sennetari

A little change of pace for me, I picked up a (somewhat) new Kindaichi manga (after haven't read the series like in forever), and am reminded why I like this series. Unlike Detective Conan (much as I like and prefer that series), Kindaichi (at least the manga) doesn't require you to be familiar with the series to be able to understand the case (in other words, each murder case pretty much stands alone). But I'm also reminded of a downside of the ability to pick up the series at any point, which is the relationship between the main leads kind of go nowhere (granted, Conan isn't doing much better in the romance department, but there is still some definite progress (the latest chapter, for example)). That isn't to say the interactions among the Kindaichi characters are not wonderful, by any means. It's more like a serial, where existing relationships must be kept pretty much static so new comers to the series are not lost.

( A little more on the case; no real spoiler because it's more fun to solve a murder mystery without knowing a solution beforehand. )

I suppose I'll be looking at the anime (it does exist, after all) and the drama next (especially the episodes having to do with this opera house; I guess I've become somewhat attached to it).

Kindaichi Case Files volumes are available in the US, although I'm not sure how easy it would be to obtain any volume because I don't recall having ever seen one sitting there in a local bookstore (have seen Case Closed (Conan) volumes, though). IMHO, the covers of the US editions are rather pretty, too. Anyway, Kindaichi is well worth the time to read and I don't know anyone who is disappointed with this series yet (sure, can't please everyone, but a mystery (and manga/anime) fan would most likely enjoy it).

I tried to post about other things, but it's not working. I'm stuck with the adventures of the shrunken detective and his friends for now, and I can't even say I'm unhappy about that. (I probably should go somewhere like on detective_conan, but I'm too shy, so I'm here, instead.) And sorry that I'm not going to cut the post as much as I usually do.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I was watching all Detective Conan movies I could get my hand on. (All 11 of them; The 12th movie, Full Score of Fear, was out in theatre last April, and is being subbed at the moment, I believe.) Here, have a GPP (gratuitous picture post) which I hid in that last post:

( Pic of MatsuJun and someone I don't know )

(Conan is at the top right hand corner, very small and blurry (hey, I can't even scan properly). And nope, I don't know who the female half of the cover is.)

Anyway, my feelings on the movies were rather mixed. The following is more of an elaboration of my reactions to the movies. And spoilers, probably.

( I'm sure this makes no sense to anyone not familiar with DC. )

And to everyone who has not seen them, watch the Meitantei Conan drama specials for Shun Oguri. They're not perfect (in fact, the murder case in each is rather ordinary--though I must say I'm not watching DC for deep mind numbling (that's not a word? It should be) mysteries most of the time), but time has really mellowed my views of them (even that girl who played Ran, she can't be that bad an actress, surely). They're all subbed so no excuse of not being able to understand Japanese. ;P The first one is by KnKF, a now defunct group, I think, who used to put out anime episodes, and the second is by TimeLesSub (yes, the folks who put out Takeru Sato dramas this year; wonder if their staff is his fan or just happy coincidence in my favor again).

::glances up:: Gee, I live far too much in the past and not enough in the present.

(Last Edited: 22 August 2008)

While this is not strictly a friend-only journal, I lock up quite a few things. Just so you know. So, yeah, it might seem I never update, particularly when I don't have/am too lazy, too uninspired to do fandom-type posts.


It makes sense putting this down, so maybe potential visitors looking at my journal will know what to expect.

( Exactly as the subject says )

More as I thought of something...