I meant to say this a chapter or two ago, but I really hate how Moe uses her cell phone while driving. The glamorization of smoking is bad enough, can you stop sticking these vices in the book?
Anyway, I’ve read through the first 6 ‘sub-chapters.’ At the end of sub-chapter 3 (where Moe goes to the house and asks the woman if her husband is home) I did come up with another theory:
what if the ‘Shougen’ that died was actually the guy that ran the factory? Shougen wears ostentatious costumes and heavy make-up, so a double would be simple. The factory guy’s time of death lines up with Shougen’s, and this would explain why Shougen’s corpse had to disappear. They ‘confirmed’ the corpse was Shougen’s, but I forget how exactly they did it, so there could still be wiggle room.
Not sure why/how Mikaru died, or the significance of the mud on the factory guy’s shoes. Not sure about motive either, but it’s easy to make something up. (Shougen’s specialty was escape magic, and this is actually the core trick–they’ve always been a duo. Factory guy was the one who caused the money problems. So through this murder Shougen (i) gets his revenge on his partner, (ii) kills the person who would be able to see through the tricks, and (iii) makes a name for himself, which will allow his sick/blind wife to live comfortably through royalties. And let’s say that Mikaru cheated on Shougen with factory guy.)
Ofc, in part 6, Moe says that the patch of loose earth is where Shougen is buried, but… maybe it’s a metaphorical burial or something (phrased that way to throw us off the scent).
Anyway, obviously I haven’t finished it yet but @miwuc I think this chapter will make up for last chapter.
Indeed ^^ I guess Mori changed his usual pattern. In previous books it was always: one last action packed chapter, one chapter of Saikawa lecturing, and an epilogue with a bit more action. I guess we’re getting all of these in the last chapter instead? (assuming there will be an epilogue. I haven’t finished it yet).
My god Moe needs to learn to be a bit more careful. “Let me secretly go to the culprit’s house and tell him that I know everything! … also don’t kill me please?”
Agreed that I did not suspect the driver one bit, but I think that it’s kinda cool that it’s a minor character this time, unlike all previous books. I also suspected a “secret twin” partway through the chapter. It’s not a twin but close. Is that still too cliché?
Omg omg Moe solved the case and gets to do the lecture!! Well Saikawa solved it first but I’ll take it.
I thought she’d be less obnoxious than Saikawa lecturing, but the hell was that show with the dress. Girl, there’s a time and place for everything.
I didn’t really get how Mikaru escaped to the other building. How close were the buildings, and how did people not see see anything (the crane and what not)? Seems far fetched.
The other problem I have is, shouldn’t the casket have been properly sealed at the end of the ceremony and before being loaded in the hearse? Pretty sure that’s how it’s done in my country and it seems to be the case in Japan as well. I don’t think you should be able to open a sealed casked from the inside. But then again, it was a magic box and not a proper casket, which also sounds a bit dubious (not sure this would be allowed in real life).
Otherwise most things made sense to me and didn’t seem too too far fetched.
If she didn’t learn the first three times why would she learn now? But yeah I’m starting to get tired of it. At least they didn’t go all the way this time. (Also–“Remember, Moe, you need to stay on your gu–ooh, pretty birds.”)
I think Mikaru escaped with a zip-line. I thought the second building was short but from the description in this chapter I think they were not that different (or perhaps the second building was the same height or taller–IIRC they said she didn’t go directly to the roof, but the highest floor?). Ziplines are thin/hard to see, so I think it was a combination of dark clothes, the smoke, and people looking out for the bright vest she was wearing that let her avoid notice.
I think we can chalk it up to a magic box. Even if the top was sealed he should have been able to escape from the bottom, so I don’t think it matters that much.
Anyway, this felt pretty contrived until Saikawa recontextualized it all. It’s very much like a magic trick–completely ridiculous, unless they did this one specific thing to prepare for the trick… which obviously they did.
Honestly, I didn’t like the solution that much–but the vibes with all the magicians were fun, and the solution didn’t squander that. If I had to rank the series right now it’d be 5 = 3 > 6 > 1 > 2 > 4.
Comedy gold. Or rather, big face palm moment at this point.
That is also my one big gripe with the series. Yes, we’re seeing (some?) character development, but I feel like it’s mostly on 犀川’s side and 萌絵 hardly changes. She always has these epiphanies and thoughts about growing and changing, but to me it feels like in her behavior she’s still the same. Maybe the fact that her behaviour grates on my nerves is coloring my perception, I don’t know.
That said, I still enjoyed the book. It was ridiculous, there were magicians, what’s not to love. I’m not really expecting much in the way of science or, you know, realism from the series, so I don’t mind if the mystery is far fetched.
Compared with going into the first volume, my expectations might be the thing that changed the most.
I happened across a quote in a book I’m reading that I thought was quite fitting here and I’d like to tell to 萌絵. I thought I’d share it here before starting the next book.
I liked the ending a bit more than I liked the rest of the book. Some of my theories were close enough that I feel like I accomplished something, without actually spoiling the reveal. And I love stories where someone has been doing something seemingly-innocent for years in preparation for their master plan.
I suspected for a while that the guy at the very beginning of the book was someone other than Shougen, and I was… sort of right?
If I were a detective, I would be really mad at the other magicians. I didn’t totally follow how Nagaru’s plan to steal the corpse and the real Shougen’s plan fit together, but it seems like Mikaru’s death and Moe’s near-murder could have been prevented if it weren’t for the whole “a magician never tells his secrets ” nonsense.
I think Moe’s character growth is more about how she thinks about the mysteries rather than a change in her behavior. She’s learning to consider the human angle, instead of just thinking of the murders as logic puzzles. Also, the parts where she almost gets killed are the most exciting parts, so I don’t mind if she keeps making stupid decisions
Mori seems to want Saikawa to be complex and troubled, but it’s not really working for me. His philosophical musings are pretty hit-or-miss too (e.g. the idea that a murderer’s motive is just an illusion for the benefit of outside observers or whatever… no thanks).
Maybe the 使途 is about spending one’s life to maintain the illusion of magic? Or maybe the magic is being “spent” for the sake of the magician’s name?
@Escalus Finally you beat me to it, but I also finished today
Yes, again! I was really on that one… But yeah, standard trope for inducing tension. Bit sad that Mori needs to be that cheap.
For the Saikawa character development, something really seems to have clicked with him - he is not getting younger after all I very much liked the ending! Let’s see how the development proceeds. I do hope they manage to get together before vol. 10 ends
I asked Japanese mystery discord, and I think a big part of it is the しとしと wordplay, but it’s also how the culprit used illusions to commit the murders. Also I dunno about the rest of you, but until I had it clarified, I was thinking of it as “幻惑の死” and “使途”, but it’s more like 幻惑の死 and 幻惑の使途
I considered both options and didn’t really get it either way ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. I usually don’t put much thought into Mori’s book and chapter titles - they’re too weird.
Yeah I ignore the chapter titles. I rarely know all the words and I’m too lazy to look them up >_<
But omg I just realized something. All the chapter titles in this book have “奇” in them. Like 奇数. And all the chapter titles in the next book have “偶” in them…
Finally finished this book. Just a few months late!
Loved the ending. Moe got her chance for a monologue and managed to be even more obnoxious than Saikawa when doing so, which seemed to make him proud, of course. The explanation of the murders was also more satisfying than most of the previous books for me. I thought it was a really cool premise.
Going to launch straight into Replaceable Summer after this. Really excited to see how this whole odd and even chapter thing plays out.
on that one… But yeah, standard trope for inducing tension. Bit sad that Mori needs to be that cheap.
I very much liked the ending! Let’s see how the development proceeds. I do hope they manage to get together before vol. 10 ends