Sherlock Bones Volume 6

story by Yuma Ando; art by Yuki Sato

We’ve fully moved out of the school arena, a process that began in the previous volume. Here, in Sherlock Bones volume 6, Takeru is a rookie police officer completing his first case. Also working on the force with him are former classmate Miki and import showoff Kento. Kento’s convinced that the murder of the anchorman’s wife was a mugging gone wrong, but Takeru knows the truth. The anchorman did it, but how to prove it?

That’s my problem with most of the cases in this series. There’s no deduction involved. Instead, the victim is revealed by being worn down by a series of small glitches observed by Takeru until he finally confesses. Sherdog doesn’t do much of anything but encourage Takeru that he can become a detective on his own.

The second case involves a plastic surgery clinic. A client whose treatment went horribly wrong, due to counterfeit drugs, is killed by the doctor to cover up his shoddy treatment. Between her exaggerated ugly face and his mask-like countenance, the art in this section is horrific on several levels. There is the occasional amusing moment, though, as when the surgeon thinks to himself, in response to Takeru’s focus on detail, “Nitpicky men will never impress women, you know?”

I think this series concludes with the next volume, and it’s about time. The cases aren’t getting any more clever, and while still adorable, Sherdog has become less relevant. It’s a tough challenge for the writer, showing Takeru growing up by becoming more competent, which makes his magical companion less necessary.