Highlight – Kindaichi Case Files Returns

Ever so often, there come anime that are the subject of immense hype and expectancy, with notable examples being Attack on Titan in 2013 and Sword Art Online in 2012. And then there are anime seasons, or anime ‘years’, which seem to be bursting to the brim with  epic titles. Case in point, 2007 gave us Gurren Lagann, Darker than Black (a personal all-time favourite of mine), Higurashi, Clannad, and so on. In the flurry of excitement, certain other titles tend to be passed over as the giant spotlight of popularity sweeps the board. So in 2007, there was Baccano!, which was most unfortunately ignored for the most part, until critics started to recognise its immense originality and flair. Personally, I didn’t like Baccano!, but that’s me being subjective, and objectively, it stands as an example of an anime which deserved more love than it initially got.

So let’s all not make the same mistake, and be sure to catch Kindaichi Case File Returns as it comes out weekly in this wonderful spring season. The only reason I am so hyped about just this one show, is simply because Kindaichi happens to be a nostalgic staple of my youth, and also because the original series, which aired way back in the late 1990s to early 2000s, is nothing short of pure adrenaline and awesomeness.

Kindaichi Case Files follows the miscellaneous adventures of Hajime Kindaichi, a high school slop with the secret brain of Sherlock Holmes and the sense of humour of an eighty-year old bachelor. He and his childhood friend Miyuki Nanase typically find themselves in various situations involving a seemingly normal set-up with a group of people they are just starting to know – these scenarios ranging from anything involving a cruise on the sea to an invitation to a private party. Once the settings and backdrop are established, the thrill of the story kicks in with the death of one of the group. Usually, this death is classified as a humanly-impossible feat, resulting in the group attributing the bizarre event to the work of some ethereal, supernatural being – examples include Hell’s Puppeteer, the Afterschool Conjurer, and Killer Clown. The plot thickens as more and more of the group get killed off one by one, until Kindaichi’s investigations and observations lead him to uncover the true identity of the murderer, and the trick behind each of the locked-room murders employed.

Unlike other anime which employ the ‘arc’ approach to storytelling, Kindaichi goes one step further in grouping its plots into ‘cases’, which span about three to four episodes. There is generally very little continuity with the overarching story, which makes it perfectly easy to follow no matter where you start watching from – provided of course, that you follow the story from the beginning of a case itself. Kindaichi’s brilliance is primarily in its sheer ingenuity of murder tactics, and is arguably the best of its genre – even spanning other mediums such as novels and films. To put it into perspective, I have read Agatha Christie, Nancy Drew, some Sherlock Holmes, watched some Alfred Hitchcock, bought a few volumes of Detective Conan, own almost the entire set of Enid Blyton’s Five-Find Outers (haha), and still, nothing rivals the genius of Kindaichi’s writing. This can in no way be credited to the cleverness of the murder tactics alone, but the entire premise and backstory of each case. The true killer is hardly presented as cold and ruthless, instead, the revelations behind his/her motivations for killing and the relationships with both victims and surviving members of the group, almost invite some form of sympathy for the plight of the villain. Rather than succeed on intelligence, Kindaichi disturbs and prickles viewers with its use of emotion and ethical issues – which made the original run of this series such a twisted piece of good entertainment.

Not to say that the original series didn’t have its disappointments, since the excellence of certain cases would cast harsh light on the comparative mildness of some other ones. I recall many times, in watching the original series, where the case would conclude with me feeling, “So that was it?” But then, I only felt that way because of the inconsistency. From what I’ve watched of this new series, the very first case might well be suffering from this problem, which is a shame. Nevertheless, it calls me into my solemn duty to inform everyone that the subsequent cases have the potential of being so much better than this first one, so stick around and give it a few more chances. I won’t deny that I badly want this anime to fare well, because of my personal attachment to it, but then again, things could go wrong. Until the season’s conclusion, though, you can be sure that I’ll be it’s most faithful follower. So to everyone else, go watch it now!