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Corpse Party-Tortured Souls: OVA (anime review)

Posted by :Patches On : January 24, 2016
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corpse-party-ovaReview provided by Andrew and Katie

Title: Corpse Party-Tortured Souls: OVA

Director: Akira Iwanaga

Studio: Asread

Author: Shoichi Sato

U.S. Distributor: Maiden Japan, Section 23

U.S. Release Date: January 26, 2016

Format and Length: Blu-ray / 4 Episodes / 100 Minutes

Genre: Horror, Supernatural, Mystery

Industry Age Rating: 17 and up

Overall Personal Rating: B-

Similar Series or Titles to Check Out: Another, Elfen Lied, When They Cry, Danganronpa the Animation

Fair warning: The following anime series contains massive amounts of blood, body parts, and entrails

Synopsis:

The horrifying events that occurred on the unhallowed grounds of the Heavenly Host School were so gruesome and shocking that the entire school was razed in an attempt to wipe the events from memory. But, foolishly, a new high school, the Kisaragi Academy, was built in Heavenly Host’s place, and the only thing true evil requires is an invitation. So when a group of students innocently perform a charm intended to bind them as friends forever, the nightmarish evil is unleashed once again.

Transported into a living hell where Heavenly Host still stands and undead horrors stalk the bloodstained halls, the students are now the prey in the most brutal test ever designed by inhuman minds. What follows is not for the squeamish or weak of heart, as they are hunted down in a savage game of torture, murder, and insanity. Japan’s most terrifying series of videogames comes to gut-wrenching life as the spirits of the damned host a Corpse Party!

Commentary:

Here we go again. Yet another anime based on a game where the game came first, the bane of anime loving non-gamers everywhere. We all know how these are usually teasers to get you to buy the games. I don’t play games. I don’t have the time. Most have a tendency to end just as you are getting into it and when the story is getting interesting. They hit you with the “Play the game to find out how it ends” part, the thing I have grown to hate more than anything I can name. Why did I pick this up knowing it was… Wait there was an ending. None of this having to play the game to know how it ended bull. In only four episodes they managed to get a story in.

There are not many horror stories in anime that are like Corpse Party-Tortured Souls. The paranormal/slasher genre is not common. With limited titles the story has to be decent. This feels more like the late 1990s, early 2000s Japanese live action horror movie genre, which included titles like Dark Water, Grudge, Ring, Shikoku, and Suicide Club. It has the same ominous feeling and semi-predictability. But those are features that have endeared these types of stories to their fans. One thing is sure and that is Corpse Party-Tortured Souls does beat its predecessors with the amount of blood and gore that it shows. Makes most of the recommended titles seem tame actually. Seems more like an older anime like Ninja Scroll, where it rains blood with half bodies falling from the sky. Corpse Party-Tortured Souls has lots of gore, and horrible ways of dying. With only four episodes they had to work to cram everything in and it did make it hard to follow. I have to admit I had to actually watch it twice thru and caught many things I had originally missed.

Which leads us to the storyline. Most anime series and live actions like Corpse Party-Tortured Souls lack a storyline and are not super original. They solely survive on how bloody it can be and will take another bloody death over a glimpse of story any day. That’s where it breaks from horror and goes into the mystery aspect. Corpse Party-Tortured Souls does have some amazing twists that you would not expect. Just as you think you know what happened in 1973 that leads to current events, it throws in something completely unexpected that makes you rethink the entire thing. The only complaint, and considering its only four episodes, is everything seems rushed. They had to connect the dots in very little time. This is why I watched it twice and had a much better understanding the second time around. The story was complex and you had to connect a lot of those dots yourself, with little explanation outside of contexts clues they give. In the end you will have a few questions left but I think they are not very large compared to the story itself. The other thing was the characters. Though not well developed (how can you with so little time) you get a general idea of everyone and you tend to figure out personalities. In the end you learn to like most of them, but don’t get too attached, as the title lives up to its name. The only other thing to mention is the opening and ending are perfect for the setting of the series.

I could not help but to look up the games because I enjoyed Corpse Party-Tortured Souls a lot. I have come to find out there are many versions of the game and many different ideas in the games, and the anime is completely original from them all, so even if you played the games, this is new and worthwhile to look up, rather be a fan of the games or a fan of the horror genre.

Extras:

Corpse Party-Tortured Souls: OVA includes clean opening and closing animations and Maiden Japan trailers as special features. This series was released with Japanese with English Subtitles as the only language option.

Overall Grade:B-

RE: Hamatora Season 2

Posted by :Patches On : January 10, 2016
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RE: Hamatora Season 2Title: RE:Hamatora season 2

Directed by: Seiji Kishi & Hiroshi Kimura

Written by: Tōko Machida & Jun Kumagai

Music by: Makoto Yoshimori

Studio: NAZ

U. S. Distributor: Sentai Filmworks, Section 23

U. S. Release Date: January 26th, 2016

Format: Blu-ray / 12 episodes / 300 Minutes

Genre: Drama, Sci Fi, Mystery, Supernatural

Age Rating: TV MA

Overall Personal Rating: A-

Synopsis:

Having the incredible powers that come with being a Minimum Holder can be a huge advantage to a private detective firm like Hamatora, but how can anyone stop someone who can both come back from the dead AND steal your powers at the same time?

That’s the problem that now confronts Murasaki and Hajime, and it’s made even more vexing by the fact that the team’s founder, Nice, may be dead as well. But while it may or may not have been Nice, Art is definitely killing himself for more than just Art’s sake and his goal seems to be to gather as many stolen powers as he can in order to rival Nice’s ability.

However, the strength of a power isn’t all that matters, and a lesser ability can triumph over a greater one if used correctly. It’s Rock – Paper-Scissors but with super powers as Minimum Holder takes on Minimum Holder in RE: Hamatora!

Commentary: 

Season 2 of Hamatora does something that every anime should do, tell a great story and give the fans a thrilling plot and solid ending. Season 1 set the plot up and season knocked it down. I thought I understood the characters from their solid development in the first 12 episodes, but that was nothing compared to what was provided in season 2. Honestly it has been a long time since I have come across a series that does this. Mt first thought was Darker Than Black and the complexity of those characters. Although, Darker Than Black was better written and gave us some very memorable individuals. In Hamatora there are plenty of great characters, it isn’t until the end that they become something more than entertaining.

Just as season 1 was quick and dramatic season 2 of Hamatora is a little slower and much more intriguing. Much of the first 5 to 6 episodes I was trying to understand what was really going on and it wasn’t until I got to the last 3 that everything began to come into focus. That is ideal in a dramatic series like Hamatora, but there a few moments that I was ready to step away just be drawn back in. I didn’t get that momentary doubt in season one.

Overall Grade: A-

RE: Hamatora just might prove to be a long lasting series. I just hope anime fans get the opportunity to see it. I have discovered over the last few years that all to many solid series get lost in  the hype and flash of the other super star shows that blast onto the scene. I miss the days where series are discovered and become a small wild fire through the fandom. Now-a-days it seems as if the ones that get the most advertising and hype get the all too much attention. Where there are many great series that get left on the self. I get people asking me about great series and I through out some names and more often than not I get blank expressions then something like “what do you think about Attack On Titan?”. I just smile.

Hamatora has it all and then a little more. If it would not have lost focus early on in season 2 I think it would have been a home run. If you are looking for a true drama that ends up being kinder and gentler than you might expect then you really need to check this series out.

Brynhildr in the Darkness: The Complete Series (anime review)

Posted by :Patches On : September 20, 2015
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Brynhildr-Darkness

review provided by Katie and Andrew

Title: Brynhildr in the Darkness: The Complete Series

Director: Kenichi Imaizumi

Studio: Arms

Author: Yukinori Kitajima

U.S. Distributor: Sentai Filmworks, Section 23

U.S. Release Date: October 6, 2015

Format and Length: Blu-ray / 13 Episodes + 1 OVA / 350 Minutes

Genre: Action, Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Horror

Industry Age Rating: 17 and up

Overall Personal Rating: B+

Similar Series or Titles to Check Out: Elfen Lied

Synopsis:
Haunted by memories of his childhood friend Kuroneko, Ryota Murakami has dedicated himself to discovering the truth behind the claim she’d made before she died: That aliens from other worlds walk among us. Believing that becoming a scientist is the path to the truth, Murakami pursues his studies by day and peers through a telescope at night. But when a girl named Kuroha Neko joins his class, the answers he’s sought may be closer than he ever expected.

For Kuroha looks exactly like an older version of Kuroneko, and seems to have abilities that no human could have. But the truth isn’t the only thing Murakami is about to uncover, and the secrets he’ll learn come with a deadly price. Because Kuroneko was correct in her claim, and there are those who will do anything to keep that knowledge hidden. And unless Murakami and a handful of unlikely allies can somehow survive their lethal purge, the entire human race could be doomed! Will Murakami and his allies survive? Is Kuroha actually Kuroneko? You will have to watch Brynhildr in the Darkness: The Complete Series and find out!

Commentary:
Brynhildr in the Darkness: The Complete Series is a unique combination of genres that normally do not belong together. Harem animes can usually be grouped with action pretty well, and also mystery. Drama and harem are a given as there is no harem without drama. But it’s not common to group a harem with a sci-fi horror. Most harems these days fall into the rom-com area, where there, the only serious thing that happens is the let down someone gets when rejected for another. Rejection seems so trivial compared to the ultimate fate of many of the characters in this series. In the end it made for a very complicated plot, with a lot of different side stories, and a bit of a twist in the end.

Brynhildr in the Darkness: The Complete Series starts immediately with scenes from the past, of a lost childhood friend and someone trying to cope with loss early in his life. Fast forward several years, Ryota has yet to come to terms with his friend’s death. The nightmares never stopped, nor did the guilt that he was responsible for her death and that he lived. This has made him a bit of a recluse by this point in his life, fearful of the pain he felt then. He focuses more on his studies, being top ranked in his class and 4th in the entire nation. His focus on his work is how he copes. That is until she walks into the classroom. She looked the same, sounded the same, and the name was very close to the nickname he called her. The trauma he never got over comes back full force as he tries to figure out if it’s really her. Life is about to get very complicated.

The plot was unique. Due to this, a few holes did pop up. Nothing you could drive a spaceship thru, but something that made you go ‘huh?’ Because the anime only got a half season (12 episodes) it did seemed rushed at times, as they had to get the story in. Overall it all worked out though. There was plenty of fan service, and 2 minutes later the walls were covered with blood. If you have seen Elfen Lied they are both by the same person, so you have some idea what to expect in the way of blood, guts and gory. But this series does very much separate itself from its older brother. The other thing is character development. They developed the four main characters well, but many of the others you don’t get to know very well. The art and music were good. I loved the opening theme for the first 9 episodes and the OVA. I personally did not need that second opening.

Extras:
Brynhildr in the Darkness: The Complete Series includes clean opening and closing animations and Sentai Filmworks trailers as special features. This series was released with both English and Japanese with English subtitles as language options.

Overall Grade: B+
This was a very difficult series to review without spoiling the plot. Overall Brynhildr in the Darkness: The Complete Series will draw you in, make you feel anger and sadness, and ultimately deliver a twist that was not expected. Just be ready to bathe in blood and entrails.

Hamatora The Animation season 1 (anime review)

Posted by :Patches On : August 29, 2015
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Hamatora-the-Animation-Season-1Title: Hamatora the Animation season 1

Directed by: Seiji Kishi & Hiroshi Kimura

Written by: Tōko Machida & Jun Kumagai

Music by: Makoto Yoshimori

Studio: NAZ

U. S. Distributor: Sentai Filmworks, Section 23

U. S. Release Date: September 22, 2015

Format: Blu-ray / 12 episodes / 300 Minutes

Genre: Drama, Sci Fi, Mystery, Supernatural

Age Rating: TV 14

Overall Personal Rating: A-

Synopsis:

Nowhere may seem like just another Yokohama cafe, but as with many of its employees, this apparently innocent eatery leads a double life. Because Nowhere is also where you can find Hamatora, the mysterious detective agency run by P.I.s who are also M.H.s. That’s M.H. as in Minimum Holders, individuals gifted with extraordinary powers and abilities.

For the right price, you can hire founder Nice, who moves at the speed of sound, and partner Murasaki, whose super strength and near invulnerability are a significant asset. Of course, with incredible talents like these up their sleeves, Nice may not decide to take a case unless it personally interests him. But when a series of serial murders all turn out to involve other Minimum Holders, that interest is about to become extremely personal. Something monstrous is going on, and Minimum Holders as a class may be targeted for extinction!

Commentary:

Hamatora opens in a manor that made me feel like I was getting to see another series just like Penguin Drum and Persona 4 blended together, but it quickly made a detour that gave it a life of its own. As soon as it settled into its own skin I knew that it was something a more than a quirky blend of top series. I’m not sure if Hamatora is paying homage to some of the biggest new series or if it is taking the simple understanding and creating something a little different.

As the series progresses it manages to truly take on its own life and that is when it manages to move out of the shadows and stand in the sun with its head held high. The slow development of the characters adds to the overall feel and gives us a even greater reason to like them as we discover what is really going on.

Overall Grade: A-

Hamatora the Animation season 1 should find a large fan base and if it doesn’t I will begin to doubt the american anime scene. Of course it is more complex than it looks and it requires some work as a viewer to pay attention to what is going on.

The only real drawback for me is the animation. I found it to be a little too hip and colorful for a series that has such a dark edge. That also lends itself to some of the ques it picked up from other series. The atmosphere change when someone uses their power is a little tiresome and almost too cliche’, but I can understand why it is there.

Hamatora has to be one of the more inventive new series to be release in the states so far this year. I highly recommend it to the anime fan that love action packed series that have solid mysteries and a full array of characters that have plenty of great personalities and manage to keep you coming back for more.

I am looking forward to the second season. So Sentai bring it on.

 

 

 

 

Cat’s Eye: Season Two (anime review)

Posted by :Patches On : December 8, 2014
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Cat's Eye Season 2

review provided by Katie and Andrew

Title: Cat’s Eye: Season Two

Director: Kanetsugu Kodama

Studio: Tokyo Movie Shinsha

Author: Tsukasa Hojo

U.S. Distributor: Lucky Penny,  Nozomi Entertainment

U.S. Release Date: November 4, 2014

Format and Length: DVD / 37 Episodes / 925 Minutes

Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Mystery, Romance

Industry Age Rating: 16 and up

Overall Personal Rating: B

Similar Series or Titles to Check Out: Lupin III and Cat’s Eye: Season One

Synopsis:

Hitomi, Rui, and Ai are back in Cat’s Eye: Season Two! Toshio is also in tow and has yet to figure out that Hitomi is a member of Cat’s Eye. As you know, they are the greatest art thieves Japan has ever known. However, they do not steal for money or fame; they do it in the hopes of finding their father, a great painter who went missing after World War II.

A new female thief claiming to be Cat’s Eye starts wreaking havoc in Tokyo while they are off searching for their father in Europe. She steals anything and everything she can get her hands on and her brutal methods are putting the lives of the police, including Toshio, at risk. It is finally time for the real Cat’s Eye to head back to Japan and bring her reign of terror to an end! Will the true Cat’s Eye make it back in time? Will they finally find their father? You will have to watch Cat’s Eye: Season Two to find out.

Commentary:

You really have to love anime series from the 1980’s. Do not allow the age of this series to put you off because Cat’s Eye: Season Two will deliver a truly satisfying experience from the first episode to the ending credits. Cat’s Eye: Season Two is an episodic series so you are able to watch a few episodes at a time in between other series and still know what is going on. Some episodes are better than others but I did not find that any of them really disappointed me.

This season really focuses on the relationship between Hitomi and Toshio and the hilarity that ensues as Hitomi hides her true identity from Toshio. Or in many cases, knocks him out so she is able to make her great escape. Toshio is a very naïve, dense person who cannot figure out that his fiancé is a member of the infamous Cat’s Eye gang. But he really does care for her and maybe love is truly blind. Rui and Ai are interesting characters to say the least. Ai is the tech girl and loves tinkering with stuff as she invents things to use during their robberies. She seems to be a tomboyish high school or college student and loves to cause trouble when she can. Rui is the eldest Kisugi sister and is also the classiest of the three. She is the one who plans all of their robberies.

The animation and audio were re-mastered for this release and the subtitles were updated as well. Even though these series was re-mastered it is still the typical style of animation for the early 1980’s. The fight scenes and anything with fast movement is depicted in stills leaving it up to your imagination as the technology at the time could not handle those scenes. The opening and closing animations are completely 1980’s as they include the characters in unitards dancing around to the workout music of that time.
Extras:

Cat’s Eye: Season Two includes clean opening and closing animations and two Nozomi Entertainment/Lucky Penny trailers per disk as special features. Japanese with English subtitles is the only language option available for this series.

Overall Grade: B

If you have read my previous reviews, you are aware of my love for the old animes I grew up with. It continues to bring me great joy that someone is releasing the true classics. Cat’s Eye: Season Two continues the retro anime being made available to the new generation.

Sunday Without God (anime review)

Posted by :Patches On : October 25, 2014
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Sunday Without GodTitle: Sunday Without God Complete Collection on Blu-ray

Director: Hiromi Mizutani

Studio: Madhouse

U. S. Distributor: Sentai Filmworks, Section 23

U. S. Release Date: Oct. 21st, 2014

Format: Blu-ray / 12 Episodes + 1 OVA / 325 Minutes

Genre: Supernatural, Fantasy, Mystery

Age Rating: TV 14

Overall Personal Rating: B

Synopsis:

Fifteen years ago on a Sunday, God abandoned the world and closed the gate to Heaven, leaving the souls of humankind trapped in limbo. With the dead unable to rest and the living unable to have children, the world is slowly coming to a halt. The only key to mankind’s salvation rests with the Gravekeepers, mysterious beings charged with the task of sending the deceased to their final resting place.

Twelve-year-old Ai, one of the last children in the world, soon finds herself shouldered with the burden of becoming her village’s newest Gravekeeper. But beneath the village’s unassuming exterior lies a dark secret that is revealed with the arrival of a gun-wielding stranger in black. With her position as a Gravekeeper now uncertain, Ai has no choice but to set out to put the living dead to rest. But in a world where no one can die, is death truly the ultimate blessing?

Commentary:

Conceptually Sunday Without God is an interesting proposition. To pull it off and take the subject matter seriously would be very hard to do. In the early episodes things don’t add up as well as I wanted, but by the third episode things start to come together. I have to admit there is a twist up front I didn’t expect and part of me id not sure if it makes much sense. Anyway, the series does come together and provide some semblance of living up to its title.

The real strength to the series is the animation done by Madhouse. The look is classic anime with a cute girl being the main protagonist. And the rest of the characters either being sweet and cute or strange and somewhat bizarre or older and worn out. The overall style is somewhat typical, but there are moments when the look becomes a little rustic with a truly ethereal feel that is an important tie-in to the series.

Overall Grade: B

There are such great possibilities with the subject matter and in some ways Sunday Without God delivers and in others it misses the mark. I’m not sure why the main girl had to be so cute and simplistic. I think that if the story had been re-written to make all the characters older would have made more sense and also given the plot a dramatic edge that it is missing. For the most part I found it to be relatively entertaining and when I forgot about the plot it was down right fun.

To really enjoy the series I would tell you to leave the concept behind the story at the door and just sit back and watch it without any preconceptions. That way the cuteness and melancholy that is presented early on is received with a viewpoint that doesn’t jade the rest of the series.

if, you are looking for a series that makes you think, you might want to look elsewhere. If you are looking for a series that looks great and entertains at a level that is both fun and somewhat thoughtful, then Sunday Without God is a series that you will enjoy and should check out.

Psychic Detective Yakumo Complete Collection on Blu-ray

Posted by :Patches On : September 30, 2014
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Psychic Detective Yakumo Title: Psychic Detective Yakumo: Complete Collection on Blu-ray

Director: Tomoyuki Kurokawa

Written By: Hiroyuki Kawasaki

Original Novel by: Manabu Kaminaga

Studio: Bee Train

U. S. Distributor: Sentai Filmworks, Section 23

U. S. Release Date: Sept. 30th 2014

Format: Blu-ray / 13 Episodes / 325 Minutes

Genre: Psychological Drama, Mystery, Detective Fiction, Romance

Age Rating: TV 14

Overall Personal Rating B

Synopsis:

Haruka Ozawa’s sophomore year is getting seriously scary. One of her friends is possessed, another has committed suicide, and Haruka could be next. She has a real talent for digging up secrets, but some killers won’t hesitate to kill again to keep those same secrets safely buried. So, how does Haruka get out of this potentially lethal dead end?

She’ll have to convince Yakumo Saito, an enigmatic student born with a mysterious red eye that allows him to see and communicate with the dead, to team up with her. Will Haruka be able to solve the ultimate in dead case files with Yakumo’s help? Or will they end up in cold storage themselves? They may just have a ghost of a chance.

Commentary:

Even though it has been almost a year and a half since Psychic Detective Yakumo was released in the U. S. inDVD format, it is good to see it coming back into the spotlight for the Blu-ray release. The series is a very special one because of the way it approaches the world the series is wrapped up in. It allows us to believe in things that typically scare us but in fact are not the source of despair that most ghost stories wan to lead you to believe. In fact it is the ghost that help solve the mystery and end up just being nothing more than souls that still had something to say.

I really like the way they portrayed Yakumo Saito. He comes across as a cold dejected person who does not care at all about the world around him but as we move through the series we begin to see just how connected and caring he really is. There are moments when I wanted him to show a little more emotion and maybe even give Haruka something that would help her bond better, but I guess that is part of the charm that is this somewhat dark series. I say somewhat dark because it is more of a mystery or deceptive series that a ghost or horror series. I can’t say so much for Haruka’s character. As much as I wanted to like her I just felt like she got in the way most of the time. I realize that she added some sexapeal, but this series didn’t need that. I do have to hand to the writers, they could have made her character to be a ditz but they did give her a relatively solid personality that could handle complex situations.

The plot of the series did drag a little at first but once it got moving everything began to fall in place and it ended up being somewhat of a solid storyline. The animation by Bee Train fit well with the subject matter my only issue is that Yakumo took on a rather stereotypical profile that made him end up being closer to L from death Note than a recluse who can see ghost. His quirky person worked well for a while but in the end it drug his character down just a little too much. I can’t say it was overwhelming but by making essentially a human with a lazy cats aloof personality didn’t play as well as it could have.

Overall Grade: B

Psychic Detective Yakumo is a solid detective mystery  series that will keep you watching. I know that the series was a live action TV show in 2006 ad I would have loved to see it broadcast. I’m sure it was well received. I also know that there are a series of light novels that preceded both the TV, anime and manga series. As a person who loves books I would like to read some of the novels, I’m sure that the characters are richer and much more fun to move through the stories with.

All-in-all I have to say that Psychic Detective Yakumo is a solid series that could have been great. It just lacked in character development and some relative basic styling. Other than that it was a genuinely entertaining series with plenty of drama and mystery to go around.

 

Case Closed vol. 50 (manga review)

Posted by :Patches On : March 13, 2014
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Case Closed 50Title: Case Closed vol. 50

Writer/Artist: Gosho Aoyama

U.S. Distributor: Viz Media

U.S. Release Date: April 8th, 2014

Format: manga / paperback/192 pages

Genre: Mystery, Comedy

Publisher Age Rating: T+ for older teen

Overall Personal Rating: A-

Synopsis:

A reporter is found dead just before an interview with the Junior Detective League. Conan is determined to close the case… but with his teacher watching, he has to do it without letting on that he’s smarter than the average first grader!

Then, flash back to one of Jimmy’s first cases! When a death takes place at a ski resort, everyone believes a legendary ghost has struck again. But two middle schoolers think otherwise: young Jimmy Kudo and young Harley Hartwell! Which boy genius will solve the mystery first?

Commentary

As with most volumes of Case Closed the mysteries are relatively striate forward and at the same time interesting enough to hold your attention. Not being a big fan of detective stories I find the Case Closed stories to be fun enough to make we relax and go with the flow. The real reason for this ease is due to the writing. Gosho Aoyama proves time in and time out that he has got the talent for telling a store and leaving the reader with a felling like they just had a great conversation with a friend. That is the hallmark of a great writer and I don’t care if the media is manga / graphic novels or more aligned with the serious novels that end up on the short list for a Pulitzer Prize. Tell a good story is what it is all about.

Volume 50 of Case Closed takes on more than just a current mystery, there is also a flashback to the case that started it all. This is fun but it is were any weakness is found in the volume. I thought it was just a little pandering to the Jimmy fans and maybe it would have been more interesting to flashback to a more significant case rather than the first one.  With that being said, I still found the story to be entertaining fun to read.

Overall Grade: A-

Case Closed is a series that can and does have very wide appeal, even if it is more appreciated by the Japanese. I would at least hope that the American readers that grew up with Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys show give this series a chance. I have a feeling that they will be shocked as to how much better . Of course there is no comparison to Scooby Doo. So, if you love this level of mystery or detective story this Case Close is the place to go for fun and mystery.

Case Closed vol. 49 ( manga review)

Posted by :Patches On : December 18, 2013
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Case Closed 49Title: Case Closed vol. 49

Writer/Artist: Gosho Aoyama

U.S. Distributor: Viz Media

U.S. Release Date: Jan. 14th, 2014

Format: manga paperback/184 pages

Genre: Mystery, Comedy

Publisher Age Rating: T+ for older teen

Overall Personal Rating: A-

 

Synopsis:

The Men in Black are back – and they’ve got a political candidate in their crosshairs! After eavesdropping on their plans, Conan teams up with the FBI to stop the assassination. But if the Men in Black realize they’ve been bugged, their next target will be Richard Moore’s home!

Can Conan save the politician without putting Mr. Moore and Rachel in danger? Only if he can decipher the code words the Men in Black use to plan their hit! Then he and the school detectives are put on the case of the missing girl. It leads them down a winding path with the strange possibility that a substitute teacher just might be a men in black agent sent to do some more dirty deeds. Will they be able to solve the mystery in time and what is up with this odd substitute teacher?

 

Commentary:

One thing that I have to say right out of the gate is that Case Closed is one of the very best in juvenile detective series ever made. It makes the Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew seem like they only get the easy ones and when compared to Scooby Doo it just isn’t even worthy of the mention. Of course Case Closed doesn’t have the silly humor of Scooby Doo and that makes it even better. The overall quality of the writing is wonderful and for a younger reader the complexity might be a little tough at time but it pushes them to stretch a little and maybe ask a few questions.

The pacing of the stories was rather nice. It didn’t feel to slow or too quick in solving the next clue. There was also the added possibility of failure built into each case. The beginning with the Men in Black closed off a little too pat, but the fact that it was such a close call made it much more enjoyable. With the missing girl and the last case of the love affair gone, bad they both ran their corse but at the same time didn’t feel forced. They managed to use different groups and show a rather analytical side of this master detective that makes him one of the best out there.

 

Overall Grade: A-

I would love to see Case Closed find a wider market share in the U. S., but I have a feeling that the days of fun detective stories may have seen their peek some time ago. Now a day the hero needs to have some crazy super power and a uber dark person to be the hit. Case Closed is a wonderful series that provides a slick, fun story line to tell some interesting mysteries. They can be from a few pages long to several volumes, but Case Closed holds your interest and keeps you wondering what is next without making the answer too easy even when in the end it appears to have been rather strait forward all along. I am very much looking forward to volume 50 and would recommend this series to any 10 year old boy or girl who loves a good mystery.