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東京武偵高校、そこは武力を行使する探偵――通称『武偵』を育成する特殊な学校。「あるきっかけ」で頭脳が活性化するという体質を持つ遠山キンジは、そのことを周囲に秘密にしつつ、平穏を求めて日々を送る探偵科所属の高校二年生。しかし、通学途中に爆弾事件に巻き込まれ、強襲科の超エリートである神崎・Ｈ・アリアと出会ってしまったことにより、キンジの日常は平穏とは程遠いものへと変わっていくのだった――。Ｓランクの最強武偵・アリアと、（普段は）ただの一般人・キンジの凸凹コンビが凶悪犯に立ち向かう、大スケールアクション＆ラブコメディー!!
277 pages, Paperback
First published July 31, 2008
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103 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 7, 2015
I am very torn in regards to Aria the Scarlet Ammo. If the whole book were the last section's glorious callback to French pulp literature, which made me incredibly happy, then my review would be five stars with an entire text box full of hearts. Aside from that, it was a fun, but wildly derivative, piece of fluff, stringing together scenes ripped from Hollywood movies and shonen romance manga with a heroine so tsundere that she borders on sociopathic. It wasn't brilliant, but based on that alone, probably would have been worth three stars.
Judging by that, Aria should have averaged out to a four star book, but it was severely brought down by one of the most horrid eBook transfers I've seen in the Kindle store. This book is full of typos, down to Aria's name being mispelled as Arai, and sentences randomly thrown in the middle of unrelated paragraphs. Long passages of this book bordered on unreadable, with at least three shorter sections hitting the mark of total incoherence. I was incredibly disappointed in the presentation of this book.
Still, however, there are certain literary characters that can get thrown in, complete with their more famous rivals, that can get me to give any piece of junk at least two stars. For a mess like this, the last fourth of the book was fantastic, which won it the two stars. If the translation and presentation was even marginally better, I'd be spending the rest of the night reading volume two. As it is, even in my happiest fangirl state of mind, I can't recommend it at all. This was mostly a major disappointment.
Judging by that, Aria should have averaged out to a four star book, but it was severely brought down by one of the most horrid eBook transfers I've seen in the Kindle store. This book is full of typos, down to Aria's name being mispelled as Arai, and sentences randomly thrown in the middle of unrelated paragraphs. Long passages of this book bordered on unreadable, with at least three shorter sections hitting the mark of total incoherence. I was incredibly disappointed in the presentation of this book.
Still, however, there are certain literary characters that can get thrown in, complete with their more famous rivals, that can get me to give any piece of junk at least two stars. For a mess like this, the last fourth of the book was fantastic, which won it the two stars. If the translation and presentation was even marginally better, I'd be spending the rest of the night reading volume two. As it is, even in my happiest fangirl state of mind, I can't recommend it at all. This was mostly a major disappointment.
December 4, 2025
I consider myself an avid reader, and I even enjoyed stories that for the most part, weren't all that great (what us nerds might call 'junk food'), but this piece of literature is utterly unreadable.
When dealing with light novels, I tend to be a bit more open minded and wait at the very least until finishing the first volume before giving my judgement, yet here I am after 50 pages of words scrambled upon a white layer.
Not only is this full of -direct or indirect- sexual references, as the protagonist is continuously feeling the blood "heating up his core", but the fact he is so broken not even the bullets affect him; makes me feel prematurely that the level of plot is not going to be very deep.
The main idea of schools being militarized and students having to wear protective vests, swords, guns and such is quite exploited, however, I find it very attractive if made correctly (as in Maji de Watashi ni Koi Shinasai!; not a light novel itself, but intrinsically funny and resourceful, even taking into consideration only the text parts)
Overall, a pretty boring experience everyone should avoid, unless you are into explicit descriptions, cliches, and mediocre stories.
When dealing with light novels, I tend to be a bit more open minded and wait at the very least until finishing the first volume before giving my judgement, yet here I am after 50 pages of words scrambled upon a white layer.
Not only is this full of -direct or indirect- sexual references, as the protagonist is continuously feeling the blood "heating up his core", but the fact he is so broken not even the bullets affect him; makes me feel prematurely that the level of plot is not going to be very deep.
The main idea of schools being militarized and students having to wear protective vests, swords, guns and such is quite exploited, however, I find it very attractive if made correctly (as in Maji de Watashi ni Koi Shinasai!; not a light novel itself, but intrinsically funny and resourceful, even taking into consideration only the text parts)
Overall, a pretty boring experience everyone should avoid, unless you are into explicit descriptions, cliches, and mediocre stories.
April 25, 2022
Honestly the white on black words were really hard for me to read so I had a very hard time getting through it. And from what I read it honestly didn’t make a lot of sense to me. I’m starting to question if manga is for me, or if I should just stick to watching anime.
September 2, 2020
Honestly, avg art , boring story ... Read up too page 150 and I gave up. Will not read the rest. Would be zero star if I could.
July 21, 2011
In the near present, civilization has been overrun with crime. Governments around the world turn to the butei -- specially trained mercenary/vigilantes -- to enforce the laws that the police are no longer capable of doing. Butei High in Tokyo is one of the most renowned training centers in the world, taking in teenage students and turning them into bad-ass paramilitary commandos.
One of these students is Tohyama Kinji, descended from a long line of bad-asses with an hereditary medical condition known as "hysteria mode," which is essentially bullet-time from the Matrix. But Kinji's hysteria mode is defective and can only be activated if he's, um, aroused. As he dislikes the feel of hysteria mode, he's put off by sex and isn't too keen on becoming a butei. When the story opens he's already transferred out of the Assault division in favor of Inquesta, where he's learning intelligence gathering and analysis, and is seriously considering transferring to a normal high school.
But on the first day of the new semester, he's riding his bike to class when he receives a call announcing there's a bomb on his bike and if he stops it'll detonate. It's the work of the Butei Killer, a terrorist who's been targeting BHS students and alumni. He's rescued by a new student, Kanzaki H. Aria, who wants to bust the Butei Killer for reasons of her own. Reluctantly Kinji agrees to join her team.
If all that sounds absurd, that's because it is. This is pure pulp goodness. There are no redeeming qualities to this book. The characters aren't deep. The plot is comic book level. And the action sequences would have James Bond going, "Now that's just preposterous."
And it is awesome. You just have to think of it as a modern Japanese version of the Murphy/Sapir Destroyer novels or perhaps Dent's Doc Savage -- with plot connections to both Sherlock Holmes and Arsene Lupin. If Akamatsu could just work in Fantomas and Richard Hannay, I'd be in heaven.
One of these students is Tohyama Kinji, descended from a long line of bad-asses with an hereditary medical condition known as "hysteria mode," which is essentially bullet-time from the Matrix. But Kinji's hysteria mode is defective and can only be activated if he's, um, aroused. As he dislikes the feel of hysteria mode, he's put off by sex and isn't too keen on becoming a butei. When the story opens he's already transferred out of the Assault division in favor of Inquesta, where he's learning intelligence gathering and analysis, and is seriously considering transferring to a normal high school.
But on the first day of the new semester, he's riding his bike to class when he receives a call announcing there's a bomb on his bike and if he stops it'll detonate. It's the work of the Butei Killer, a terrorist who's been targeting BHS students and alumni. He's rescued by a new student, Kanzaki H. Aria, who wants to bust the Butei Killer for reasons of her own. Reluctantly Kinji agrees to join her team.
If all that sounds absurd, that's because it is. This is pure pulp goodness. There are no redeeming qualities to this book. The characters aren't deep. The plot is comic book level. And the action sequences would have James Bond going, "Now that's just preposterous."
And it is awesome. You just have to think of it as a modern Japanese version of the Murphy/Sapir Destroyer novels or perhaps Dent's Doc Savage -- with plot connections to both Sherlock Holmes and Arsene Lupin. If Akamatsu could just work in Fantomas and Richard Hannay, I'd be in heaven.
June 17, 2015
English is not my first language so please forgive me if I make some grammar/spelling mistakes.
Warning: This review may contain a few spoilers.
Hidan no Aria is one of the greatest work by 赤松中学(at least that's what I think).
A small disclaim before writing this review: I have had the opportunity to read 13 out of 20 published novels so far, and as far as I know, this novel is not recommended for people who dislike harem.
Warning: This review may contain a few spoilers.
Hidan no Aria is one of the greatest work by 赤松中学(at least that's what I think).
A small disclaim before writing this review: I have had the opportunity to read 13 out of 20 published novels so far, and as far as I know, this novel is not recommended for people who dislike harem.
June 4, 2016
Kinji Tohyama attends Tokyo Butei High School, a school that trains future mercenary detectives called Butei. He is biding his time until he can transfer out and into a regular high school. He also has a unique condition where he switches into "Hysteria Mode".
One day he is targeted by the notorious Butei Killer and is saved by Aria H. Kanzaki. Their initial meeting sparks an interesting relationship between the two.
I found this a nice light read that is very much like that of manga and anime. There are good action sequences and an interesting mystery. I will read at least the next one in the series and maybe some others from the author.
One day he is targeted by the notorious Butei Killer and is saved by Aria H. Kanzaki. Their initial meeting sparks an interesting relationship between the two.
I found this a nice light read that is very much like that of manga and anime. There are good action sequences and an interesting mystery. I will read at least the next one in the series and maybe some others from the author.
April 19, 2014
I love this series as a whole. The setting and characters are special in my opinion. Sure, you have the cliche tsundere, silent type, childhood friend, and little blockheaded hero, but I feel a strong relation as each chapter passes. The only problem I have is how long is it going to take until we get a physical release and a faster translation. The last time I checked, there are, at the moment, 15 volumes in the series and I feel that it's gonna be a while till we "catch up".
January 15, 2016
Novela ligera random, todo en ella son topicazo tras topicazo.
Protagonista con un misterioso poder, chicas guapas que están enamoradas de él pero no se entera, organizaciones malvadas...
Pero es jodidamente entretenido, en todo momento hay alguna gracia o momento de acción. Además que los personajes me caen bien.
No es una novela para todos los gustos, pero si quieres algo entretenido, sencillo y divertido, esta es una opción.
Protagonista con un misterioso poder, chicas guapas que están enamoradas de él pero no se entera, organizaciones malvadas...
Pero es jodidamente entretenido, en todo momento hay alguna gracia o momento de acción. Además que los personajes me caen bien.
No es una novela para todos los gustos, pero si quieres algo entretenido, sencillo y divertido, esta es una opción.
February 11, 2015
This series:
"wait what?"
"wait WHAT?"
"WHAT??"
"WTF??"
Things keep getting crazier and crazier, which makes this a really fun and entertaining series.
Also note how Aria has bigger guns than Kinji (two .45 ACP 1911s vs. a single 9mm Beretta)
"wait what?"
"wait WHAT?"
"WHAT??"
"WTF??"
Things keep getting crazier and crazier, which makes this a really fun and entertaining series.
Also note how Aria has bigger guns than Kinji (two .45 ACP 1911s vs. a single 9mm Beretta)
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews