Detective School Q

Detective School Q (Japanese: 探偵学園Q, Hepburn: Tantei Gakuen Kyū) is a manga series, written by Seimaru Amagi and illustrated by Fumiya Satō (the creators of Kindaichi Case Files), originally serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine between 2001 and 2005, spanning 22-tankōbon volumes. It was adapted into an anime series, produced by Pierrot, spanned 45 episodes, and aired in Japan on TBS and the anime television network, Animax, who had also later broadcast it within respective networks across Southeast Asia, South Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan, translating and dubbing the series into English and other languages.

Storyline

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 Pluto, a mysterious organization which creates almost fool-proof plans that only a handful of detectives can solve.

Characters

DDS

Classes in DDS are based on the entrance test score, with A as the highest, B as the next lower, etc. It is possible for a student to be transferred to higher or lower classes, depending on their academic performances. However, Class Q is a special case. As the name might suggest, Class Q is for the Qualified students (i.e. the specially chosen few) who are viewed as the most potential candidates for the successor of Morihiko Dan in the future. Yet, the same rules as the other classes also apply to Class Q. Any member of Class Q may be transferred to a lower class if his/her academic performance declines. Since Class A was generally regarded as the top class of the DDS before Class Q was formed, there has been a tense rivalry between the two classes since.

Class Q

Kyū Renjō (連城 究, Renjō Kyu))

Voiced by: Megumi Ogata (anime), Ryūnosuke Kamiki (live-action)

A bright, sweet and optimistic boy who is also a brilliant detective, but a little awkward in social situations. Otherwise, he is considered to be the team's leader and is known for his logical explanations of cases. His motto (taught by Renjou Satoru (his father)) - "A Detective must never give up or the case will remain unsolved". He has a good sense of judgment regarding people (when everyone distrusted Ryu, he expressed his open appreciation for him) but often says things that infuriate Megumi such as look at the colour of her panties. But even though he acts this way, he cares for her, as shown when they were trapped in a secret door in the old school building. He did everything he could to help Megumi as she struggled after getting bitten by a pit viper, even opening up the pipe system to send Ryu and the others an SOS. In addition, another such running gag of Kyu's is his constant misinterpretation of the Japanese language (for example, he said "training pants" when he heard the words "tore han," which means "treasure hunting").

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 Kyu's father (Satoru Renjou, Morihiko Dan's partner and right-hand man). Realizing the high risk of being a detective, Satoru married Kyu's mother in secret to keep his new family safe. After Renjou's death, Kyu's mother hid the truth from Kyu 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, Mrs. Renjou changed her mind and supported him fully. One of his favourite words after solving the mystery is "There could only be one answer!"

Ryū Amakusa (天草 流, Amakusa Ryū))

Voiced by: Kōichi Tōchika (anime), Ryōsuke Yamada (live-action)

Ryu is very intelligent and handsome, and his dark background somehow links him to the organization known as Pluto (瞑王星). When his parents died, Pluto took care of him. As a child he was never allowed to socialize with others. He often viewed his house as more of a prison than a home. Even with his cold personality he is still friendly with the other members of Class Q, and shares a special link with Kyu, since he was the first one who could understand him. He admits that Kyu is smarter than he is despite his childish behaviour. Ryu also has a Pluto mark on the back of his neck, which is seen at the Last Opening Video of Detective Academy Q.

Megumi Minami (美南 恵, Minami Megumi))

Voiced by: Hōko Kuwashima (anime), Mirai Shida (live-action)

Commonly referred by her friends as "Meg" (メグ, Megu), she has a unique talent of having a photographic memory (瞬間記憶, Shunkan kioku), allowing her to memorize a scene instantly. This allows her to notice if a piece of evidence has been moved or is missing. She has a big crush on Ryu. She studied in the Tokyo National Talent Development Research Center alongside Yutaka Saburomaru. She lives with her older sister Akane (who attends a local university) as her parents work abroad.

Kazuma Narusawa (鳴沢 数馬, Narusawa Kazuma))

Voiced by: Tomoko Kawakami (anime), Naruki Matsukawa (live-action special), Katsumi Wakaba (live-action drama)

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 can't get the right answers without his "lucky" hat as implied in episode 3; he seems to get over this flaw by the end of the TV series.

Kintarō Tōyama (遠山 金太郎, Tōyama Kintarō))

Voiced by: Hideo Ishikawa (anime), Jun Kaname (live-action)

Kinta 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 the class, 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. He is very strong and sometimes hits either Kazuma or Kyu. He also repeatedly tries to pick up girls (with little success). He has been called pervert in many episodes. His ambition is to touch a girl.

Faculty and staff

Morihiko Dan (団 守彦, Dan Morihiko)

Voiced by: Hideyuki Tanaka (anime), Takanori Jinnai (live-action)

Born in 1936, Morihiko Dan is the founder and principal of Dan Detective School, and a famous detective who has solved many cases, and is the only private detective in Japan who is licensed to hold a gun. Morihiko Dan was a former police officer who resigned to open up a private detective company of his own, Dan Detective Company (DDC), the parent company of DDS. He was assisted by a young boy named Satoru Renjo, 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 the crime organization known as Pluto (冥王星, Meiosei). Although Pluto was finally thought to apparently have been destroyed, it wasn't without cost. Satorou Renjo, Dan's most prominent apprentice and heir-apparent was killed, and Mr. Dan was forced to be in a wheelchair 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, Morihiko Dan decided to open a new, special class called 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.

Shino Katagiri (片桐 紫乃, Katagiri Shino)

Voiced by: Aya Hisakawa (anime), Sawa Suzuki (live-action)

The loyal assistant of Morihiko Dan, she assisted Megumi, Kyu and Kinta in getting admitted to DDS, having met them during a case, featured in the first episode of the anime series.

Shintarō Maki (真木 慎太郎, Maki Shintarō)

Voiced by: Ken Narita (anime), Toshihide Tonesaku (live-action)

DDS's head of forensics, Shintarou Maki is both a skilled teacher and doctor, and is quite intelligent in his knowledge of medical and forensic science.

Kōtarō Nanami (七海 光太郎, Nanami Kōtarō)

Voiced by: Shinichiro Miki (anime), Taro Yamamoto (live-action)

Nanami is another loyal righthand of Morihiko Dan. He's 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's very carefree, as he loves to show his new tricks (which Ryu despises) 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 or Mexican outfit. This usually appears when he is under stress, such as when he had to take Dan-sensei's place as head of DDS during Dan-sensei's hospital stay. For the majority of the show he does absolutely nothing that has any effect on the plot or story line of any of the episodes. For instance, after the students have left Class Q he removes his disguise and says something like "that's interesting."

Tatsumi Hongōu (本郷 巽, Hongōu Tatsumi)

Voiced by: Hiroshi Fujioka

A DDS teacher, and just like Nanami and Katagiri, Hongou is very loyal to Morihiko Dan. He can appear to be cold and harsh, and handles cases professionally. He often argues with Nanami on how a detective should behave; he criticizes Nanami's easygoing way of teaching, and believes that a true detective has to be firm and serious.

Dokurō Onikōbe (鬼首 独郎, Onikōbe Dokurō)

Voiced by: Shigeru Chiba

He is a DDS staff member who has a rather strange hobby, being a skull-lover. He has a hundred skulls at his house and he can distinguish it one by one, and the one which pops up the most (possibly his favourite) is named Elizabeth, wearing a ribbon on the top of the skull. He is also the head of DDS's science project that makes every DDS tool, like the DDS watch, and many others. Ryu and Meg know him in the DDS research centre first before the other Class Q members, and they helped him solve a murder case.

• Note: In the manga, it is revealed that Shino Katagiri, Koutarou Nanami and Hongou Tatsumi were the very first students of DDS, personally trained by Morihiko Dan and Satoru Renjo themselves. After the catastrophe following the destruction of Pluto (in which Satoru Renjo was killed and Morihiko Dan was crippled), these three ran both the school and the detective office until Morihiko Dan recovered. Thus, it's quite understandable to see their loyalty and devotion toward Morihiko Dan, DDC and DDS.

Class A

Sakurako Yukihira (雪平桜子, Yukihira Sakurako)

Voiced by: Satsuki Yukino

The 17-year-old niece of Morihiko Dan is a renowned detective novel author, having published successful books while in high school. She didn't want to be a detective at all at first, because she wanted to be a mystery novel writer. She's in her 2nd year in Senior High School in the DDS. She received her first award from the police in 3rd grade in elementary school. She also barely mentions that Morihiko Dan is her uncle, since she desires to ascend in the DDS on her own. Fiercely competitive, more hot-headed than she lets other see, and quite stern on others and herself. She's a friendly rival of Kyu (the only one who knows her relationship to Dan), and she possibly has a crush on him, and is a good friend of Megu and Kuniko.

Yutaka Saburōmaru (三郎丸豊, Saburōmaru Yutaka)

Voiced by: Nobuo Tobita (anime), Akiyoshi Nakao (live-action)

He studied at Tokyo University. He is arrogant and enjoys boasting about his "superiority". He thinks he will be the qualified detective, often becoming the comic relief in the series. He is initially in Class A after joining DDS, but later gets demoted to Class B in the manga. He knows Megumi Minami via the Tokyo National Talent Development Research Center and has a crush on Megumi's older sister Akane alongside Kinta in one episode in the anime. Although he has an IQ of 180, he seems too inept in solving mysteries.

Hayato Shiramine (白峰隼人, Shiramine Hayato)

Voiced by: Masanori Katsuragi

He has an astonishing ability to perform magic tricks, inherited from his father (a famous magician), Hayato Shiramine is 16 years old, and often says that those who master magic are great detectives.

Kyōsuke Gouda (郷田京助, Gōda Kyōsuke)

Voiced by: Susumu Chiba

A puzzle master and a mathematical olympian, Kyōsuke is 19 years old.

Takeshi Shishido (獅子戸猛, Shishido Takeshi)

Voiced by: Kōichi Kuriyama

He went to Harvard University to do a doctorate on criminal psychology before he joined DDS. Quite qualified himself, Takeshi has solved four homicide cases on his own.

Kuniko Tōuya (遠矢邦子, Tōya Kuniko)

Voiced by: Tomoko Kaneda (anime), Yumika Tajima (live-action)

A 15-year-old girl, Kuniko Touya is a transfer student from Shibusawa Academy, as well as a good friend of Megu and Yukihira. She changed her appearance drastically when she entered DDS, after the extremely cruel bullying she went through in Shibusawa lead to a terrible tragedy that had to be investigated by Class Q. During her Shibusawa time, Kuniko used glasses and was rather modest in her clothing; right before joining DDS, she bleached her hair and started dressing somewhat like a Ko-Gal. She's still timid and shy, tending to panic in some crucial moments (like when she became the target of a pervert in the train), but works hard to get over such flaws. Her hobby is collecting spooky pictures and practising Aikido (her family has a dojo). In the manga, she has a crush on Ryu.

Pluto

Pluto (冥王星, Meiosei) is a crime organization which acts as a "murder designer". At a client's request, it will create a perfect, fool-proof murder plot. The organization guarantees that if performed correctly, there won't be enough clues and or evidences to link the murder to the clients who ordered it. Each job will cost half of the client's entire assets. However, the organization will not actually perform the murder(s) themselves. The client will have to do the killing(s) him/herself. Most plots created by them were so fool-proof that only a very high-skilled detective can reveal the tricks and plots. Dan's Detective School was one of the few groups that can do so, and stopping Pluto's diabolical schemes. In order to keep their identity a secret, hypnotism will be carried out on the client if the murder case is solved.

They disguise themselves using plastic surgery, wigs and make-up. However, their identities can be revealed by a certain Pluto Tattoo, which appears on every member.

King Hades (キング·ハデス, Kingu Hadesu)

Voiced by: Goro Naya

King Hades is the founder and leader of Pluto. His name was adopted from Hades, the Greek god of underworld. His true identity is Hoshihiko Kokuo, the love child of a multi-talented genius artist Takumi Kuzuryu and Yurika Kokuo, the genius criminal.

He is Ryu Amakusa's grandfather and was also Morihiko Dan's childhood friend. However, when the secret about his parentage was revealed, he was bullied by his classmates. Hoshihiko "punished" those classmates by secretly putting a chemical substance that ignited fire in the bathroom, burning them in process. He did it in such a fashion that the entire incident was considered an accident, and he went scot-free (this is the major pattern of all the Pluto's actions). Dan tried to convince Hoshihiko that he was committing a crime; Hoshihiko just replied that he and Dan couldn't be friends anymore because they aim for different goals, and he left the school since then.

Some time later he was "betrayed by the person he trusted most" and trapped in the underground floor of Seryukan (The House of Dragon), one of the buildings which were Kuzuryu Takumi 's design. (Later the building became DDS's first office and finally Class Q's classroom). In the underground room where even light couldn't reach, he used a sharp stick to cut his face and used the blood to write a diary, this left him with two scars on his face. He managed to escape from Seryuukan and start the Pluto organization.

Sir Anubis (サー·アヌビス, Sā Anubisu)

Voiced by: Hikaru Midorikawa

Appearing in the anime, Anubis is a top member of Pluto, whose alias was adopted from the Egyptian jackal-headed god of death, Anubis. His real identity is never revealed in the anime, and neither was his history, but it's known that he has been in Pluto ever since he was a teenager. Courteous and polite, he always dresses in dark-colored suits and wears a gray cloak. He has long blond hair (tied in a ponytail with a long silk ribbon). He appears to be King Hades' right-hand in the series (Kerberos, Sir Charon and Thanatos were never mentioned there) and his most direct subordinates are the assassin Kaori and Ryu's caretaker, Yurie. After Ryu, who had been sent as a spy to the DDS, starts to long for freedom, Anubis keeps him under tight surveillance, and as the boy manages to flee from the organization he tries to force him to go back, even going as far as kidnapping Morihiko Dan himself. In the end, the Q and A sections along with their teachers defeat Pluto and rescue Dan, and Anubis apparently "dies" inside of the burning ship that held the last part of their showdown.

Kerberos (ケルベロス, Keruberosu)

Appearing only in the manga, Kerberos is one of the top members of Pluto. His name is adopted from the Greek mythological three headed watchdog of Underworld, Kerberos. His true identity is Ken L. Bellrose. In his childhood he was in the Tokyo Development and Research Center project long before Megumi and Ryu. By his fancy in crime he join Pluto, and quickly got promotion because of his gifted intellect. He also learned to hypnotize directly from King Hades and was also given the hypnotizing silver watch which was originally Hades's. Keroeros is, perhaps, the most idealistic person in the organization who has his pride in belonging to the Pluto. Due to his popularity he even has his own special chapter, Kerberos: The Detective From Hell. The story is about Kerberos's third job which he has to solve a murder and reveal the person who kills his clients, destroying his perfect murder plans. Kerberos's Pluto tattoo is located on the center of his back. It is implied that he also has photographic memory, since he once said he can remember any book he already read.

Sir Charon (サー·カロン, Sā Karon)

Appearing only in the manga, Sir Charon is King Hades's right hand man and second in command of the organization. His name is adapted from that of Charon, the ferry man of the Greek netherworld. He is the teacher of many lower members, including Kerberos. He has a mask cover on his upper-left side of his face to hide the scar that he got during the time when Morihiko Dan and his right hand, Satoru Renjou attacked the original Pluto base. It is interesting that he never puts his mask away, even when he is in disguise.

Thanatos (タナトス, Thanatosu)

Appearing only in the manga, Thanatos is also one of the top members of Pluto. His name is adopted from that of the Greek god of Death. Thanatos's character is completely opposite to Kerberos's. He doesn't care much about Pluto's laws. Sir Charon once described him as the person who can back stab others at anytime. Thanatos once tried to murder Kyu and Megumi by locking them in the underground (the same place that King Hades was imprisoned) and sent a snake follow, but the plan failed. In later time his identity was revealed by Nanami. However, Kerberos rescued him, and hypnotized him afterward as punishment.

Takumi Kuzuryu

A multi-talented genius artist, whose artworks influenced many cases that involves the Pluto, DDC, and DDS as well. One of his designs became the first DDC office building, and later, Class Q's classroom. He had created many priceless arts like Testa Del Drago Violins, a vase with the outline of two people, three mysterious paintings, a small sealing box named Kumikibako, and many others. He is also mysteriously related to Senrinryu hotel. Ryu describes that all of his masterpieces draws the evil which then results in a crime. In the later part of the manga, it is revealed that he is the biological father of the leader of Pluto, Hades. Even though Takumi Kuzuryu loved his son, he feared the dark potential that lied deep down inside of Hoshihiko Kokuo, and decided to have him imprisoned for the rest of his life in a secret place. Ironically, this act turned Hoshihiko Kokuo-who felt betrayed-into King Hades, the founder/leader of Pluto.

• Takumi Kuzuryu's Known Art List:

1. The Double Sealed Room In Class Q's Building
2. Testa Di Drago violin
3. Shi 'Un Ryu vase
4. Kachofugetsu (Flower, Moon, Wind, and Bird)
5. Kumikibako box
6. Nine Headed Dragon Buildings (Nine Seiryuukan)
7. Poisonous Black Bird Feather Woman's picture
8. Picture of Yurika Kokuo (Hades/Hoshihiko Kokuo's Mother)

• List Of Nine Headed Dragon Buildings

Nine Child dragons and also known as "Seiryuukan" are a series of buildings architecturally designed by Takumi Kuzuryu. The name of each building is related to Nine Chinese Child Dragon tales. Originally, the buildings were all Takumi Kuzuryu's. However, as the time went by, the buildings belonged to various owners. DDS's old building is the one of these. It is called Yazi, the child dragon who likes to kill. Here is the list and owner according to manga #22.

Bixi (Hikki) 

Owner: Tsubaki Benishiro

Characteristic: Bixi, looks like a giant tortoise and is good at carrying weight. Third murder occurs in front of this building.

Chiwen (Chifun) 

Owner: Aya Mitsumoto (Cerberus)

Characteristic: Chiwen, looks like a beast and likes to see very far.

Pulao (Horou) 

Owner: Ebizuka (Sir Charon)

Characteristic: Pulao, looks like a small dragon, and likes to roar

Bi'an (Heikan) 

Owner: Shiro Takagi (King Hades)

Characteristic: Bi'an, looks like a tiger, and is powerful. It is often found on prison doors to frighten the prisoners. Ryu's father was kidnapped and trapped in this building by King Hades.

Taotie (Totetsu) 

Owner: Kyosuke Benishiro

Characteristic: Taotie loves to eat and is found on food-related wares. The last murder occurs in here.

Baxia (Koufuku) 

Owner: Miki Nanamura

Characteristic: Baxia likes to be in water. The second murder occurs in this building

Yazi (Gaishi)

Owner: Morihiko Dan & Satoru Renjo

Characteristic: Yazi likes to kill. This building is the building of Q Class. Formerly, this building was used by Morihiko and Satoru as their first DDC office. King Hades was trapped in this building by Takumi Kuzuryu long time ago because Takumi believed that King Hades tried to murder his daughter.

Suanni (Shunkei) 

Owner: Sofu Yanagi

Characteristic: Suanni looks like a lion and likes smoke.

Jiaotu (Shozu) 

Owner: Takuma Udo

Characteristic: Jiaotu looks like a conch or clam and does not like to be disturbed. He likes the covered and safe places. The first murder occurs here. Now, this building is known as Seiryukan Hotel.

Music

Live action series

A live action adaptation of the series began airing in Japan from July 3, 2007 on Nippon TV. It spanned a total of 11 episodes. A prequel to the television series aired on Nippon TV prior to the premiere, featuring the same cast. The opening theme was "Answer" by Flow, while the ending theme was "Stand By Me" by the brilliant green.

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
• Detective School Q (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia