[Simple Synopsis] Once upon a time, there was a corpse (minor spoilers) [Aoyagi Aito / Futabasha Bunko]
"Urashima-san, please climb onto my back."
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A collection of short stories set in fairy tales whose plots and endings everyone knows, infused with plenty of modern mystery elements.
Heartwarming backgrounds mixed with messy human relationships.
This is the paperback release of a series that has repeatedly hit the bestseller rankings.
It makes you feel that fairy tales were only heartwarming because they were written long ago, and if they were written today, they might have been filled with this much unpleasantness.
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"Introduction"
The start of the rainy season has finally been announced, and as temperatures gradually rise, daily life is becoming increasingly uncomfortable.
In my area, the maximum temperature is exceeding 30 degrees Celsius more often, and while this is a time to reduce non-essential outings, it can also be said that the perfect season has arrived to turn on the air conditioner and read in my room while sipping a drink. Therefore, I would like to write my impressions of books I have read recently that left an impression on me, or books I bought and left in my to-read pile.
I am writing this with the hope that these impressions will make you even slightly interested in the works or their authors, but please be aware that they contain "minor spoiler elements," such as characters and vague plot summaries.
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Special setting mysteries have been published quite frequently lately, and I imagine many of you have read some of these works.
I, too, love this genre, and
1. Death Among the Undead / Masahiro Imamura
2. Fukurokoji-kun is in a Closed Circle Again Today / Seika Hibe
3. The Star Reader's Memory / Tatsumi Atsukawa
And so on; there are many works that use things impossible in reality as their setting and main theme, and although some time has passed since I finished reading them, they had enough impact that I can still recall the details of their content.
And this work has also become a favorite of mine, no less than the works mentioned above.
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In this work, the titles of each chapter are:
The Proof of Absence of Issun-boshi
The Message of the Flower-Blooming Dead
The Inverted Crane's Return
The Locked-Room Dragon Palace
The Isolated Demon Island
Because of this, I think most Japanese people will know just by looking at the titles that 'Ah, that work is the motif,' and will understand the plot to a certain extent.
However, while each work is based on a fairy tale in terms of setting and synopsis, the characters and story structure have been skillfully arranged, so I think you will forget that they are fairy tales as you read on.
Personally, I like The Locked-Room Dragon Palace the best.
It is set in the Dragon Palace, with characters like Princess Otohime and her attendant seafood, but if you were to change the setting to, for example, a 'school' or the 'entertainment industry,' the incidents and conclusions are things that could actually happen.
Thinking about Urashima Taro's state of mind at the very end, it was a conclusion that made me feel lonely as well.
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The amazing thing about this work is that it sets the stage in a "fairy tale" world.
This work deals with famous stories such as Issun-boshi, Hanasaka Jiisan, The Crane Returns a Favor, Urashima Taro, and Momotaro, which almost everyone already knows the content and endings of.
Because of this, the reader already knows the general content without needing detailed explanations of the settings within the work, and even if there is a slight sense of forced logic due to it being set in a fairy tale, there likely won't be much criticism.
And since these are fairy tales that many readers encountered in their childhood, I imagine there are few who would have a negative reaction to them.
Since this work also has a sequel, it was an appealing series that makes me want to follow up on those works when I have the time.
If you have even the slightest interest in the premise of "folktales x mystery," please be sure to read it.
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