OG Kindaichi in manga form!
Before I go gushing about how much I love these mangaka, I will say that the product arrived appearing brand new. The purchasing process was straightforward, and customer service was responsive and transparent about the shipping process. I consider myself pretty comfortable purchasing things from Japan on sites like Mandarake, as well as proxies, and compared to those options, I do think Manga Republic had competitive prices and turnarounds. Plus, they have a fairly eclectic inventory - as seen by this product.
Now to the gushing: I was/am a fan of Young Kindaichi's Case Files, which have been translated into English. I have always been sort of aware of Yokomizo Seishi and some of his titles - for example, The Village of the Eight Graves (Yatsuhakamura 八つ墓村). I gotta say - if you liked YKCF (and can read Japanese), I think it's worth giving the OG Kindaichi a try.
I accidentally found manga adaptations of Yokomizo's works when looking for YKCF, and man am I glad for it. Two of the most notable artists are JET and Nagao Fumiko, both collected in this volume. JET has a lovely classic shoujo style, which is an interesting combo considering the subject matter. They really utilize their style to lean into the darker/more grotesque subject matter. JET tends to adapt the story more for the medium, which makes for a shorter but more dynamic read.
Nagao Fumiko's adaptations are probably the most to-the-letter, and as much as a travesty as it might be - I might rank her adaptations as superior to the originals, only because her beautiful, delicate artwork is more engaging than Yokomizo's sometimes expository-heavy writing. I feel like her manga plays out much closer to how Yokomizo writes the story, so it's truest to the source material.
That's not to say that JET is an inferior storyteller - I actually think they handle certain plot elements as 'reveals' better than Yokomizo himself did, so I'm glad I read the JET version of a story before I read the official translation. Both artists have their strengths in how they adapt the mysteries into manga. I actually already own digital versions of JET's Akuryoutou (Island of Evil Spirits) and Honjin satsujinjiken (Murder at the Honjin) that's included in this volume, but it's worth it to get my hands on the Nagao adaptations of Fushichou (Undying Butterfly - yes, there was a Young Kindaichi case similarly named) and Meirosou no kaijin (Phantom in the Labyrinth?). I'm really excited to add this to my Kindaichi Kosuke collection!
by Jane
July 22, 2021
Now to the gushing: I was/am a fan of Young Kindaichi's Case Files, which have been translated into English. I have always been sort of aware of Yokomizo Seishi and some of his titles - for example, The Village of the Eight Graves (Yatsuhakamura 八つ墓村). I gotta say - if you liked YKCF (and can read Japanese), I think it's worth giving the OG Kindaichi a try.
I accidentally found manga adaptations of Yokomizo's works when looking for YKCF, and man am I glad for it. Two of the most notable artists are JET and Nagao Fumiko, both collected in this volume. JET has a lovely classic shoujo style, which is an interesting combo considering the subject matter. They really utilize their style to lean into the darker/more grotesque subject matter. JET tends to adapt the story more for the medium, which makes for a shorter but more dynamic read.
Nagao Fumiko's adaptations are probably the most to-the-letter, and as much as a travesty as it might be - I might rank her adaptations as superior to the originals, only because her beautiful, delicate artwork is more engaging than Yokomizo's sometimes expository-heavy writing. I feel like her manga plays out much closer to how Yokomizo writes the story, so it's truest to the source material.
That's not to say that JET is an inferior storyteller - I actually think they handle certain plot elements as 'reveals' better than Yokomizo himself did, so I'm glad I read the JET version of a story before I read the official translation. Both artists have their strengths in how they adapt the mysteries into manga. I actually already own digital versions of JET's Akuryoutou (Island of Evil Spirits) and Honjin satsujinjiken (Murder at the Honjin) that's included in this volume, but it's worth it to get my hands on the Nagao adaptations of Fushichou (Undying Butterfly - yes, there was a Young Kindaichi case similarly named) and Meirosou no kaijin (Phantom in the Labyrinth?). I'm really excited to add this to my Kindaichi Kosuke collection!