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Case Closed Vol. 12 by Gosho Aoyama
The Blurb On The Back:
In this exciting volume:
WHO SHANKED TEDDY?
Doc Agasa takes Conan and his young Junior Detective League pals for a treasure hunt. When the pint-size investigators find a mysterious box, they open it and discover it is full of smashed toys and a violently stabbed teddy bear! Conan follows the trail of clues and runs smack-dab into a dead old man in an attic! Who killed the old man, and more importantly, who killed teddy?
This is the first Manga I've ever read, and I only read it because I got it free at a convention. Saying that, it was surprisingly easy to adapt to the 'back-to-front' way of reading and the three mysteries that comprise the book, whilst slight, were still enjoyable.
I don't have a lot to say about the artwork, which seemed okay to me, although there were times when I was a left a little confused by what was going on (specifically because the way the story jumped between panels wasn't as smooth as it could have otherwise been).
I was left a little confused by the final mystery, which didn't seem to reveal the murderer. I'm not familiar enough with the genre to know whether this was intentional to make you buy the next Volume, or whether it's just the way they're put together. I do know that it was pretty frustrating, and I wouldn't have been impressed to pay a fiver for the book without getting a final identification.
There's evidently a lot of backstory to the series, but I found it easy to understand and the concept of an adult detective who's shrunk back down to being a child (whilst retaining his adult brain and experiences) was an entertaining one and I got the impression that the backstory is something that's developed throughout each Volume.
The Verdict:
It was diverting enough for an hour or so and whilst the mysteries are pretty easy to unravel, the story ticks along nicely. It's certainly not put me off reading more Manga, although I wouldn't perhaps continue with this particular series as the storylines weren't quite complicated enough for me. According to the cover, it's aimed at older teens, although I'd suggest that 10 years + might be a better bracket.
In this exciting volume:
WHO SHANKED TEDDY?
Doc Agasa takes Conan and his young Junior Detective League pals for a treasure hunt. When the pint-size investigators find a mysterious box, they open it and discover it is full of smashed toys and a violently stabbed teddy bear! Conan follows the trail of clues and runs smack-dab into a dead old man in an attic! Who killed the old man, and more importantly, who killed teddy?
This is the first Manga I've ever read, and I only read it because I got it free at a convention. Saying that, it was surprisingly easy to adapt to the 'back-to-front' way of reading and the three mysteries that comprise the book, whilst slight, were still enjoyable.
I don't have a lot to say about the artwork, which seemed okay to me, although there were times when I was a left a little confused by what was going on (specifically because the way the story jumped between panels wasn't as smooth as it could have otherwise been).
I was left a little confused by the final mystery, which didn't seem to reveal the murderer. I'm not familiar enough with the genre to know whether this was intentional to make you buy the next Volume, or whether it's just the way they're put together. I do know that it was pretty frustrating, and I wouldn't have been impressed to pay a fiver for the book without getting a final identification.
There's evidently a lot of backstory to the series, but I found it easy to understand and the concept of an adult detective who's shrunk back down to being a child (whilst retaining his adult brain and experiences) was an entertaining one and I got the impression that the backstory is something that's developed throughout each Volume.
The Verdict:
It was diverting enough for an hour or so and whilst the mysteries are pretty easy to unravel, the story ticks along nicely. It's certainly not put me off reading more Manga, although I wouldn't perhaps continue with this particular series as the storylines weren't quite complicated enough for me. According to the cover, it's aimed at older teens, although I'd suggest that 10 years + might be a better bracket.