Getting to know Azuki with My Dear Detective

Solving mysteries and and enjoying some romance in My Dear Detective is a great cozy manga read to counter all of the spooky chills of the season.

Azuki.co is a fresh and new online manga distribution site. They’ve barely been in operation for the past few years but they’re already boasting a mega impressive catalog of manga titles. There are familiar titles such as Edenzero (a series associated with Fairy Tales) and Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card. There are even more titles and series to explore ranging from romance to horror.

Somewhere in time, an internal switch turned on and the need for mysteries is a constant drive for more stories. Since it’s Halloween time, most of the mysteries on TV are too creepy, unsettling, or just disturbing. Like a salve to my scarred eyes, My Dear Detective provides the a nice mix of a simple mystery packaged up in a romance manga.

Official synopsis:

Mitsuko is Japan’s first woman detective in the turbulent 1930s! When a handsome college student shows up with a new case, he ends up assigned as her new assistant! Join Mitsuko and Saku as they solve cases, explore the changing cultural landscape of early Showa-era Japan, and maybe grow a little closer along the way in this fashionable mystery series.

The Manga Review:

The first three chapters are just absolutely adorable and cozy. There is no sense of dread or fear. Just a nice dose of curiosity on how these cases will get resolved. It’s not manga that pretends the world if perfect and that the cases will always be solved. These random cases also show how Mitsuko is clearly great at her job despite the gender barriers thrown her way. Even as her office door is covered in graffiti slurs to chase her away from detective work, she stands strong to her ideals. She’s absolutely earns the readers support with her short temper bursts countering her iron will to be forge ahead. As a bonus, her boss also supports her and refuses to let her give up. Let’s give it up to supportive upper management! They are indeed a dime a dozen!

For the romance portion of the manga, so we have Detective Mitsuko possibly pairing up with the cafe worker, Saku. Saku suddenly appears in Mitsuko’s life under the guise of asking her help in finding the owner of a lost shoe. She is understandably skeptical but still takes the case of finding the owner. With Saku’s help, they both follow case leading to a heartfelt story of inner-struggles and friendship. Saku is handsome, sweet, and very resourceful when needed. Of course this incites Mitsuko’s suspicion even more. Even as she blushes with each accidental physical encounters.

Saku carries his own secret, a deep mystery that hints at troubles with the family butting against who he is and wants to be as a person. Being true to one’s identity is one of the strongest themes running through each chapters which are titled by cases. In each of the cases, it appears that everyone is struggling to reconcile their identity to duty and dreams. Saku is obviously hiding some dark family past even as he holds a gentle smile on his face. One case the pair solves involves a painter owning up to their own value in their art. Another case involves being honest about how they wanted to appear to others. Mitsuko herself struggles to juggle being a woman and a detective in 1930’s Japan.

It is important to note that this a romance manga series that does not truly acknowledge the real turmoil of Japan during that time. It’s best to think of the series as a parallel world of a time when it could have been less traumatic. Each of the cases wrap up neatly with a mostly happy note. This is only based off the first few chapters though. The cases could get darker. Hopefully not.

RECOMMENDATIONS

For readers who want a gentle read of romance and curious mysteries. Bonus, one case involves a cat!

Azuki.co Review:

Overall, the website is pretty great. The home page makes it clear and easy to scroll through the available titles. Two things keep this from being an absolute perfect site:

Closing out the window/tab does, then returning to the chapter does not take you to last panel read. You would need to scroll through until you remembered which was the last panel that you’ve read
Reading is only from right to left. So it may take the mind to reset while reading on a tablet to refrain from swiping up and down on the screen

For non-premium members, there is a slight break between chapters where it countdowns but it’s very quick and gives a chance for tired eyes to rest