Himitsu -Top Secret- The Revelation

[musouka]

I was surprised to see that this series has a complete lack of buzz here. Shimizu Reiko is one of my favorite mangaka, and I nearly keeled over in shock when I heard one of her series had been chosen to be animated. It's definitely my number one anticipated show this season.

Originally Posted by animeNfo

The ninth forensic lab of the National Research Institute of Police Science, called Dai Ku (the 9th), uses technology to reproduce images of when the victim was alive from memories residing in the brain to solve difficult cases. This is the story of Maki, the leader of Dai Ku, and Aoki, a newcomer.

Everyone has a secret in his mind. This anime shows the agonies of the investigators who have to know these secret unwillingly.

I think nearly every synopsis I've seen of the show/manga has made it seem slightly dry, so I can't blame people too much for letting it fall off their radar, but I think writing it off entirely is a mistake. It's more about the ramifications this power would create more than "murder mysteries", with a wonderful emphasis on character development.

One of the things I like best about the manga is the attention to detail. In the first story, for example, how certain people don't look the same as they do in photographs when dealing with the murder victim's memory--because of the way he saw them.

Hakusensha's Official Site - Free online preview of the first chapter here.
NTV's Official Site

[BluWacky]

Believe me, Himitsu isn't off my radar in the slightest - although it's probably not top of my list, it's definitely pretty high up there.

The problem as I see it is that there's been very little publicity for the anime and virtually no-one's read any of the manga (although plenty of people have probably read scans of Moon Child and Kaguya Hime at least). I'd hoped we might have some tiny screenshots or a glimpse of an advert by now - maybe something tacked on the end of the last episode of Nougami Neuro? - but we've got no visual or aural stimulation to interest people who haven't heard of the series before. In fact, out of all the anime starting in April, it's the ONLY one that I haven't seen a trailer for anywhere on the Net (excluding kid's shows and sequels, and most of those have trailers or adverts). Very curious!

Maybe once the show's actually started (and I'm sure someone will sub it in this day and age) there'll be a bit of buzz. Of course, if the show turns out to be rubbish then I guess it'll fall at the first hurdle; my biggest worry is the animation quality as Madhouse have FIVE new shows starting in April (admittedly Chii's Sweet Home probably isn't very resource-intensive, but Kaiba is likely to get all the artsy animators at Madhouse working on it and Alison and Lillia is likely to have a hefty wodge of cash behind it), but I'm sure that the story at least will prove interesting.

[musouka]

Originally Posted by BluWacky

The problem as I see it is that there's been very little publicity for the anime

I've noticed that too. Frankly, it's a little confounding. Six days before the first episode premieres and the official site doesn't even have character profiles? I'm really hoping this doesn't mean it's an afterthought in terms of budget and writing, but it's hard not to read it that way in light of, as you said, a complete lack of trailers and promotional material.

Plus that art they do have still makes me cringe a little every time I see it...

[Zu Ra]

The story seems really interesting , kind of surprised at the lack of buzz here at AS

[orion]

Not even Tomokazu Seki could generate interest in this title here. That's sad.

Oh well, maybe this isn't a high priority Madhouse title even from Madhouse's perspective. No trailer. No website update...

[musouka]

Originally Posted by orion

Not even Tomokazu Seki could generate interest in this title here. That's sad.

Maybe if it was Fukuyama Jun...

[sapphire-pyro]

Finally a thread for this series YAY!

I love the manga I am so watching the anime xD

[Westlo]

The character designs in the only image I've seen from the anime look horrible compared to the manga. I didn't really enjoy the first story in the manga but maybe it will come across better to me in an animated form. Tomokazu Seki is also a big plus

[milo001]

the manga seems boring to me.but i'll take a look at the anime.

[musouka]

And finally. Four days before it's set to air, we get a decent homepage, with a picture that doesn't make me weep for Shimizu's artwork quite as much.

[guest]

I have read this author's several manga in the past but I have to say, this one is not good.

Spoiler for manga:

So the president is gay and that is the top secret? Come on, which century are we in now? The rest of the detective stories are a blend of a lot of actual cases occurred in US. He just mixed it all together and pull a story out of it, nothing new, really.

Because of this, I really can't say I will be following this show.

[musouka]

Originally Posted by guest

I have read this author's several manga in the past but I have to say, this one is not good.

Spoiler for manga:

So the president is gay and that is the top secret? Come on, which century are we in now? The rest of the detective stories are a blend of a lot of actual cases occurred in US. He just mixed it all together and pull a story out of it, nothing new, really.

Because of this, I really can't say I will be following this show.

First of all, Shimizu is a she. Second of all, the first chapter has nothing to do with the rest of the series.

Spoiler for first chapter:

Finally, if you don't think having a gay president would be a big deal, especially if he wasn't elected with the general public aware of that fact, then you're the one being unrealistic. ^^;;

[guest]

Originally Posted by musouka

First of all, Shimizu is a she. Second of all, the first chapter has nothing to do with the rest of the series.

Spoiler for first chapter:

Finally, if you don't think having a gay president would be a big deal, especially if he wasn't elected with the general public aware of that fact, then you're the one being unrealistic. ^^;;

Spoiler:

I can kind of overlook the first story because it is not really related to the rest of the stories. How about the rest of them? I had high hope for this and was expecting something that would be mind-blowing. But what I got was a bunch of old actual cases. I think she is better off writing/drawing the fantasy style manga like she always does. She did draw very pretty pictures of human anatomy like right out of text books. This is good because then this won't turn into a disgusting horror manga. I appreciate that.

[orion]

Originally Posted by musouka

First of all, Shimizu is a she. Second of all, the first chapter has nothing to do with the rest of the series.

Spoiler for first chapter:

Finally, if you don't think having a gay president would be a big deal, especially if he wasn't elected with the general public aware of that fact, then you're the one being unrealistic. ^^;;

Spoiler:

In the USA... I find that the public didn't know that the president was gay to be very unrealistic. He would have been outed on the campaign trail before he actually made it to the primaries.

[musouka]

Originally Posted by orion

Spoiler:

In the USA... I find that the public didn't know that the president was gay to be very unrealistic. He would have been outed on the campaign trail before he actually made it to the primaries.

Spoiler:

Well, you'd probably have to read to understand, but it does go into detail about how he was "absolutely perfect" without a single blemish socially or on his record in Congress--impossible, of course, but that's the point--until he calls in love with his daughter's fiance.

And, if you're reading this series for the mysteries then you kinda missed the point. I'm not sure how "ripped from the headlines" they are or not--I know I haven't seen any of them to my knowledge, but the overwelming focus is how the technology affects other people, especially the officers in charge of the investigations.

Spoiler for chapter two:

For example, the big secret in chapter two isn't why all the kids are commiting suicide--it's what happened to Maki to make him the way he is now.

The murders are the stage for the story, but they're not the main event. I mean, in chapter three, the "who and how" was almost a total afterthought compared to "how Aoki is trying to cope".

[sapphire-pyro]

Few days to go before the anime airs xD Disappointing that the trailer is not up UNTIL NOW! -_- The manga's terrific, the anime'd better be decent T_T

Originally Posted by guest

I have read this author's several manga in the past but I have to say, this one is not good.

Spoiler for manga:

So the president is gay and that is the top secret? Come on, which century are we in now? The rest of the detective stories are a blend of a lot of actual cases occurred in US. He just mixed it all together and pull a story out of it, nothing new, really.

Because of this, I really can't say I will be following this show.

Spoiler for uuummm:

I think the TOP SECRET here doesn't only mean the president's secret in the first chapter . . .but top secrets in general. The plot has something to do with looking into people's memories through the brain, right? And those things that are in the brain . . .memories, thoughts, dreams, desires, whatsoever . . . is that person's private things . . . .or in other words, their top secrets xD Hehe.

[musouka]

I suppose with my expectations so high, there was no way I could avoid being somewhat dissappointed, but this was pretty much a hot mess.

Even though the original chapter provides a fine intro to the concept, the writers decided to go for mostly all new material for the first episode. Lacking any of Shimizu's charm and subtlety, they go for a yawner that would fit right in with any C-rate crime drama.

Spoiler for episode one:

It's as though the director had no confidence in the original material. In, for example, one of the only scenes left from the original manga, when Maki grabs Aoki when still half asleep, instead of allowing his audience to understand that this is a big moment for Maki in a natural way, we get "the background fades away and the scene whirls around as violins play in the background". The original was melodramatic, with Maki's collaspse back into Aoki's arms, but the anime version is so ridiculously over the top, you have to wonder what Madhouse was smoking.

It also tries to make the technology look too "cool". The point isn't how they're viewing the brains or how many green, glowing monitors they use to do it--but the rammifications of doing so. The BGM is so wrong for this scene I could have cried, but not as much as the final "reveal" with the dead woman's husband--where the BGM is so inappropriate I started laughing despite myself.

It really feels like the director skimmed through the manga and took the basic idea without understanding what Shimizu was actually trying to explore and express. While it looks like the next episode slips back into manga material, this first ep was a big blow to my enthusiasm. Which is a shame, because I actually like the look of the show a lot in many respects. Though it loses the beautiful, light airy sense you get with Shimizu's artwork, I like the Monster-ish sense of color and weight.

But that's about all I liked.

[sapphire-pyro]

Saw the OP and episode one and . . . .

WHAT HAS THE ANIME DONE TO MAKI???!!!! HE LOOKS HELL BETTER IN THE MANGA!!!!! AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! ;_;

[Kaoru Chujo]

Once again, I am so glad that I haven't read the manga. I found it quite enjoyable, but everything musouka wrote does ring true.

What year is the show set in? The rooms full of computers look like 1970.

[Fevvers]

As I found the manga lackluster at best (sorry to say, I thought the pacing and melodrama were atrocious), I might end up liking the anime given the right execution. But then again, from hearing some of the comments here, maybe not.