The Kindaichi Case Files: The Mummy's Curse

by Yozaburo Kanari | Graphic Novels |
ISBN: 9781591823551 Global Overview for this book
Registered by wingGoryDetailswing of Nashua, New Hampshire USA on 3/16/2011
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3 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by wingGoryDetailswing from Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Wednesday, March 16, 2011
I first heard of this intriguing boy-detective manga series from its TV Tropes page, and was delighted to find several volumes at the local Comic Store. The pattern of the story will be familiar to mystery fans - young Kindaichi gets drawn in to a seemingly simple situation, only to discover a murder, with more deaths to follow as the wrong people are suspected and conflicting clues come to light.

The story kicks off when Kindaichi is invited to a wedding, and he and his friend Miyuki find themselves in a huge mansion, one of seven clustered in an intriguing star shape in this remote town. Odder still is the discovery of a decapitated, mummified body in the house - a body that seems to be something of a family heirloom!

The story meanders from slapstick (with some very broad humor regarding Kindaichi's involuntary pants-tenting when he spots Miyuki in a low-cut dress) to grisly horror when another decapitated body turns up - this one very fresh and quite bloody...

The police are called in, of course, but Kindaichi's reputation is such that his sometime-partner, a homicide detective back in Tokyo, calls the locals and instructs them to let him help out. The author plays with the genre-savvy reader a bit; whenever a headless body turns up there's a question of identity, so much emphasis is made about DNA testing. Will it help solve the case? What do you think? {grin}

It soon becomes clear that there's a lot of weirdness in the area, from the seven-families/seven-mummies legend to the woman who recommends the Elizabeth Bathory beauty treatment to Miyuki (Bathory allegedly bathed in the blood of virgins). But it's the increasing body count that's really disturbing. Even more so, when Kindaichi goes into his reveal; the back story of the killer is pretty heart-breaking... An entertaining old-school mystery with some highly emotional twists. I like this series!

[See the other Kindaichi books I've registered here.]

Journal Entry 2 by wingGoryDetailswing at Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Released 11 yrs ago (6/13/2012 UTC) at Nashua, New Hampshire USA

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

This book's going into AlterEgoZoe's Manga/Manhwa bookbox, which will be on its way to BCer azuki in Florida today. Hope someone enjoys the book!

Journal Entry 3 by wingAzukiwing at Miami, Florida USA on Thursday, July 5, 2012
This is a rather famous detective series and I've seen a few episodes on TV in the past, but as I'm not a mystery fan, I didn't go seek it out. Until this one comes to me on its own. Well, I guess I will keep it with me for now. Thanks for sharing.

Journal Entry 4 by wingAzukiwing at Miami, Florida USA on Saturday, January 19, 2013
Quite an entertaining mystery, no wonder this series is such a big hit. Body count is a bit high... is there anybody left in the village after this ordeal? The pace is a bit uneven, likely because it's a serialized story and each episode conforms to a certain page number. While I don't feel there are enough clues to solve the whole case - more like there are a lot of guesses that just happen to fit - the story, when fully revealed, packs so much emotions that it really stays with me.

Going into the graphic novel bookbox.

Journal Entry 5 by AKSarah at Fairbanks, Alaska USA on Monday, June 24, 2013
My Graphic Novel/Manga bookbox arrived back home many months ago and I forgot to journal the contents. This book was in it.

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