tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post8567283721694506378..comments2024-03-27T22:32:02.739+01:00Comments on Beneath the Stains of Time: Nocturne of Remembrance (2013) by Shichiri NakayamaTomCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-66941961715757884772018-04-25T09:57:52.228+02:002018-04-25T09:57:52.228+02:00I had not been aware of the "Boy A" case...I had not been aware of the "Boy A" case. The Sasebo case is the first one that sprang to mind, because that one had bled into Western (internet) culture, but, glancing at the other case, I stand corrected. It's more likely that the Kobe case was the inspiration for Mikoshiba's back-story. <br /><br />A legal system and prosecutors with a 99% conviction rate is actually better suited for an anti-hero than a play-by-rules kind of attorney. Obviously, all of the goody two-shoes aren't winning their cases for their clients. So Mikoshiba is actually a perfect character to take on such a system. And the reason why I hope we'll see more of him in the future. He's an interesting character. TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-46728009337927513732018-04-25T09:09:34.121+02:002018-04-25T09:09:34.121+02:00Interesting you linked to the Sasebo case, but it&...Interesting you linked to the Sasebo case, but it's more likely that the basis in the backstory lies in the older Kobe child murders, of which the murderer was known as "Boy A", who actually beheaded one of his victims and left it in front of the victim's school. The Sasebo case was sadly one that had many parallels with the Kobe case, especially in regards to the young age of the culprit.<br /><br />I don't recall many Japanese mysteries that feature an anti-hero defense attorney as the protagonist actually: when they are the protagonist, they are usually portrayed as the idealistic hero, as the Japanese legal system is heavily stacked against the defense (it is said that prosecution has a 99% win rate in trials, mostly because they only take cases to the courtroom they know they'll win). This makes the defense attorney a perfect figure for the 'hero who overcomes impossible obstacles.Ho-Linghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04673330638260132388noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-55518584749383220812018-04-25T07:59:04.764+02:002018-04-25T07:59:04.764+02:00Absolutely! The Japanese not only hung on to the g...Absolutely! The Japanese not only hung on to the good stuff, or rather they re-embraced it during the 1980s, but they can make a modern crime novel work like a traditional detective story. Something only very few Western writers know how to do. <br /><br />I have only read about Randolph Mason, but the collection of short stories is on the big pile. So I'll get around to it eventually. TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-64691108414509751072018-04-25T06:17:34.301+02:002018-04-25T06:17:34.301+02:00I picked up a copy of this as soon as I read Ho-Li...I picked up a copy of this as soon as I read Ho-Ling's review. It was one of my better purchases. I find that the only modern detective stories I buy, or comic books for that matter, are Japanese. The Japanese tend to hang on to the good stuff long after it is abandoned by others.I was thinking about the list of crooked lawyers in fiction and can add two more: Post's Randolph Mason and Dickens's Mr. Tulkinghorn in Bleak House.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com