 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Kogoro Akechi" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(March 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Kogoro Akechi | |
|---|---|
| Kogoro Akechi character | |
| First appearance | "The Case of the Murder on D. Hill" |
| Created by | Edogawa Ranpo |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Private investigator |
| Family | Fumiyo Akechi (wife) |
| Nationality | Japanese |
Kogoro Akechi (明智 小五郎,Akechi Kogorō) is a fictionalprivate detective created byJapanesemystery writerEdogawa Ranpo.
Akechi first appeared in the story "The Case of the Murder on D. Hill" (D坂の殺人事件,D-zaka no satsujin jiken) in January 1925 and continued to appear in stories for a quarter of a century. Edogawa Ranpo (a pseudonym for Tarō Hirai) is considered the father of the Japanesedetective story and was a great admirer ofSir Arthur Conan Doyle. Akechi is the first recurringdetective character in Japanese fiction and is clearly inspired by Doyle'sSherlock Holmes.
Like Holmes, Akechi is a brilliant but eccentric detective who consults with the police on especially difficult cases. He is a master ofdisguise and an expert atjudo whosegenius lets him solve seemingly impossible cases. Also like Holmes, Akechi makes use of a group of young boys to gather information. His version of theBaker Street Irregulars is known as the "Boy Detectives Club" (少年探偵団,Shōnen tantei dan). Akechi smokes Egyptian cigarettes when he is thinking about a case.
Kogoro Akechi is a tall, handsome man with heavy eyebrows who dresses well. He is married to a woman named Fumiyo (文代) and lives with Kobayashi Yoshio (小林芳雄), the leader of the Boy Detectives Club. Kobayashi often plays an important part in solving cases. Like his mentor, he is an expert at disguise and is especially adept at posing as a young woman. Aside from these relationships little is known of the detective's personal life, which always takes a back seat to the mystery in his adventures.
Detective Akechi's most frequent foe is the infamous "Fiend with Twenty Faces" (怪人二十面相,Kaijin ni-jū mensō). The fiend is a master criminal whose infallible gift for disguise may have been inspired byHamilton Cleek,Thomas W. Hanshew's heroic but amoral "Man of Forty Faces." The Fiend is a non-violent criminal who steals to demonstrate his brilliance rather than out of need for money. He and Akechi have a mutual respect in the stories.
The Akechi stories are based mainly in the detective's home city ofTokyo, though some move the action to the Japanese countryside. The stories often featuresupernatural anderotic overtones, though not so much as Ranpo's other fiction.
This is a juvenile mystery series.
Akechi has become a fixture in Japanesepop culture, and references to him are common inJapanese fiction. There have been several movies made based on his adventures, some of which pit him against fictional characters such asArsène Lupin. The actor best known for playing the detective isEiji Okada. Akechi has been featured as a character in themangaLupin III andits anime pilot. He is probably best known in the West through the 1994 movieRampo.
Another notable movie featuring Akechi is the 1968 filmBlack Lizard, directed byKinji Fukasaku and adapted from Ranpo's novel of the same name by authorYukio Mishima, who appears briefly in the film. The story pits the detective against the titular villain, a female mastermind who is played bycross-dressing actorAkihiro Miwa. The film is considered highcamp with its bizarre conventions and over-the-top performances, but has a loyal following among fans and critics alike.
Modern references to Akechi can also be found inGosho Aoyama's popular and long-runningmanga seriesDetective Conan. One of the characters, Detective Kogoro Mori, is a persistent and courageous, yet highly flawed and lecherous, private detective—almost a parody of Kogoro Akechi. He has his cases solved for him by the youthful protagonistConan Edogawa, whose elementary school detective club is the "Detective Boys". Akechi himself is highlighted in volume 2 of the manga, in "Gosho Aoyama's Mystery Library", a section of the graphic novels, usually the last page, where the author introduces a different literary detective or villain. Further references to Akechi are seen in Gosho Aoyama's seriesMagic Kaito, where a master thief steals high-profile items for recognition.
Both Akechi and the Black Lizard are referenced in theSakura Wars series of video games and anime. One of the musicals performed by the Teikoku Kagekidan isBenitokage ("Crimson Lizard"), which features the titular character, a criminal femme fatale, along with a handsome young detective named Akechi Kojiro. The manga and animeNijū Mensō no Musume, or the Daughter of Twenty Faces, focuses heavily on Akechi's arch-rival and features Akechi as a minor character. Akechi is also referenced in the character of Police Superintendent Akechi Kengo in the popular detective manga seriesKindaichi Case Files. In the media franchiseTantei Opera Milky Holmes, Akechi is represented by a female police detective named Kokoro Akechi.
In 2015, a new anime series entitledRampo Kitan: Game of Laplace was created, based on the mystery novels of Edogawa Ranpo and in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of his death. The story follows Kobayashi, a reference to the leader of the Boy Detectives, who becomes assistant to eccentric 17-year-old Akechi. In the anime, Twenty Faces also makes an appearance as a vigilante serial killer.
In October 2016, an anime titledTrickster: From Edogawa Ranpo's "The Boy Detectives Club" was made, based on the stories of the Boy's Detective Club. The plot takes place in the future period of the 2030s and follows Kogorou Akechi, who meets the mysterious Yoshio Kobayashi. Kobayashi, who has an undying body because of an "unidentified fog," wishes for his own death, but together they both pursue a mysterious criminal, nicknamed the "Fiend with Twenty Faces".
Goro Akechi, a character in the 2016 video gamePersona 5, is a deliberate homage to Akechi. His name is derived from Akechi, and his early role in the game as a celebrity detective who opposes the Phantom Thieves, especially their leaderJoker, whose Persona Arsene is named after the original Lupin, mirrors the original Akechi's role in Edogawa's works. His role in the game's story, combined with Joker's ability to change Personas, serves as an homage to the rivalry between Akechi and the Fiend with Twenty Faces.[1]
In 2013 and 2014, a pair of films were made pairing Akechi with another famous fictional Japanese detective,Seishi Yokomizo'sKosuke Kindaichi.Hideaki Itô portrayed Akechi, whilstTomohisa Yamashita played Kindaichi.[citation needed]