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| THIS IS A MANGA ONLY DISCUSSION POST. DO NOT DISCUSS ANYTHING BEYOND THIS CHAPTER. ---------------------------------------- Thus concludes the frightening first pulp narrative from that 'Young Kindaichi's Case Files' series. I truly think this is one of the instances where the franchise leans a bit more towards genuine horror over some proper detective tropes. Cases being closer to a slasher narrative are nothing new to Hajime Kindaichi's detective adventures - yet, I was suprised to be caught in so many more jumpscares than usual. These 10 chapters truly felt like reading the horror definition of a page-turner - and as a result it made for a quite compelling 'first impression'. I thought this change of pace was for the better overall, especially within the context of this 'Cerberus-themed' story. I also really dug the setting for this one - a dilapidated hospital - fairly typical of B-Horror flicks sure, but working quite wonderfully with the staging of the murders. That was certainly not the series at its most gruesome, nor were those murders as violent as some of the most memorables cases in this series - however, these panels were still extremely effective in the (nifty) crafting of this dreadful atmosphere. I fell for some of the psychological tricks at play: one especially was devilishly cunning, and made for a great twist during the confrontation scene against the culprit. Though, I was not super convinced by some of the clueing on the culprit's identity - not that they were bad or anything per say (I especially loved the one with how the whistle was hidden by the murderer, this one was clever to say the least), yet I just cannot shake the feeling that Kanari was not particularly skilled on hiding these elements. The fact that the culprit was alone for most of the narrative was a huge giveaway - and the writer never successfully managed to challenge my suspicions. A bit of a shame, since all the other tricks were not that easy to figure out. Motive-wise, it was also a bit too on the nose for my liking. It is another one of those sobbing subplots - and yes, more often than not I am a sucker for these tearjekers, but here I dunno - I did not feel anything while reading the culprit explaining why he had to kill those 'bastards'. Plus Kindaichi arguing over why the dogs did not attack the last suspect did not help in the slightest. It was too comically absurd - I am afraid I could not take that moment seriously. All in all, it was, thematically speaking, too on a par with what I read previously in the series - while also being not as great as some of the best motives from it. Again, a bit of a pity, because the last scenes between Kindaichi and the culprit were genuinely heartwarming. I just wish the 'whydunit' was as convincing as the case as a whole. It is nonetheless a very good case: reading it in one sitting was a very pleasant experience. I am actually stoked to see what this series has in store in terms of mystery writings! |