This anime series celebrates the work of one of the pioneers of Japanese mystery writing, Tarō Hirai (1894-1965)—better known by his pen name Edogawa Rampo—on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his death. Directed by Seiji Kishi, the series stitches together elements from Rampo’s stories about genius teen detective Kogorō Akechi and his group of boy assistants. The first helper, Kobayashi Yoshio, is introduced at the start, awakening in his school homeroom to find his teacher brutally slashed to death, and the murder weapon in Kobayashi’s hand. After he is proved innocent, Kobayashi and his ultra-loyal best friend Sōji Hashiba aim to attach themselves to the initially dismissive Akechi, who insists they must prove their worth by identifying the killer. Thrilled by the challenge, Kobayashi discovers that the dead teacher was a murderer too, and that becomes the thread tying together the remaining cases, all of which involve criminals who have escaped punishment but are now being killed—or executed—by a vigilante, or, more accurately, a succession of vigilantes, that operate under the name Twenty Faces. The plot is frankly preposterous and much of the action is quite gruesome, while Kobayashi’s childish enthusiasm eventually grows rather unsettling (as does the rising popularity of Twenty Faces). Nevertheless, this intriguing mystery anime does bring the work of a significant Japanese author to a wider audience. Compiling all 11 episodes from 2015 in a dual-language Blu-ray edition, rated TV-MA, extras include an episode commentary and a promo video. A strong optional purchase. (F. Swietek)
Rampo Kitan: Game of Laplace
(2015) 2 discs. 275 min. Blu-ray: $29.99. Funimation (avail. from most distributors). Volume 34, Issue 4
Rampo Kitan: Game of Laplace
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