[ DRAWN & QUARTERED ]
Graphic Arts In Literature
Who dun it???
A slacker teenager cracks cases
with ease in a Tokyopop series
Ah, mystery. It is the force that propels us to wherever we are headed, the power that pushes us to persevere in search of answers, the fodder for intelligent discussion. How did the universe begin? Who shot JFK? How on earth did "Brother Bear" get nominated for an Academy Award?
A well-crafted whodunit is great entertainment no matter the medium, whether book, movie or via your neighbor's window. Japanese manga are no exception, as shown by the "Kindaichi Case Files" series by Yozaburo Kanari and Fumiya Sato.
The original Japanese books spread each story over several volumes. Thankfully, the U.S. publisher, Tokyopop, isn't subjecting readers to such edge-of-the-seat suspense; each domestic volume is one complete case.
Student Hajime Kindaichi is the stereotypical slacker, cutting classes and rarely doing schoolwork. His childhood friend, Miyuki Nanase, is the opposite: She's a good student and class president, and she's really the only one who'll have anything to do with him.
But hiding behind Hajime's irresponsibility is a 180 IQ and his ancestry: He's the grandson of famed detective Kousuke Kindaichi, and some of the elder Kindaichi's skills and tricks seem to have rubbed off on Hajime.
In the first volume, "The Opera House Murders," Hajime displays those skills even before the actual crime, including embarrassing an upperclassman by revealing the secret of an admittedly lame card trick and even deducing the store where the cards were bought.
Student Hajime Kindaichi gets a little hung up with investigating the Seven Mysteries of Fudo High School. According to legend, the "After-School Magician" kills anyone who learns the secrets behind the mysteries.
The 11th-grader is described as a Japanese Columbo, except not with Columbo's muddled demeanor. He's more like Perry Mason at the climactic moment he unveils the real criminal in front of a courtroom packed with people. Which is to be expected, considering this is manga, with the usual melodramatic art and large, bold text when the situation warrants.
Adding to the ambience are the requisite typewriter-style words introducing potential suspects and crime scenes. The beginning of each chapter has a short recap of the mystery so far and usually also reintroduces the suspects with police-style mug shots.
But as in most mystery stories in which the author thinks up some clever tool that was probably never put to a real-life test, there are some dubious devices. After "The Opera House Murders," you might think, Wow, that's one strong clock hand. (I won't say any more to prevent spoiling the ending.)
Although the stories focus mainly on the mystery at hand, the series also explores Hajime's life and relationships, particularly with Miyuki.
And even in the midst of murder, he is still just a teenage boy, so expect some sudden stupidity and hormone-induced humor.
The premise behind the main character may not be new, but each story in the "Kindaichi Case Files" is well written, and all the clues are there so serious mystery buffs can match their wits against Hajime Kindaichi.
The manga is published in the original right-to-left format. The crime scenes are graphic, so the books may not be suitable for younger readers. There are currently five volumes, with the next, "The Legend of Lake Hiren," due in April.
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