Japanese Tales of Mystery and Imagination

by Edogawa Rampo

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Just a little bit of extra info: since it's a Japanese pen name, Ranpo/Rampo is his first name while Edogawa would obviously be the family name. I don't usually read books like this, I prefer fantasy, adventure, action or better yet a combination of all three with as little romance as possible but after being disappointed twice by the two anime adaptations that are supposedly based on his work I decided to come see for myself and I have a bit of a mixed opinion now that I'm done.

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When I hear mystery I expect an actual crime to be happening and everyone working to solve it, like what happens in Detective Conan who's last name Edogawa is an homage to Edogawa Ranpo but this author does things a little differently, it's more psychological based mystery (and horror-ish) than the 1-2-3 I'd expect in such a genre. Does that different outlook always succeed? It depends on the topic tbh. Granted that because it adapts 9 different stories, it doesn't get the chance to go in depth about most of them and the level of enjoyment would surely vary. To me personally out of the 9, the three I enjoyed above all else was the Human Chair, the Psychological Test and the Red Chamber.

In each of these three stories there is a mystery going on as expected and even though they handle it differently it really shows me why Edogawa Ranpo is held in such a high regard. For instance, the Human Chair is one of the creepiest and most uncomfortable stories I've ever read in my life. What I got in it is very very different than what I expected from its title and even though I hoped for a different ending it still left me feeling creeped out which for a mystery of this type makes it a win for me.

The Psychological Test follows a more traditional mystery and it showed me a little bit of Edogawa Ranpo's very own Sherlock Holmes; Akechi Kogorou. The way this case was handled was awesome to read about and the main reason why I enjoyed it so much is because it showed me a little bit of the genius his recurring character has while also giving me one very interesting murderer to read about.

The Red Chamber is the last one of the three I enjoyed to make an appearance in the book and it's probably the one where it had me hoping that it was an actual novel written from the POV of the murderer and just showed me a glimpse of his every day plans. Would that get repetitive? Maybe but I'd still love to see it. Unfortunately like the first story this one also has an end I didn't expect I was impressed with Edogawa Ranpo's imagination in actually coming up with something like this because it was fun from one angle, perfect crime-ish from another and it makes me think of the endless possibilities as well which is just plain wonderful.

As for the remaining six stories, they weren't awful or atrocious, don't let me choosing the previous three indicate that because it doesn't. The only reason I don't hold any of the rest of them in the same regard is based on my enjoyment when reading them, compared to the trio I chose as my top three of the bunch, these six have a lower enjoyment rate and some seemed dull when compared to any of the others which comes down to an individual's preference. I want to read more of his work in the end, maybe a full length mystery this time.

Final rating: 3/5