Zodiac P.I., Vol. 4

十二宮でつかまえて [Jūnikyū de Tsukamaete] #4

by Natsumi Andō, Chris Poole

What's Your Sign?!

Lili is just like any other girl -- except she can foretell the future! This "Zodiac P.I." relies on horoscopes and astrology to help her solve crimes and track down criminals.

Lili and Hiromi find a new fortunetelling place in their neighborhood. When Lili checks it out, she discovers her own dad having his fortune told! (The betrayal!)
The owner, Zeus, invites Lili and the gang to stay for dinner, but then commands Lili to give up her magical Star Ring. Why?! The reason turns out to be even more ominous that she could have ever imagined.
Later, Lili meets her nemesis, Sirius, for the first time.. and is in for the shock of her life. When Lili turns to Hiromi for some much-needed support, sparks fly. Is Lili finally falling for Hiromi in the middle of all this chaos? It's anyone's guess as Zodiac P.I. tries to crack yet another case!

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

192 pages, Paperback

First published March 6, 2003

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

[Veera · Rating 3 out of 5]

THE MELODRAMA! Also I love how after each case in the series is solved, a lot of the time if the motive is ”understandable” in a murder, they’re like ”Yeah, okay, that’s cool, continue with your regular life, don’t worry about the whole murder thing” which is hilarious!

[Starbubbles · Rating 4 out of 5]

she stopped a bullet with a necklace. with a necklace! she might as well of stopped it with her teeth. that would have been just as believable! it's not even that big! what if he shot a different place huh, like her face. diamond necklace ain't goin'a stop that.

anyway, aside from that, i'm still a little fuzzy about her mom. was she under zeus' control for the entire yr she was gone, just the last week, what? was the test part of his control? how on earth did she disguise herself as a student? did she leave before she was under zeus' control? and what about the comment lili made earlier about her mom being a criminal?

these issues aside, i thoroughly enjoyed the book. there should be more with hiro and lili solving cases together. yes, make it happen ando! haha!

[Georgia De · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up. It’s so dramatic it’s so ridiculous it’s so fun. Thank you for lending me these books Veera.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Stejná recenze u každého dílu)
Moc pěkná kresba s roztomilými postavičkami.
Lilin převlek za Spicu se nedal nazývat převlekem, jelikož jediné co udělala bylo to, že si změnila oblečení. Ani si neobtěžovala nandat aspoň nějakou masku, která by jí zakryla obličej. Je zajímavé, že i přesto, že udělala jen toto, ji nikdo nepoznal. To měli i v pokémonech lepší kamufláž a to je už co říct. Kéž by to takhle fungovalo i v reálném životě.
Oceňuji trochu originální nápad se schopností mluvit s duchy jednotlivých znamení zvěrokruhu. Sice jsem už něco podobného někde viděla, ale jenom párkrát a snaha přinést něco nového se cení.
Obálky vypadají celkem hezky. Jediné, co mně na nich vadí je to, že odstín názvu a proužky na kraji má pokaždé jinou barvu.
Dávám 73% Jazyk: Aj

[~Cyanide Latte~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a hot second to really get back to reading this, mostly because I've been ill and focusing on healing and taking medications at the appropriate hour. Finding time to sit up in my sickbed and actually focus on reading has been rough, but I managed to finally power my way through the rest of this volume and finish off the Zodiac P.I. series like I'd intended. It remains, as I had vaguely recalled from reading it once back in high school, a fairly solid ending to an otherwise cute series that has an air of the cozy mystery genre to it.

I will say that once you start reading, I do feel like the pace in this volume moves very rapidly, and I almost feel like I reached the ending too soon. It was still very enjoyable though, in an "all's well that ends well" sort of happy ending. I do feel like some of the greater opportunities for further character exploration or background were cut short because of the pacing, but perhaps that's me being too cynical. Regardless, I really enjoyed it, and I'm always happy to return to this little series. So glad I finally own all of it!

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book seemed to take a huge jump in the timeline, when I first picked it up I thought I had missed a volume somehow. I think this is partially due to the subtle changes in the art style. I thought the wrap up for the series was good, it a little fast. I was just happy for Cancer to make an appereance. I think Natsumi thought she would have more time to work out the story.

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

The last volume ran much as the previous ones had. The resolution is only barely convincing and satisfying, and the tone is bizarrely light for everything that happens here. The saving graces are that I really do like the main character and the art.

[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.

[Birdtrovert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Man, I remember reading this series forever ago when I was younger. Natsumi Ando always had a certain recognizable style to me.

(Review for the whole series)

It's a cute simple story. I really love the astrological spirits and their designs. I thought they were adorable and just a lot of fun. I remembered a lot of the plot lines even with it being years since my last reading. I think the series is pretty average. It's a bit rushed but I like the main character and the guy. A cute little detective story with little spirits and some romance. It really works out in the end for everyone (but it's adorable).

[Rachel Figueroa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this series! The characters were very likable and the mysteries kept you going. I definitely loved the ending, also I predicted who Sirius was and I was right! Ha! But the only thing I have a problem with is... There's no more volumes!!

[Kristin ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This might be one of the most melodramatic manga volumes I have ever read. But it all in the name of silly fun. I have such a soft spot for Natsumi Andō so of course I had to read this series to. It was a fast paced fun read.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yay plot!!!

[ChelseaFace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series had a fairly satisfying ending. I like it but it definitely has aged. I recommend for young readers.💕

[Paulette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, I’m glad I finished this series, I have more appreciation for the mangaka now! She’s grown so much in her art and storytelling, which is more than I can say for others.

[David Doel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The four volumes were thoroughly enjoyable.

[Katriann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the only book in the series that I actually really liked. Mainly because it wasn't as repetitive as the other books. I felt like this was where the story finally picked up, but unfortunately it was also where the story ended. This book was more like one continuous story instead of many separate mysteries and I found it refreshing after reading three books of rather pointless mysteries with unlikely solutions.

SPOILER ALERT!

This book finally revealed the secrets of Sirius. Who is she and why was she after Spica? I must admit I didn't know what Sirius wanted to achieve, but the fact that she was Lili's mother was painfully obvious since the first time she appeared. I just can't understand, how Lili only realized it in the last book. I mean, she saw Sirius and spoke to her on several occasions. How did she not realize she was her mother? Especially when she's supposed to be this extremely intelligent secret agent, who solves all the crimes before the police. Yeah, and why did she suddenly make the connection in the last book? I don't know...it's just not very logical in my opinion.

On the whole, I was not the biggest fan of this series or the characters. The story was a bit boring and the characters were kind of annoying. However, I don't want to discourage anyone from giving this series a try. It may not be the most interesting series but it's still okay. Personally, I found Kitchen Princess more entertaining and would rather recommend that than Zodiac P. I, but tastes and opinions differ so... That being said, you may want to give this series a try if you like Natsumi Ando's work in general or if you want to try a new mystery manga.

[Jack Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zodiac P.I.'s final volume is a solid ending to the series. The pace easily renders this unputdownable. I wanted to know what happened next after those evil cliffhangers! They were as gripping as I remembered them being, especially with the second Big Reveal Ando has been hiding. The resolution did gloss over background that could have helped said reveal (at least it helps establish why Sirius was important to the plot for a few chapters). The last pages are able to tie everything together, however, which made me satisfied. I'll be interested to see what Ando's other work has to offer. Zodiac P.I had an entertaining run for me at eleven and now.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this manga is somewhat bizarre and, as someone else said, the tone is too light for a series where actual murders happen, I can't help but like some of the characters, like Hiro or the whimsical little people that come out of Riri's ring.

[Soobie is expired · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, well, well... I was really satisfied with this manga, even though I'm not a bit fan of horoscope. I loved the chibi characters that come out of Lili's ring and Lili herself was an interesting main protagonist.

I'll read something else by Natsumi Ando, that's for sure.

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

love it

[Brianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my third time reading this managa and i have to say that i still love the story line and the drawing in there. i will probably re-reading this series over and over again.

[Mara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read/rated this in grade school.

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great series filled with interesting twists and entertaining characters.

[Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

i read this series when i was about 10 or 11. it was the first manga series i read and i LOVED it

[Rebekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great series!

[Beiyu · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good series if you want some manga for light reading, and since that's exactly what I wanted, it's perfect.

[Sam(antha)]

Rereading the series that got me into both manga AND astrology is such a nostalgic treat