Reviews - I sette killer dello Shinkansen

1.57k reviews for:

I sette killer dello Shinkansen

Kōtarō Isaka

3.85 AVERAGE

austin2505's review against another edition

3.25

slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

liny19's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous funny fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

ikanurul's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous funny slow-paced

dwayne_shugert's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

alabamawhaler's review against another edition

adventurous funny tense medium-paced

fetamorphasis's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

annoyingtiger888's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I saw the movie first before I knew there was a book and I loved it. Though it's not entirely faithful to the book, it's still a hilarious, great watch. As for the book, it's much darker than the movie, with far more detail and plot threads. I can't rightly say which is better because I adore both of them.

However, I do fear this book may have fallen prey to the American Translation Virus and might not be entirely faithful to the original book. Afterall, I'm pretty sure calling people "unc" is not a thing over in Japan. It's very American and very jarring when reading a book about Japanese people set in Japan. American translators seem to think they need to twist the original work to make it more American or we won't understand, but it cheapens the author's work and it's very... cringe, for lack of a better word.

This story was amazing, though. The thought of all these assassins being on one train, their jobs and lives intersecting like railway lines, is really amusing to me and lights a fire of inspiration within my brain. The story is just so good with such good characters. I imagine the original text is even better, without the jarring Americanization of it. It just makes me wish I could speak Japanese so I don't have to deal with this terrible practice.

I'm still salty that my favorite character dies in both the book and the movie, I won't say who because of spoilers. I can't get mad at the author, though, because despite this happening, he delivered an amazing story with equally amazing characters.