Mystery Arena / ミステリー・アリーナ

Detective fiction is a huge genre in Japan. This probably isn’t that surprising, considering the consistent stream of Japanese mystery novels that get published, or the fact that Ace Attorney and Danganronpa are Japanese franchises, or that Detective Conan is a multimedia juggernaut. Mysteries are so popular, they even have TV shows where guests are confronted with a crime that they then have to solve.

Of course, actually finding time to sit down and watch a TV show can be a bit annoying... So what if instead of a TV show, we have a book about a TV show where contestants are given a murder mystery story and need to solve it? It's the excitement of a gameshow with the accessibility of a novel. Genius!

Hence, Mystery Arena was born. Maybe. (Probably not.)

One of Us is Lying

A jock, a princess, a delinquent, and a nerd. One of Us is Lying is a young adult novel about four teens with totally separate social lives that each confront their own issues and grow into their own person.

Those Who are Shunned Like a Bird of Ill Omen / 凶鳥の如き忌むもの

Shinzou Mitsuda is a menace. Do not let this man write novels!

The Labyrinth House Murders / 迷路館の殺人

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 original honkaku “orthodox” school of mystery fiction. Naturally, the fact that shin-honkaku is a response to honkaku means it doesn’t need to start at square one, but instead can build upon the groundwork laid down by the honkaku movement, directly recognizing common tropes and the most influential pieces.

For instance, Yukito Ayatsuji’s The Decagon House Murders, which is often credited with initiating the shin-honkaku movement, involves a university mystery club whose members are nicknamed after Golden Age authors, a set-up that is clearly reminiscent of And Then There Were None, and a culprit who literally hands out roles to the others. Alice Arisugawa is another important shin-honkaku author, and his books also feature a university mystery club. The second book in Ayatsuji’s “House” series, The Mill House Murders, was relatively straightforward in setting, but I suppose Ayatsuji didn’t particularly like that, since his third book, The Labyrinth House Murders, is more meta than all the other books I’ve mentioned combined.

Call of Cthulhu

1920s New England. A hardboiled private investigator from Boston travels to a small town off the coast of Massachusetts to investigate mysterious happenings. The villagers are secretive and distrustful of outsiders, otherworldly cults plot dark magics in the shadows, and our hero must battle his own mind as—

Hold on, am I going crazy, or did I already do this review? Let's see, according to my notes, the answer is... both.

The Sinking City

1920s New England. A hardboiled private investigator from Boston travels to a small town off the coast of Massachusetts to investigate mysterious happenings. The villagers are secretive and distrustful of outsiders, otherworldly cults plot dark magics in the shadows, and our hero must battle his own mind as he hunts for the truth.

Welcome to The Sinking City.

(Note: In this review I discuss the structure of the game and the nature of the ending. This review doesn't reveal anything that I think would reduce anyone's enjoyment of the game but, because there is technically a discussion of the ending, I want to make this disclaimer to ensure no one feels "spoiled" by the review.)

Double-Headed Devil / 双頭の悪魔

They say two heads are better than one, but I suppose it depends on whose heads we’re talking about…

Maria Arima, having witnessed the brutal murder of several family members, is understandably upset. She spends a few months sulking at home, and then suddenly leaves on a cross-country trip. Just when she thinks she’s going to return home, she pays a visit to Kisara Village and… doesn’t return. Kisara Village is a small settlement deep in the mountains of Shikoku, established by a wealthy retired financier to be a haven where artists can live a simple, uninterrupted life and focus on their work. Maria isn’t held hostage or imprisoned against her will. She can still communicate with her parents (although it becomes more sporadic as time goes on). She just… doesn’t want to leave. 

So Maria’s father enlists the other members of the Eito Mystery Club to bring Maria back. Needless to say, the recovery mission does not go as smoothly as hoped… 

Hellpoint

At its most basic level, Hellpoint can be summed up with four words: Dark Souls… in space! Obviously that’s reductionist, but that’s what you get for four words. Of course, at this point Souls-like is a subgenre onto its own, meaning there are games that take only the most basic trappings of the “source” and then do something completely different and original.

Hellpoint is not one of those games. Everything in Hellpoint feels like it was either directly lifted from Dark Souls or is a direct response to Dark Souls. Sometimes the developers couldn’t quite compete with FromSoft, but sometimes they knocked it out of the park.

I’m Thinking of Ending Things

This review frustrates me.

Normally I strive to avoid any lies in a review. Half-truths, omitted information, and misleading statements are all fine. If the solution is the murder was faked, in my plot summary I’ll say “So-and-so is apparently murdered in a locked room.” A little wink to those who have already experienced the story that doesn’t tip our hand to those who haven’t. After all, if I lie, what else is left here? How can there be a discussion if I lie about what happened? If I lie about that, what if I lie about my feelings? Accuracy is the best policy.

But that’s not going to work for I’m Thinking of Ending Things. It just can’t. So I officially admit defeat, and submit to I’m Thinking of Ending Things’ lies. As much as I want to cleverly sidestep around the truth, that’d be like trying to jump the Grand Canyon. Another reason this is the intro you're getting is that I had a certain introduction planned in my head for most of the book, but it completely dissipated in the final sequence.

A Detective's Novel

A Detective’s Novel is a detective visual novel that costs $1. If nothing else, the developers understood the value of their product.

Decapitation - Kubikiri Cycle: The Blue Savant and the Nonsense User / クビキリサイクル 青色サヴァンと戯言遣い

Nisio Isin has written a lot of books. Like, a lot of books. But the first book he wrote (or at least published) was Kubikiri Cycle. I’ve read one book by Nisio Isin before, the licensed Death Note novel, and I wasn’t particularly impressed. But Kubikiri Cycle was much better.

Doctors in Isolated Room / 冷たい密室と博士たち

Ah, nothing like some good ol' S&M, right? I'm obviously talking about Hiroshi Mori's Saikawa and Moe series. The series stars associate professor of architecture Souhei Saikawa and college student Moe Nishinosono and their run-ins with various scientifically themed murder mysteries. The first book in the series in the series is The Perfect Insider, but I read that before I began this blog, so we're going to start with book two, Doctors in Isolated Room.

Saikawa has a friend who works in their university’s extreme climate laboratory, and he invites Saikawa and Moe to watch them conduct an experiment. The experiment takes place in a special room that can be chilled to sub-zero temperatures, and can only be entered while wearing a special cold-resistant suit. Considering this is a murder mystery, I’m sure you can guess how the experiment goes...

Still Life With Pistol

Sometimes you just want to try something new. For instance, you could try checking out a book by an author you haven't read before, or bringing your girlfriend to a secluded art retreat.

Sometimes doing something new gives you a fresh and unique experience, but other times, even if things start out well, at the end the book ends up being not that great, or someone ends up dead.