shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,860
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Post by shaxper on Mar 13, 2016 11:10:46 GMT -5
   Published: December 1999 thru February 2000 Synopsis: "Usagi is returning to the temple of his friend, Priest Sanshobo, when he witnesses a duel. Upon entering a seemingly friendly town, he finds himself stalked in a deadly cat-and-mouse game with a serial killer who preys on masterless samurai. Can you deduce the identity of the killer and the reason for his murderous obsession before he strikes again?" Notes: Discuss the issue and/or post full reviews below! |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Apr 1, 2016 20:47:11 GMT -5
The disappearing witch act is always a great way to start a story, it immediately sets the tone for an eerie adventure. I really like these mystery stories, the way Usagi and the Inspector over the game of Go felt like a classic detective parlor scene with a fun twist, and the misdirection with both the assistant Inspector and the Inspector was really fun to see play out.
One of the best parts of the story though takes place in the second part, the way Stan stretches out Usagi's walk through the town while being stalked by the demon mask with so many small panels gives you an almost claustrophobic feeling that puts you right in Usagi's shoes. But the master stroke of it all was the skull pattern on the demon mask's robes, it was subtle but fun.
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Post by stillpoint on Nov 20, 2016 1:46:13 GMT -5
I'm terrible with mysteries at the best of times, so I was turned all different directions by the many suspects. Only when I got to the end did I realize why this wasn't an Inspector Ishida mystery.
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Post by brutalis on May 8, 2018 8:01:50 GMT -5
Usagi works well with these mystery stories as his nature suits the tone and tempo very well. Never taking anything at face value, a natural curiosity, desire for doing the right thing, not liking to leave situations unresolved, poking his nose where it sometimes doesn't belong. Usagi fits the Columbo mold quite nicely. The killer actually took me by surprise on the 1st reading but going back over the story a 2nd time Stan is quite subtle yet the clues are most definitely there. I think that I enjoy Usagi himself so much it distracted me from stepping outside of the story in seeing the clues. Very good writing when you lose yourself in this way! Thank you Stan  |
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