Creative Talent:
Writer/Artist: Kyo Shirodaira and Eita Mizuno
Translated By: Christine Schilling
Adapted By: Christine Schilling
What They Say:
To save the kidnapped Hiyono, Ayumu must match wits with two murderous Blade Children... and his genius brother! The showdown between Ayumu Narumi and the Blade Children duo of Rio and Asazuki enters stage two when Hiyono is kidnapped and an intricate challenge involving perfectly timed bombs and blackmail is set before our unlikely hero. Ayumu must deal with the ultimate question: can he measure up to his genius brother Kiyotaka after all?
What We Say:
Thanks to Hiyono's quick thinking, Narumi's loss to Rio isn't as total as it could have been. With an unexpected edge against his opponents, Narumi needs to come up with a plan to save Hiyono from a hostage situation fast. But he's taken a severe blow to his confidence, and without unwavering faith in himself and his abilities, he'll never be able to defeat Rio on his own.
Still, having someone else relying on him gives him the strength to face his fears, so he returns to the hospital to confront Rio once more, laying both his and Hiyono's lives on the line. The challenge this time is a two-on-two battle of wits with a time limit - if Narumi loses, he dies, and with him Hiyono. The cards are stacked against him - not only does he have a timed explosive strapped to his neck that needs to be defused, but he has to protect Hiyono at all costs and keep the tape away from his opponents in order to win.
This was probably my favorite arc in the anime, and it works just as well here, although things play out a little differently in some ways. Hiyono really shows off her strengths here - while the series focuses on Narumi and his powers of reason, she's really no slouch in the thinking department either, and she manages to manipulate three master manipulators with ease, and even manages to ferret out a few secrets while she's stuck in captivity.
Realism isn't Spiral's strong point. In fact, the various situations that the characters find themselves in, and the way they maneuver out of them, stretch the limits of plausibility to the max. At the same time, though, this is executed in such a way that it's just fun. It really brings to mind some of the absurdities of the original Sherlock Holmes stories. Mystery fans who have enjoyed the series to date will find more to love here. Recommended.
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