Horoskooppimysteerit

十二宮でつかまえて [Jūnikyū de Tsukamaete] #1

by Natsumi Andō, Antti Kokkonen (Translator)

Lili on koulutyttö, jolla on hiukan epätavallinen harrastus. Hän nimittäin laatii horoskooppeja, jotka tunnetaan laajalti oikeaan osuvina. Mutta se ei ole ainoa erikoinen asia Lilissä! Kun lähiseudulla tapahtuu rikos, hän ryhtyy selvittämään sitä tähtietsivä Spicana - etsivänä, joka älynsä lisäksi luottaa tähtien apuun.

Sangatsu Manga tarjoaa jälleen makeaa mahan täydeltä! Natsumi Andon neliosainen Horoskooppimysteerit on kelpo annos jännitystä, huumoria ja romantiikkaa.

Genres: Manga, Mystery, Comics, Fantasy, Shojo, Graphic Novels, Romance

194 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

安藤なつみ, Andō Natsumi is a Japanese manga artist. She is best known for Zodiac P.I. as well as Kitchen Princess, for which she won the Kodansha Manga Award for children's manga in 2006.

Favorites: Donald Duck
Favourite manga: Ossu! Ichijin and Kimagure Orange Road
Favourites: meats and fruits
Hobbies: shopping, reading and watching TV

Reviews

[Bibliothecat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review for the complete series

Zodiac P.I. is a fun romp; admittedly, you'll have to throw your disbelief to the wind but it brings some fun elements to the table. Riri is a high schooler who lives through all your typical shoujo manga tropes; jumping school fences, crash landing on the new guy who also happens to get the desk in class next to her and so on - you get the picture. And while she isn't a magical girl per se, she does fit nicely into that niche. As a daughter of a police officer and a fortune teller, Riri gets mixed up with bizarre murder cases which she solves with the help of a magic ring which can summon horoscopes.

The crime cases are really out there; thing Case Closed where perpetrators become creative to a staggering amount of disbelief and yet it draws you in anyway. The magic aspect is fairly small but the little horoscopes are represented by little humanoid depictions of the zodiacs. They are both super cute but also fun as they all come with a set of typical traits - I for one felt very seen when pisces made her appearance!

The romance is nothing crazy but it's sweet, there's not much of drama such as love rivals. The supporting cast was largely unremarkle but I think Riri and her horoscopes were enough to keep the ball rolling. Given that it follows a case by case format, this series could have easily gone on for longer but it also does well with the four volumes we're given - we get to meet all 12 zodiacs and it was a decent time for the romance to develop.

The overarching mystery around Riri's rival Sirius was a little far fetched and something I didn't care for. It just felt a little too bizarre and the way it was wrapped up was rushed. It also didn't really do anything character development wise.

Take it with its flaws and clichés, it's a perfectly fun short shoujo series which stands out of from similar works with its little spin on zodiac signs.

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was liking Kitchen Princess so much that I just had to read Zodiac P.I., too. I'm glad that I did. It is, of course, pretty silly. Lili solves improbably convoluted mysteries with the help of the spirits of the zodiac! But Lili is a fun character (I love her free running) and the other characters are also pretty fun to read. I like the art, of course. And unconvincing mysteries aside, I am enjoying reading it, enough to continue the series.

[Georgia De · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s so silly and convoluted I love it

[Ambear · Rating 4 out of 5]

I decided to go back and give this miniseries a reread. I remembered really loving them as a teen! I forgot how cute they are - especially the embodiment of the zodiac signs. And got to love a romance based on rivalry! The mysteries themselves are.... well maybe that's not where the joy lies in this series, so much as it does in the character relationships and the humour. If you are thinking of giving Zodiac PI a try, give it until the end of the second case file. Looking forward to rereading Volume 2!

[Veera · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE NOSTALGIA I FEEL RIGHT NOW OMG

[Sohvi · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5?

Lili on koulutyttö, joka ratkaisee vapaa-ajallaan erilaisia mysteereitä. Suurin mysteeri hänen elämässään on hänen oman äitinsä katoaminen. Mysteerien selvittämiseksi Lilillä on maaginen sormus sekä astrologia.

Ensimmäiseen osaan mahtui kaksi kokonaista mysteeriä sekä kolmannen mysteerin alku. Tutustuimme Lilin lisäksi myös muihin hahmoihin, kuten Hiromi Oikawaan, Yhdysvalloissa vaihdossa olleen opiskelijatoverin, joka kärsii "tyttö/naisallergiasta". Myös Lilin flirttaileva poliisi-isä näyttäytyy aika-ajoittain ensimmäisen osan aikana.

Luin nuorena jonkun verran mangaa, mutten koskaan tarttunut tähän sarjaan. Hahmot olivat mielenkiintoisia ja päähenkilön seurassa on helppo olla. Juoni on ja mysteerit ovat ihan ok, mutta maaginen sormus on vielä hieman outo, kun sen taustaa ei ole vielä enempää selitetty. Luen silti varmasti vielä sarjan seuraavia osia.

[Katriann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected this manga to be a little better than what it was. I loved Kitchen Princess, so I was hoping this would be as good as that one. Well, what can I say, this was not. The premise is promising - a girl who leads a double life. During the day Lili is a school girl known for her fortune telling ability and at night she is a detective called Spica, who solves crimes with the help of zodiac characters she's able summon. I really think the idea has potential. Execution, however, could be better.

SPOILER ALERT!

The thing that bothers me the most about this story is that the mysteries are so...boring. Most of the time it's impossible to guess the criminal because not enough clues are revealed for the reader. Or actually it's possible to guess who the criminal is, but it's impossible to figure out how or why the crime was committed. I feel like every mystery follows the same formula. A crime is committed. Lili starts investigating with the help of Hiromi (her childhood friend). Lili's father, who works for the police, appears at the crime scene and gets nothing useful done. Lili finds out the victim's birthday and summons her little zodiac helpers. Hiromi gives Lili some useful clue and - BAM -suddenly Lili knows who the criminal is. She then turns into Spica and reveals what happened and why. Oh, and Hiromi never gets any credit for his discoveries. Spica is always the sole hero.

I don't know...for me it just gets a little boring reading this same formula over and over again. I also don't understand, why people always tell Lili the victim's birthday. You would expect people to wonder, why her and Hiromi even are at the crime scene in the first place. I mean, they are kids. Or at least Lili is. In Hiromi's case it's a little hard to tell as he has already studied criminal law at university, yet he is now attending the same classes as Lili. How old is he supposed to be exactly? Anyway, if you can get past all the things that don't work in this story, it is a rather fun read. I'm not the biggest fan, but as there are only four books in this series, I will probably read them all.

[Selena Pigoni · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a manga that, for some reason, I avoided for years. I saw ads for it all the time in the backs of Tokyopop manga and thought it wasn't for me. I don't remember why that was the case, but I should have read this sooner.

This is a strange mix of murder mystery and magical girl comedy, and for some reason, that works. See, most of the first volume is light-hearted, with Lili (though I suspect her name's supposed to be Riri from the shirt she wears on the cover) getting into weird trouble with disguises and jumping out windows and stuff. Then someone ends up dead, and Lili summons a spirit of the astrological zodiac to help her solve the case. So yeah, magical girl murder mystery. It's such a weird combination, one I haven't seen since I watched Mythical Detective Loki Ragnorak. I liked it then, and I like it now.

It's a good start, maybe not a stellar one (see what I did there? :p), but it works pretty well. I had fun reading it.

[Artemis Crescent · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Zodiac P.I.'

Oh, wow.

I'd heard of this probably since I started to become aware of the existence of manga. But for some reason I'd never bothered to check it out until now. It had occurred to me that since I love Natsumi Ando's other series, 'Kitchen Princess', well, why not see what her other work is like?

'Zodiac P.I.' is an earlier manga series of hers. Judging from the first volume, it is, without a doubt, the stupidest, silliest manga I have ever read, that I ended up liking anyway. The plots, the mysteries, make almost no sense, and neither do the motivations and resolutions. There are plot holes and unexplained details galore, and there are as many OTT shōjo manga caricatures and cliches as you'd expect from the early 2000s. It's kind of a mess.

But it's an entertaining mess. There's action and drama. There's murder and blood in this all-ages shōjo manga! The main character, Riri Hoshizawa, is a magical girl who is a detective. Or, she's a detective who transforms into a magical girl for no logical reason other than to have thrilling climaxes to the cases she solves, as she confronts the murderer. She needs horoscopes, magical astrology and divine intervention - from mini goddesses representing the twelve signs of the zodiac, who give the magical girl clues based on the murder victim's star sign and horoscope from the day they died... the premise is absolutely bonkers and so early 2000s and I love it - to help her solve the murders. But she has innate skills of her own that aid her, too.

Riri's love interest is Hiromi Oikawa, a wannabe detective and former childhood friend, who of course has black hair and looks like every handsome, darkhaired male love interest in every shōjo manga ever. Hiromi is the Tuxedo Mask to Riri's Sailor Moon, and he's not half bad. He's a cute moody boy who wants to prove himself, though he breaks out in hives whenever he touches a girl - he literally says he's allergic to women, which, what? What's that about? He's acts as the straight man to the heroine's outgoing, energetic, cheeky personality.

And I think, more than its murder mystery subgenre with the bizarre astrological element to its magical girl angle, that's what makes 'Zodiac P.I.' stand out from other shōjo titles: its heroine, Riri Hoshizawa, aka Spica, her magical girl private investigator identity.

Riri is not your typical meek, helpless, delicate, demure, clumsy, flustered, people-pleasing shōjo manga and anime protagonist who always needs males to protect her and solve all her problems. She's rambunctious, rude, thoughtless, impulsive, and quite egotistical and smug. She's a junior high school fortune teller, astrologer, and P.I., who doesn't always have the most selfless and altruistic motives (mainly she wants to find her missing mother, who was also a Spica). But she's determined to the core. She won't let anything get in her way. She delivers mean high kicks to boot, managing to keep her modesty while wearing skirts. Riri is rather unique, and therefore admirable, for heroines of her ilk at the time this manga came out.

Plus she wears fabulous outfits and fashions (she's all about the skirts!), when she's in disguise and as Spica... whose outfit looks like regular clothing, hardly resembling a magical girl, but whatever, she clearly knows what she likes.

Another positive: There's a plus-sized girl, Akina Nakamura, in one story, which is very rare in anything to do with manga and anime. At no point is her weight brought up, and she isn't treated like a joke. It's a shame she runs off scared before the murder victim is even discovered, and is never seen again.

Another positive: Another rarity: The art contains a few small moments of varying facial expressions which you don't typically see in shōjo manga, like when Riri lifts one eyebrow and squints one eye when facing the sun's glare, and in an inquisitive look. I was a bit shocked when I saw that dedicated attention to detail. It's small but noteworthy for its genre's art conventions.

Another negative: The English translation from the out-of-print copy I managed to get online. It's pretty bad. Names are mixed up infrequently (did no one proofread this?), and I'm sure I missed crucial details in the dialogue and Riri's internal monologues in the manga's murder mystery stories. I'm sure it makes more sense in the original Japanese. Also Riri is called Lili, except for one instance in the mini story at the end, where she is suddenly Riri (oops! The translation can't even stay consistent). I'm positive the rename is wrong, as she has 'Riri' written literally all over her shirt on the bloody cover of the manga!

'Zodiac P.I.' needs to get back to print with a retranslation in English; our standards are much higher now.

But for now, for a good laugh, good action, and a good slow-burning romance between cute, spirited leads, involving fun banter and mutual hijinks, and a turning-your-brain-off reprieve, I'd say, yeah, go ahead, seek out 'Zodiac P.I.'. Though it would take deep detective work to find an acceptable, cheap copy nowadays. I'd recommend it to magical fans, too. I mean, how many magical girl homicide P.I.s can you name? And with Riri's confident, charismatic and infectious character?

I know I would have been into it as a teen reading manga for the first time, as I was obsessed with magical girls and horoscopes and star signs way back when.

'Zodiac P.I., Vol. 1' is my biggest guilty pleasure of the year, and a unique oddity I have to keep and preserve. It's the sort of charming, earnestly presented, early 2000s nostalgic stupidity I need at this moment.

Thank you once again, Natsumi Ando-san.

Final Score: 3.5/5

[Rana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love when she's trying to keep her identity a secret from this kid and when he;s like "hey can u use your psychic powers to tell me the identity of SPICA, the mysterious detective with psychic powers??" she is like "NO I CANNOT" and jumps out a window (she does this 3 times)

[~Cyanide Latte~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Talk about another blast from my teenage past! I loved Zodiac P.I. when I was in high school, as it combined detective stories with Western astrology, two things I've always loved. I will note that I find it interesting (now that I'm an adult, as I didn't consider it much when I was 15,) that Natsumi Ando wrote a series centered around Western astrology, where most manga would focus on the Chinese zodiac. Either way it's a fun read and there are lots of little blurbs and side notes concerning the zodiac signs found in the different mysteries solved by our plucky protagonist, Lili, who moonlights as Spica, the Zodiac P.I.

Most of these stories are like fluffier, less morbid cases of mystery told in a similar vein to cases from Detective Conan. Of course, Spica solves cases by interacting with the various spirits of the twelve Zodiac signs that live in her magic ring, as they read the various horoscopes for different people involved in the cases she solves. (Naturally there's a love interest in the form of the token Childhood Guy Friend who's a tsundere with an apparent allergy to females. You didn't think you'd completely escape those tropes, did you?)

I think my issues with this manga mainly boil down to two things.
The first is mainly just a quibble I have with the creator's art style. Compared to her series Kitchen Princess, both Lili and Hiro (the Childhood Guy Friend) in this series look almost like copy-pastes visually of two characters from Kitchen Princess. Really, it's a stupid nitpick at same face syndrome, which is pretty common in anime and manga; the way the characters are written is what sets them apart.
My second issue is with the translation. I hadn't noticed it much as a teen, but after learning how lazy Tokyopop tended to be with translation as an adult, I've noticed a lot of grammatical awkwardness and just plain confusing sentences in dialogue exchanged throughout this first volume. If you're interested in reading this series, be aware that that's a bit more prevalent here than in some other titles originally published by Tokyopop.

Beyond that, I enjoyed re-reading this. This is definitely a fluffy title with a slight mystery edge to it, and it's fun to have revisited. (Naturally I hope to finish tracking down and reading the rest of the volumes, because it's worth the read.)

[Harumichi Mizuki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Riri Hoshizawa menggantikan ibunya yang menghilang sebagai peramal dan Detektif Zodiak bernama Spica. Ayahnya adalah inspektur polisi yang kurang bisa diandalkan. Riri memiliki cincin yang bisa membuatnya berkomunikasi dengan roh-roh 12 Zodiak untuk mendapatkan petunjuk pemecahan kasus. Dia dibantu oleh Hiromi Oikawa, siswa genius teman masa kecilnya yang bakal gatal-gatal kalau disentuh cewek.

Kasus pertama adalah menguak misteri bunuh dirinya seorang siswi dengan gantung diri karena menjadi saksi dari penggelapan uang yang dilakukan seorang guru.

Kasus kedua adalah menyelidiki misteri seorang guru piano di tempat les berhantu yang mati dengan cara ditikam. Tapi ada yang aneh dengan kasus ini. Korban katanya bunuh diri karena merasa bersalah pada pelaku. Namun, gimana caranya dia menikam punggungnya sendiri coba? Aneh. Gak masuk akal!

Setelahnya Spica/Riri mendapat tantangan dari pesaingnya yang berkode nama Sirius untuk memecahkan misteri pencurian patung emas mewah milik kepala sekolah.

[balqis · Rating 3 out of 5]

review and rating are for the entire series :]

this is such a light read of shoujo mystery/detective story with a fantasy thrown into the mix! I really love the zodiac aspect in this series, I think it's a really great idea! :3 but, the cases got solved so easily and quickly, i understand bc there are only 4 volumes in total.. it's too bad bc this series could be so much better if it's not too short to have a nice build-up and more complex cases.

also it's rare to have the last volume as my least favourite, but it felt like natsumi ando just wanted to end it all quickly and the result is a half-assed conclusion (imo) 😭 it tied up all of the loose ends but in a 'meh' kinda way for me ;___;

but I still enjoyed this series so much and still think it's worth to read (⁠◕⁠ᴗ⁠◕⁠✿⁠)

complete rating:
vol 1: 4/5
vol 2: 4/5
vol 3: 3.5/5
vol 4: 3/5
overall rating: 3.5/5! 🌟⭐

[Jake Jeffries · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall I enjoyed this manga. I chose it for the Popsugar reading challenge as my choice for a book with Zodiac in the title. One of the most intriguing parts comes towards the end. I plan on reading more of them in the future in order to find out more about where the story goes. It does a great job of character building and introduction. At first I did not think some of the characters reacted strongly enough to some of the deaths going on, but the more I got to thinking about it the more they have probably been conditioned somewhat to that kind of thing.

[WindySilver · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd say it's a 3.5, rounded up to 4 mostly for the cultural context notes that the Finnish translation includes where they're needed. I read this series ages ago and figured I might as well give it one more read before I sell my copies. The two mysteries in this volume were okay, nothing mind-blowing, but they were an alright read. I very much like the protagonist's concept, although Lili's characterization isn't exactly my cup of tea.

[Holo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice, light-hearted, and kind of silly manga about a private inspector who uses spirits of the zodiac to solve her cases. If it weren't a nostalgia read for me, I would probably not rate it as high, but it is, so I'm likely being generous. I still find joy in this series even though it feels a bit more juvenile than it did when I was in middle school.

[David Doel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This manga had the good fortune to follow Alice on Deadlines (which I absolutely detested). It is a detective story (which I like),with an astrology twist (which I could do without), and I agree with the author that the most attractive part of a girl's body is her legs. The reason my score isn't higher is that the mystery solutions seem contrived.

[ChelseaFace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not in love with this one so far. It lacks true substance and has definitely aged over time. I love Natsumi Ando's art👍🏻 Always gorgeous. But I want more from this series, and I worth it won't become anything more than this first volume. We will see!

[Fiona · Rating 3 out of 5]

i love the exaggerated expressions manga characters have

the murder mysteries in this were absolutely wild like the explanation of the second case took it to such an extreme place

the astrology thing is cute i guess??

[Kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not convinced this genre is for me! But this manga is a cute middle grade combination of Sailor Moon and horoscopes! A great pairing! But I’m often confused with the expressions and whether it’s Lili or Spica talking! On to the next episode!

[TristanE · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’re someone who just dabbles in astrology I think you’ll really enjoy this manga. I know my basics so I think it made it fun for me, if you’re well versed in astrology I hope you find it as entertaining.

As always this is immediate and unedited.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was so obsessed with this series in middle school! Great nostalgic read, but a little too simple now.

[Westley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute shojo manga.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute little mystery series. I figured it would do well since I don’t have anything like it in my classroom.

[Ami Morrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super cute art. Entertaining but kinda meh and a little bit confusing sometimes. Just ok. I'm good with not reading any more of the series. >.>

[Gabriela De La Cruz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very good manga and it is very interesting!

[Patricia allen]

This was quite interesting. I am super excited to read the rest of the vols. I do want to see more of the boy to help with the cases haha.

[Federica Malpasso]

Lettura interrotta.

[jenni · Rating 3 out of 5]

childhood favourite

[Paulette · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series came out in 2001, a early Natsumi Ando work, and it’s cute, with her flair for adding a murder mystery element, and a P.I who uses Astrology to solve those crimes.