Holmes of Kyoto – 06 – Oh No They Cela-Didn’t

At school we see Aoi has remained in touch with Kaori. Aoi has been invited to the Owner’s 77th birthday party, which is apparently quite a bash. Aoi learns quite a bit of new things the day of the party.

First, Holmes has a kind of male version of her in Takiyama Rikyu, a kid whose 40-ish mom (who looks half her age) is the Owner’s girlfriend, Yoshie. When Aoi finds she’s under-dressed for the occasion, Yoshie hooks her up.

The “mystery”, which is a bit contrived almost to the point of exhibition (though I guess that was true of last week with the monk too) involves the Owner’s most valuable antique—a Chinese Celadon vase—that for some reason is not encased in glass like the rest of the less valuable vases. That was weird for a start. Even weirder is that Holmes has the key to the hall of antiques, and leaves that key in Aoi’s possession. To which I say…why?

The story about the two proteges of a famous magician exacting revenge on the owner by pretending to break the vase by switching it out for a shattered fake, getting everyone to look up at what would have been an obviously visible chandelier, and using some kind of portable speaker to make the shattering noise…again, it’s all very strained and artificial.

Unlike previous “cases” I couldn’t help but ask questions the show wasn’t interested in addressing like “why aren’t there servants in such a big house?”, or “how did Owner make so much money?”, or “why was the vase out in the open like that for anyone to knock over?”

Elsewhere, Aoi’s nebulous/intermittent interest in Holmes is starting to wear thin, as is Holmes’ seeming omniscience with the cards. And don’t get me started on the show’s looks…it doesn’t have any. But I’m probably being too granular and harsh on a show that’s just trying to tell a series of fun little mysteries.

Holmes of Kyoto – 05 – The Forger of Nanzenji

Aoi mostly sits this one out, with her brief appearances book-ending the episode. Instead, it’s Akihito accompanying Holmes on his latest mission, with the added objective of giving the actor some pointers for a Kyoto-based TV role. Despite Holmes still being weary of Akihito, he does admit his true nature regarding women (he’s through with long/deep relationships, but would be open to flings).

In another example of the “culprit” showing their face almost immediately, the monk Ensho is their guide as they tour Nanzenji Temple, which is full of several magnificent works of art…and one that is merely “impressive.” Holmes’ suspicions about the scroll in the entryway are confirmed when the vice abbot informs him that Nanzenji’s “dragon” has indeed been stolen as the note indicates. To be more precise, it was swapped.

It turns out Ensho is the forger, and he’s a very good one, but not good enough to get past Holmes. While Holmes didn’t sense the “malice” and desire to deceive in the fake dragon scroll, it still lacked the aura of the genuine article, and Ensho was walking, talking, and breathing strangely when the scroll caught Holmes’ attention. And make no mistake; while the fake was impressive, Holmes does not consider it art; he’s even pissed enough about it to lapse into his drawl.

There’s likely a part of Ensho that’s glad he was acknowledged, but he’s determined to evade Holmes’ sharp appraising eye, as well as justice. Since he has shinobi training, he won’t be easily caught, but in the meantime Holmes can commit himself to exposing every fake work of art Ensho tries to pass off as real. Now that he knows so much about the forger, his task shouldn’t be beyond his abilities.

Holmes of Kyoto – 04 – The Sashimo Grass on Mount Ibuki

Aoi keeps having a dream where her boyfriend and best friend keep pairing off the moment she leaves for Kyoto. But in the waking world it’s time for the Gion Festival, which means both Holmes and Aoi don yukatas while at work. Akihito, the brother from last week’s case, stops by to properly thank Holmes, who is quick to stop him from sexually harassing an unwitting Aoi, who suddenly finds herself in the midst of two very handsome young men.

It’s a week of running into exes, apparently, because not only does Holme’s ex Izumi stop by to have a dish appraised (and vents about how she’s not so sure about her new husband, who sounds like a dick!), but Aoi’s friends arrive for the festival, with her ex-boyfriend and best friend in tow. Her friends praise her for how good she looks in her yukata, but it’s soon clear what their true motives are.

Sanae and Katsumi know what they did was shitty, and they’re seeking forgiveness, using their mutual friends (who simply want an end to the conflict and the awkwardness that comes with it) as cover. Aoi is about to let everyone off the hook, but internally, she’s about to lose it. So it’s a good thing Holmes shows up, not only to raise her spirits, but to make her ex jealous enough to protest, leading his new girlfriend to slap him.

Aoi no doubt felt unbearably alone, especially considering she had figured out the message Izumi was trying to send to Holmes through the mugwort-patterned bowl she made on Mt. Ibuki. It’s a nice synthesis of pottery and poetry that also demonstrates that Aoi’s also a smart cookie when it comes to connecting artistic dots.

The thing is, Holmes is done with Izumi. She may now have some regrets about the choice she made, but he’s not about to bail her out. Instead, he comes to Aoi’s rescue in a time of dire need, when her supposed friends all had her backed into a corner.

I’m really enjoying the subtle courtship between these two, who were after all only brought together after each of them was betrayed by the ones they loved. So far, their dynamic, and the show’s highbrow bookish demeanor, are enough for me to overlook how freakin’ awful the show looks.

Holmes of Kyoto – 03 – Mystery at Mount Kurama

This week’s whodunit sends Holmes and Aoi to Mount Kurama, where they have a nice date-by-any-other name before visiting the villa of their client. While at a particularly cool restaurant, Holmes reveals that he lost his girlfriend in much the same way she lost her boyfriend. His ex has since married the “arrogant and overbearing Osakan”, but he took that as destiny telling him it was right for them to part.

The case involves three brothers who were instructed by their late author father’s will to be at the villa at a specific time to be given three scrolls that turned out to be worthless reproductions, suggesting they had some other meaning besides assets to distribute. However, the scrolls were burned in the incinerator on the villa grounds. Someone currently in the villa burned them…but who?

Holmes all but dispenses with manners (particularly the second son, who reminds him of the Osakan who wooed away his girlfriend) and works quickly, and because of his near-encyclopedic knowledge of classic art, it doesn’t take him long to deduce what the three pieces were.

Both the first and second sons’ scrolls were works that carried symbolic messages; in both cases, an urging to seek greater heights in the things they’ve decided to do with their lives. But before Holmes can describe the third son’s scroll, the mother breaks down and confesses to burning them—which was fairly obvious in the opening moments of the episode.

She claims to have done it out of anger for not even being mentioned in the second will, and with the mystery solved, Holmes departs with Aoi. Before he does, the brothers insist he tell them about the third son’s scroll, and he acquiesces.

The message of the third scroll is that the third son’s true father was actually the author’s secretary, who was once in a bike gang(!) but saved their father’s life and apparently gave the mother support and comfort as her husband recovered.

It explains the timing of the distribution of the scrolls—just as the third son came of age—as well as the mother’s true motive for burning them—that they’d learn the truth. However, the fact her husband left her an aquamarine ring (symbolizing freedom) indicated he wanted her to be free to live her life, and also free of any guilt she might have felt over what happened.

And there you have it: another reasonably-well-off family with problems has their little personal mystery solved by Holmes, and he and Aoi are driven to the station by the second son (who is an awful driver) where they’ll return home to await the next case.

This episode dragged a bit in the middle as Holmes interrogated everyone, and the animation was pretty damn rough (how I wish these stories were in the hands of someone with some visual flair) but the case was clever enough, and despite his flaws Holmes remains a charming young scamp.

Holmes of Kyoto – 02 – Pretty, Fairly Well-Off People with Problems

Miyashita Saori has been named Saio-dai, the centerpiece of the Aoi Festival chosen for her wisdom, grace, and social standing, and a tremendous honor for a woman in Kyoto to boot. But she’s received threatening letters warning her to bow out, and Holmes-san is the man you come to when you have a little mystery to solve.

Saori has a little sister Kaori, who attends the same school as Aoi, but I suspected her almost immediately of being the culprit. To put on my own deerstalker cap, it wasn’t just her beads of sweat or the camera seeming to linger on her; it was the mere fact Kaori was present to begin with. Surely Saori and her mother would’ve sufficed for the visit to see Holmes.

It takes Holmes a little longer than me to figure this out; or if he also figured it out immediately, he goes through more trouble to confirm it, attending Saori’s flower arranging class’s exhibit, then having Aoi discretely pump Saori’s jealous classmates for info. I never saw them as culprits; they were red herrings!

Seeing two vastly different flower arrangements purportedly by Saori get Holmes thinking about the two similarly different threatening letters. Eventually he gets Kaori and Saori to admit they wrote the first and second letters, respectively.

The first, because Kaori worried about the costs of Saio-dai preparation their struggling family business would strain to bear. Saori wrote the second one, hoping her mother would pull her out of the running so that her former friends would become friends with her again. (I also like how her Kansai “twang” came out when she was caught and flustered.)

Kaori had somewhat good intentions, but Saori was just being overly deferential to people she doesn’t really need as friends. Saori goes through with the Aoi Festival, as resplendent as expected, while Aoi becomes friends with Kaori.

And there you have it: Holmes not only spots counterfeit antiques, but solves the mysteries of non-poor people (with awesome Kansai accents) bored enough to create make ’em. Nothin’ wrong with that!

Holmes of Kyoto – 01 (First Impressions) – The Game’s Afoot

After Mashiro Aoi broke up with her boyfriend in Saitama, he immediately started dating someone I presume to be her best friend. Betrayed, angry, and generally very down in the dumps, Aoi wants to book a train there to give them a piece of her mind. In other words, while she may be justified in seeking vengeance, there are better ways she could be directing her energy.

Aoi also doesn’t have the money for the train, so she snatches some valuable drawings from her late grandfather’s house and visits an antique shop in Kyoto’s Teramachi Sanjou district to have them appraised. There, she meets the young Yagashira Kiyotaka, AKA Holmes, who is as exceedingly apt at appraising people and intent as he is appraising antiquities.

The story of her fateful first day at the shop is framed as a reminiscence between Aoi and Holmes two weeks after he hires her as a part-time assistant, in order to pay for her ticket—if she still feels the need to go to Saitama once she’s made enough.

Holmes can’t buy antiques from those under 20, but even if she was old enough, he uses the particular pieces she chose to try to sell to basically teach her a lesson about turning the other cheek. Even the famous artist Hakuin couldn’t escape scandal, even if he was the victim of a false accusation.

At the end of the day the infant he was left with made a strong impression on the artist, and the love he had for said infant is captured in the drawing. Because Aoi has a good head on her shoulders, she realizes the error of her ways and is ashamed—unlike one of the counterfeit sellers who visits the shop.

Aoi doesn’t turn down his offer of a part-time job, especially if it means working with such a bright, charming, attractive fellow. She may have entered the shop with her head hanging low, but she leaves feeling lighter than air, twirling past the same riverbank of couples she cursed earlier.

Holmes of Kyoto, as Aoi’s voiceover puts it, is a “quiet and beautiful story of the cases we solved in Kyoto,” which is an apt description. I’m liking the simplicity and focus of just two people in the small, simple yet potential-filled setting of a shop, and Aoi’s seiyu Tomita Miyu (Riko from Abyss) is always a welcome inclusion to any cast. In all, a strong start. I want to see more cases!