The original Sherlock Holmes canon is made up of 56 short stories and 4 novels. James Moriarty appears in only two of those stories. 2 out of 60 and he’s not overly present in those either. And yet, when we think of Sherlock Holmes we immediately think of Moriarty. That’s quite the impact!
Ha! I was kind of right. Give me enough episodes and eliminate enough suspects for me and eventually, I might get it right!. I’m still a little disappointed it wasn’t the idol, though. ‘Cmon, don’t tell me you didn’t want this episode to end with a reimagining of Jailhouse Rock sung by Japanese idols. Of course you did! That’s what everyone wants all the time!
So the director of the place didn’t kill the journalist to protect his own skin, he did it to protect his family name and the memory of his father. That works. I find that perfectly acceptable as a motivation. In an anime at least. I’m a little more shaky on the father’s motivation all those years ago but that’s fine. It’s easy to fill in any blanks. They talked about Onodera being a journalist as if it was some sort of reveal but I described her as such since the beginning. I wonder if she said photographer and I just assumed photojournalist because in my head anime photographers are either over-the-top artsy types or journalists. Could my utter lack of listening skills and observation have helped me clear this case! Or maybe she was introduced as a science journalist and not a crime one but you know, a journalist is going to snoop regardless of their background. Their expertise is always being curious so it was to be expected that she would be interested in a past unsolved crime. As would the huge amount of detectives there. I gotta say, the guest list is baffling!
But of course, it’s because there is more than meets the eye going on here!
Every Sherlock Holmes needs a Moriarty it seems. No matter how elusive the professor may be. Any normal person would have immediately thought of Moriarty when the heard bout the House of M. That is clearly the reference being made. Heck, the episode even spelled it out in so many words a few scenes later much to my chagrin. Not that it was leaving any room for doubt before that but you didn’t need to actually blurt everything out… But was I the only one who just had a quick flash of Magneto when they saw that? What if this show takes a sharp left turn and Ron has just been a mutant all this time?
ok…that’s not going to happen…
So we finally have a true nemesis on our hands. Nice! I like this a lot. It’s a thin thread that can bring all these crime of the week episodes together. and I do think Ron and Toto will work better if they have a force opposing them. I also like the idea that the ultimate stakes of the show are to prove that Ron is not a murderer and should be allowed to practice his art of deduction…even though it most definitely will lead to someone killing themselves so I’m not sure what the end game is here. Still, I’m up for it. It feels like it makes dramatic sense and like the story is moving in a clear direction.
And I also like that what we saw of the potential Moriarty is essentially just Ron colourswapped. I find that hilarious. Evil blonde Ron. The kitsch of it is perfect! I hope he has a matching blue tattoo on his right thigh. And if the symbol is important, isn’t it time we found out how it got on Ron’s neck? That seems like it would be a good clue.
Previous Reviews
- Ron Kamonohashi’s Forbidden Deductions – Episode 1
- Ron Kamonohashi’s Forbidden Deductions – Episode 2
- Ron Kamonohashi’s Forbidden Deductions – Episode 3
- Ron Kamonohashi’s Forbidden Deductions – Episode 4
- Ron Kamonohashi’s Forbidden Deductions – Episode 5
- Ron Kamonohashi’s Forbidden Deductions – Episode 6
- Ron Kamonohashi’s Forbidden Deductions – Episode 7
- Ron Kamonohashi’s Forbidden Deductions – Episode 8
What Merlin said about Moriaty and Holmes. That would have ended, if Doyle didn’t face backlash of Holmes being “killed” off. Ironically, people seem to associate Holmes with deer hunting hat, even though that was done for theatrics in theater, he is a typical Victorian gent taking opium.
Happy xmas and all that jazz from a british grinch Rinny
Not related to today’s article but I’m curious all the same. I started my promise to one of my followers to review for six years all 30 Seasons of Case Closed. Question. What is the longest series you are willing to review if your followers asked you to?
Moriarty is the only villain to “kill” Sherlock Holmes. Had Sir Arthur Conan Doyle not simply decided to write more, that would have been the end. I cannot think of a greater impact any villain can make than to kill the hero. 😉
I could be misunderstanding, but I’m pretty sure the director *was* looking after himself. Remember, in Japanese culture, even slight embarrassments are world-ending. For the man whose father went crazy and murdered everyone before committing suicide, it would be the end of his peaceful life. He would be shunned, ostracized, go out of business, etc. That’s why he took the chance to get a new life where such could never threaten him again, and all he had to do was kill a few innocent people himself.
I’m going to be honest, the whole thing with Holmes vs Moriarty, playing out by way of a feud between secret groups founded by each man, feels a little over the top for me. And for the secret of Ron’s super detective powers to be that he is descended from both men is… a little too much for me to take seriously, ya know?
It’s certainly a wacky turn of events, but I think it’s a fun addition to the story. I’m wondering who from the Moriarty and Sherlock family got married and had kids? That must have been a generation of awkward family reunions!