Holmes of Kyoto: Volume 1

Holmes of Kyoto (Manga) #1

by Mai Mochizuki, Minna Lin (Translator)

Half a year after moving to Kyoto, high school girl Aoi Mashiro brings her late grandfather’s old scrolls to Kura, an antique store nestled in Kyoto’s Teramachi-Sanjo shopping arcade, for an appraisal. One thing leads to another, and she winds up working there part-time. The manager’s son, Kiyotaka Yagashira—nicknamed the “Holmes of Kyoto”—is uncannily perceptive, and together, they solve strange cases relating to the antiques brought to them by clients.

Genres: Manga, Light Novel, Mystery, Romance, Contemporary, Japan, Japanese Literature

156 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 16, 2015

About the author

Mai Mochizuki was born and raised in Hokkaido and now lives in Kyoto, and originally wrote Alice in Kyouraku Forest as a series of novels. She's written numerous other titles, including 4th Kyoto Book Award winner Kyoto Teramachi Sanjou no Holmes which was turned into a manga and anime series.

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

Before picking this up, there are three questions you need to ask yourself:

1) How much "mystery" do you like in your purported mystery novels?
2) How much do you love the city of Kyoto?
3) Did you like the anime version? (Its release predates the novels in terms of English debuts.)

If the answers are anything besides "not much, a lot, and tons" respectively, this may not be the light novel for you. Mochizuki refers to the story as a "light mystery," but that's not strictly true - it's a slice-of-life story that's part ode to Kyoto and part antiques lecture. While I hesitate to call it bad, I was left with the same sort of stale feeling after finishing it as I was after watching the anime version.

It's frustrating more than anything.

[Laura Cirne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved it so much! It was like traveling to Kyoto from my home through the author's vivid descriptions. I wish the mysteries were more elaborate, as they are almost non-existent, but that didn't interfere with my enjoyment of reading this story. Moving on to book 2.

[serena · Rating 4 out of 5]

after finishing the anime adaptation today i felt like i had to read the manga bc i am INVESTED in the main characters AND japanese antiquities.

and i have to say i prefer the manga a lot more than the anime. obvs there's only so much you can do with a 12 episode season with a running time of 20min but still i feel like the anime was more episodic whereas the manga felt more like a slice-of-life story. the manga takes its time to flesh out the characters and i have a better sense of who kiyotaka and aoi and the secondary characters are.

ALSO the art is so PRETTY. i think my favorite part of the art are the backgrounds. they're so detailed and clean ugh i love it, it just adds so much to the worldbuilding of kyoto

anyways i leave you a pic of kiyotaka bc he is handsome and cheeky

[Errantknight · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely delightful if you have an interest in Japanese art, history and culture, particularly that of Kyoto. I never expected to learn this much from a light novel (and my subsequent internet searches regarding the things that are discussed). The characters are appealing and the mysteries aren't so much deep mysteries as ways to reveal more about the history, culture and ways of life of the characters and those they meet. Very charming, and this novel and really whetted my appetite to visit Kyoto. If only the second novel of the series didn't put me off this series entirely.

[Charlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

To me, this is the perfect light novel. Mystery elements, a soft slow-burn romance, lots of interesting tidbits of Kyoto and Japanese history, fun side characters and cozy slice of life scenes.

It is written in an episodic format, where each chapter is one “case”. Perfect if you love reading in the evening before bed and just want 20-40 minutes of cozy reading.

I will definitely continue with this series!

[Miri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Upřímně, námětově nic moc a celkově bez nápadu. Nevím, jestli se pustím do dalších dílů – možná jo, možná ne :/

[kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m already a big fan of the Holmes of Kyoto anime and manga, so when the light novels became available through my library I was stoked!

I think I enjoy the light novels as much or more than the anime. While I like the manga I think the other mediums are a bit superior.

It’s refreshing to see a budding romantic relationship where the leads feel like partners and have great respect for each other. The romance in this story has a really natural progression. It doesn’t feel forced or awkward.

It’s really endearing realizing how much Holmes treasures Aoi as you better understand him as a person. If you’re a romance fan I definitely recommend.

[ツバキ · Rating 4 out of 5]

老實說很有趣。基於我個人的偏見，我一直覺得把書名冠上「福爾摩斯」的作品，絕大部分都不好看，但因為是推理作品，所以當年動畫化的時候我還是有看了一點（大概三集左右），其實整體氣氛算是我應該會喜歡的類型，但為什麼沒看下去呢？可能是因為動畫的節奏吧？（話說動畫版的偵探CV是界人君，突然冒出來的京都腔我覺得很萌）

本作的福爾摩斯的由來其實是來自偵探的家頭清貴的姓氏（家→ホーム，頭→ズ），其實第一次看到差點笑出來，這個綽號也太莫名其妙了吧。然後劇中沒有殺人沒有事件，其實就是我最喜歡的日常推理，然後融入各種京都要素，讀完都想去京都玩了呢（？），再加上一點點粉紅色！清頭那種イケずな京男子的描寫又非常地恰到好處，可以感受到那種壞心眼的地方，但又不會讓人湧起想捏死他腹黑感，和主角小葵的互動也非常可愛。如果這部再加上料理的描寫在我心中應該就是一百分了吧。

目前台灣才出版到三集，如果斷頭的話我認真考慮要來追原文了，不過古董鑑定的地方感覺超硬超難讀的啊。

還有順便抱怨一下，其實我覺得封面的畫風跟這個系列很不搭，感覺這個封面超濃的耶（？），其實不用這麼當輕小說賣應該也可以吧，雖然想繼續讀下去，可是我真的不喜歡這個系列的封面。

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cover grabbed my attention and what was in between the covers kept it. A sweet, gentle tale, with a LOT of facts about Kyoto and antiques in it, with an underlying “will a romance happen” current. The age difference is not horrible, but the MC h is so sweet, I wanted to to gradually get to a sweet romance. But the book’s pace is gentle, so I think it’ll be ok.

4, on to the next wooHOO there are a lot more after this one, stars!

[Pieter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aoi is a high schooler living in Kyoto, desperately wanting to return to Tokyo for love issues and almost willing to sell some antiques of her deceased grandfather. So she visits an antique shop for an appraisal, where she meets Holmes of Kyoto who offers her a job at the shop instead of selling the heirlooms without permission from her parents. What follows is a slice-of-life story of a high schooler living in Kyoto and getting involved with antique and how said antique is used to encode messages to various people, interspersed with a bit of of romance (of somewhat questionable age difference to be honest).

Personally I liked the slice-of-life, the travel catalogue to Kyoto and the insights into Japanese culture and some of its antiques. The romance was kind of simple, relatively wholesome, but not particularly dominate to the story. Still, the characters felt a bit bland and trope heavy. There was also not much of a mystery beyond the powers of observation and interpreting hidden messages behind various symbolism.

So if you want to read it for the mystery, well developed characters or plot driven story this book is probably not for you. If you want a slice-of-life story set in modern Kyoto with a some deeper lore on Japanese art (physical and literature) then you probably will enjoy it. For me it was a good somewhat quick entertaining read, but I certainly understand some of the lower ratings.

[• Hutch · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a thoroughly enjoyable light novel this is.
It had a fair amount of “mysteries” and gave the reader quite a bit of information about Kyoto.
What really shines are the characters (not just the principal characters but pretty much every character who showed up in this volume had something interesting or entertaining about them). I love the banter and internal dialogue.
Just a very warm story with characters overcoming minor challenges and learning more about themselves and the area where they live and work.

[Sem · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mildly pleasant, undemanding read with a bland heroine who stammers with embarrassment far too often (or perhaps that was just the translation). I'm wondering how much of the exposition was in the original and how much was added by the translator to make elements of the setting comprehensible to outsiders. I don't think this novel deserves 3 stars but I enjoyed it for what it was and the setting made a change from Tokyo.

[Christopher Klein · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book

I've watched the anime and read the Mangas,and now I'm reading the light novels. I love how interesting the mysteries are and the romance that blooms along the way. This story was written really well.

[Gillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exciting start to a great Holmesian romance that could double as a guide to antiques and historical Kyoto tourism. Seriously nerdy with a lot of explanations and teasing of the Watson Aoi in all the typical manga stereotypes that tickle my fancy.

[Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part tour guide of Kyoto and part light mystery with a little light romance mixed, such of fun read. Aoi is a wonderful character, can't wait to follow her in volume 2

[Dylan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is cute. The prose reminds me of how my friends and I catch up with one another in a cafe. Although this story is aimed towards a younger audience, it was a good way to pass some time. Aoi, the bubbly female lead, is reminiscent of the leads of staple 2010s shojo series. (Although this series was published in English in 2020, the original first edition dates to 2015). This novel did have a thing for info dumping each time an antique or historical location/event was mentioned, which might not be everyone’s cup of tea. I personally did not mind, as detailed histories and object analysis are the basis of my university major. It just felt like reading lecture notes to me, but the mystery aspects do seem to take the back burner sometimes. The author’s note was super sweet as well.

This story takes place in Kyoto, which has its own regional dialect. The localization doesn’t really highlight between standard and dialect words, so it just reads all the same. In The Summer Hikaru Died, the characters speak in the Mie dialect - another subset of the Kansai accent, like Kyoto (think of the difference between the New York & Jersey accent) - which is a deep rural, mountainous accent. The localization decided to write the characters with a strong southern accent to represent the difference in speech patterns as the Mie dialect is, I guess, somewhat similar in concept to the American rural south accent. Although I’m not sure something similar would work quite well in this particular series, it’s interesting to see the progressional differences in localization three years apart.

I would give this book 3.75 stars, but again, that’s not an option on Goodreads.

[Bibliophile · Rating 4 out of 5]

Readers are introduced to Aoi Mashiro, a recent transplant from Saitama, as she enters Kura, a Kyoto antique store. Inside, she meets Kiyotaka "Holmes" Yagashira, the grandson and apprentice to the owner of the store. Aoi impresses Holmes with her eye for antiques and he offers her a part-time job so that she can earn money to travel back to Saitama to see to some unfinished personal business. Aoi quickly becomes a part of the shop's community of regulars as she works and learns from Holmes, accompanying him to solve "cases."

It's fun to see Aoi start to settle into her life in Kyoto, meeting new people and starting to make new friends. Through her eyes, we see detailed descriptions of Kyoto, its temples, and its festivals. The author was originally from Hokkaido and had moved to Kyoto and wanted to capture the feeling of being a newcomer navigating and experiencing the city and its culture.

In keeping with the light novel and light mystery format, the cases involve more interpersonal issues, not violence and murder. This makes it easy to read, especially for people looking for more cozy material.

[Page · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave this four stars even though I feel it's a two star. I had trouble with the translation. I think the story itself is probably really cute, but the English translation is awkward.
Aoi is a high school student recently moved to Kyoto from Tokyo. She starts a part time job at an antique shop. The owners grandson, a graduate student that also works at the store, has a gift akin to Sherlock Holmes. He has an uncanny ability to "read" people. Together they have little adventures through Kyoto. It's a sweet book that is also a travel companion if you want to explore the historical physical sites of Kyoto.
My problem with this book is that the choice of language is very young, given Aoi is young, so I'm not sure how to translate the book while still holding on to the integrity.
I might continue to read this series. Though the hope would be to get proficient enough in Japanese to read it in its original form.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aoi Mashiro had lived in Kyoto for half a year before she entered the antique store Kura and met Kiyotaka Teramachi-Sanjo - the Holmes of Kyoto trying to self some antique scrolls to finance a train ticket to her former home to confront her ex-boyfriend and best girlfriend. Because of how he deftly handled her, Aoi ended up getting a part-time job at Kura to save up the money herself rather than selling her grandfather's scrolls. Working at Kura exposed Aoi to a number of antiques and she is learning how to tell what is genuine from what is fake. She also manages to learn a lot about people and locations around Kyoto and make an actual friend. So if you are looking for a low-stakes cozy mystery that helps the reader explore Kyoto from the comfort of your chair, keep reading this series. I know I will!

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aoi is a very sweet and timid MC, but that doesn't matter so much when she's following the enigmatic Kiyotaka "Holmes". He's got a lot of layers that just begin to reveal themselves in this first volume and learning about antiques is also a fun throughline of the book. It's a very laid back story with day-to-day circumstances, but I also feel like it could be a tourist guide for Kyoto. I want to visit all of the places that Aoi and Holmes go to. Overall, this was truly a light novel and left me with a light heart.

[ShingetsuMoon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This felt more like a cozy YA romance then a mystery novel, but it was still enjoyable all the same!

The story feels more slice of life than anything else, but what mysteries it does have were fun. Holmes knowledge of antiquities and how its woven into the story is nicely done and I’d love to see more of them.

Overall it was a nice read and I’ll likely pick up the second novel in the future.

[Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars because it’s sweet and well-researched. I’ve learned a lot about Kyoto and different Japanese art just from reading this. The main characters are people you’d like to know in real life. I like the light mystery. Maybe because I’m burned out on action flicks I’ve watched all my life and all the violent manga and anime. Nobody screaming or blowing things up. Lol. I’m looking forward to reading the next volume.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most mystery books I've seen focus on murder. Holmes of Kyoto stands out by instead focusing on mysteries involving history and antiques. This adds a lot of uniqueness to the stories.

The author seems to emphasize historical accuracy so I learned much about Japanese history and material culture. Furthermore, I understood what people like Holmes and others appreciate so much about antiques. Antiques can be not only a way to make money, but also a person can admire their beauty and craftspersonship. They provide a physical link to a time in the past. They provide a way to remember one's ancestors. They provide a way to send a message that can be more meaningful than words.

It's not just the antiques that make the story memorable. It's also characters. Holmes is very observant of details, very perceptive of emotion, and also caring in his own way. Through her interactions with Holmes, Aoi learns a lot about both antiques and life.

[Marietta McCoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining, educational and inspirational

It's a light mystery novel that rejuvenated my interest in art and art history, and I intend to read the next volume soon.

Plus, we have a slow romance as well. Definitely a good read!

[Jorge Murillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I find this work engaging and creative; I'm currently reading volume 7 and thoroughly enjoying it; the story surprised me at times, which I liked. The descriptions of art pieces and scenery convey a genuine love of beauty in the world.

[Rian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can say the anime adaption is quite fascinating but this book is far more than i expected. Really love it, i've already began to read the second volume of the series, hope this will become a lovely experience 😆😆😆

[selina c. jimenez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Detailed and breathtaking

This is a beautiful series. Rich in detail for a corner of the world that seems both man-made and mystical all at once! Fun characters that grow with the settings and make you wonder what happens next!

[Kristel Jao · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised that the story was set in modern times, but it was able to showcase the history of the items and connect them with the stories of each client well enough. This was a pleasant read.

[Anonymous · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's kind of hurried. The stories are cut short and it really seems like different parts are just joined together. They don't have a seamless flow of voice and tone..it lacks continuity and flow.
I liked the character of Holmes and that's about it.

[Laura de Leon · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I had this on my library wish list for awhile, and checked it out to read on vacation.

I'm a bit confused, it was listed as a graphic novel, but the only illustration was on the cover...