is a Japanese
manga
Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
series, written by
Seimaru Amagi and illustrated by
Fumiya Satō
is a Japanese manga artist. She is best known for the manga series ''The Kindaichi Case Files'' and ''Detective School Q''. In 1995, she received the Kodansha Manga Award
is an annual award for serialized manga published in the previous ye ...
(the creators of ''
Kindaichi Case Files
is a Japanese detective fiction, mystery manga series based on the crime solving adventures of a high school student, Hajime Kindaichi, the supposed grandson of the famous (fictional) private detective Kosuke Kindaichi. Written ...
''), originally serialized in
Kodansha
is a Japanese privately-held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publishing company, and it produces the manga magazines ''Nakayoshi'', ''Afternoon'', ''Evening'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' an ...
's ''
Weekly Shōnen Magazine
is a weekly ''shōnen'' manga anthology published on Wednesdays in Japan by Kodansha, first published on March 17, 1959. The magazine is mainly read by an older audience, with a significant portion of its readership falling under the male high ...
'' between June 2001 and August 2005, with its chapters collected in twenty-two ''
tankōbon
is the Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...
'' volumes. A forty-five episode
anime
is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
television series by
Pierrot
Pierrot ( , , ) is a stock character of pantomime and '' commedia dell'arte'', whose origins are in the late seventeenth-century Italian troupe of players performing in Paris and known as the Comédie-Italienne. The name is a diminutive of ''P ...
was broadcast on
TBS from April 2003 to March 2004.
Plot
''Detective School Q'' is the story of a group of young students from Class Q of Dan Detective School (DDS), a prestigious and renowned detective academy founded by Morihiko Dan, the most famous detective in Japan, and the adventures and mysteries they unfold and solve together. They eventually work against , a mysterious organization which creates almost fool-proof plans that only a handful of detectives can solve.
Characters
;
:
:
:A bright, sweet and optimistic boy who is also a brilliant detective. He is considered to be Class Q's leader and is known for his logical explanations of cases. He has a good sense of judgment regarding people, as when everyone distrusted Ryū, he expressed his open appreciation for him. He seems to have a crush on Meg and he cares for her very much, although he enjoys teasing her.
:Kyū had been a single child of a single parent (his mother) for as long as he could remember. However, a certain man had acted as his mentor when Kyū was little. When he was five years old, he was kidnapped and held as a hostage by some criminals but his mentor rescued him. In reality he was none other than Kyū's father, Satoru Renjō, Morihiko Dan's partner and right-hand man, who realizing the high risk of being a detective, married Kyū's mother in secret to keep his family safe. After Renjō's death, Kyū's mother hid the truth from Kyū for years, trying to shield him from the danger that the life of a detective is always in. After he was accepted in the DDS, Kyū's mother changed her mind and fully supported him.
;
:
:
:Ryū is the grandson of King Hades, the founder and leader of Pluto, who had him sent to DDS. After his parents died, Pluto took care of Ryū. He has a mark of the organization on the back of his neck. As a child, Ryū was never allowed to socialize with others and so, viewed his house as more of a prison than a home. Ryū seems to have a cold personality, but he is still friendly with the other members of Class Q, and shares a special bond with Kyū, since he was the first one who could understand him. He admits that Kyū is a better detective than he is, despite Kyū's childish behavior, mentioning that tenacity and hard work are the factors that gives Kyū his edge over him.
:For some reason, Ryū cannot remember his childhood, but is determined to find out anything he can. That Ryū is linked with Pluto is first discovered by Kyū, who keeps quiet about it, and even helps Ryū by trying to discover his past. Once the hypnosis which was blocking his memories is removed, Ryū starts remembering his past. The final lock on his memories is removed by King Hades himself, since he considered his plan as a failure, due to which Ryū remembers that his father is still alive and is reunited with him.
;
:
:
:Commonly referred by her friends as , she is a Class Q member and has a unique talent of having a
photographic memory
Eidetic memory ( ; more commonly called photographic memory or total recall) is the ability to recall an image from memory with high precision—at least for a brief period of time—after seeing it only onceThe terms ''eidetic memory'' and ''pho ...
, allowing her to memorize a scene instantly and notice if a piece of evidence has been moved or is missing. She has a big crush on both Kyū and Ryū. However Ryū is not interested in her, meanwhile Kyū enjoys teasing her (a trait usually seen in a boy who likes a particular girl). She studied in the Tokyo National Talent Development Research Center alongside Yutaka Saburōmaru. Meg lives with her older sister Akane, who attends a local university, as her parents work abroad.
:The first time she sees Ryū, she feels that she has seen him somewhere, but cannot remember (which, she feels is odd, since she has photographic memory). Once her memories are unlocked, she remembers that both she and Ryū had studies at the Tokyo National Talent Development Research Center.
;
:
:
:Kazuma is a rich, well known computer games programmer. He often helps find information through his laptop computer, which he carries around with him at all times. At first, after learning that he was a member of Class Q, which at the time was believed to be the lowest, he tried to get transferred to Class A. However, when his classmates came to his aid when he was in trouble, he changed his mind, preferring to stay with his friends. Kazuma has a friendly rivalry with Kinta due to their different approaches to detective work. Kazuma and Kinta are often the butt of each other's jokes. He is a prodigy, but he cannot get the right answers without his "lucky" hat, but he later seems to get over this flaw.
;
:
:
:Also known as , he is the son of a well-respected police officer, but moved out due to a family dispute. He now lives alone and works part-time in different jobs, going from one to another. Kinta is the strongest member of Class Q having had lessons in judo, kendo and karate. He also has superb senses, especially his eyesight and sense of smell. Kinta often mocks Kazuma's high tech approach to detective work, preferring instead to rely on his "instinct". His tough personality as well as his excellent senses have been very useful at times.
;
:
:
:Dan is the founder and principal of DDS. He is a famous detective who has solved many cases, and is the only private detective in Japan licensed to hold a gun. Dan was a former police officer who resigned to open up a private detective company, Dan Detective Company (DDC), the parent company of DDS. He was assisted by a young boy named Satoru Renjō, who acted as his partner, assistant, and apprentice. Together they helped build DDC and DDS into a top level detective company and school (some of the top-level detectives at DDC and instructors at DDS were the first generation students of DDS).
:Among many criminals they fought, the most powerful one was Pluto. Although Pluto was apparently destroyed, it was not without cost; Satoru was killed, and Dan was forced to be in a
wheelchair
A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, used when walking is difficult or impossible due to illness, injury, problems related to old age, or disability. These can include spinal cord injuries ( paraplegia, hemiplegia, and quadriplegia), cerebr ...
for the rest of his life. Years later, there are signs that Pluto is being resurrected. Realizing that his days were numbered due to his old age, Dan decides to open a new, special class, Class Q, consisting of several extremely talented persons. He would train them, analyze each one of them, and appoint the best student of this class to be his successor.
;
:
:
:The loyal assistant of Dan, she assisted Meg, Kyū and Kinta in getting admitted to DDS, having met them during a case.
;
:
:
:DDS's head of forensics, Maki is both a skilled teacher and doctor, and is quite intelligent in his knowledge of medical and forensic science.
;
:
:
:Nanami is another loyal righthand of Dan. He is very skilled in the art of disguise, and is often ordered by Dan to watch Class Q in cases by disguising as one of the suspects. Nanami is very carefree, as he loves to show his new tricks to Class Q, but he can be extremely serious when he needs to be. His favourite disguise is that of a cactus, which is also occasionally accompanied by a flashy, brightly patterned
sombrero
A sombrero (Spanish , ) is a type of wide-brimmed Mexican men's hat used to shield the face and eyes from the sun. It usually has a high pointed crown, an extra-wide brim (broad enough to cast a shadow over the head, neck and shoulders of the we ...
or Mexican outfit. He is usually assigned to look after Class Q especially when they discover the Pluto's hand behind the undertaken cases.
;
:
:
:Saburōmaru is an arrogant
Tokyo University
, abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...
student who enjoys boasting about his "superiority". He thinks that he will be a qualified detective. Although he has an
IQ of 180, he seems too inept in solving mysteries. Saburōmaru is initially in Class A after joining DDS, but later gets demoted to Class B. He knows Meg via the Tokyo National Talent Development Research Center and has a crush on her older sister Akane.
;
:
:King Hades is the founder and leader of Pluto. His true identity is . Ryū's grandfather and Dan's childhood friend. Hoshihiko is the illegitimate son of Takumi Kuzuryū, a multi-talented genius artist, and Yurika Kokuō, a genius criminal. When Hoshihiko's secret about his parentage was revealed, he was bullied by his classmates. Hoshihiko punished them by secretly putting a chemical substance in the bathroom that ignited fire, burning them in the process. He did it in such a fashion that the entire incident was considered an accident. Dan tried to convince Hoshihiko that he committed a crime, but Hoshihiko said that they cannot be friends anymore and walks away.
:Takumi, fearing that Hoshihiko would harm his legitimate daughter, imprisoned him in the underground floor of the "House of Dragon", one of the buildings designed by him, which would be later DDS's first office and finally Class Q's classroom. In the underground room, where even light could not reach, Hoshihiko used a sharp stick to cut his face and used the blood to write a diary, which left him with two scars on his face. Hoshihiko, full of hopelessness and hatred, kills his father and manages to escape from the building, and later starts the Pluto organization. As King Hades, he tries to make Ryū feel the same hopelessness and betrayal from friends, so that he becomes a worthy successor. However, as this failed, he chooses death and remains behind in a burning house.
Media
Manga
''Detective School Q'', written by
Seimaru Amagi and illustrated by
Fumiya Satō
is a Japanese manga artist. She is best known for the manga series ''The Kindaichi Case Files'' and ''Detective School Q''. In 1995, she received the Kodansha Manga Award
is an annual award for serialized manga published in the previous ye ...
, was serialized in
Kodansha
is a Japanese privately-held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publishing company, and it produces the manga magazines ''Nakayoshi'', ''Afternoon'', ''Evening'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' an ...
's ''
Weekly Shōnen Magazine
is a weekly ''shōnen'' manga anthology published on Wednesdays in Japan by Kodansha, first published on March 17, 1959. The magazine is mainly read by an older audience, with a significant portion of its readership falling under the male high ...
'' between June 6, 2001, and August 3, 2005. Kodansha collected its chapters in twenty-two ''
tankōbon
is the Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...
'' volumes, released from September 13, 2001, to October 17, 2005.
Anime
A forty-five episode
anime
is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
television series adaptation, animated by
Pierrot
Pierrot ( , , ) is a stock character of pantomime and '' commedia dell'arte'', whose origins are in the late seventeenth-century Italian troupe of players performing in Paris and known as the Comédie-Italienne. The name is a diminutive of ''P ...
and directed by
Noriyuki Abe
Noriyuki (written: 紀之, 紀行, 敬之, 記之, 徳行, 憲幸, 範之 or 範幸) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include:
*, Japanese anime director
*, Japanese musician
*, Japanese motorcycle racer
*, Japanese ...
, was broadcast on
TBS from April 15, 2003, to March 20, 2004. The episodes were collected in twelve DVD sets, released by
Marvelous Entertainment
(MMV) was a multinational corporation that produced animation, music, video games and television series. MMV is known for its involvement in the ''Story of Seasons'' series. They merged with AQ Interactive in 2011 and became Marvelous AQL; the ...
between August 23, 2003, and July 24, 2004. The series' first opening theme (episodes #1–21) is , performed by
Hayami Kishimoto; the second (episodes #22–34) and third opening theme (episodes #35–45) are "Luvly, Merry-Go-Round" and "100% Pure", respectively, both performed by . The first ending theme (episodes #1–11) is performed by
Akane Sugazaki
is a former Japanese pop singer and songwriter. She recorded for the Giza Studio label.
Biography
In 2001 Sugazaki won the Grand Prix Award in Miss Pure Pure Audition 2001 and made a cover appearance for ''Pure 2x'' magazine.
In 2002 Sugazaki ...
; the second ending theme (episodes #12–21) is performed by
Aiko Kitahara
is a former Japanese pop singer and songwriter under the Giza Studio label.
Biography
Aiko's interest in music was inspired by her mother's love for bossa nova and Latin pop, which have had a big influence on her songs.
2002-2003: Piece of Lo ...
; the third (episodes #22–34) and fourth ending theme (episodes #35–45) are and , respectively, both performed by Hayami Kishimoto.
Drama
A two-hour special
television drama
In film and television show, television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or docudrama, semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humour, humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms t ...
adaptation was broadcast on
Nippon TV
JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as , is the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned-and-operated by the which is a subsidiary of the certified broadcasting holding company , itself a listed su ...
on July 1, 2006.
An eleven-episode television drama adaptation series was broadcast on Nippon TV from July 3 to September 11, 2007.
The opening theme is "
Answer
Answer commonly refers to response to a question.
Answer may also refer to:
* Answer (law), any reply to a question, counter-statement or defense in a legal procedure
Music
* Answer, an element of a fugue
Albums
* ''Answer'' (Angela Aki alb ...
" by
Flow, while the ending theme was "
Stand By Me" by
the brilliant green
(stylized as the brilliant green) is a Japanese rock band from Kyoto formed in 1995. They were signed to Sony Music Entertainment Japan. Their major debut single under Sony, " Bye Bye Mr. Mug", was released in 1997. Their contract with Sony e ...
.
References
External links
Pierrot's Official Website for ''Detective School Q''Animax Japan's website for ''Detective School Q''Animax East Asia's website for ''Detective School Q''Animax South Asia's website for ''Detective School Q''TBS's Website for ''Detective School Q''*
{{Pierrot (company)
2003 anime television series debuts
2007 Japanese television series debuts
Anime series based on manga
Detective anime and manga
Kodansha manga
Mystery anime and manga
Nippon TV dramas
Pierrot (company)
School life in anime and manga
Shin Kibayashi
Shōnen manga
TBS Television (Japan) original programming