The shin-honkaku movement has always been a bit meta. It’s right there in the name: it means “new orthodox,” as it’s a revival of the origi...
Oct 15, 2022 • Subscribe
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The Mannequin House Murders / 人形館の殺人
I didn’t like this book at all. I don’t have much more to say about it.
The Black Umbrella Mystery / 体育館の殺人
The Black Umbrella Mystery is a story with the soul of Ellery Queen and the body of an anime protagonist. There are a few Japanese…
Murder in the Crimson Manor / 紅蓮館の殺人
Murder in the Crimson Manor is lit. Actually, I think it’s just okay, but “Murder in the Crimson Manor is lit” seemed like a snappier opening, and obliques…
ＯＺの迷宮 ～ The Labyrinth of “OZ”
Being a private detective is not a job but a way of life. Being a master detective is not a way of life but destiny. One victim is…
番外編：The Labyrinth House Murders Released
detective fiction, 推理小説、games, mystery, murder, locked room, Japanese, translations,
Regarding the English translation of The Labyrinth House Murders
detective fiction, 推理小説、games, mystery, murder, locked room, Japanese, translations,
Death Within the Evil Eye / 魔眼の匣の殺人
It’s difficult to succeed genius. Chrono Cross isn’t as good as Chrono Trigger , Bioshock 2 isn’t as good as Bioshock , and National Treas...
Labyrinth Romanesque (花園の迷宮, Shunya Ito, 1988)
Echoes of violence reverberate through a haunted hotel in Shunya Ito’s romantic ghost story.
Murderer vs. Maniac / 殺人犯 対 殺人鬼
While some books take a while to get into the action, Murderer vs. Maniac wastes no time. The opening scene is all about the protagonist ...
The Decagon House Murders Novel
Although anime and manga fans are more likely to know him as the author behind the horror story Another, The Decagon House Murders is probably the literary work…
The Decagon House Murders GN 2
The countdown has very much begun for the students on Tsunojima and they aren't going to all make it out alive.
The Decagon House Murders GN 1
Whether you've read the original novel or not, the manga is a treat for mystery fans, although familiarity with basic tenets of Golden Age Mystery, Van Dine's rules,…
番外編：The Mill House Murders
detective fiction, 推理小説、games, mystery, murder, locked room, Japanese, translations,
House on Fire (火宅の人, Kinji Fukasaku, 1986)
An anxious writer fears collapse under the weight of fatherhood in Kinji Fuksaku’s adaptation of the autobiographical novel of Kazuo Dan.
Murder in the Hall of the Eye: The Book / 眼球堂の殺人 ~The Book~
Eye see you, heheheh… The best way I can describe Murder in the Hall of the Eye is “discount Hiroshi Mori .” Which on one hand…
番外編：The Mill House Murders Released
detective fiction, 推理小説、games, mystery, murder, locked room, Japanese, translations,
The Butterfly Murder Case / 蝶々殺人事件
While Kousuke Kindaichi is by far Seishi Yokomizo ’s most famous fictional detective, he is not the only one. Yokomizo also wrote many book...
Godspeed (人生路不熟, Yi Xiaoxing, 2023)
An earnest young man does everything he can to try and impress his traditionalist father-in-law-to-be but just can’t seem to catch break in Yi Xiaoxing’s charming road trip…
The Age of Assassins (殺人狂時代, Kihachi Okamoto, 1967)
A mild-mannered professor is dragged into an international conspiracy in Kihachi Okamoto’s absurdist adventure.
Crossroad (死の十字路, Umetsugu Inoue, 1956)
An adulterous industrialist’s life unravels after he accidentally kills his wife and tries to cover up the crime in Umetsugu Inoue’s gothic noir.
The Postscript Murders
I had a snarky zinger to open this review, but it leans a bit heavily into spoilers and, no matter how worthless I think a book is (spoilers...
The Aosawa Murders
The Aosawa Murders Japanese Title: EUGENIA (ユージニア) Author: Riku Onda (恩田 陸) Translator: Alison Watts Publication Year: 2005 (Japan); 2020 (United Kingdom) Publisher: Bitter Lemon Press Pages: 315…
A Bloodthirsty Killer (殺人魔 / 살인마, Lee Yong-min, 1965)
A hapless middle-aged man finds himself haunted by the spectre of wronged femininity in Lee Yong-min’s eerie gothic chiller.
Love and Murder of Sheep and Wolf 羊とオオカミの恋と殺人 (2020) Director: Kayoko Asakura
Love and Murder of Sheep and Wolf has a great concept about dating a hitwoman but a dull final result in its execution. Love and Murder of Sheep…
Shadows House Episode 8: Shadows Labyrinth Part 3
The Dolls’ quest to rescue their Shadow Masters and pass the debut continued still.
The Purple Sickle Murders
detective fiction, 推理小説、games,
When the Seagulls Cry Specials, Hitohira, Umineko: When They Cry, When They Cry
The Tuesday Club Murders
Sur les crédences, au salon vide: nul ptyx"Sonnet en X" And yet I'm sure this is not the only book that's been on the 'to-read' list for over fiteen…
The Seven Great Detectives / 7人の名探偵
Yukito Ayatsuji ’s The Decagon House Murders was published in 1987, and is credited with kick-starting the shin-honkaku (new orthodox) mov...
The Twilight Years (恍惚の人, Shiro Toyoda, 1973)
A middle-aged woman struggles to care for her father-in-law as his dementia intensifies in Shiro Toyoda’s empathetic drama.
The Town of Headcounts (人数の町, Shinji Araki, 2020)
A disaffected young man gets a fresh start in a utopian community but quickly becomes disillusioned in Shinji Araki’s slick dystopian thriller
The Human Wall / 人間の壁/ Ningen no kabe (1959)
Obscure Japanese Film #113 Kyoko Kagawa Fumiko (Kyoko Kagawa) is a teacher at an elementary school in Saga Prefecture in the south of Japa...
図書館
A trip to the new Haruki Murakami Library - How to Japanese - March 2022
美術館
A very short message this month about museums - How to Japanese - February 2023
Otona no Yuricon 2020 (大人のユリコン2020)
After a prolonged trip across the ocean, a long-awaited doujinshi has finally arrived at my home. And, like clockwork, the Melonbooks website is down for maintenance, so I…
Seven Samurai (七人の侍, Akira Kurosawa, 1954)
Desperate peasants recruit samurai protectors in Akira Kurosawa’s classic historical epic back in UK cinemas Oct. 29
The Revealed Labyrinth
In the effort to clear out my personal review backlog, I have reviews today for a couple of shorter items: Gundam 00 Revealed Chronicle Episodes 2-3 Macross Frontier:…
The Labyrinth Seduction
detective fiction, 推理小説、games, mystery, murder, locked room, Japanese, translations,
Three Women of the North (北の三人, Kiyoshi Saeki, 1945)
Three female radio operators become the backbone of a moribund war effort in the last propaganda film produced before the war’s end.
Hametsu no Koibito, Volume 1 (破滅の恋人)
We recently had the pleasure of three guest reviews for Plongée dans la nuit, the French edition of Yoru to Umi, by Goumoto. I had read the first…
Tokyo Sweetheart (東京の恋人, Yasuki Chiba, 1952)
A fake ring causes untold chaos in a small corner of Ginza in Yasuki Chiba’s charming ensemble rom-com.
Eleven Samurai (十一人の侍, Eiichi Kudo, 1967)
Faced with dissolution, a wronged clan plots revenge against a selfish and entitled young lord in Eiichi Kudo’s nihilistic jidaigeki.
The Hidden Fortress (隠し砦の三悪人, Akira Kurosawa, 1958)
A fugitive princess offers a new hope for a peaceful and prosperous socitey in Akira Kurosawa’s Sengoku-era epic.
The Twilight Years / 恍惚の人 / Kokotsu no hito (‘Senile Person’, 1973)
Obscure Japanese Film #153 Hideko Takamine and Takahiro Tamura Akiko (Hideko Takamine) is a middle-aged woman with an office job who lives...
Rainbow Over the Pacific (夜明けの二人, Yoshitaro Nomura, 1968)
An unserious man begins to grow up while chasing love in Hawaii in a cheerful if ultimately downbeat musical celebration of the centenary of Japanese migration to Hawaii.
The House of Hanging (病院坂の首縊りの家, Kon Ichikawa, 1979)
A legacy of familial trauma engulfs a once noble house in Kindaichi’s final and most complicated case
『戦国魔神ゴーショーグン 時の異邦人（エトランゼ）』のあとがき
『戦国魔神ゴーショーグン 時の異邦人（エトランゼ）』のあとがき
Samurai Kids (水の旅人－侍KIDS－, Nobuhiko Obayashi, 1993)
A small boy grows closer to the natural world while guiding a tiny samurai on his journey to the sea in Nobuhiko Obayashi’s charming family adventure.
Ryokunohara Labyrinth
Ryokunohara Labyrinth in a 1990 shounen-ai OVA. It centers on two boys, Imanishi Hiroki and Tokino Kanata, who have been best friends (and ...
Call Me Tonight, Dragon Fist, Eguchi Hisashi no Kotobuki Gorou Show, Nightsong of Splendor, Sakura Wars
Six Singing Women (唄う六人の女, Yoshimasa Ishibashi, 2023)
A man finds himself trapped in a strange place after travelling to the mountains in the wake of his estranged father’s death in Yoshimasa Ishibashi’s surreal dra
Pick of the Week: Beasts, Cats and Murders
KATE: Oh man… I don’t even know where to start. I’m morbidly curious about Kaori Yuki’s latest series Beauty and the Beast of Paradise Lost, even though I…