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A review by darkpsychereads
The Decagon House Murders, Volume 1 by Yukito Ayatsuji
5.0
This was a very enjoyable crime thriller/horror manga, and I'm dying to know more from the next volume! I love locked-room murder mysteries, and exploring a visual format of that with some beautiful artwork is great.
Plot: A bunch of college students that are part of a murder mystery club, decide to visit an island where a horrible murder occurred the year before. They stay in the Decagon house, built by the eccentric architect who died in the same incident. Immediately, we get an eerie atmosphere from the remoteness of the island, and the strange claustrophobic, dizzying decadon-shaped hall of the house (10-sided walls). Tensions begin to rise and trust dwindles between the students, as strange incidents unfold. Meanwhile, simultaneously, we also piece together the mystery from the mainland, where one student (and ex-club member) receives a strange letter from the deceased architect.. which plummets her into some hardcore investigating.
What I enjoyed:
The character setup and development is really good, we get a mix of diverse and mysterious characters. If you're looking for spooks and atmosphere, this one hits the mark. The choice of visuals really captures the mood of the story, and the character dynamics. Overall, it's a very balanced story. One thing I appreciate in manga, and particularly this one too, is the depth of intellectual discourse is of a certain level that really tingles the sapiophile brain. That, tied in with the logic puzzle of playing detective creates wonderfully engaging material. There's also a splash of humour and light heartedness to enjoy, which includes the comical story-breaker intermission panels at the end which are just some fun panels that help get to know the characters better (excuse my lack of manga/comic knowledge on what this term is, I tried to look it up and I've even done a graphic novel unit at uni! Oh, for shame!).
I am definitely invested in the rest of this series and would recommend for manga fans, as well as thriller/horror fans looking to branch out into something different.
Thank you to Netgalley, Kodansha publishing and Yukito Ayatsuji (writer) & Hiro Kiyohara (artist), for this advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review!
Plot: A bunch of college students that are part of a murder mystery club, decide to visit an island where a horrible murder occurred the year before. They stay in the Decagon house, built by the eccentric architect who died in the same incident. Immediately, we get an eerie atmosphere from the remoteness of the island, and the strange claustrophobic, dizzying decadon-shaped hall of the house (10-sided walls). Tensions begin to rise and trust dwindles between the students, as strange incidents unfold. Meanwhile, simultaneously, we also piece together the mystery from the mainland, where one student (and ex-club member) receives a strange letter from the deceased architect.. which plummets her into some hardcore investigating.
What I enjoyed:
The character setup and development is really good, we get a mix of diverse and mysterious characters. If you're looking for spooks and atmosphere, this one hits the mark. The choice of visuals really captures the mood of the story, and the character dynamics. Overall, it's a very balanced story. One thing I appreciate in manga, and particularly this one too, is the depth of intellectual discourse is of a certain level that really tingles the sapiophile brain. That, tied in with the logic puzzle of playing detective creates wonderfully engaging material. There's also a splash of humour and light heartedness to enjoy, which includes the comical story-breaker intermission panels at the end which are just some fun panels that help get to know the characters better (excuse my lack of manga/comic knowledge on what this term is, I tried to look it up and I've even done a graphic novel unit at uni! Oh, for shame!).
I am definitely invested in the rest of this series and would recommend for manga fans, as well as thriller/horror fans looking to branch out into something different.
Thank you to Netgalley, Kodansha publishing and Yukito Ayatsuji (writer) & Hiro Kiyohara (artist), for this advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review!