Manga Review: Sherlock Bones, Volume 1, by Yuma Ando and Yuki Sato

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Kodansha Comics

Release Date: September 2013

Volumes: 7

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells. RightStuf.

Volume: 2.

Goodreads Synopsis:

DEDUCTIVE DOG DETECTIVE

When Takeru adopts his new pet, he's in for a surprise—the dog is none other than the reincarnation of Sherlock Holmes, the famous detective. What's more, this "Sherdog" has decided that Takeru is the reincarnation of his long-time assistant, Dr. Watson. Takeru may think Sherdog (or he himself) is crazy, but with no one else able to communicate with Holmes, he's roped into becoming the canine's assistant all the same. Using his exceptional sleuthing skills, Holmes uncovers clues to solve the trickiest crimes.

Review:

When I found out that this series was only seven volumes long, I jumped on board. I’d been feeling the need to read a manga mystery, and maybe that’s just cause it’s been so long since I watched Case Closed (or Detective Conan). Which means that, invariably, I will be comparing this to Case Closed. But I just love that series, and it’s one of the only manga mysteries I’ve read/watched.

This sounded like a cute series, a new take on Sherlock Holmes. And the artwork is very pretty, which is always a grab for me.

It is a cute series, what with Sherlock reincarnated as a dog and talking only to Watson, now known as Takeru, a boy in high school. We get a mystery pretty early on, which goes through the whole volume. It’s a bit dark, and the artstyle changes to construe the psychotic urges form the murderer, and it’s also emotional for Takeru. There’s a hint of romance, and I do hope that grows throughout the series.

This was a very good first volume. The mystery was good, if a little obvious from the beginning, but overall pretty impressive. I look forward to reading more.