A New Author Venture: Keigo Higashino

 
Trying out another Japanese Author who has been highly recommended to me, this time a writer named Keigo Higashino! Unlike my previous author-reads Haruki Murakami and Yukio Mishima, which dealt in a more surreal style (dubbed magical realism in more modern circles), Higashino is a MYSTERY writer, and I am told to expect lots of wonderfully intricate wordings in my adventure into his oeuvre!

I love mystery novels in general, but have as of now never read any set in Japan, and the idea of reading a Nihongo mystery novel really piqued my interest!!!! Higashino has a few series based around different Detectives of his, and I was glad to see a whole catalog of them translated and ready for the reading!

I've been recommended about three different titles, and I actually found a dealer who had three of them for one discount price, but while that sounded like a very good deal, the one I'd wanted to read most was this one called "Malice" featuring detective Kyoichiro Kaga (the first in the series) and I thought it best to read just ONE book first and, if I liked what I read, would then venture into those other titles!

Edit:

I'm now over halfway through the book, and I gotta say i'm really loving it! The story of a murdered author with his best friend as the only suspect is told  in two narratives, one from the perspective of the suspect and the other from the view of the detective on the case, the aforementioned Kyoichiro Kaga. I love the way the mystery is pieced together, bit by bit as more clues come into light, and I find myself turning page after page!

Very refreshing to read a murder mystery  set in Japan and told with Nihongo nuances- Like I mentioned before, I'm a huge crime mystery reader, with Lawrence Block, Michael Connelly, and John Sandford among other filling my bookshelves, Higashino is a breath of fresh air!

Like I've also mentioned before, Malice is the first book in the Kyoichiro Kaga series, with "Newcomer" and "A Death In Tokyo" coming next, and I JUST saw on Amazon that the FOURTH installment  in the series "The Final Curtain" is due out this December!!

Seems like it's good time to be getting into him!

Amazingly, it was only when I was well over halfway done with Malice that I realized the Kyoichiro Kaga character was the main character in the awesome SHINZANMONO j-drama series starrring Hiroshi Abe in the titular role! WHAAA! Not only was "Newcomer's storyline the basis for the initial series, "A Death In Tokyo" was the book Shinzanmono movie "Wings of the Gryphon"(which I wrote about here) was based on as well!

Seems Keigo Higashino is QUITE a prolific writer in Japan and MOST of his works have been adapted into shows. Digging deeper, I found the Masaharu Fukuyama/Kou Shibasaki drama series "Galileo" is based on Higashino's "Inspector Galileo" books!! 

Funny, I also have "The Devotion of Suspect X" by Higashino on order, and whaddaya know, it's PART of the Galileo series! Not only that, I find that it has already been DONE by Fukuyama and the gang back in 2008 as a standalone movie!!

Now I REALLY can't wait to dig into these!!!

Damedol to Sekai ni Hitori Dake no Fan

Damedol to Sekai ni Hitori Dake no Fan by Kishirimo

 Was recommended a new manga series by a fellow Chainsaw Man/SPYxFAMILY fan, called “Damedol to Sekai ni Hitori Dake no Fan~ A Useless Idol and Her Only Fan In The World”, which, as the title might suggest, follows the interactions between and hopelessly clumsy and untalented idol, and her unwavering number one fan! Only took one read and I was LOVING it!!!

The titular “Useless Idol” is a spirited and sassy girl named Urumin, whom, no matter how hard she tries, just can’t hit the notes, can’t stay on beat and can’t find her cues! But  she has one fan, one who has stuck with her from the very beginning. He is Okuta Kimiya, and is the one reliable support she gets every night!

Now, you’d think Urumin would be thrilled to have such a stalwart fan on her side, however, this guy is highly critical of her, always pointing out her mistakes and critiquing her performances, driving her out of her mind!

Luckily for her, far from being put-off by Urumin’s shortcomings, Kimiya finds them cute and endearing! 

Gotta admit, I fell in love with the series right away! After watching dramas like “Dakara Watashi wa Oshimashita”, was well-versed in the goings on with Idol support, fan meetings, etc and to read this strip taking on the wackier side of things is too hilarious!

Example: In a regular situation, a fan buys a CD of the idol and gets to talk with her for a minute. But even she has to wonder why the time limit even matters since there’s no one else in line!

As Urumin's Number One fan, Kimiya's been there from the beginning, buying all her merchandise...including the early goofy out of focus shots that she'd rather he FORGET! But he treasures them and refuses to get rid of them!!! A true fan!

When taking a photograph with his Idol, Urumin figures she'll give Kimiya a thrill by posing with the 'heart" hand gesture...but he doesn't do HIS half, leaving her hanging, AHAHA, I was cracking UP reading this one!!

Damedol to Sekai ni Hitori Dake no Fan has recently announced that it is being picked up for mainstream serialization, so hopefully we’ll be seeing even MORE of it in days to come!

Last Man: Zenmo no Sosakan

Masaharu Fukuyama stars as Hiromi Minami  a blind former profiler turned detective working for the FBI in America, who has come back to Japan to create a joint FBI/Japan Task Force.

A veritable Zatoichi, Minami’s blindness has given him a set of skills that help him with his sleuthing and give him the upper hand above his workmates: heightened hearing that can sense the slightest footstep and  a sense of smell that can detect the slightest scent upon a suspect, as well as an infallible brain that puts all of the clues and comes up with the perfect answer, a skill that his pointman to the team, Shintaro Godo (Yo Oizumi) realizes firsthand when Minami deduces everything about him at their very first meeting!

Minami is gung-ho about joining the Japan Police Department and is eager to forge new partnerships, but the station agents have their reservations about the eccentric if affable man suddenly added to their team.

Led by the initial investigator Madoka Sakura (Yo Yoshida), she is curt and abrupt with her conversations with Minami, not seeing how this man can bring anything to their ongoing investigation, a case following a string of deadly bombings happening sporadically throughout Japan.

Neither more forthcoming are the other detectives including Izumi (Ren Nagase),Hasegawa (Tomoya Oku)  or the hot-headed Manome (Satoru Matsuo), who watch from the side to see if this guy can prove himself.

The only one who seems to understand Minami and welcomes him to the Japan precinct is rookie Yuki Agatsuma (Mio Imada), who embraces Minami’s observations and predictions. She seems to be the only one not jaded, but we will find she has a history with Minami that even he may not realize…

Asking Yuki to join them on the site investigation

!

When the bomber strikes again, while the rest of the squad head down together, Agatsuma is added to Minami’s team of him and Shintaro Godo! Welcome to our new power trio!

Her involvement will become clear when she is instructed to download a program onto her laptop.  With a camera and earpiece affixed to his ear, Minami can broadcast his “sight” to an app on Yuki’s laptop, and with her instruction, becomes his “eyes” through the earpiece. In this way Minami can canvass the bomb scene and use his special skills to nail down the perpetrator!

So far, Last Man: Zenmo no Sosakan seems to be another “Quirky Detective with Odd Skill” series like so many others (including some of Fukuyama's own like “Galileo”, but with the sense of smell, reminding me more of the Hiroshi Abe crime drama “The Sniffer”…

Still, the characters here are very well-developed, and even in just the first episode, we are given slivers of backstory to many of the main characters already, and makes you want to learn more!

I really like the Mio Imada character and her relation with Minami, and hope they develop stories like this to keep me interested, as I feel the show will eventually and inevitably turn into another “Corrupt Upper Level Cops/Politicians” show, which they’re already hinting at.

Takaya Kamikawa

Nonetheless, looks like an interesting one to check out each week!

PS: Mmm, who's THIS cutie serving up as Hotel Help "Namba"?

 Credits say her name is "Ourin" and that she's a former singer/idol...VERY easy on the eyes!

Just another reason to check in each week! LOL

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com