MPD Psycho
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| MPD Psycho | |
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| 多重人格探偵サイコ (Multiple Personality Detective Psycho) |
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| Genre | Thriller Mystery |
| Manga | |
| Authored by | Story: Eiji Ohtsuka Art: Sho-u Tajima |
| Publisher |  Kadokawa Shoten Pika Édition Glenat |
| Serialized in | Monthly Shounen Ace |
| Original run | 1997 – (ongoing) |
| No. of volumes | 11 |
| TV drama : Multiple Personality Detective Psycho - Kazuhiko Amamiya Returns | |
| Directed by | Takashi Miike |
| Studio | |
| Network | |
| Original run | – |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
MPD Psycho or Multiple Personality Detective Psycho (多重人格探偵サイコ Tajuu Jinkaku Tantei Saiko) is a manga series by Eiji Otsuka and drawn by Sho-u Tajima, later adapted as a live action six-episode TV miniseries by director Takashi Miike. The main character is a detective suffering from multiple personality disorder, hence the name. The first volume in the series was published in February, 1997 by Kadokawa Shoten, and it consists of eleven volumes, the latest published on 2006.
Starting out as a violent detective series with a twist (the twist being the variant personalities that take over Detective Amamiya at various intervals), the series evolves into an exceptionally complex and involved sci-fi conspiracy story.
At Anime Weekend Atlanta, the weekend of Sept 22-24 2006, Dark Horse officially announced that they had acquired the license to MPD-Psycho. Dark Horse is aiming for a June 6 release date for the first volume.
Contents |
[edit] Major Characters
- Amamiya Kazuhiko / Nishizono Shinji - A police detective known to his colleagues as Kobayashi Yousuke; an inoffensive family man involved in tracking down a serial killer who mutilates his victims by severing their limbs. When the killer sees Yousuke on television he claims to recognise something in the detective and mutilates Yousuke's wife. Yousuke eventually tracks down the killer at which point a new personality called Nishizono Shinji, an arrogant and callous psychopath, emerges and shoots the killer. From this point onward, the personality of Yousuke is replaced by Amamiya Kazuhiko, a cool-headed, serious criminologist who is arrested and imprisoned for the murder of the serial killer. Kazuhiko's personality fluctuates several times during the course of the story, most commonly switching between Amamiya Kazuhiko and Nishizono Shinji in the early chapters. It is usually clear to the reader which personality is in control at any given time as Amamiya Kazuhiko is short-sighted and wears glasses, whereas Nishizono Shinji does not require glasses.
- Isono Machi - An intelligent female criminologist who runs a private consultancy firm. She employs Amamiya Kazuhiko upon his release from prison and invites him to live in the large apartment which serves as home to herself and her sister as well as the HQ of her business.
- Sasayama Tooru - Somewhat bumbling police detective and friend of Kazuhiko and Machi. Short tempered and easily confused, Sasayama is nevertheless a "straight arrow" and reliably on the side of the good guys.
- Isono Miwa - Younger sister of Isono Machi. She is initially introduced as a schoolgirl with a forceful personality who occasionally helps Machi and Amamiya in their cases. As the series progresses, she becomes more important as revelations about her role in the conspiracy that runs through the book are revealed. Isono Miwa does not appear in the TV mini-series.
- Nishizono Tetora - In appearance, a young teenaged version of Amamiya Kazuhiko, Nishizono Tetora also carries the psychopathic personality of Nishizono Shinji, although the personality of Shinji is far more dominant in Tetora. Nishizono Tetora does not appear in the TV mini-series.
- Lucy Monostone - A deceased former American pop star and terrorist, Lucy Monostone is thought by the mysterious corporation at the heart of the conspiracy to be the perfect killer. While genetic engineering can recreate Monostone's body, the challenge appears to be recreating his soul in order for the ultimate murderer to be reborn. It seems that this can only be achieved by combining a number of personalities, representing the different parts of Monostone, into a single vessel.
[edit] TV plot summary
Yosuke Kobayashi, a detective assigned to a homicide unit, saw his wife killed by a serial killer, Shinji Nishizono. From the shock of the incident, he suffers from MPD (multiple personality disorder) and becomes Kazuhiko Amamiya. Soon after he manages to hunt down and kill his wife's murderer. Now a series of murders have started and the suspect claimed to be Shinji Nishizono.
[edit] Episode 1: Memories Of Sin/Drifting Petals
A sadistic criminal is turning his victims into human flower pots. Detective Amamiya Kazuhiko is called out of early retirement to work on the case, which is tied to horrific events in his past. His new wife goes missing and a mysterious cult with barcodes tattooed on the eyeballs surfaces to wreak havoc on the city.
[edit] Episode 2: How To Create A World
A brutal serial killer cuts babies from their mothers' womb in what appears to be a copycat crime from five years earlier. All of the women have barcodes tattooed on the eyeballs. The victims, under some sort of hypnosis, purchase the surgical quality knives used to kill them the day before their murders. As Detective Amamiya's wife wanders the city in a trance, he discovers someone from his past is involved in the crime wave.
[edit] Episode 3: Life Is A Constant Double Helix
Chiaki Kuriyama guest stars in this episode, which finds Detective Amamiya and the police team investigating the mass suicide of forty girls from a posh high school. Amamiya goes undercover as a high school teacher to find out why and learn more about a new generation of barcoders, many of whom are students at this militaristic high school.
[edit] Episode 4: The Crushed Ant
Perfectly severed body parts with numbers cut into them are discovered in a field. In a nearby arcade, two rival youth gangs battle each other and Amamiya's wife is taken prisoner by a gang leader. The Police Chief tries to put together more of Amamiya's hidden past with the assistance of a one-eyed snuff filmmaker.
[edit] Episode 5: Coronation Of The Cursed King
Cult members spontaneously combust when the barcoder network is infected. The burn victims are taken to the local hospital where a lonely employee's cyber girlfriend tells him to kill people. Detective Amamiya and his team lock down the hospital, while strange things happen on the secret 13th floor.
[edit] Episode 6: Soaring Souls And Human Bondage
The Police Department denies that the barcode case ever existed in a massive cover-up attempt. Three remaining member of the investigation team decide to continue working on the case on their own. The Police Chief's entire family dies under mysterious circumstances. Amamiya tracks down the baby stealer to a remote cabin in a snowstorm for a final showdown to recover his own missing child.
[edit] See also
Lucy Monostone, a French post-hardcore/stoner rock band Lucy Monostone, an American perfomance art band/group.
