Story: A+
Artwork: A+
Manga Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

A collection of strange stories by Jiro Matsumoto author of such interesting manga series as Freesia, Uncivilized Planet, and Tropical Citron. This series is a mixture of sex, strange characters and bizarre happenings. There is a guy who has the head of a horse, there are two kids who wear gas masks all the time, and lots of empty people having lots of weird sex. This is really bizarre but it is so well done that it is more than just cheap thrills. I'm not sure what my favorite short story was, the best seemed to involve the guy with the horse head or the two children with gas masks but there were really none that were bad. Jiro Matsumoto is a great artist with a very singular style and some great short stories, whether it is about repeated killing of your spouse, the same spouse mind you, two kids who were gas masks, a habitual nudist, or a burned out cop looking for a serial killer, these stories stay with you and actually rise about just cheap sex comics, it actually is artistic. I know it sounds weird but this was a weird but amazingly enjoyable little collection.

Story: C-
Artwork: B
Manga Quality: A+
Overall: C 

Detective Akira Yusa sees his brother killed before his very eyes. Scanning the crowds of Shibuya, a woman catches his attention and his cop’s intuition tells him: 'She did it!' He chases her through the streets into an abandoned building. She’s Kilico Sakaki, an assassin. And thus begins the trail of blood that links the two of them. This is an 80s action movie in manga form and really doesn't impress. The story is about a cop who doesn't play by the rules, one of the worst cliches in entertainment these days, the other is the government working against the cop who doesn't play by the rules both of which this manga unfortunately has. I'm not sure where this is going to go from here but if it keeps up with the status quo of car chases, fist fights, and explosions I am going to lose interest very fast.

Story: A+
Artwork: A+
Manga Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

Wow, I mean a solid wow. This already ranks up there with Gunsmith Cats as one of my favorite manga of all time. Usually it takes me at least two days to read a manga. I read a part of it then I have to go and do something, so I finish it a day later. But this one I sat down and read the entire thing in twenty minutes. It was that good. Our hero Hajime Kindaichi is the son of a famous inspector, has an IQ of 180, and on his high school enterence exam he scored the highest in the school's history, but he is a lazy bastard that barely pasted 10th grade. He wouldn't have if not for his best friend Miyuki Nanase. But the guy is the world's best detective, he just notices the littlest things and puts them all together perfectly. Our first case involves the high school drama club doing a production of Phantom of the Opera. They go to a old theatre/hotel on an island just in time for a typhoon to start (sounds a bit like some of my vacations). Then a self styled phantom begins to murder the students. The plot thickens and the case is on to stop the killer from killing them all. This is a fabulous manga that needs to be read by anybody that likes a good mystery, along with some really good humor in the beginning. Now I won't give it away but it involves Hajime being late for class and climbing up to class on the drain pipe. I'm going to read the next case the The Mummy's Curse soon and have another glowing review. Another way that you can tell that I really got into this book, while writing this review I didn't once need to refer back to the manga to figure out how to spell the names and now looking back to make sure I didn't screw anything up I found that I spelled them all correctly (I think this is probably a first).

Story: A+
Artwork: A+
Manga Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

Another great mystery with Kindaichi, the high school slacker who is the world's greatest detective. This time he finds himself helping out a girl in his grade who gets in trouble for sleeping with a teacher. Her father calls her back to her home so she can be married to her betrothed husband who wears a mask the entire time, due to a local tradition. She is suppost to spend the night in the local church in the center of the Star of David that makes up the town. We know what happens and Kindaichi has to solve the case and win the day. The story really gives you some great twists and turns. When I read a mystery I try and solve the mystery before the end of the book, so far both of the Kindaichi Case Files have managed to completely stump me. Everytime I think I might know who the killer is, they end up dead. I loved this, oh how I loved this. They are great reads, an excellent mystery with some really great humor between Kindaichi and Muyuki. This would make a great anime series, and if the Gods do me right it will happen. My only problem with this it comes out so damn slow, it is painful to know that the next edition won't come out until October.

Story: A+
Artwork: A+
Manga Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

Fudo Private High is getting ready to celebrate their anniversary, but the principle keeps getting threats from the Afterschool Magician. Fudo High has these seven curses, each steaming from an tragety at school usually a student dies and his ghost his scene. The real kicker is if you know all seven, th Afterschool Magician comes and kills you. Now that alone is a super cool idea for a story, and the Mystery Club, a group at school that is devoted to Detective Novels is investigating the seven curses. Well the president of the Club wants Kindaichi to join their club for obvious reasons, and also she has the hots for him, which of course pisses Miyuki off big time. Kindaichi goes to a meeting, with Miyuki along of course. They agree to help investigate the seven curses and that is when the murders start. Now I can't say another thing because it will g give too much away, but this is the best yet. There is a part which really got me, you'll know it when you get to it. It also has some great laughs in the beginning. It is very true that these are better with Kindaichi and Miyuki together. While Death TV was excellent, it wasn't as good as the Opera House Murders or this one because Miyuki wasn't a big part of the story. This is has some real great twists and turns and a few good shocks. Again I didn't guess who it was until the end. If you are literate and you don't know these, hang your head in shame.

Story: A+
Artwork: A+
Manga Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

Kindaichi is goating into signing up to try and win a place on a treasure hunting expedition to a small island by Miyuki and Kindaichi's Mom so they can get part of the billions of yen hidden somewhere on the island. Well Kindaichi meets up with the other treasure hunters, real Indiana Jones types, and a coroner/plastic surgeon who come to the island with the owner's butler and the owner's estranged daughter who takes a liking to Kindaichi, much to Miyuki's displeasure. Well they group get settled and before any treasure hunting can begin they find their host hacked to bits, his corpse hidden in the grandfather clock. Is this the work of the Mountain Goblin that is supposed to guard the treasure and tear anyone limb from limb who finds it? Well lucky Kindaichi is on the scene. I like the little red Mountain Goblin he really is sporting some serious man-boobs. While I did managed to figure out who was the killer after the first murder the identity really took a hard left turn on me when Kindaichi reveals who it is to everybody else. Sometimes who dismember their victims are only mildly nuts, this one is all ten kinds of nuts. I have only one complaint in this one, and that is a wasted opportunity for high jinx between Kindaichi and Miyuki when they are sharing the bed in their cabin. It just cried out for something sexually charged to happen getting Kindaichi slapped, it happened in both the Opera House Murders and The Mummy's Curse I was hoping for it to happen here when they tell Kindaichi and Miyuki they have to share a room. I also love the twist with the lady treasure hunter that acts crazy with her box, read carefully the last scene with her and the box if you don't get it, she took a little soveigner from the cave. Another fabulous Kindaichi Case File, the guys that make this one really are gods of Manga.

Story: A+
Artwork: A+
Manga Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

I loved it pure and simple like I have loved all the other Kindaichi Mysteries so lets say that I loved it up front and get to the meat of my review. Miyuki's cousin got tickets to be part of a trial group at a big time exclusive resort up north by Nagano, well he can't go but wants Miyuki and Kindaichi to go instead. They agree and join an interesting group of guest, including somebody who Miyuki had a crush on freshmen year of high school, which drives Kindaichi totally nuts. It is nice to Kindaichi get jealous like that, really drives home the fact that he is human like everybody else. But luckily there is a cute girl along too that starts to like Kindaichi as well. They come to the beautiful and lavish resort and get settled in. While having dinner they hear on the radio that a lunatic killer had escaped from prison close by, he had struck this resort ten years ago, dressed as the famed masked killer Jason. He was quit the movie freak and now he is on the loose. Of course the killer strikes, using an axe to hack the faces off his victims. People start dying and when they try to escape, they find the woods are full of booby traps. One hits Miyuki in the leg, injuring her severly which drives Kindaichi nuts because now Miyuki might die and the only avenue of escape just went up in flames. Now Kindaichi has only a few days to save Miyuki and unmask the killer. I am very proud that I figured out who the killer was before Kindaichi did, this wasn't a guess it was a good round of deduction. The main clue is a missing watch, understand the watch and you understand the killer. Like all Kindaichi killers this one is sympathetic in there own horrible way and you are able to connect with the killer and if not approve of at least understand why they are doing this. The tie-in with Miyuki is especially kinky, I really like Miyuki she is a cute Dr Watson or Captain Arthur Hastings, but more like Mrs Nora Charles both being plucky women that you can't help but really like. All great detectives need a backup to keep their particularly unique minds focused on the task at hand. This manga also really made me smile, because in the last they had the list of Kindaichi mysteries printed on the back cover and only had 10 listed, then I got to Minds Eye and see on their order form that Kindaichi only goes through 10, and there 26 manga in Japan. It made me quiet depressed but on the inside of this cover they list through 11 which fills me with hope that they will publish all 26 here and I won't have to learn Japanese to get the rest, now if they only licensed the anime series here, then life would be sublime. Until June with the Santa Slayings comes out.

Story: A+
Artwork: A+
Manga Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

Kindaichi and Miyuki go up to a Mystery Theatre in a beautiful hotel during Christmas time, there the actors are recieving threats from a mysterious person calling themselves the Red Santa, no this is commie Santa that gives all kids poorly Kakiharafactured Tickle-Me Stalin Dolls. Then during the performance, the Japanese Norma Desmond drops dead and the hunt is on for this mystery Red Santa. Kindaichi and Miyuki learn the Red Santa rented the room Kindaichi is staying in and painted it all red but then only a few months ago disappeared. Is he killing the actors for some unknown vendetta or is another actor trying to rub out their competition? Well as Kindaichi closes in on the killer, he is suddenly accused and now must clear his own name and that of his hallowed grandfather before it is too late. I love Kindaichi because every murderer's motives are so poignant and so terribly tragic that you almost understand the motivations of the killer, this isn't just some mad dog hacking and slashing because they are crazy, their motives are from pain of the pass. This one is no different, but it is bigger than all the other Kindaichi Case Files, and I think may have the least number of deaths at 4. But more importantly I figured this one out before Kindaichi, and I didn't guess I figured it out through several clues the author leaves you that I have learn to cue in on from the previous 6 manga. I am so proud of my achievement, this tops graduating college in my book of achievements. I have to share my train of logic to show I'm not just blowing smoke up your collective digital ass my dear readers, if you have not finished the manga yet you must stop reading now or I will ruin it, I am not kidding stop now, or you're going to hate my guts, last warning because here it comes-- First when we are introduced to the killer, she is a Superintendent with the police, while she shared the arrogance of Superintendent Akechi (I love his cameo along with Kenmochi), she couldn't back it up like Akechi did, she lacked the respect of the other cops, two she had 'transfered' over from another city to help on the investigation, while she tries to explain it away I was already smelling a big fat rat, the kicker than convinced me entirely was the attempted framing of our hero, only a cop could have engineered everything so perfectly that all the evidence a cop would look for would be there in plain sight as too make it obivious. I have guessed killers in 2 of the previous mangas (Death TV, pure luck, Lake Hiren, the watch), so now I'm 3 for 7, not a bad record for a schmoe like me. Once again loved every page of the manga, loved Miyuki as usual, loved the cameo by Kenmochi and Akechi, again the builds are expertly done, the case throughly worked through so there was no point where I stop and say bullshit. These mangas are perfect for fans of mysteries, fans of mangas, or people that like a good but somewhat tragic story.

Story: A+
Artwork: A+
Manga Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

Kindaichi agrees to attend a cram school to help raise his rather sagging grades along with ever trusty Miyuki, after a little conspiring between Miyuki and Kindaichi's mom. I really love who they know how to use Kindaichi like a puppet. The school is rather imposing and creepy, and the day they arrive a girl tries to hang herself, not exactly the best way to start school. But they soon learn the school has a rather bad history of student suicides, so bad it has gained the nickname of the Hanging High. This is ties into the reality or western exageration that Japanese students killing themselves due to the rigors of the education system. Kindaichi meets the school's math teacher, Yoko Aseno, who asks Kindaichi for some help. Someone is trying to get her fired by stealing her tests and then hanging chickens over them. I give points to the Japanese, they certainly have creative ways to driving their teachers nuts. But then the pranks turn deadly when a student is found hung in the same method as the strange events that have plagued the teacher. It is up to Kindaichi to solve the crime and to keep his own neck from the noose. I'm proud to say that I am now 4 for 8 in guessing the killer. Another wonderful Kindaichi mystery and if you can read, which I believe is becomming a smaller and smaller number, and you aren't reading these then I really suggest you just check yourself in for a psychological examination because there is something very wrong with you. NOW BEWARE SPOILERS AHEAD, I AM GOING TO START TALKING ABOUT THE KILLER, STOP NOW OR DON'T BITCH TO ME. I figure this one out almost in the eleventh hour, I at first didn't want to believe she was the killer but after Kindaichi had his first whodunit moment, I knew only person could have done it and this time I also knew the motive why, true the motive was rather basic but simplicity often is the best. They made her look so guilty that I said to myself there is no way she can be guilty, it is too obivious. That is a problem with being too smart sometimes, you rule out the obivious because it is too easy. But I soon realized there was no one else that had a hard motive to do this. I liked her too, she really is the first killer in the series that I have liked just from her characterization in the early part of the novel. I'm 4 for 8, I know this can't last but hey 50 percent is still good for figuring out mysteries.

Story: A+
Artwork: A+
Manga Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

Kindaichi and Miyuki are enlisted by Kenemochi to come with him to a remote village known as the Village of the Severed Heads, eepp not the place to take the kids for a vacation. In this village an old friend of Kenemochi's had married the local land baron Tatsumi and he died leaving everything to her and her son. This has angered the old guy's first children and now she is recieving threatening letters from somebody calling himself the Headless Samurai. Kindaichi, Miyuki, and Kenemochi travel to this strange and remote village to investigate. Then, as usual, somebody ends up dead, this time with their head cut off. Now the Headless Samurai is stalking Miyuki, and the Tatsumi is completely falling apart as they squabble over the family fortune. Can Kindaichi solve the mystery before everybody ends up 8 pounds lighter and six inches shorter? Of course he can, he is Hajime Kindaichi. Sad to say I was unable to guess the killer in this volume, so I am 4 for 9 now. I had the right motive and what was up with the veiled stranger and how they managed to kill him in a locked room but I had the wrong killer and the twist at the end really threw me. I really loved in the middle when the killer was stalking Miyuki, part of me knows she'll never die but the author part of me knows that often authors can throw curve balls at you which are totally unexpected. I also like Kenemochi's wife, although she only has a small cameo at the end but she really seems good for Kenemochi. It is also nice to see some of his backstory, it makes him a more interesting character instead of the stock gruff cop that legitimizes the boy genius detective. I like the legend surrounding the killer, I guess I'm just a sucker for samurai ghost stories especially when they are chopping off heads like the Headless Horseman. As usual this is another wonderful Kindaichi mystery with some really unexpected twists in the third act that keep you totally off balance. These are just perfection on paper pure and simple.

Story: A+
Artwork: A+
Manga Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

Kindaichi is invited to the mountain retreat of a reclusive author to help solve a puzzle that will give whoever solves the rights to the book which will be a big seller. Only problem is that the author is a complete creep who offers 100,000 Yen to Miyuki to strip which, as it should, pisses off Kindaichi who humiliates the author. On his way to appologize Kindaichi finds the author bludgeoned to death and the only possible killer is Kindaichi himself. He gets arrested by the Nagano Cops and gets carted off to jail. But Kindaichi escapes, you really can't have a Kindaichi manga with Kindaichi in a prison cell. He escapes and tries to solve the crime but every time he goes to talk somebody they end up dead, which is really bad because Superintendent Akechi is on his case with an axe to grind against Kindaichi. Kindaichi has to play a cat and mouse game with the cops and the killer which forces Kindaichi to use all of his wits to survive. Thankfully Iteki, the author from the Lake Hiren Mystery, enlists several of the editors from the party to help him and Miyuki prove his innocence. The chase is on and can Kindaichi save his skin or will he meet the business end of a rope (they still hang murderers in Japan). This is truly an evil manga, it comes in to parts. You have to wait three months to find out who the killer is, that is Bond Villian evil. I have two suspects in mind for who the killer is, I won't give it away no fair getting to peer into my head before reading the end. This is really a Hitchcock meets Kindaichi plot, a man wrongly accused and on his own trying to prove his innocence. I think it is a bit of a stretch to have the cops believe that it was Kindaichi after he has solved 9 previous multiple murderer cases but then the first cop who believes he did it is a provincial cop who probably wants to get into the big city and thinks that Kindaichi is his ticket and the other Superintendent Akechi, well that guy has enough ego to go around and Kindaichi did bruise that ego pretty good so his motive is also valid. This shows off how strong the manga is that they can do something like this and make it believable, so many have tried to pull this type of wrongly accused storyline in the past and failed so horribly but they've doen a great job. My favorite part in the entire manga is Miyuki's birthday present, that was so sweet it made me even get a little misty. Look for the big conclusion in the next issue.

Story: A+
Artwork: A+
Manga Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

It may have taken six long painful months but finally the conclusion to the cliffhanger, Kindaichi the Killer. The killer is revealed as his his motive and how he got the job done. I am very happy to say I guessed right, although it was just a complete shot in the dark. So am I am now 5 for 10, still batting .500. I understand the logic behind making this into a two parter but why in gods name did they have to wait six months between the two parts? That was just cruel. I loved the big shocker midway through the volume, it reall had me going. I believed Superintendent Akechi wouldn't be beneath that kind of action to ensure he gets his man. I honestly believed he had shot Kindaichi for a couple of pages. I really liked putting Kindaichi in that sort of position where he has to race against both killer and cops. This is going to be the shortest Kindaichi review I've ever done because I am not going to reveal who the killer is because this mystery comes in two parts and you may read this review before reading the second part so I am going to leave it up to your imagination to figure out who the killer is. All I have to say is it was worth the six month wait to find out.

Story: A+
Artwork: A+
Manga Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

Kindaichi is invited to a remote mountain top lodge called Tarot Lodge by Reika the TV Idol we met in Case File 3: Death TV. She has a problem that only Kindaichi can solve and being a pretty, famous girl Kindaichi of course is more than willing to help but to the chagrin of Miyuki who decised she wants to tag along. They take a ride up a gondola to the mountain top where they meet several entertainment reporters and Reika's manager and record exec and then Dr Yuki who we met in the very first Kindaichi mystery, the Opera House Murders are all there giving Reika a hard time. He is here vacationing, man if I was him I would either fire my travel agent or give him a big raise because two vacations end up embroiled in strange murder mysteries. As the snow starts to move in we learn that Reika's father is being blackmailed for a dark, sinister deed he committed years before by one of the reporters who he ends up killing in a fit of rage. Now this is a total reversal from the standard Kindaichi setup we know who the killer is and we end up siding with him in a very strange way as Kindaichi starts to investigate the disappearence of the reporter but then we are hit with a strange occurance, the body has moved it has moved up to the Windmill at the top of the mountain. The death matches up with one of the Tarot Cards that is found in the lobby of the hotel but Reika's father didn't put him there so someone knows his dirty secret. Soon another person who is threatening Reika is found dead in the tub and Kindaichi is now zeroing in like a bulldog at Reika's father but then he is found hanging in his bedroom. Everyone assume it is a suicide but Kindaichi says it is murder. Now Kindaichi has to find out who is the blackmailer and the murder before it is too late also he has to balance his feelings for both Reika and Miyuki as they fight over him, what a dog. This was one of the best, most intense, Kindaichi mysteries yet, the whole revealing the first murderer in the beginning of the book was great, you end up worrying over Reika's father being found out, it was really strange but I was worrying along with Reika's Father as Kindaichi mused about the killings. I really love when Kindaichi and Miyuki's relationship is tested and almost forced to be brought out by one or both of the parties. It is always cute to see their love for each other but yet they aren't ready to admit it yet. I think it ranks up with Smoke and Mirrors when Miyuki is almost killed and Kindaichi almost gives up solving the crime over it. Unfortunately I was unable to pick the killer before the end of the manga, I did pick the motive and why Reika's father was being blackmailed but I picked the wrong killer so my record slips to 5 for 11 hopefully I can guess the killer in the next one and bring my record back up to .500. This was more than worth the almost 10 month wait from the end of Kindaichi the Killer Part 2, but then again each of these are such masterpieces that I would more than willing to wait an entire year for each volume, the wait makes each mystery that much more satisfying. You must read these they are truly a great treat to read.

Story: A+
Artwork: A+
Manga Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

Kindaichi is in trouble with school, again. He failed his end of the year finals and now has to pass the make up exam or be held back a year. Thankfully Kindaichi uses his legendary intelligence to think around the test and manages to pass thanks to the class president who has the most comically long hair I have ever seen. After passing his exams he accepts the inviatation from his arch-rival Superintendent Akechi to accompany him to a remote castle to take part in a mystery game with some of the most ingenius detectives alive. They arrive at the mystery Castle of Wax and find wax likenesses of them in the main hall. The games begin with the detectives finding one of guest's wax figure killed in the billard room (I suspect Colonel Mustard) but things become truly deadly when they discover that she is dead, in the exact same manner. They learn their host, Mr Redrum may have more than a game in mind for them. My only question about this which is a question that is rather prevasive in most forms of media is the seeming lack of knowledge of stuff that in the real world is taken as common knowledge. Redrum for instance, maybe it is just me and I am very well read but doesn't everybody know Redrum is Murder spelled backwards? Any ways it is up to Kindaichi to find the murder before everybody ends up as stiff as their wax figures. Firstly I must congratulate myself for figuring out who was the killer, I am currently 6 for 12 and hope to make it 7 for 13 when the next volume comes out. This one tipped a little too much of its hand with showing the three soon-to-be victims talking to each other, from that I was able to narrow down the age range of the possible killer and then looked at how was the most likely to have something in common with the victims. I am just happy it wasn't the butler, they are a joke in mystery circles but that is how you hook your reader into believing they can't be the killer because it is such a cliche. I'm not complaining about tipping of the hand, all the help I can get is much appreciated when it comes to solving these mysteries. I was expecting Superintendant Akechi to get killed, there was just something that told me he wasn't long for this world. I like this character he is a good rival to Kindaichi. I really loved the ghost twist at the end, I like when little stuff like that happens in mystery novels, gives it just a slight dash of the supernatural. The only complaint I have is that it will take six more months for the next volume to come out which is horribly long seeing that this is my all time favorite manga series.

Story: A+
Artwork: A+
Manga Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

First off let me congratulate myself for being 7 of 13, I figured out who did it, the motive was shaky but I knew who the killer was early on. Kenomochi butters Kindaichi up with free food before asking him to help him solve the strange series of thefts committed by the so-called 'Gentleman Thief' a real life Lupin by the looks of it. He has been stealing artwork and then doing something clever with the object of the painting. His next target is a painting by a reclusive artist whose subject just so happens to be an old friend of Kindaichi from Kuro High. Kindaichi is unable to stop the thief's first theft but then his pranks take a dark turn when Kindaichi's friend is kidnapped and all her hair is cut off. His next theft leaves one of the house guests very dead and now Kindaichi must catch the theft before it is too late. Another excellent Kindaichi tale, I really like the Gentleman Thief, I was suspecting it was all an elaborate hoax on the part of the murder to pin the crime on somebody else but yes there really is a Gentleman Thief and it is who you least suspect. I'm really happy to say that I figured this one out before Kindaichi did, I really think this is half of the fun of reading them is trying to find out who the killer is. This time I think I got my wires crossed but still managed to find out who did it. In the beginning there was a scene where somebody gets some plastic surgery done and I thought that was the killer and based my guess on that, yes I said guess because most of the time that is all it really is, an instinct telling me to go after that person there really is very little science behind it most of the time. I would have liked to see Miyuki do more in this one but things were busy enough this time around. Without a doubt my favorite character is the Gentleman Thief, when he returns at the end of the manga is was quiet very and very Lupin-esque. Hopefully he will return for another mystery but knowing my luck it will be one of the ones Tokyopop never puts out. Well here is to six months until the next one.

Story: A+
Artwork: A+
Manga Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

This is the first of five short story collections featuring Hajime Kindaichi and his trusty pal Miyuki where they solve cases in a shorter fashion. First up we have Cruel Intentions (-15 Degree Celcius) where Kindaichi and Miyuki got for a weekend of skiing where Miyuki gets a little drunk and starts to flash herself ala Girls Gone Wild. But the trouble really begins when the hunky ski instructor is found blugeoned in the snow, at least he didn't die. It is up to Kindaichi to unwrap the parka shrouded mystery. Of course in standard Kindaichi style he wows the crowd and the reader by finding out who the killer is. In the second story, Who Killed the Goddess our pal Ryuji, the guy with the video camera, has fallen in love with one of the pretty students at their school. So Kindaichi takes him to the school fair to meet up with her but just as things seem to be progressing in the right direction she is accused by Kenimochi of destroying the class art projects, busts of famous Romans, and smashing the art teacher over the head. With only a single photograph to go on can Kindaichi save Ryuji's love and win the day? The third story The Murder Train finds Kindaichi in prison under suspicion of murder and the only person who can get him out and clear his good name is Inspector Akechi, Kindaichi's sometime rivla, somtime ally. Can he and Kenmochi figure out how the man was murdered and by whom. First understand that my details on the plot are sketchy at best, this is best these are entirely in Japanese and I don't speak a lick let alone be able to read it at all. But I am good at looking at pictures and deciphering what is going on. I completely enjoyed these stories although I had absolutely no idea what anyone is saying aside from Kindaichi's signature statement which if you are a real fan of the manga you can pick out a mile away. I liked how not every case involves a murder, most involve simply an assault which at least allows the culprit a chance at redemption, because all Kindaichi Case File murderers are always so full of tragedy and remorse it is quiet nice to see the occasional culprit get some redemption and everyone gets to live happily ever after in the end, which I am a total sucker for. In addition to the cases are a pair of short comedy stories, one involving Miyuki decorating Kindaichi's face because she can't wake him up and the other involves the Class President, a guy with insane hair and what he looks like in the morning before he can pour probably gallons of gel into his hair. One thing about these you do need a good knowledge of many of the little characters in the other cases, the class president, Ryuji, plus a couple of other characters from other manga that I had to go back and look up to see who they were. You'll probably never see these translated in this country, Tokyopop's contempt for the series all but ensures that but if you are as huge a fan of this series as I am you will probably enjoy at least looking at the pictures even if you can't read any of the text what-so-ever.

Story: B
Artwork: A+
Manga Quality: A+
Overall: B+ 

Iba is a world class guy, a smart historian, a world class kendo player and a hot dude to boot, everything his girlfriend Kyoko wants but he won't marry her until he finishes his research on the Silk Road. But he disappears and a year later Kyoko goes to search for him. She is sucked into a swirling black vortex which transports her back in time to the era of the Mongol Horde where she finds that Iba is now a slave of the horde forced to fight in a slave pit. He is then sent to the frozen north to battle barbarians and when he survives, something that wasn't suppose to happen so he is challenged by the Mongol General for Kyoko. Iba kicks the generals ass and is taken to see Genghis Khan himself. Genghis is pleased and makes him a general. But when Kyoko gives birth to a baby girl Iba learns why Genghis has taken him in. In this manga they writer takes the stance that Genghis Khan was actually a Japanese warlord who fled after being defeated. This isn't entirely a strange Japanese claim there is some evidence to support it but not nearly enough to make it true. Well Iba goes up against Genghis and defeats him, but whoops, Genghis Khan was supposed to live another 14 years. Iba assumes the role of Genghis Khan and leads them to great victory but Kyoko gets sucked back into the black vortex and pops out back in her own time never to see Iba again. This is a fanciful tale and I probably wouldn't have picked it up except for the fact that the same guy who did Berserk drew this. It really has the feel of a proto-Berserk which isn't all that bad. the fight scenes are very good but the story is a little too esoteric for the average reader.

Story: A
Artwork: A+
Manga Quality: A+
Overall: A 

Ichi is a freelance killer in the Japanese Underworld who works for a group of outcast hoodlums. He doesn't use guns or knives, he uses his feet. He kung-fu's his victims to very bloody deaths. After killing a Yakuza boss, the boss's on, the very unstable Kakihara who is known as Kakihara the Pierced for his many piercings including the rather infamous cheek piercings that keep the cuts in his cheeks closed. Kakihara begins to search for his missing father the only way he knows how, by beating up or killing everybody in his path. At the same time we get to pry a little deeper into Ichi, the man with the weird smile and cries after he beats up or kills people. There is not a normal person in this entire manga, everybody is different in their own special ways. Each character is very distinct, Yakuza tales always are brimming with very interesting characters, even the minor characters like the big Yakuza boss who has a bullet in his head or the necrophilica that works for Ichi's clean up crew. The manga is a little bloody and a little weird. I would hazard to say almost too weird for the average manga person which probably explains why it has been licensed in this country. I did like it but my tastes often wander into strange areas and this is one of them but I liked it not just because it was strange, bloody or violent but because it was strange, bloody, violent, and it is unique. American comics tend to over use blood and guts in mundane ways and it totally defeats any shock or surprise and it just becomes gee look at them killing an entire room of people. Only two people die in the entire manga but several get pierced and beaten up and this manga or to be exact the movie that was based on the manga has a reputation for being extremely violent, you don't have to kill a hundred people per volume, you just need to make two or three deaths very visceral for the reader to remember it.

Story: A
Artwork: A+
Manga Quality: A+
Overall: A 

Kakihara is out for blood and Jijii, the man who setup the killing of his boss by Ichi comes to Kakihara and gives him a juicy piece of information that leads them to another member of the Yakuza gang. Kakihara, the king of subtly, takes this man hostages and proceed to torture him with boiling oil. This of course is totally against the rules, something Jijii knows very wall and is planning for. The other Yakuza goons arrive and there is a tense stand-off. Then they notice Jijii is gone and now are really pissed because what Kakihara did is going to lead to war. At the same time Ichi is visiting his beaten prostitute friend who begs him to kill her pimp because he really beats the snot out of her on a nightly basis. Ichi witnesses one of these beatings and enjoys its. Yes everybody in this manga is more twisted than a pretzel. The volume ends with Karen, a glamorous night club owner giving Kakihara a big lead, one of Jijii's crew is a heroin addict and there aren't many heroin dealers in Japan. Now Kakihara has an in to find Jijii and his boys. This is a twisted, messed up, yet very enjoyable manga. You get lots of the inner working of the Yakuza and how they try to keep the peace between themselves. The meeting where Kakihara cuts the tip of his tongue off was really interesting to me, I never imagined that gangsters would be so civilized when it comes to settling disputes. The torture esquence was intense, but it is Kakihara and that guy does not go halfway on anything.

Story: A
Artwork: A+
Manga Quality: A+
Overall: A 

Kakihara finds a member of Jijii's gang when he has the shakes from not getting any heroin. He has gone nuts and crawled into the TV, yes he crawled into the TV. When Kakihara finds him he gets to torture, of course Kakihara gets to torture him. At the same time Ichi goes to face down against the pimp and we get a little insight on why Ichi cries whenever he kills people. At the sametime the guy who got boiled by Kakihara in the previous volume is recovering in the hospital gets a visit from Jijii and the remaining members of the crew meet with him. He demands revenge on Kakihara and they agree to kill him and his entire crew for 3 million yen. Jijii is a devious bastard who had all of this planned well ahead and it is all going according to plan. Ichi kills the pimp but it all goes horribly awry like it always does, and a lot of blood gets sprayed about when Ichi attacks and there is a great deal of really weird sexual stuff that I won't get into because it is really messed up. The build up of the showdown between Ichi and Kakihara is very good, I really like how Jijii is really masterminding everything, he knows how to play everybody like a fiddle. I would like to see a little more of Ichi, the series being called Ichi the Killer but yet we haven't had enough Ichi. Hopefully there will be more Ichi in the future volumes especially when he meets Kakihara and his gang.

Story: B+
Artwork: A+
Manga Quality: A+
Overall: A- 

Kakihara and his gang are disowned by the Yakuza turning them into outcasts. Now Kakaihara has nothing holding him back and he goes on a tear of Shinjuku intimidating or just killing all those that stand in his way. This entire volume really is just to show how depraved Kakihara and his gang are and I don't think it was really that necessary but I didn't write this so I can't change it. This volume is rather grotesque and doesn't really do much for the plot. This series really is about going the extra mile in grossing the audience out and it does the trick but this entire volume could have been condensed into a few pages easily.

Story: B+
Artwork: A+
Manga Quality: A+
Overall: A- 

Ichi finally strikes Kakihara's gang, killing three men in specactulary bloody fashion, but after such bloodshed he has a problem, a problem with not staying erect but actually not being erect. Yes Ichi is really screwed up. The attack does precisely what Jijii wanted, it makes every member of the gang defect except for two. To fix this problem Kakihara calls on two friends of his dead uncle, two psychos from the north whose main business is blackmailing Yakuza wives for sleeping with them, while their husbands are in jail. Yes once again everybody in this entire series is warped beyond belief. These two psychos are going to hunt down and kill Ichi. This series is starting to get dull, yes that is dull. There is only so far you can take psychotic violence. Maybe it is because I have access to all the volumes at once and I can't savor each volume but when you stack this up against a much better gritty, violent series Battle Royale you can see that Battle Royale while very violent and twisted is more than just violence and sex, this is just about how much somebody can get away with before somebody tells them this is too much.

Story: C
Artwork: A+
Manga Quality: A+
Overall: B- 

One of the last two members of Jijii's gang are killed in rather gory fashion which by now has gotten very old.

Story: C-
Artwork: A+
Manga Quality: A+
Overall: C 

I basically plowed through the rest of the series because I am so bloody tired of its rather one note series. Lots of people die, lots of weird sexual stuff happens, and it takes way too damn long for it all to end. This series should have been cut down to 5 volumes, it would have made it much more managable and less repetitive. My favorite character in the series was Jijii who finally gets to shine in the last four volumes as the mastermind of the entire thing, he evens gets to show off his massive physique. Unfortunately it isn't about him, it is about Ichi, who cries way too much and acts like a psychotic wuss, and then there is Kakihara who is more fucked up than I can explain. This was a grotesque series that was simply grotesque for the sake of grossing the reader out. It was too long for just a collection of twisted violence and sex.

Story: A+
Artwork: A+
Manga Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

Yoshitsune is on the run from his brother who has taken over and now wants him very much dead. Along with one of his friends Beniki they make for the mountains where they discover a lone house deep in the mountains that is occupied by only one woman, Kuromitsu. She welcomes them to stay but tells them under no circumstances can they go into the back room. What Yoshitsune finds will change his life forever. I'm not sure if I want to give away what happens just yet, kinda ruins the fun surprise of it, and it is a good surprise. This is violent with some great horror elements to it, I really love the combination of horror and samurais, that is a great combination I don't think is used enough. This is a really good series that I am looking forward to read more of this series.

Story: A+
Artwork: A+
Manga Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

From the creative genius that brought you the masterpiece Lone Wolf and Cub comes Lady Snowblood a tale of a woman out for vengence in the Meiji Era. She is a very versitile woman, able to mingle between the old society and the new industrial, pro-western society and kill everybody that gets in her way. Yes this is a lot like Lone Wolf and Cub but that isn't a bad thing. I personally think this is better than Lone Wolf and Cub if for nothing else that these are normal sized and we all know Lone Wolf and Cub was mini-pocket sized. Yuki travels through several adventure involving brothels and prostitution in this first volume which does make sense, it is a world which Yuki, who is very shapely I might ass, can easily move about. This may not be for everyone, you have to be willing to accept prostitution and the like but if you can this is great. I am very happy I picked this up. I liked Lone Wolf and Cub but it was so damn small you need a jeweler's eye piece to see what's going on. Lady Snowblood is big, open airy, and there isn't so much cluttering the background at times. A Great read and a recommendation for all manga fans.

Story: A+
Artwork: A+
Manga Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

Lady Snowbloods quest for vengeance continues, she first has to secure the whereabouts of the three remaining people she must take her vengeance upon. To do this she teams up with a village of bandits who have the resources to find the trio. But their price is for Yuki to obtain record books from several buddist temples. These books are rather special, they are death records. Now why would bandits want death records, for a simple scam. On the anniversary of the deaths of important or wealthy men they arrive at the widows house and say they were servants of the dead man and had tended the grave in his honor and gets a little money from the pleased widow. But these books are carefully guarded by the buddists priests. In order to get the book Yuki becomes a very special 'friend' of a girl who is dying so when she does pass beyond the veil she can go to the temple and write her name into the book and steal it. Once she brings them the book they manage to give her a name. But before she goes to slice and dice we get a Yuki flashback of her brutal training so she could be strong enough to take her revenge. It shows why she is so bad-ass the whole barrel down the hill would be enough but that was just the first thing in her training. The first person she plans to take revenge against is a woman who runs a death insurance scam that is being muscled out by a life insurance scam run by none other than Yuki. Revenge moves in mysterious ways. While waiting for the next name Yuki gets involved with a blackmail scheme where she is captured by a man mountain who has rather nasty plans for her. This is a great manga that shows off some of the more vice ridden Japanese society, from lesbians to masturbating, it adds much more to the usual swords and sandals of most other samurai tales. This is a great series that maybe a little too racy for most manga fans, it doesn't pull any punches and that is what makes it great.

Story: A+
Artwork: A+
Manga Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

Yuki continues on her quest for vengence. She takes a side job to topple the powerful Yakuza clan who is blocking the construction of an art museum in Tokyo but she has to face six very skilled men who are skilled in many different fighting styles. She has to use both wits and her fighting prowess to defeat them with a little help from her pickpocket allies. After she completes the side job she learns that there is no information about the final two men she is searching for. In a last ditch attempt she seeks out and finds an author who is wandering the railroad tracks conning people he meets to get by. Yuki has to convince him to write her story in the hopes of smoking out the final two men. The second half of the book lends a little humor and a lighter tone to what is a heavy and serious story. The old guy is very funny especially when Yuki keeps getting him in trouble. With the book written Yuki is on the road to completing her quest for vengence. Excellent series, excellent story that never gets repeatitive and manages to shed light on many different places in Meiji era Japanese society.

Story: A+
Artwork: A+
Manga Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

Yuki long and bloody journey finally comes to its blood soaked climax. Fabulous manga, dirty and exploitative but also poetic and distinctly tragic, definitely a unique and fabulous manga from the genius that brought you Lone Wolf and Cub. True this is the female version of Lone Wolf and Cub but Yuki is a much more sympathetic character and much more appealing one. I also like the window you get into early Meiji Japan where the old and new worlds are trying to mix together to create something. You get more of a feel for time and place in this than you do in Lone Wolf and Cub which could have taken place at any time in Feudal Japan. This is also much shorter and more varied than Lone Wolf and Cub. This is without a doubt the best and most different swords and sandals manga I have ever seen and also one of the best all around manga I have read too.

Story: A+
Artwork: A+
Manga Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

The volume begins with the Lone Wolf facing off against three brothers, the Bentenrai, who have a devistating tri-attack. But they are nothing against the Lone Wolf. The next mission Lone Wolf protects a runaway prostitute from her madam who has a strange collection of dolls, their hair is from the hair of dead prostitutes and the doll's dresses from the clothing of the same dead prostitutes, now that is a macabre collection. The next story we see the backstory of why Lone Wolf becomes the Lone Wolf and are introduced to the Yagyu Clan who are the real power behind the Tokagawa Shogunate who betrayed the Lone Wolf when he was the Shogun's Loyal Executioner. Yagyu killed his entire family and led him down the assassin road to get his revenge. His life choice comes into question in the last adventure of the book where he meets a master who devotes his life to poverty and tries to get the Lone Wolf off the Assassin's Road for the sake of his son. This of course leads to a fight between the two men. I like all the little glimpses into the world of the Shogun's Japan and plus all the fighting looks cool too.