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Holmes of Kyoto Light Novel #12
Holmes of Kyoto: Volume 12
It’s September, and summer break is now over. The last part of Kiyotaka’s training brings him to Komatsu’s detective agency, where everyone is surprised to find that his partner will be his longtime nemesis, Ensho. Their first request is a strange one: a client wants to know who “killed” him. Meanwhile in Gion, a geisha is being stalked and ghost sightings are on the rise. These curious mysteries have the troubling trio—Komatsu, Ensho, and Kiyotaka—running through the narrow streets of Kyoto on the case!
- GenresLight NovelMystery
175 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 10, 2019
1 person is currently reading
34 people want to read
About the author
Mai Mochizuki
88 books324 followersMai 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.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 7, 2024
“There was no need to compete. He just had to pursue his own path. Perhaps that was what Sosuke Namikawa had thought when he’d chosen to pursue wireless cloisonné instead of wired. Ensho, too, didn’t need to think about becoming or surpassing Holmes.”
Este volumen se sitúa en septiembre y las vacaciones de verano ya terminaron. La última parte del entrenamiento de Holmes lo lleva a la agencia de detectives de Komatsu, junto a la compañía de Ensho después de haberle ofrecido tomarlo como “aprendiz”, así que en medio del trabajo él hace también de profesor, tal como con Aoi.
“More importantly, don’t forget to teach Ensho about antiques. You’re his teacher, aren’t you?”
Ensho had seemed very happy during the lecture about the wine bottle. Komatsu appreciated that Kiyotaka was putting so much effort into the detective work, but he didn’t think he should neglect his work as Ensho’s teacher either”
Su primera petición es extraña: un cliente quiere saber quién lo “mató”. Mientras tanto, en Gion, una geisha es acosada y los avistamientos de fantasmas van en aumento. Estos misterios resultan estar relacionados y son lo principal del tomo.
“After solving a minor issue in Gion, we’ve had some more requests trickle in, but it’s all common things, like investigating unfaithful partners, background checks on people’s fiancés, and looking for lost pets.”
Aunque también hay un caso de investigación de un restaurante fraudulento que se relaciona con la sospecha de una infidelidad de una mujer de alta clase y un conflicto familiar generacional.
Tiene un ritmo más tranquilo y “mundano” que otros arcos, pero no deja de gustarme de igual modo. Los personajes siempre brillan en esta historia. Está más que nada narrado desde el punto de vista de Holmes, incluyendo mínimas intervenciones de Aoi (quien ahora trabaja en la tienda cuando descansa de la universidad), además de Ensho y Komatsu.
Sin embargo, hay algunos fragmentos que forman parte de la continuidad de l a trama general y demuestran el avance de la historia, como la intención de Holmes de crear su propio museo-cafetería…
“Most people in this world don’t savor art the way we do, do they?”
“Well, yeah.” Ensho nodded. “Normally they just walk around once and leave.”
“Right. If I were to open an art museum with a cafe at the Yagashira residence, I feel like the cafe would end up becoming the main attraction. If the art section required an entrance fee, most people probably wouldn’t go there.”
… y la propuesta de Aoi de viajar a New York como appraiser, gran oportunidad para ella.
“Now that she’d absorbed all of Holmes’s teachings, she wanted to take on this new challenge by herself if possible. She didn’t stop him from tagging along because he was annoying but because she wanted to see how well she could do without him backing her up. The two of them were lovers, but at the same time, they were teacher and apprentice”
Los datos culturales y explicaciones artísticas nunca faltan y nutren la narrativa.
“However, the people living in Kyoto didn’t lose heart,” Holmes continued.
Akihito and I, who had been casting our eyes down, looked up.
“They rose up and said, ‘We can’t let things stay like this.’ Bringing their hearts together, they built this enormous shrine as a recreation of Heian-kyo. It was a culmination of their pride, zeal, and determination—a way of declaring, ‘Kyoto will never wither away.’ That’s what Heian Shrine represents,” Holmes said in a firm tone of voice, looking up at the shrine’s main building.
Akihito and I were lost for words. At a time when their city could’ve been headed downhill, the people of Kyoto had built a beautiful, overwhelmingly huge shrine to inspire everyone to keep the city running as if it were still the capital.”
Me gusta mucho el progreso tangible de Ensho, de verdad es un personaje con el que ahora se puede simpatizar y ver de forma clara los paralelismos de este con Holmes, siendo ambos caras de una misma moneda. Además, admiro su sincero deseo de aprender y mejorar, sea su motivo igualar a Holmes tanto cómo ser una mejor versión de sí mismo, ahora que tiene la oportunidad y no tiene que subsistir en difíciles situaciones.
“Ensho’s with you too, right? Are you guys all right together? You used to be rivals, but now you’re both in lo—” He suddenly flinched and stopped talking.
What’s wrong? I looked at him and asked, “Both in what?”
He panicked and said, “Uh, you know, they’re both in the same field. But they get along like cats and dogs.”
“Oh, yeah.” I nodded with a frown. “I’m worried about their rocky relationship too.”
(Obvia referencia al amor de ambos por Aoi, que aunque los ame a Holmes y ella juntos, ya estoy sintiendo pena por Ensho)
“Thank you,” said Kiyotaka, looking at Ensho in surprise. “I wouldn’t have expected you to save me.”
Facing away, Ensho replied, “I really can’t stand you, but this guy made me realize that it pisses me off more when someone else hits you. If you’re gonna get hit, I wanna be the one doing it.”
Kiyotaka chuckled. “You sure are twisted.”
“I don’t wanna hear that from you.”
Como siempre, las migajas de romance entre Holmes y Aoi avivan la lectura, con él siendo un completo simp y ella viviendo el día a día de su relación, aunque igual de avergonzada por sus reacciones “exageradas”.
“The other day, Aoi—” Kiyotaka stopped as though he’d made a slip of the tongue.
Ensho gave an exasperated sigh. “You try not to talk about Aoi in front of me, don’t you?”
“Well...yes. I thought you might not want to hear me talk about her,” Kiyotaka said hesitantly.
Ensho shrugged in annoyance. “Why would it matter at this point? It feels worse having you be considerate of me.”
“I suppose so. I just thought that if I were in your shoes, I wouldn’t want to hear it.”
“I ain’t the same as you. You and Aoi were already a pair when I first met you, and before I knew it, you were already obsessed with her. If you completely stop talking about her now, it’ll just feel unnatural and gross, so keep being your usual obsessed self,” Ensho said flatly, looking Kiyotaka firmly in the eyes.
Kiyotaka hummed and nodded with a strained smile.
“Did I say something funny?”
“No, it’s just...” If I were in his place, I definitely would’ve said the same thing. “ Even though we’re completely different on the outside, we really are similar in nature. I’m the same as this vulgar brute of a man.”
Este volumen se sitúa en septiembre y las vacaciones de verano ya terminaron. La última parte del entrenamiento de Holmes lo lleva a la agencia de detectives de Komatsu, junto a la compañía de Ensho después de haberle ofrecido tomarlo como “aprendiz”, así que en medio del trabajo él hace también de profesor, tal como con Aoi.
“More importantly, don’t forget to teach Ensho about antiques. You’re his teacher, aren’t you?”
Ensho had seemed very happy during the lecture about the wine bottle. Komatsu appreciated that Kiyotaka was putting so much effort into the detective work, but he didn’t think he should neglect his work as Ensho’s teacher either”
Su primera petición es extraña: un cliente quiere saber quién lo “mató”. Mientras tanto, en Gion, una geisha es acosada y los avistamientos de fantasmas van en aumento. Estos misterios resultan estar relacionados y son lo principal del tomo.
“After solving a minor issue in Gion, we’ve had some more requests trickle in, but it’s all common things, like investigating unfaithful partners, background checks on people’s fiancés, and looking for lost pets.”
Aunque también hay un caso de investigación de un restaurante fraudulento que se relaciona con la sospecha de una infidelidad de una mujer de alta clase y un conflicto familiar generacional.
Tiene un ritmo más tranquilo y “mundano” que otros arcos, pero no deja de gustarme de igual modo. Los personajes siempre brillan en esta historia. Está más que nada narrado desde el punto de vista de Holmes, incluyendo mínimas intervenciones de Aoi (quien ahora trabaja en la tienda cuando descansa de la universidad), además de Ensho y Komatsu.
Sin embargo, hay algunos fragmentos que forman parte de la continuidad de l a trama general y demuestran el avance de la historia, como la intención de Holmes de crear su propio museo-cafetería…
“Most people in this world don’t savor art the way we do, do they?”
“Well, yeah.” Ensho nodded. “Normally they just walk around once and leave.”
“Right. If I were to open an art museum with a cafe at the Yagashira residence, I feel like the cafe would end up becoming the main attraction. If the art section required an entrance fee, most people probably wouldn’t go there.”
… y la propuesta de Aoi de viajar a New York como appraiser, gran oportunidad para ella.
“Now that she’d absorbed all of Holmes’s teachings, she wanted to take on this new challenge by herself if possible. She didn’t stop him from tagging along because he was annoying but because she wanted to see how well she could do without him backing her up. The two of them were lovers, but at the same time, they were teacher and apprentice”
Los datos culturales y explicaciones artísticas nunca faltan y nutren la narrativa.
“However, the people living in Kyoto didn’t lose heart,” Holmes continued.
Akihito and I, who had been casting our eyes down, looked up.
“They rose up and said, ‘We can’t let things stay like this.’ Bringing their hearts together, they built this enormous shrine as a recreation of Heian-kyo. It was a culmination of their pride, zeal, and determination—a way of declaring, ‘Kyoto will never wither away.’ That’s what Heian Shrine represents,” Holmes said in a firm tone of voice, looking up at the shrine’s main building.
Akihito and I were lost for words. At a time when their city could’ve been headed downhill, the people of Kyoto had built a beautiful, overwhelmingly huge shrine to inspire everyone to keep the city running as if it were still the capital.”
Me gusta mucho el progreso tangible de Ensho, de verdad es un personaje con el que ahora se puede simpatizar y ver de forma clara los paralelismos de este con Holmes, siendo ambos caras de una misma moneda. Además, admiro su sincero deseo de aprender y mejorar, sea su motivo igualar a Holmes tanto cómo ser una mejor versión de sí mismo, ahora que tiene la oportunidad y no tiene que subsistir en difíciles situaciones.
“Ensho’s with you too, right? Are you guys all right together? You used to be rivals, but now you’re both in lo—” He suddenly flinched and stopped talking.
What’s wrong? I looked at him and asked, “Both in what?”
He panicked and said, “Uh, you know, they’re both in the same field. But they get along like cats and dogs.”
“Oh, yeah.” I nodded with a frown. “I’m worried about their rocky relationship too.”
(Obvia referencia al amor de ambos por Aoi, que aunque los ame a Holmes y ella juntos, ya estoy sintiendo pena por Ensho)
“Thank you,” said Kiyotaka, looking at Ensho in surprise. “I wouldn’t have expected you to save me.”
Facing away, Ensho replied, “I really can’t stand you, but this guy made me realize that it pisses me off more when someone else hits you. If you’re gonna get hit, I wanna be the one doing it.”
Kiyotaka chuckled. “You sure are twisted.”
“I don’t wanna hear that from you.”
Como siempre, las migajas de romance entre Holmes y Aoi avivan la lectura, con él siendo un completo simp y ella viviendo el día a día de su relación, aunque igual de avergonzada por sus reacciones “exageradas”.
“The other day, Aoi—” Kiyotaka stopped as though he’d made a slip of the tongue.
Ensho gave an exasperated sigh. “You try not to talk about Aoi in front of me, don’t you?”
“Well...yes. I thought you might not want to hear me talk about her,” Kiyotaka said hesitantly.
Ensho shrugged in annoyance. “Why would it matter at this point? It feels worse having you be considerate of me.”
“I suppose so. I just thought that if I were in your shoes, I wouldn’t want to hear it.”
“I ain’t the same as you. You and Aoi were already a pair when I first met you, and before I knew it, you were already obsessed with her. If you completely stop talking about her now, it’ll just feel unnatural and gross, so keep being your usual obsessed self,” Ensho said flatly, looking Kiyotaka firmly in the eyes.
Kiyotaka hummed and nodded with a strained smile.
“Did I say something funny?”
“No, it’s just...” If I were in his place, I definitely would’ve said the same thing. “ Even though we’re completely different on the outside, we really are similar in nature. I’m the same as this vulgar brute of a man.”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 10, 2025
This volume gives us an inside look at Holmes solving mysteries for Komatsu's detective agency. Once again, I found the mysteries suspenseful, thought-provoking, showing depth in the characters. Not only the mysteries, but also follow Ensho as he continues his long march to trudge out his old life really felt like a meaningful part of the story. I find his story at least as captivating as following the journey of Holmes and Aoi together.
November 3, 2022
(Read at JNC pre-publishing) Volume 12 is written mostly from Holmes point of view, dealing with two main cases in Gion, both of which in all honesty are a bit farfetched. Like previous volumes the book is good for the characters, and how it depicts Kyoto and various antiques with the history of both. The romanisation of the possessive boyfriend and the focus on infidelity in the stories are at times a bit tiresome. Still, an entertaining quick read.
January 2, 2024
I really enjoy how this series ties in both the drama of the characters and the plot, with the history of Kyoto. I have really enjoyed learning more about the art, the history, the interesting places and everything else. And Holmes makes for a perfect narrator for all this seemingly random information. His quirky personality and passion makes it all that more interesting.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews