(CR) The File of Young Kindaichi Returns (2nd Season)

[LKK]

Crunchyroll will stream the second season of The File of Young Kindaichi Returns.

Show description (from CR):

The second season of the mystery-solving anime returns, centering on Hajime Kindaichi, grandson of the famous detective Kosuke Kindaichi. Though he appears to be a regular high school student, when a difficult case arises, Hajime and his childhood friend Miyuki Nanase, police inspector Isamu Kenmochi, and rival Kengo Akechi use their sharp deduction skills to solve each mystery. Matching the season it’s airing in in real life, the mystery cases within the show will also be set in the fall and winter.

The cast from the first season returns, with Taiki Matsuno as Hajime, Akiko Nakagawa as Miyuki, Juurouta Kosugi as Isamu, and Toshiyuki Morikawa as Kengo. The second season also introduces Kenichi Ono as “the puppeteer of Hell”, Yoichi Takato, who manipulates other criminals for his schemes.

Stream information:

... starting on Saturday, October 3 at 4am Pacific Time!

The File of Young Kindaichi Returns will be available to audiences in the following territories: United States, Canada, UK, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, the Netherlands, Turkey, Latin America, Spain, and Portugal.

[Source]

[Stark700]

Whoa that cliffhanger...

Well, I'm glad to see the show is back.
Decent mystery and thrilling feeling already although I find the hypnotism thing to be kind of gimmick. Still nice to see more of this series again though!

[watisit]

The guy was trapped in there for 18 years? But I'm seeing windows there, A few years of digging should have gotten them out.

[DezoPenguin]

Kindaichi is one of my favorite mystery series (Damn you, Tokyopop, for going under and taking the manga with you!), but I'm really not impressed with this particular case.

"The detective might really be the killer!" stories are hard to pull off effectively if you're not Agatha Christie, since everyone in the audience immediately knows that the hero is innocent right from the start and the suspense comes from the game of wits between the killer and the detective.

The problem with this particular iteration of that trope is that not only do all the investigators pursuing Kindaichi know that he's the killer, but they also know that Taketo is involved in the case. Li goes out of his way to even point that out as how Kindaichi got dragged in to Kariya's revenge story! Yet, despite that, no one so much as stops to ask, "Gee, do you think that maybe this genius mass-murderer is framing his rival and enemy for these crimes?" Especially when the alternative solution is MAGIC HYPNOTIC POWERS that don't actually, y'know, exist in real life? And the fact that Kindaichi's prints are on the latest murder knife was somehow "absolute proof" that he's the killer to Li?

I mean, seriously, would it have been so hard to have anyone except Miyuki actually believe in Kindaichi? Or have Li's motivation be, "Look, we're sworn to uphold the law. We can't just ignore the evidence here and let the amateur detective run around. Sure, we believe him, but do you think the prosecutors will? The newspapers? People who don't know him? Will they believe in this 'mysterious master criminal'?" Not only would it mean that he doesn't have to be an idiot, it allows Kindaichi's friends to suffer alongside him from the same fear Kindaichi has--that he'll be framed into a murder conviction.

At least they only spent three minutes in-show on Kindaichi doubting himself before he found evidence that it was a frame-up.

(I keep wanting to suspect Longtao of the crime...which would suggest that he's actually Kariya. That would require me to rewatch the first episode to see if there's any scenes with Kariya and Taketo together that suggest that Kariya can't be a little person.)

[Stark700]

Wow, I have to admit that this second season's taking on a very thrilling start with two episodes now. First one ended with a cliffhanger and the second one had a bigger one that ended with a bang.

No, I highly doubt Kindaichi is dead but it does create tension for anticipation.

On a down side, I liked the previous OP theme songs better than this season's. Just a personal perference though.

[Diluc]

i like Kindaichi than Conan because Kindaichi is more flawed than Conan
which is make how interesting his character

[BWTraveller]

I only recently started watching this series and must admit I really enjoy it. Fortunately, I understand enough Japanese to watch Raw copies of the original, which I can't find subbed past a couple cases. Overall good, though sometimes it breaks the "rules" of detective fiction and has some of the vital clues hidden from the audience. Still, with the Count of Monte Christo case, I was able to guess the Count's true identity fairly early on. Additionally, I found the conclusion to be very touching. It feels like this author likes those kinds of stories, not just stuff where the victims appear to be horrible people, but stuff where the culprit has some great story that makes you hope the person can atone for their crimes and still find a way to be happy.

One thing though was that I became rather disappointed in Kenmochi's VA at the end of the case "Inspector Kenmochi the Murderer".

Spoiler for reason:

When Kenmochi found out about the true meaning behind the cell phone strap, his voice projected perhaps pride in his former pupil's strength and warmth toward her. He'd found out recently that he'd sent a dear and innocent friend of his late pupil to prison for her murder, and at this point he finds out that he sent him to prison using an item the girl had prepared in a desperate attempt to clear his name, and that he'd thus used a sign of her concern and platonic love for him to torture him for years with the thought that she'd died cursing his name. After finding out that his massive mistake had been that huge and that cruelly vicious, any normal person would show some degree of shock, and almost certainly would have had at least a catch in his voice when he replied. Considering the weight of the strap's true meaning, Kenmochi showing only positive emotions makes him look cruel and callous to the extreme.

The newest arc is really interesting. Wouldn't think Kindaichi would actually agree to help Hell's Puppeteer. That said, I've repeatedly felt like the author either underestimates the police or deliberately makes them look dumb for plot convenience. If the cops really heard that a serial killer with as long a rap sheet as his, known for a broad variety of traps, tricks and psychological manipulations designed to guarantee his escape from any situation, would be someplace they would be more careful in their stakeout. First, they'd put a number of plainclothes around the general area outside, watching for anyone suspicious in the general vicinity. Next, if they found anyone who'd seen or talked to the killer, they wouldn't leave him behind, they'd put him in a car and take him in to get more information. At the very least, it wouldn't have been so easy for Taketo to get free.

Anyway, no surprise in how the Puppeteer acted after it was over. He's the type of guy that prefers to keep his word to the letter, but no further than that. If he says he'll turn himself in and go to jail quietly, he'll do just that. Once he's been put in a cell, however, his obligations are through.

[Ghostfriendly]

No one else kept watching this then? I shouldn't be surprised.

[BWTraveller]

I did, and I was saddened that it didn't get any more discussion. Anyway, the last mystery I wished it'd gone down a little different, just to shake things up a bit.

Spoiler for for instance:

Say Riku had actually gotten out that his mother died because of those hornets. I imagine Marika would've freaked out at the knowledge that their childish prank had resulted in death. It wouldn't be hard to make some setup where she lashed out, resulting in him getting cut, before either he grabs her to calm her and she falls, or she falls on her own, landing on the knife. From there one could even make the other two's fates be either accident or suicide. Koutarou at least would be self-defense I think. In any case, having been at the crime scene and having blood on the body would be plenty motivation for the guy to try to cover things up, while at the same time it'd give us one case where the culprit didn't actually kill anyone. Slight as this is, it would change up the villain's motivation somewhat compared to other villains, and give a more interesting conclusion

In any case, I for one want to see more. It might not be the most brilliant of mysteries, but it is very good and very fun to watch.