It’s a shonen(because it features kids), but has murder mysteries.
Greatest mystery manga ever. Period. (No spoilers in this review)
The Story: 9/10
In Japan there is the legendary Detective Dan Morihiko, who wants a successor.
So he announces a detective written+practical exam.
Many people appear for this. But since it is shonen, the people who qualify are:
Kyu — A kid with sharp intuition and Never say die attitude.
Megu.— A girl with photographic memory.
Kinda—- A physically gifted guy. Brain and brawn.
Ryu——- A quiet genius.
So these kids stumble on a murder mystery. And believe me the mysteries in the manga are UNPARALLELED. They are written in great depth.
I love Sherlock Holmes, Poirot, Agatha Christie, and yet none of them ever care to go in such depth.
The Mangaka keeps giving clues as the story progresses. Then before the detective answers he says “there are 3 clues and only 1 explanation “
I love that part. I love racking my brains to find the answer. And many a times
I’m successful. And the answers are ALWAYS satisfactory. Which is rare in manga world, usually we find loopholes easily.
Gakuen Q is like an anthology, we get mysteries after mysteries. Some last 5 chapters, some are over 10 chapters long. But all are a delight to read.
And parallel to these small mysteries lies a bigger mystery arc that culminates in the final chapters.
Art. 8/10
No complaints here. All characters are drawn well, look different. Details important to the mystery are always shown accurately. When I re-read some chapters to understand the mystery I realised that some clues were hidden in the detailed drawings too.
Characters. 7/10
Honestly as much as I loved the manga, the characters didn’t play a really big role. I love these guys after reading so many chapters but there was barely any character growth. Amakusa Ryu showed good growth though.
But the mystery is the main focus all the time, the mangaka knows it and so do I. No complaints here.
Enjoyment. 8/8
I loved it!! One of the first manga I started reading. But due to lack of scanlations I couldn’t catch up, or else I would have binged it in 3days.
If you love mysteries you’ll enjoy this a lot. Just go, read it.
And if you don’t want to think too much about the cases, don’t worry. The story is also interesting on its own. It’s written such that everyone can enjoy it, as long as read a bit carefully.
The Devil’s Advocate:
-At times the mysteries may seem far fetched. But who wants to read about simple robberies or violent murders.
-Murders have no gore, the story focuses on the brain only.
-Don’t expect any action scenes or ecchi.
-You may have to think to enjoy the story more thoroughly.
The Verdict. 8/10
This is an amazing and unique manga. A must read for mystery lovers.
This is brain food guys. Highly recommended.
And as my fav character says” If the detective gives up, the mystery will never be solved.”
Thank you for reading my review! Hope you enjoy the manga!!
