Madmazda86
August 4th, 2006, 10:07 pm
Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo - Kindaichi Case Files
Kanenari Yosaburo/Seimaru Amagi (anime)
Kanenari Yosaburo/Sato Fumiya (manga)
This series is based from the manga by Kanenari Yosaburo/Sato Fumiya. But wait! Just because you saw 'whodunnit' in the manga (released by Tokyopop) doesn't mean you've been spoilered for the anime, which approaches the storylines in a different fashion and gives you a completely new set of suspects for each case.
The anime looks at a number of different 'cases', lasting three-four episodes each, from the point of view of Hajime Kindaichi. Kindaichi is the grandson of a famous detective and is extremely intelligent - however, he does have some character flaws that bring him down to earth from your usual superduper genius. For a start, he's a lazy bastage - he can't be bothered with his school lessons because they don't engage him, and relies on his friend Miyuki to help him out with work. He's also rather insensitive at times, especially towards Miyuki even though he secretly fancies her. He's also clumsy and dorky - crashes into people a lot. But when he gets thinking, criminals have to be on their guard - Kindaichi can string conclusions together from even the most inconsequential evidence and off-hand conversations.
The drawing of the characters can be identified as old fashioned to an extent - it does date from 1997, after all, and the manga from 1992.
The cases start off with an introduction to the setting and establishes the mystery. Hajime and Miyuki are the central antagonists, with a detective from the local police department popping up occasionally. The other characters you see will be suspects - they are always introduced at the start of the case and at the beginning of every new episode in the case arc, so don't worry if you can't remember them straight off. As the mystery unfolds, it soon transpires that all the suspects have a potential motive - either a global one or personal ones revealed in different episodes. At the end of the case arc, Kindaichi will announce the identity of the perpetrator and in the subsequent exposition reveal exactly how the clues dropped in the course of the case can be linked together to reveal their identity.
Sometimes the criminal's identity doesn't come as a surprise, but you haven't figured out their motive. At other times it turns out to be somebody you hadn't guessed, and a cunning trail of clues leads to them which you would've guessed if only you'd watched more closely. It really is a series that gets you thinking, and as the body count multiplies and more information comes to light, you can't help but find yourself hooked, wanting closure on your suspicions in the form of Kindaichi's final denouement. Only for he and Miyuki to get tangled up in something else (sheesh, the poor girl's seen way too many dead bodies and been attacked too many times to remain psychologically intact XD)
The series is quite graphic in an implicit way. Ignore ANN's rating of 'bloodless violence' - it ain't true! People get axes in their heads, daggers in their backs, stakes through their hearts and all kinds of stuff. But damn, it's addictive - its only fault is that blimmin' KazeNoKoe fansubs (bless them for releasing it, but arrrgh) are only releasing three episodes every month so you end up on a cliffhanger with no closure for another 4 weeks! All the same, if you like a good murrrder, then this one's for you!
Torrents: KazenoKoe Fansubs (http://www.kazenokoe.com/index.php?site=bt) - 8 episodes out so far.
Links: ANN (www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=1859)
The Anime Cafe Reviews (http://www.abcb.com/kindaichi/kin_t003.htm)
Kanenari Yosaburo/Seimaru Amagi (anime)
Kanenari Yosaburo/Sato Fumiya (manga)
This series is based from the manga by Kanenari Yosaburo/Sato Fumiya. But wait! Just because you saw 'whodunnit' in the manga (released by Tokyopop) doesn't mean you've been spoilered for the anime, which approaches the storylines in a different fashion and gives you a completely new set of suspects for each case.
The anime looks at a number of different 'cases', lasting three-four episodes each, from the point of view of Hajime Kindaichi. Kindaichi is the grandson of a famous detective and is extremely intelligent - however, he does have some character flaws that bring him down to earth from your usual superduper genius. For a start, he's a lazy bastage - he can't be bothered with his school lessons because they don't engage him, and relies on his friend Miyuki to help him out with work. He's also rather insensitive at times, especially towards Miyuki even though he secretly fancies her. He's also clumsy and dorky - crashes into people a lot. But when he gets thinking, criminals have to be on their guard - Kindaichi can string conclusions together from even the most inconsequential evidence and off-hand conversations.
The drawing of the characters can be identified as old fashioned to an extent - it does date from 1997, after all, and the manga from 1992.
The cases start off with an introduction to the setting and establishes the mystery. Hajime and Miyuki are the central antagonists, with a detective from the local police department popping up occasionally. The other characters you see will be suspects - they are always introduced at the start of the case and at the beginning of every new episode in the case arc, so don't worry if you can't remember them straight off. As the mystery unfolds, it soon transpires that all the suspects have a potential motive - either a global one or personal ones revealed in different episodes. At the end of the case arc, Kindaichi will announce the identity of the perpetrator and in the subsequent exposition reveal exactly how the clues dropped in the course of the case can be linked together to reveal their identity.
Sometimes the criminal's identity doesn't come as a surprise, but you haven't figured out their motive. At other times it turns out to be somebody you hadn't guessed, and a cunning trail of clues leads to them which you would've guessed if only you'd watched more closely. It really is a series that gets you thinking, and as the body count multiplies and more information comes to light, you can't help but find yourself hooked, wanting closure on your suspicions in the form of Kindaichi's final denouement. Only for he and Miyuki to get tangled up in something else (sheesh, the poor girl's seen way too many dead bodies and been attacked too many times to remain psychologically intact XD)
The series is quite graphic in an implicit way. Ignore ANN's rating of 'bloodless violence' - it ain't true! People get axes in their heads, daggers in their backs, stakes through their hearts and all kinds of stuff. But damn, it's addictive - its only fault is that blimmin' KazeNoKoe fansubs (bless them for releasing it, but arrrgh) are only releasing three episodes every month so you end up on a cliffhanger with no closure for another 4 weeks! All the same, if you like a good murrrder, then this one's for you!
Torrents: KazenoKoe Fansubs (http://www.kazenokoe.com/index.php?site=bt) - 8 episodes out so far.
Links: ANN (www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=1859)
The Anime Cafe Reviews (http://www.abcb.com/kindaichi/kin_t003.htm)