Kokeshi Detective Agency, The (Manga)

Also known as こけし探偵局 (Kokeshi Tantei-Kyoku)

Originally published from April to December 1957 in Good Friend, Osamu Tezuka’s Kokeshi Detective Agency (1957) is another of Tezuka’s child detective series – similar to Detective Boy, Rock Holmes (1949) and Chief Detective Kenichi (1954-57), only with a decidedly shojo tone and approach to it.

What it’s about

Little Paco is third grader unlike all the other kids – she’s totally fearless. Although her lack of fear can sometimes get her into a sticky situation, it also gives her the ability to pick up on important details that others – with their minds clouded by fear – might miss.

After she refuses to back down, a stray dog becomes her faithful and brave companion, Moru. But, when her scaredy-cat older brother Taro tries to put her fearlessness to the test by daring her to walk through the graveyard (and then trying to talk her out of it when she quickly agrees) the pair stumble across a suspicious-looking man digging up a grave. The next morning the pair return to the site and, after they are confronted by the man, discover he’s an entomologist setting bug traps. After this Paco’s reputation for cracking the case grows far and wide.

This leads a young boy name Bokutaro to seek out Paco’s help to deal with a haunted room in his house. It seems that after Bokutaru’s mother re-married, his new father hired a couple of workmen to install a new air vent in the upstairs room so that his new daughter, Kimiko could enjoy spending hours playing the piano in her new room. However, when she starts hearing voices every night, her weak heart can’t take the fear and she dies. Then, Bokutaru’s new sister, Yuko starts hearing eerie piano playing in the middle of the night and is convinced the room is now haunted. While investigating the room, Paco, Taro and Bokutaru become locked inside. This sets off a panic in the house and Bokutaru’s mother asks the doorman and her maid to look for her son. Of course it doesn’t take long for Paco to crack the case and explain how mice attracted to the crumbs Kimiko left while eating snacks at the piano, and voices travelling through the air vent from outside are the ones responsible for the “haunting.”

When the kids return home they discover their mother missing and a ransom note tied to a rock thrown through the window. However, when Paco matches the note to a company-branded pencil, she sets off for the Tonkachi goup contracting company. After talking to the office staff, they determine that the pencil belongs to a man named Denny. Fearless in the face of great heights, Paco scales the T.V. tower under construction and confronts Denny, who agrees, somewhat dumbfoundedly, to lead her back to the gang’s hideout. In the meantime, Paco’s mother returns home unharmed – it was all a misunderstanding as she’s been out showing her newly arrived husband’s uncle around, and the “ransom” note is from a neighborhood kid trying to get back at Paco. When the police raid the gang’s headquarters, they discover that Paco has convinced them all to give up their life of crime and go straight.

With her fame growing, a couple of her friends invite her to the beach with the secret motive of testing her detective skills. Of course not only does she outwit their clumsy attempts to leave clues and missing treasure, she actually finds treasure of her own – a beautiful sea shell. Unfortunately, the shell was being used by a crook to mark where he buried his loot. He ties up the three girls and leaves them in a cave with the tide coming in while he goes in search of his lost treasure. No surprise, Paco pulls out a hidden knife (!?) and escapes. Then, hiding in the sand, she surprises the crook and the girls get control of his gun and take him into custody for the police.

Later Paco and Taro visit an amusement park funhouse, but it takes a lot more than a few uninspired carnies to scare her. When they make it to the end, they discover the back door mysteriously open. One of the festival staff accuses Paco of doing it, but when she denies it, tells another staffer that it’s happened again. Next the kids decide to go see a film, but aren’t happy with the scary movie that’s playing. They meet the theatre owner’s daughter in the hall and overhear him being pressured by the landlord and his assistant to play scary movies. Coincidently, soon after argument a loud noise is heard and a man discovers the landlord crushed by some fallen boxes. Although the theatre owner is taken into custody by the police, Paco and Taro provide an alibi and he’s released. To thank the kids, he gives them free passes to the amusement park. While playing the “test your strength” game, Paco realizes that the resonance from the bell being struck is what is responsible for both the open door and the boxes falling in the theatre. With his plot uncovered, the landlord’s assistant, Futoi kidnaps the two girls but can’t scare Paco. Luckily this gives Taro and the girl’s father enough time to locate and rescue them – using the trail Paco left for them to find of course. The police uncover the plot for the assistant to frame an innocent man and take full control of the landloard’s holdings – another case cracked!

With Paco’s fearlessness now becoming well-known, a group called the “Demon Club” tries to put her to the test and issues her a challenge. Although she accepts, her mother decides it might be too dangerous and forbides both her and Taro to go. However, when she goes to mail her regrets, the mailbox comes alive and leads her to Mt. Catnip anyway. Although Moru tries to follow her, he’s chased away by fire and then the head of the Demon Club kidnaps Paco and takes her to his lair. He makes Paco drink a liquid that appears to shrink her down to the size of a doll and then forces her to write a ransom note to her parents, telling her policeman father to turn over all his files. Of course, Paco slips in a secret message by using crossed out letters into the note to let her parents know she’s fine. Paco’s dad realizes the demands have to do with a ring of counterfeiters he busted earlier. Although he pretends to turn over the files, the Demon Club outsmarts them and uses the same trick with the “living mailbox” to make their getaway. However, they don’t count on Paco’s ingenuity. Using her life-sized ribbon she discovers that her “shrinking” was just an illusion and then uses the “seven tools” she has stashed in there – including a glass cutter and a flare gun – to escape and alert her father and the rest of the police to her location.

What you should know

Kokeshi Detective Agency (1957) is sandwiched in between The Rainbow Fortress (1956-57) and The Twin Knights (1958-59) as part of Tezuka’s long run of solid shojo manga features in Good Friend. So, it should come as no surprise that the “detective” work offered here is more than a bit watered down. The suspense is modest, the mystery is thin, and the villains are more comedic than actually threatening. However, it’s probably about on par with what a 10-year-old – fearless thought she may be – in grade 3 would likely be able to handle – which, conveniently, is also the likely the key target demographic here.

Unlike the shonen adventures in Detective Boy, Rock Holmes (1949) and Chief Detective Kenichi (1954-57), which preceded it, the stakes here seem a lot lower. However, it is interesting to see Tezuka blend that sort of action with the usual “dreamy-eyed love stories” found in shojo manga at the time. In the end, the stories are unique and heartwarming… and they all have happy endings.

It is also worth noting that Paco’s older brother Taro bears a striking resemblance to a young Osamu Tezuka – and he might even be considered an actual Star System role for the author if not for the lack of the traditionally spotted nose.

Where you can get it

Luckily for English-speaking fans, Kokeshi Detective Agency (1957) has been translated into English. It, along with Storm Fairy (1955-57) and Pink Angel (1957-58), was published by DMP in January 2016. Storm Fairy was published as DMP’s ninth Tezuka kickstarter campaign. In July 2015, 625 backers pledged $38,142 (of a $14,200 goal) to see the shojo short story collection published in English for the first time.