran and Shinichi had passed during their chase, an elderly lady's artificial respiration machine had stopped working. She was brought to the hospital, but the police suspects the lady's helper might have tried to kill the lady and made it look like an accident. And for no real reason, Kudou starts to mingle with that case, while Ran is still trying to get the groper convincted for his crimes.

The mystery of the victim's artificial respiration machine turns out to be connected with the molester Ran and Shinichi had apprehended, but that was pretty clear from the start on. In fact, this whole episode is absolutely boring as everything is so obvious. From the dull humour to the bad acting at the beginning of the episode to the obviousness of the mystery, nothing interesting happens in the whole episode. It's pretty much as horrible as episode 5. Actually, I think this episode replaced episode 5 as the worst episode of this series now.While the series on a whole is not on a very high level, you'd think that a series featuring a pretty neat problem like a person dying of a fingergun, wouldn't have such boring and uninspired episodes.

The only other molester-in-detective-fiction I recall, is the story The Beauties Detective Club from the manga Tantei Gakuen Q ("Detective Academy Q"). That story didn't even feature a murder, but it was a story focused on how the trio of Megumi, Yukihara and Touya had to prove that a man was a groper in the train. And it was actually quite good. And according to an article by Koyama in Misshitsu Misteri no Meikyuu (see The Attic, Japanese materials), it seems that the pink film  Chikan Densha - Seiko no Oshiri ("Molester Train - Seiko's Butt") is in fact an interesting locked room mystery movie. Not sure what to expect from that though.

The preview of next week's episode, which is about 15 seconds long, was actually more interesting than the whole episode. It seems like next episode will feature both Hattori and Kazuha, which is pretty surprising. Of course, Shinichi and Hattori don't actually meet until volume 10, after Shinichi turned into Conan, so this whole episode will be pretty much impossible canon-wise, but hey, two master detectives who will probably go against each other? I'm in! Guess I was wrong with thinking that the Hattori episode would be based on the snow-trip story from the manga (a story set before Shinichi turned into Conan, with Shinichi and Hattori working on the same case but they never really meet or even get to know each others' names). Of course, if the writers are going to ignore canon, they can go pretty much anywhere...

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「女の意地、痴漢犯への復讐!監視カメラに秘めた殺人トリック」
Date & Password: 2010.09.30; ジハツコキュウ

「すいません、キムチ丼大盛り、ご飯抜きで」

つまり、ぼくはここ一ヶ月ほど、「お、こりゃおいしい」という感覚に出会っていないのだ。ものを食べるたび、なんだか物足りないような、大事な何かが欠けているような、そんな気分になるのである（省略）

どんぶりいっぱいに盛られたキムチの山。これを食べ切って尚現在の味覚を維持できるほどに丈夫な舌などこの世に存在すまい　（省略）　

「いただきます」　呟いて、一口目。「………」　これは。結構、キツい （省略）

そろそろ限界なのだろうか。舌先どころか頭の中まで麻痺しまじめ、自分が一体何をしているのか、そう言えばぼくは一体だれだったのか、誰ってどういう意味だったのか、そもそも意味って何だっけ、そんなことも分からなくなって頃 （省略）

ぼくはキムチの最後に一切れを口にした。舌、と言うか口の中は完全に参っている。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

『クビシメロマンチスト 人間失格・零崎人識』

So this last month, I hadn't felt the sensation of  'This tastes good'. Every time I ate, it felt like it wasn't enough, like something important was missing (...)

A bowl with a pile of kimchi. No tongue in this world strong enough to retain its tasting abilities after eating all of this (...)

I muttered a 'I humbly accept'. The first bite. '...' This. Is. Going. To. Be. Hard (...)

Reaching my limits. Not only my tongue, but my head too has started to feel numb. What am I doing? Or rather, who am I, what's the meaning of who and what does meaning mean, it was about when I started to lose my comprehension of even that, that... (...)

I placed the final pieces of kimichi in my mouth. My tongue, no, my entire mouth had given up. From tomorrow on, I'll probably never say something like 'this doesn't taste good''.

"Strangulation Romanticist: Human Failure - Zerozaki Hitoshiki"

Maybe I should stop with the habit of reading several books at the same time. As I switch books in and out of my reading schedule rather regularly, sometimes a book gets switched out of the schedule without getting back in. Usually because I forgot I was still reading that book. Or was I just ignoring it? Anyway, I think I have read the first 100 or so pages of NisiOisiN's Kubishime Romanticist - Ningen Shikkaku Zerozaki Hitoshiki ("Strangulation Romanticist - Human Failure - Zerozaki Hitoshiki") about two or three times by now. And they were funny every time. Don't know why I never finished the book though. Until now, that is.

Kubishime Romanticist is the second volume in NisiOsiN's Zaregoto series, a light-novel series that starts out as a sorta-mystery series, but it seems like the mystery element fades out as the series progresses. It's been about three years since I read the first volume, Kubikiri Cycle, but I remember it as novel that was, in some ways, genre-deconstructing. The locked room mystery with a headless corpse was interesting yes, but the biggest mystery of the novel was definately the narrator. A young 19-year old student. He was relatively smart, but as he is constantly surrounded by geniuses, he didn't stand out particularly. Or maybe he did stand out because he was so relatively normal. Although, normal, he was a bit dark at times. A bit inhuman. A bit of a liar. In fact, our narrator is a very unreliable narrator.

Anyway, Kubishime Romanticist is set about a month after the events of the first book, with our narrator back at university. While eating his all-kimichi breakfast/lunch, he is approached by Mikiko, one of his classmates (because of his bad memory, he doesn't remember her though). He's invited  (forced?) to go to a small birthday party of Tomoe, one of his other classmates (and he doesn't remember her either). With nothing else to do, he agrees and spends a relatively pleasant night. The next day however, he hears that Tomoe has been found strangled to death in her apartment. Oh, and in between, our narrator also met and became sorta friends with a serial killer who has been active in Kyoto. To keep things interesting.

The second volume in the series already feels less focused on the mystery, though the solution is still fairly hinted and still makes for a very interesting novel. Kubikiri Cycle definately felt closer to the old 'secluded-island model', while Kubishime Romanticist is a lot more open, being set in Kyoto. With a locked room mystery, a mysterious message left at a crime scene and perfect alibis for everyone, this novel is still pretty classic, but is quite clear that the murders are is not the focus of the book.

For once again, our narrator is the biggest mystery of all. I also had this feeling with Kubikiri Cycle, but Kubishime Romanticist is more like a novel about the narrator, about his view on the world and on human beings, who just happens to come across mysteries. Which he doesn't really need to solve actually. He usually does though. But let the reader beware: the narrator is not a fair person. At first sight, he seems like an somewhat aloof person with maybe a bit dark, pessimistic personality. The reader will often think he knows more than our narrator, as it seems like the narrator has little common sense (or more preciselly, feels less inclined to adhere to common sense). But the narrator knows a lot more than he tells the reader and he easily lies to the people he knows, the readers and even himself (the narrator is usually fair enough to admit he's lying when he's called out on it though).

I really love this novel though: the narrator, as a detective-like person, is really interesting and NisiOisN's writing style is just awesome. The novel tends to walk across a bunch of genres and themes, from philosophical themes to sheer comedy (the part with the kimchi quoted above is hilarious when read in context), but NisiOisN pulls it off very good. I tend to prefer stories that are (very) focused on the plot-structure and tricks, but NisiOisN manages to convince me of the possibilies of the modern mystery novel. Or am I only praising the novel because I feel a kindred spirit in the narrator? Seriously, some lines said by the narrator feel just all too familiar. I am not as dishonest as him though. I think.

Whereas the narrator worked with genius IT-specialist Kunagisa in the first novel, she hardly appears in this novel. I don't really like her as a character (neither do I like Aikawa), so I was pretty happy the focus in Kubishime Romanticist was on the narrator and his interactions with other people in a relatively normal environment. I haven't read the following novels yet (though I have Kubitsuri High School somewhere), but I guess that as the series' focus changes to action, characters like Kunagisa and Aikawa will pop up more often. Which is a shame, I think, for I think I like this novel exactly because it's relatively normal, with the just the right amount of mystery, philosophical themes, action and humor. I really don't hope that this series changes into some sort of harem-series with all kinds of super-powered/smart girls fighting and stuff (<- though I have to admit, I know nothing about how this series will evolve beyond the fact that the focus changes, so it might stay this awesome).

Original Japanese title(s): 西尾維新 『クビシメロマンチスト 人間失格・零崎人識』

「じゃあ聞いてくれるかな？僕が蘭さんに告ってもいいかどうか・・・」

「愛美は事故で死んだのではなく、このクラスの生徒に殺されたからです」
『告白』

"Manami didn't die because of an accident, she was killed by students in this class" 
"Confessions"

Am I the only one who occasionally talks while reading? I guess this makes me sound like a madman, but I mean more like little remarks when reading. You know, when in a horror-movie the girl goes alone down in the cellar, and you say that isn't smart to do? I also do that with novels. Praising characters when they say something good, yelling at them when they do something wrong. When reading a detective, you'll often hear me muttering "ah, that's how it was done!" and stuff.

I usually read several books at the same time spread over a large period of time, and I occasionally write down some memo-notes for the different books, just to make sure I don't mix the stories up. Those notes are usually exactly the utterances I make while reading. While these notes are usually a bit more specific ('This OOO trick was good' or 'he's not doing much between chapters X and Y')) my notes for this post's novel were a bit vague.

• 気持ち悪ぃ！ 気持ち悪ぃ！ (Gross! Gross!)
• 残酷だな、子供って (Kids sure are cruel)
• この先生マジ腹立つわぁ (This teacher... he really irritates me)
• そっか暗いな、これ (Aah, this novel is pretty dark)
• 繰り返しっちゃん (But it's repeating itself!)
• 狂ったかおまえ (What? Are you' mad!)
• おおおおい、めちゃくちゃやじゃん (Heeeeeeeey, what the hell are you doin'?!!)

Yet these notes make perfect sense to me.

Minato Kanae's Kokuhaku ("Confessions") is a relatively well-known title even outside of Japan, as the 2010 movie won quite some (international) awards and nominations. I too only heard of the title because of I had seen the movie trailer in the theaters, which was quite interesting. The story starts with a startling confession by Moriguchi Yuuko, the teacher of class 1B of the S Municipal Middle School on the last day of school year. She tells that her class that she resigns as a teacher. The reason? The death of her four-year old daughter Manami. While it seemed that Manami's death was just a tragic drowning accident, Moriguchi tells her class that two of their classmates, whom she dubs student A and B, are responsible for Manami's death. And as legal minors can not be punished by law, she confesses that to take her own revenge, she had injected the milk cartons student A and B had just drunk with HIV-contaminated blood.

I'm pretty sure I came up with 気持ち悪ぃ！ 気持ち悪ぃ！ (Gross! Gross!) at this point.

This is actually just the summary of the first chapter, Seishokusha ("Sacred Profession"). It's also the story with which Minato Kanae won 2007's Shousetsu Suiri Shinjin Shou ("Fiction Detective Newcomers' Price"), a price for short stories in crime fiction. Afterwards, Minato extended the story into a full-length novel by adding five new chapters. The chapters all have a different narrator (i.e. the murderers, their family and classmates) and these narrators are all somehow connected to Manami's death. As the story switches narrators, we see both the events leading up to Manami's death, as well as the aftermath of Moriguchi's horrible revenge.

And as a revenge novel, it's entertaining, though I do wonder why this novel ended up so high in the Kono Mystery ga Sugoi rankings ("This Mystery is Awesome!") (fourth place). Kokuhaku is barely a mystery. The first chapter I can clearly see as a piece of crime fiction, with teacher Moriguchi slowly explaining how she came to find out that her daughter was killed and by whom. The following chapters are a bit different though, as they tell the events after Moriguchi left the school, but from different viewpoints, with every character offering their own thoughts, their own versions of the same event. With different characters with their own motives giving their own accounts on the same events, it's not strange to see that there are little differences, little discrepancies between the different accounts. It's by looking at these points that the whole truth becomes clear (and unlike Akutagawa's In a Grove, these accounts are not really contradictory, only seen from different viewpoints). The last five chapters are clearly a whydunnit, and it's pretty interesting to see how Minato constructed this plot by having different characters influencing each other in all kinds of ways. In fact, this is very much like how the game-system works in that awesome visual novel, 428 ~Fuusa Sareta Shibuya de. Not precisely what I look for in a mystery, as I'm always a fan of the more the grand tricks, but nice nonetheless.

Though that thing with the HIV-contaminated blood? That's really, really gross. To make my own confession: I am absolutely OK with chopped off arms, decapitations and other horrible murder tricks, but I can't stand blood being used. So I am not talking about blood an sich. I am not particularly afraid of bloody scenes, blood spraying everywhere and stuff. But I get goosebumps when I just think about tricks in detective fiction that use the substance blood. Like water, blood as a substance has several characteristics that might be used for some murderer's evil scheme. For example blood can solidify, it can flow, it can dry. A smart person might use that for something. Those tricks, I really, really dislike. Blood should either be in somebody's body, or spray out or something, but not be used for anything like that~

Halfway through the second chapter, I decided to read Kokuhaku as a normal thriller and yes, it was pretty awesome. Like Otsuichi's GOTH, this is a pretty dark, at times simply gross story set at a school, but Kokuhaku is definately set up more as a... 'reconstruction' of the standard school drama. At times it feels very much the anti-thesis of GTO - Great Teacher Onizuka. Of course, if I wasn't mostly focusing on mystery here, I might go on about how minors are seen in the eyes of the law in Japan, about the role of the teachers in Japan, the importance of status within the eyes of students and parents, the way parents handle their kids in Japan, bullying, the growing number of hikikomori, and the gap between the Kinpachi Sensei-like school dramas and real-life, but.... this is not really the place to discuss these themes. Unless I somehow connect it to the mystery genre. But certainly not something I want to do here and now.

I still haven't seen the movie actually, but as I hear a lot of positive reviews, I might take a look in the future. The novel was interesting at least and a nice break from my usual crime readings, which tend to be a bit less realistic. I am looking at you Akuryoutou ('Island of Evil Spirits"), with your Siamese Twins, legendary birds and disappearing people.

Original Japanese title(s): 湊かなえ 『告白』