Your Forma, Vol. 2: Electronic Investigator Echika and the Royal Triplets

Your Forma Light Novel #2

by Mareho Kikuishi, Tsubata Nozaki (Artist)

Back on the beat as an Electronic Investigator, Echika finds herself up against a challenging new case: a string of assaults committed against people related to the RF Model Amicus. To make matters worse, victim testimonials suggest that the perpetrator is none other than Echika’s aide, Harold. As the stakes grow higher and the pair continue their investigation despite the rift forming between them, the true distinction between humans and machines becomes all too apparent. When the shocking truth about Harold comes to light, Echika struggles to make an agonizing decision…

Genres: Light Novel, Science Fiction, Mystery, Detective

192 pages, Paperback

First published June 10, 2021

Reviews

[Corri Cunningham · Rating 3 out of 5]

While still great, it felt like the author was trying to find her footing with this one, but I’m glad I kept going with this series! The third volume brought me right back in!!

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best, most interesting part of this novel comes towards the end, when Harold's creator invokes the spirit of Victor Frankenstein. She says that Frankenstein meant to create a man, not a monster, but ended up with the latter, and that's such an off interpretation of the novel that I have to think it's on purpose. (Kikuishi has clearly done a lot of research, as the bibliography attests.) My working theory is that she sees Harold and the other two RF models as monsters because of their ability to think, and that's why she acts the way she does, whereas Echika is coming to see Harold as more and more human. What if Dr. Frankenstein had seen his creation as a man and not a monster?

Shelley's book encourages us to look at the fact that Frankenstein's creation is more of a human than Frankenstein himself, and that by tampering in God's domain, Victor made himself less human. That's who Harold's creator is, and that makes Echika her opposite: the person who looks at a monster and sees a man, and perhaps makes him into one because of it.

[Maverynthia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Once again Echika is ineffective at doing anything except being played by a machine and getting kidnapped/damseled.

Author thinks that phrenology is a valid science.

Also Farman should have gotten with Carter. Men always badger women in anime into getting with them so he should have just hooked up with her.
But of course women get the short end of the stick in everything because misogyny is the oldest bigotry and we have no laws for hate crimes against women.

[Yudi Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still good, but it felt a little bit lack compared to vol 1. Still enjoy character development, and drama but conclusion to the crime involved seems forced. But overall still good.

[ev .｡*ﾟ .*.｡(❁´◡`❁)｡.｡: * · Rating 5 out of 5]

speculative scifi and mystery is such a good combo, we're now throwing ethics into it and it's even better

[Valérie Harvey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pendant les vacances, j'ai lu les deux premiers tomes de cette série, et ce fut une excellente lecture. Chacun des tomes résout une enquête. J'ai lu ailleurs que l'adaptation animée se base uniquement sur le tome 2, ce qui est dommage, car le tome 1 est essentiel pour comprendre la relation entre les deux personnages, et tout le passé de la cyberenquêtrice Echika. Le tome 1 permet également de s'initier à ce monde SF où les humains sont presque tous équipés d'un Your Forma pour être branché aux réseaux en permanence, dans un univers où les robots humanoïdes, les amicus, remplissent des métiers de service (serveurs, domestiques, etc.)

Le tome 2 se penche tout spécialement sur le cas de trois amicus très particuliers: les RF (Royal Family) qui avaient été offerts à la reine d'Angleterre, quelques années auparavant. Ils sont équipés d'une intelligence artificielle supérieure, beaucoup plus développés que la norme. Ils ont les limitations nécessaires pour assurer la sécurité des humains, les fameuses règles de bienveillance. Ou pas? C'est tout l'enjeu de ce tome 2.

Une chose est sûre: ces romans nous font explorer les concepts scientifiques liés à la cybernétique, à l'intelligence artificielle, aux relations "parasociales". Et on réfléchit beaucoup grâce à ces polars:

"[...] quand je dis qu'ils sont doués de raison, ça ne veut pas dire pour autant que leur mode de pensée est similaire au nôtre. [...] Bien sûr, on peut trouver des explications rationnelles à leurs décisions. Mais si on se demande à quoi ils pensent, comment, et de quelle façon ils parviennent à leurs conclusions... ça, on ne pourra jamais le savoir." (p. 114)
Et c'est là qu'on explique le concept de la boîte noire. On parle aussi de celui de la chambre chinoise. Ce n'est pas essentiel de les connaître déjà: ils sont bien expliqués et comme on les retrouve à des moments précis de l'histoire, ils s'incarnent dans l'aventure, ce qui éduque d'une façon plus durable, à mon avis!

Une excellente série! On comprend pourquoi le tome 1 s'est mérité le Grand prix du roman Dengeki au Japon (la plus haute récompense pour les lightnovels).

[Merpy · Rating 1 out of 5]

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