Usotoki Rhetoric Volume 3

Usotoki Rhetoric #3

by Ritsu Miyako

Poverty-ridden detective Soma and his assistant Kanoko are on the run in the dead of night, and their destination? A house where a doll was murdered!

Genres: Manga, Mystery, Historical, Historical Fiction, Comics, Shojo, Graphic Novels

192 pages, Paperback

First published May 20, 2014

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having a single case for the entire volume may have been something new for the author, but she really pulled it off. The clues are in plain sight, but you need to look at them in just the right light to solve the case. Not a challenge if you've read Kindaichi, but one of the rare modern mystery manga that reminded me of that series.

[melhara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unlike the previous two volumes, this entire volume was focused on one story ARC - a house with a mysterious custom of feeding dolls in secret, and strange happenings (like the murder of a doll) that have occurred in the doll house.

A hint of creepiness, but quite an intriguing mystery.

I enjoyed this volume and will continue with this series.

Note: So far, it shouldn't be a problem for readers to readers to read this series out of order as the series mainly consists of short story arcs.

[jasmine ʕ⁠´⁠•⁠ᴥ⁠•⁠`⁠ʔ · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Depending on the situation, lies can be good or bad."

This is so far my favorite volume. The doll murder incident gave me eerie feelings. I liked the plot twist in the end (not gonna spoil anything dw), and I also liked all the monologues about good and bad lies. Iwai is such a wise person despite being so laid back sometimes lmao

[-moonprismpower- · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a twist in this case! Creepy too!

[Laura A. Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, this volume definitely super upped the creepiness because I thought there would be more Scooby Doo vibes as volume two had, but this one had me quite a little bit paranoid being alone while reading last night. LOL!

I would definitely say that someone could point out that I'm a chicken (because I am), but everything with the doll and the girl who LOOKS like a doll was seriously eery. I appreciated that Soma and the gang weren't scared because I would have been scared and not just paranoid! LOL!

I liked the change-up of this volume being an entire detective case. It was also so much fun having a new character on the scene because she's pretty gutsy and just fun, but also really caring.

Each volume thus far has had a great message concerning lying and believing people, and this volume was no disappointment in that regard! Kanoko questioning the meaning behind why someone is telling a lie and whether it's "good" or "bad" was such a great conversation but also an exploration of that very thing throughout half of this volume.

The mystery itself was VERY good and found my heartstrings deeply pulled on when we find out what was going on in this story. I deeply resonated with Kanoko's desire to help a certain character because the heartache and pain for the said character truly was heartbreaking. It definitely made me appreciate the ending all the more!

Overall, I was surprised there wasn't quite as much humor in this volume (or maybe it wasn't that there wasn't as much because I love the humor involving money when it comes to Soma and that hasn't changed LOL!) and that the creepy factor had leveled up, but I'm still really looking forward to reading the next volume!

Though next time I'm not going to read at night time just in case I almost get spooked again. LOL!!

[Chetana · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

Now this was much better. I felt like I was watching a typically Japanese mystery TV show. Maybe something like Kindaichi. This was a lot more mystery oriented than the other 2 books in the past and it focussed on only one case. We meet a new character and Kanoko goes through a moral dilemma in this book too but not so much so that it takes over the whole book.

[Lia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suka dengan kasus di vol. 3 ini

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one the most out of the series, especially as it had a mystery throughout the whole volume.

[Hisgirl85 · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars. I am enjoying this historical mystery series.

[Emmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the previous two volumes of this series have been a collection of standalone chapters, this was one long, continuous mystery for the entire book. And I'll be honest, I kind of loved that. The mystery was quite creepy, really grabbed my attention, and kept me up way too late last night. I just had to know what happened in the room of the dolls.

For a quick summary, an old custom states that if a child is sick you create a doll in her likeness and feed and care for the doll as though it was the girl. This will help her to recover. And supposedly, that's the story of a young woman whose maid thought she killed her after the food set aside for the doll was poisoned to keep away the rats. But, everyone claims that the doll was killed, as the girl is hale and healthy and there is nothing wrong with her. When the maid is found dead (murder? suicide?) it becomes a juicy mystery to discover what really happened.

[Spectre Z · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm loving the mystery in this series. It keeps me very interested and on the edge of my seat. Can't wait to read volume 4!

[ghadah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This mystery was so good! I felt sad when they uncovered the real reason why they started this creepy custom everything made sense!

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author Ritsu Miyako set a challenge for herself in writing a longer story that took up an entire manga volume. Dolls who stand in for people, body doubles, and secret passages all have a part to play in the solution to a mystery set in a town a ways away from Tsukumoya.

After a good first volume, and an even better second one, this one fell flat for me, for a number of reasons. In the "not the author's fault" category is the translation, which to me felt like the translator went for a literal approach that didn't take the surrounding story context, or nuanced English, into account, making for an amateurish and sometimes confusing end result.

I don't think Kanoko's power was given enough attention in this story; I felt that just about any detective could have asked the questions Miyabi did, or taken the actions Soma did, and the story come to the same conclusion, without Kanoko's participation or her power. I'm also starting to chafe against Kanoko's power in the larger context of society. In most or all stories of this type, the main character isn't the only person with supernatural power out there, and they eventually meet others who they can relate to. Kanoko is all alone so far. Maybe they've all gone underground?

I also think the story would be more fun if some of the mysteries had supernatural explanations. This is mostly because I prefer supernatural stories to straightforward mysteries, so this complaint can safely be ignored. ;)

I'm willing to continue with this series, because I enjoy the level of detail in the backgrounds, and the cast is pleasant to hang out with. I think they do better in Tsukumoya than further afield, so I hope they stay on their home turf next time around.

[Sesana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume shifted from telling several shorter stories in one volume to doing just one, long story that fills the entire book. It worked really well in this case. The mystery is creepy and twisty and engaging all the way through. And not at all predictable, at least not for me. The ending is extremely satisfying, too.

[Ada · Rating 3 out of 5]

***zondag 31 december 2023***
⭐️3 - It was okay

The whole manga was one mystery, and that worked surprisingly well.

It's not my favourite, though. The reason behind everything was believable but heartbreaking. The manga doesn't delve too deep into it, but it could easily be turned into a psychological thriller. It's the kind of story you would want to see being adapted by another mangaka.

[Milah Gall · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this manga series. I am usually somewhat picky about manga, like how the art style looks, and how the story line progresses, but this has met both of my expectations. It's a good manga to read, and was very quick. Would recommend it for a quick read.

[Rebecca Whaley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story was really good. Did not expect what happened in this particular mystery that they stumbled upon. I couldn't stop reading until I finished it. I love this series. It just gets better. Definitely recommend

[ZJ Gamboa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Campy premise, nice bow tie for Kanoko's journey so far. Last chapter was kinda rushed and expositiony but the mystery is very neatly wrapped. Pretty fun.

[Kurtis Burkhardt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great Romance Mystery manga, Love the compelling story and characters😻😻🧐👌❤️

[richa ⋆.˚★ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always been a big fan of detectives, lies, creepy dolls and family traditions.

[El · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,8 stars
the mystery was interesting but the final answer was a let-down.

[Paola · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS IS SOOOO JUICYYYYY LIKE YUMMYYYYY

[Olive · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
The dolls are truly horrifying, they're going to haunt my nightmares.