Sherlock Bones Volume 7

Sherlock Bones volume 7 cover

story by Yuma Ando; art by Yuki Sato

The series comes to an abrupt end in this final volume of Sherlock Bones.

Volume 7 starts by wrapping up the plastic surgery case from volume 6 with help from friend and journalist-in-training Miki. I wish we’d seen more of her work, but she’s treated like an information source, a way to explain Takeru getting certain bits of data without having to pound the pavement himself.

As usual, the detective team with dog doesn’t do much deduction — instead, they hypothetize and then find proof for their assumptions. The driving impulse is to confront the murderer with enough evidence that he confesses (a strategy I’m told is typical of Japanese crime investigation). That’s the standard wrap up to these stories, with Takeru and the criminal playing verbal ping-pong with bits of evidence and contradiction until the bad guy gives up.

Sherlock Bones volume 7 cover

There are two more cases in this final volume, making it jam-packed with crime. The first focuses on former classmate Nanami, who’s become a policewoman. She’s working the traffic beat with an older mentor when she’s framed for causing an accident. The few chapters are also an indictment of texting while driving.

The last case, an abbreviated one, involves a murdered actor, but the real drama comes when Takeru’s partner becomes suspicious of why he’s bringing a dog everywhere. He says, “I notice that every time you make any astute observation, it’s after that dog barks or makes some other sound.” Amusingly, the partner goes on to assume that Takeru isn’t smart enough to make the successes he’s achieved, so the dog must be of genius level. Sherdog will magically become just another puppy if he’s discovered, so Takeru has to tackle this one on his own.

The final, rushed chapter explains what’s going on with Sherdog and throws in plenty of fanservice on top. (Particularly Takeru’s well-built sister, who rushes in strangely wearing a shirt that says “Interrupting Boobs” all over it.) There’s a substantial setup for a historical mystery, dealing with Sherdog’s origin, but it will never be resolved, as there’s a brief author’s note at the end mentioning that “Sherlock Bones had to get put on hiatus” and hoping that there’s opportunity for a sequel some day. I don’t know what the circumstances there were, but I’m guessing low sales or better opportunity elsewhere for one of the creators. At least everything wraps up reasonably well.



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