Detective School Q
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| Detective School Q | |
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| 探偵学園Q (Tantei Gakuen Q) |
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| Genre | Mystery, Shōnen, Comedy |
| Manga | |
| Authored by | Seimaru Amagi (story), Fumiya Satou (art) |
| Publisher | Kodansha |
| Serialized in | Weekly Shōnen Magazine |
| Original run | 17 September 2001 – 2005 |
| No. of volumes | 22 |
| TV anime | |
| Directed by | Noriyuki Abe |
| Studio | Pierrot |
| Network |  Animax, TBS    Animax
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| Original run | 15 April 2003 – 20 March 2004 |
| No. of episodes | 45 |
Detective School Q (探偵学園Q Tantei Gakuen Q?) is a manga series, authored by Seimaru Amagi and Fumiya Satou, which was adapted into an anime series, produced by Pierrot. The manga was originally serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine between 2001 and 2005, spanning 22-tankōbon volumes. The anime series spanned 45 episodes, and aired in Japan on TBS and the anime television network, Animax, who have also broadcast it within respective networks across Southeast Asia, South Asia, East Asia, translating and dubbing the series into English and other languages.
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Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
[edit] Storyline
Detective School Q tells 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.
[edit] Characters
[edit] 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 a higher class or vice versa, 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 might get a chance to be transferred to a lower class if his/her academic performances decline. 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.
[edit] Class Q
- Kyu Renjo (連城 究 Renjo Kyu)?, (Seiyū - Megumi Ogata)
- Age: 14
- Height: 161cm
- Weight: 53kg
- Blood Type: O
- A bright, sweet and optimistic boy who is also a precocious detective. In real life, keeps saying the wrong things and embarrassing himself. Otherwise, he is considered to be the team's leader and is known for his logical explanations of cases. He has a good sense of judgement regarding to people (when everyone distrusted Ryu, he expressed his open appreciation for him) but often says things that infuriate Megumi (one of the series's running jokes is that he glimpses the pattern of Megumi's underwear and announces it out aloud for all to hear, only to be smacked or injured in some way by Megumi herself).
- Kyu had been a single child of a single parent (his mother) for as long as he could remember. He didn't have a father, but there's a certain man who had been acting as his mentor when he was little. When he was six 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 Renjo, Morihiko Dan's very best partner). Realizing the high risk of being a detective, Satoru formerly 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.
- Megumi Minami (美南 恵 Minami Megumi)?, (Seiyū - Houko Kuwashima)
- Age: 14
- Height: 163cm
- Weight: 47kg
- Blood Type: A
- Commonly referred by her friends as just Megu, she has a unique talent of having a photographic memory ("Shunkan kioku" in Japanese), allowing her to memorize a scene instantly. This allows her to notice if a piece of evidence has been moved or is missing. It is believed that she has somewhat of a crush on Ryu, but it is also known that she has taken a liking to Kyu as well. 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 parent work abroad.
- Ryu Amakusa (天草 流 Amakusa Ryu)?, (Seiyū - Kouichi Toochika)
- Age: 14
- Height: 166cm
- Weight: 50kg
- Blood Type: AB
- Ryu is very intelligent, and his dark background somehow links him to the organization known as Pluto. 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.
- Kazuma Narusawa (鳴沢数馬 Narusawa Kazuma)?, (Seiyū - Tomoko Kawakami)
- Age: 11
- Height: 142cm
- Weight: 38kg
- Blood Type: B
- Kazuma is a rich, well known computer games programmer. He often helps to find information on his laptop computer, which he carries around with him all the time. 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 in 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 others jokes. He is a very smart prodigy, but he can't get right answers without his "lucky" hat as implied in episode 2; he seems to get over this flaw by the end of the TV series.
- Kintarou Touyama (遠山金太郎 Touyama Kintarou)?, (Seiyū - Hideo Ishikawa)
- Age: 18
- Height: 180cm
- Weight: 70kg
- Blood Type: O
- 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 as a mascot on the seafront. 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).
[edit] Faculty and staff
- Morihiko Dan (団 守彦 Dan Morihiko)?, (Seiyū - Hideyuki Tanaka)
- 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 was being resurrected. Realizing that his days were numbered due to his old age, Morihiko Dan decided to open a new, special class called the 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)?, (Seiyū - Aya Hisakawa)
- 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.
- Shintarou Maki (真木慎太郎 Maki Shintarou)?, (Seiyū - Ken Narita)
- DDS's head of forensics, Shintarou Miki is both a skilled teacher and doctor, and is quite intelligent in his knowledge of medical and forensic science.
- Nanami Koutarou (七海光太郎 Koutarou Nanami)?, (Seiyū - Shinichiro Miki)
- Nanami is another loyal righthand of Morihiko Dan. He's very skilled in the art of disguising, and is often ordered by Dan to watch the 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 the 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.
- Tatsumi Hongou (本郷 巽 Hongou Tatsumi)?, (Seiyū - 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.
- Dokuro Onikobe (鬼首独郎 Onikobe Dokuro)?, (Seiyū - 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 (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, Nanami Koutarou 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.
[edit] Class A
- Sakurako Yukihira (雪平桜子 Yukihira Sakurako)?, (Seiyū - 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 2nd grade in Senior High School as well as in DDS. She received her first award from the police at 3rd grade in elemetary 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 a good friend of Megu and Kuniko. She is a Libran.
- Yutaka Saburomaru (三郎丸豊 Saburomaru Yutaka)?, (Seiyū - Nobuo Tobita)
- With an IQ of 180, 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. He knows Megumi Minami via the Tokyo National Talent Development Research Center and has feelings for Megumi's older sister Akane alongside Kinta in one episode.
- Hayato Shiramine (白峰隼人 Shiramine Hayato)?, (Seiyū - Masanori Katsuragi)
- He has an astonishing ability in 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.
- Kyousuke Gouda (郷田京助 Gouda Kyousuke)?, (Seiyū - Susumu Chiba)
- A puzzle master and a mathematical olympian, Kyousuke is 19 years old. He is quite talented in mathematics.
- Takeshi Shishido (獅子戸猛 Shishido Takeshi)?, (Seiyuu - Kouichi Kuriyama)
- Went to Harvard University to do a doctorate on criminal psychology before joined DDS. Quite qualified himself, Takeshi has solved three homicide cases on his own.
- Kuniko Touya (遠矢邦子 Touya Kuniko)?, (Seiyū - Tomoko Kaneda)
- 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 when she entered DDS, after the cruel bullying she went through in Shibusawa leads to tragedy. She's timid and shy, tending to panic in some crucial moments, 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.
[edit] 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 approachers 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)?, (Seiyū - 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 Urika 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 is 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 building which was Kuzuryo 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 three scars on his face. He managed to escape from Seryukan and start the Pluto organization.
- Sir Anubis (サー・アヌビス Sā Anubisu)?, (Seiyū - 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 never were even 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 hynotising silver watch which was originally Hades's. Keroberos 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 centre of his back.
- 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 Keroberos. 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 descripted him as the person who can backstab 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 reveal by Nanami. However, Kerberos rescued him, and hypnotized him afterwards as punishment.
[edit] 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:
- The Double Sealed Room In Class Q's Building
- Testa Del Drago violin
- Shi 'Un Ryu vase
- 4 Setsugekka (Three Women Ghost Pictures+One Phoenix)
- Kumikibako box
- Nine Headed Dragon Buildings (Nine Seiryuukan)
- Poisonous Black Bird Feather Woman's picture
- Picture of Yurika Kokuo (Hades/Hoshihiko Kokuo's Mother)
- List Of Nine Headed Dragon Buildings
- Nine Child dragon 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. DDC'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.
Spoilers end here.
