Recap / The Kindaichi Case Files White Snake Brewery Murder Case

"White Snake Brewery Murder Case" is the eleventh case arc in "The Kindaichi Case Files R" series of The Kindaichi Case Files.

Following a lead about a wanted underground fugitive, Kenmochi, with Kindaichi and Miyuki in tow, travels to the Shirohebi sake brewery factory in Hakuja village under the guise of touring the factory with the intention of seeking out said fugitive. What they don't know, however, is that the malevolence that has been brewing underneath the Shirakami family, who has been in charge of the factory for generations, is now slithering its way to the surface in a serial murder case.

---

Tropes include:

• Big "NO!": Kyoka, who is currently in an unmarried relationship with Mr. Shirakami, screams this upon discovering her pet snake, whose venom has no readily available antidote in Japan, had just bitten her while she's showering.^note  Considering that she got the snake with the intention of using it to kill her stepsons from Mr. Shirakami's previous marriages, the irony of getting done in by one's own "murder weapon" is quite apparent.
• Cain and Abel: Stepbrother version. As a long-time employee in the brewery factory discloses, the Shirohebi sake brewery has been passed down patrilineally to the eldest son for many generations, but it was handled differently in the current generation due to Rengetsu, the second son, being the most masterful sake brewer, causing Mr. Shirakami to choose him as the next head owner of the brewery instead of Sakon, the eldest son who took offense to the decision and became more at loggerheads with Rengetsu. That's just the start, before it turned into Sibling Murder.
• Compliment Backfire: When every surviving participant in this murder case casts doubt about Kindaichi's intelligence as he is about to deliver The Summation after everyone has gathered, Kenmochi tries to prop him up, but his unfortunate choice of words doesn't quite prove flattering.
  Kenmochi: He's solved numerous cases for the police and helped us out of a bind several times despite his moronic appearance!
  Kindaichi:[thinking to himself] Is this supposed to be a praise?
• Dead Person Impersonation: The lead about the fugitive Kenmochi is tracking down being in Hakuja village turns out to be true, as he has been hiding in the sake brewery by claiming to be Rengetsu, who died in the temple fire years ago. He managed to pull it off because Kosuke, who entered the scene as a new employee under an alias, provided his own DNA sample when it was time for testing and he kept his own face hidden under a mask, which was easily explained away due to the fire.
• Driven by Envy: Sakon is certainly guilty of this, having murdered Rengetsu because he felt snubbed for not being chosen as the next brewery head owner despite the tradition dictating that such a position be handed to the eldest son that Sakon is instead of one with the most masterful sake brewery skill, for which Rengetsu qualifies but Sakon fails. Kosuke, for one, is not mincing his words against Sakon during his confession.
  Kosuke: [to Mr. Shirakami] Father, I think your decision was right! Your decision to pass this brewery house to Brother Rengetsu was right all along. A dirty man like Sakon, filled with envy and ego, would only have ruined everything!
• Family Portrait of Characterization: After Mr. Shirakami upends the family living room in his drunken state before being taken away for consultation, Kindaichi picks up a family photo showing him with his second wife and three sons. The photo itself is nothing out of the ordinary except to highlight how much tragedy has befallen the Shirakami family, but it also ends up helping Kindaichi to solve the murder case.
• Five-Second Foreshadowing:
  • After discovering the first murder victim, two kaibos^note  (tools that are used to stir sake with other ingredients in the mixing tank) are discovered in the equipment room, one of which is bloody and the other broken. Everyone who sees them takes it as a bad omen, as Sakon is the one in charge of these tools (and one of them being bloody doesn't ease anyone's mood). Sure enough, the dead body of Sakon is discovered soon afterward, pierced through the throat by the sharp edge of a broken kaibo.
  • During Kosuke's confession, he mentions having found out a fact through wiretap-induced investigation that the brewery itself has already been infiltrated by more "venomous snakes" that would imperil the Shirakami family and the brewery itself if left alone, though he doesn't elaborate further before he finishes his confession and is arrested. Later that night, Kyoka expresses relief that she can relax now that Sibling Murder has eliminated all of Mr. Shirakami's three sons (two murdered and one arrested) and thus spared her the trouble of having to get her own hands dirty, just before she's bitten by her own venomous pet snake while showering, and Kindaichi surmises afterwards that Kosuke had marked her as the last of the "venomous snakes" to be purged from the brewery and set her own snake on her to finish what he planned to do.
  • As indicated early on in the case arc, Aoba serves as faithful caretaker to Kyoka's venomous pet snake that is confined within a glass tank, but the snake is missing when Aoba brings food to the glass tank near the end of the case arc, right before the scene shifts to Kyoka being depicted relaxing in her private shower, relishing her goal of seeing her stepsons removed being accomplished without her having to do anything herself, right before being bitten by her own venomous pet snake.
• Frame-Up: During Kosuke's confession, he believes Sakon intended to have Rengetsu and him killed in the temple fire he instigated and then blame him as the culprit for the whole thing after attacking him for inadvertently stumbling upon Sakon in the midst of starting said fire. The fake confession Sakon made with Kosuke's phone five years ago likely implied that Sakon didn't find Kosuke's corpse and, therefore, made it seem as though Kosuke had murdered Rengetsu before fleeing.
• He Knows Too Much: Sakon attacked Kosuke when Kosuke found Sakon in the middle of setting the temple ablaze, with the intention of killing both Kosuke and Rengetsu and framing Kosuke as the culprit for the fire and Rengetsu's death. Unfortunately for Sakon, Kosuke managed to escape and survive.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: "Her" in this case. Kindaichi conjectures that Kyoka got a venomous snake whose venom has no available antidote in Japan with the intention of using it to kill all of Mr. Shirakami's children from his previous marriages, but Kosuke, having suspected her of her role in his and Rengetsu's mother's death, sets it inside Kyoka's private bathroom to get the snake to kill her with its venomous bite.
• I Have No Son!: Initially it's played straight; Mr. Shirakami truly believes that Kosuke had killed Rengetsu and so claims Kosuke as no son of his when Kindaichi asks about him due to Sakon's manipulations about the truth about the temple fire. It's subverted at the end of the case arc, as he changes his mind about Kosuke after all of the truth about his three sons is fully revealed.
• Identical Twin ID Tag: Despite being stepbrothers, Sakon and Kosuke look nearly identical to one another, with the hair color being the only feature that could allow others to tell them apart. They only became much more different to each other in appearance after Kosuke's face was badly burned due to the temple fire five years ago before an illicit surgeon managed to cover up the burns, which altered his face to the point he looks nothing like his former appearance — and, by extension, Sakon's — as the result.
• Impromptu Tracheotomy: Sakon is killed by the sharp edge of a broken kaibo that pierces his throat.
• I Was Just Joking: Kindaichi reminisces early in the case arc about the discussion Kenmochi had with him and Miyuki over taking the local sake-making brewery tour as a front for his search for an underground fugitive, during which Kindaichi expressed interest in joining despite himself being a 17-year-old minor. Thinking back, Kindaichi privately remarks that he was joking at the time and finds it odd that Kenmochi took him seriously and is taking him and Miyuki along for the tour anyway.
• Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Upon Kindaichi revealing Sakon as a victim of murder instead of suicide and that the culprit is among them, Aoba, the daughter of Kyoka, has this to say:
  It's exactly like a mystery manga, don't you think?
• Long-Lost Relative: This trope being played with is part of the plot twist in this murder case.
  • Two months ago, a man showed up at the brewery claiming to be Rengetsu, who has been presumed dead since the temple fire took place. He was welcomed into the factory after the DNA test confirmed his blood relation with Mr. Shirakami before becoming the first murder victim in this case. Late in the stage of this case, it's revealed through a follow-up DNA test that he was actually the wanted underground fugitive Kenmochi has been seeking all along, and Kosuke reveals during his confession near the end of the case that he used his own DNA for the first test to keep the facade going for his own sake.
  • Kosuke himself is the true long-lost relative in this case. He found the fugitive already employed in the factory when he returned there and had his suspicion about the real identity of "Rengetsu". He was proven right when he scrutinized "Rengetsu" one night, but he kept the facade when the fugitive proposed a We Can Rule Together deal, with the intention of murdering both him and Sakon later, which he does through this serial murder. He managed to keep everyone else in the factory in the dark about his true identity before Kindaichi unmasks him, due to the combination of the plastic surgery that altered his badly burned appearance, the fake ID he bought from a dying homeless man, and his deliberate efforts to avoid suspicion from anyone by keeping his head down at work, rarely speaking or interacting with anyone, and changing his speaking voice when he needed to speak.
• Motor Mouth: Kindaichi gets this impression towards Aoba shortly after he, Miyuki, and Kenmochi arrive.
  Kenmochi: Can we join the sake-brewing operation —
  Aoba: Let me register you with the receptionist! Lately, the first son of the Shirakami family is taking the primary responsibility to lead sake-brewing process. His name is Sakon, and he is also the mastermind of this commercial tour for the sake-brewing operation! And he is quite famous! I will register the three of you! Please enjoy! [closes the door behind her as she leaves]
  Kindaichi: [thinking privately] She sure talks a lot!
• Never Suicide: When Sakon attacked Kosuke for spotting him in the process of setting the temple on fire that would claim Rengetsu's life, Sakon had fabricated a confession with Kosuke's phone, with the intention of getting Kosuke set up as Rengetsu's murderer who fled, which Kosuke surmises during his confession to everyone present. It failed, however, because Kosuke has actually managed to survive the fire Sakon set up, even though he doesn't remember how he did it due to Trauma-Induced Amnesia.
• No Honor Among Thieves:
  • When Kosuke confronted the fugitive who claimed to be Rengetsu privately one night, the fugitive proposed a We Can Rule Together deal to gain his cooperation. Kosuke agreed, but he harbored no intention of making good on the promise because he doesn't wish for the brewery to fall into the wrong hands, so he ends up murdering Sakon and him.
  • As the full truth behind this case arc comes to the conclusion, Kindaichi surmises that Kyoka had a hand in the death of Mr. Shirakami's second wife, who is the mother of Rengetsu and Kosuke, and Sakon witnessed it but colluded with Kyoka due to his hatred against Mr. Shirakami's second wife. Kindaichi also believes that Kyoka actually intends to eliminate all of the children from Mr. Shirakami's previous wives, Sakon included, and that she got a venomous snake with no available antidote in Japan in order to do so.^note  It ends up being moot anyway, as Sibling Murder takes care of two out of the three of her targets — with Sakon being one of the two — and the last one, Kosuke, uses her own venomous snake to kill her.
• Out-Gambitted: All of Kosuke's victims are results of this trope taking place.
  • In the backstory, Sakon attacked Kosuke because he happened to witness Sakon preparing to murder Rengetsu, with the intention of having Kosuke framed as Rengetsu's killer. After Kosuke makes his return in the present time under an alias and an altered appearance, he returns the favor to Sakon in kind.
  • The underground fugitive, when Kosuke privately scrutinizes him one night, proposes to join forces with Kosuke and take over the brewery someday in exchange for Kosuke's cooperation. Too bad for him, Kosuke isn't interested in letting the brewery be taken over by the likes of him, and the fugitive ends up on Kosuke's hit-list despite Kosuke's agreement.
  • Finally, Kyoka was planning to eliminate all of her stepsons, and she got a venomous snake whose venom has no readily available antidote in Japan for precisely that purpose. Unfortunately for her, Kosuke manages to find out about her secrets and sets the snake loose in her private bathroom one day without anyone knowing, which ends up being her undoing.
• Outliving One's Offspring: Downplayed. The case arc ends with Mr. Shirakami losing two sons from the entire case arc, while the other one is in prison for the murders.
• Revealing Hug: As Mr. Shirakami and Kyoka embrace each other after "Rengetsu"^note  (actually the underground fugitive disguising as him, but that hasn't been widely revealed yet) is discovered as the first murder victim, Kyoka secretly displays a cunning expression. It's only near the end of the case arc that she shows her true colors, after Kosuke has already been arrested and taken away.
• Scars Are Forever:
  • After Rengetsu becomes the first murder victim, the police finds severe burn marks on his body and chalks it up to him being a survivor of the temple fire five years ago. After Kindaichi exposes Kosuke during Summation Gathering, Kosuke reveals in his confession the underground fugitive posing as Rengetsu told him in their private conversation that members of the Yakuza caught him, burned his face, and took all of the money he had, before he fled to the Shirakami brewery in desperation to evade both the Yakuza and the police.
  • Played with regarding Kosuke. Kosuke lived with horrible facial scars for quite some time after escaping the fire that claimed Rengetsu's life, but the illicit surgeon who performed a plastic surgery on him succeeded in removing all facial deformities, scars included.
• Secret-Keeper: After finding out Kenmochi's real motive for coming to the brewery, Aoba says his secret is safe with her. Though Kindaichi has his misgivings, Kenmochi's secret soon gets out once the serial murder case occurs, necessitating him revealing his identity as a law enforcement agent in order to justify himself and Kindaichi probing into the case.
• "Shaggy Dog" Story:
  • After finding out Kenmochi's secret agenda of seeking the underground fugitive under the guise of touring the brewery, Aoba claims his secret is safe with her. That being said, Kenmochi reveals himself as a police inspector soon once the serial murder case breaks out in order to allow himself and Kindaichi to investigate the case.
  • As Kindaichi surmises after Kyoka has died from the bite made by her venomous snake, she got the snake with the intention (that she keeps hidden from everyone else) of having Mr. Shirakami's three sons killed off via said snake. Instead, Sibling Murder takes care of them three — with two dead and the other arrested — and the surviving one, after finding out more about her, set her snake inside her private bathroom before being placed under arrest to get her killed by her own snake.
• Sibling Murder: Stepbrother version.
  • As Kosuke reveals to everyone after Kindaichi reveals him as the culprit behind the murders, Sakon's anger at being brushed aside as the next head owner of the brewery factory put him more and more at odds with Rengetsu until it reached a boiling point. While Rengetsu was alone inside a temple one night for a ritual that the incumbent head owner is supposed to complete, Sakon set the temple on fire that claimed Rengetsu's life and knocked Kosuke unconscious when the latter came investigating the scene and saw Sakon being in the process of burning the temple. Kosuke believes Sakon intended to have him framed as the culprit for the temple fire and Rengetsu's death — the false confession Sakon made with the phone Kosuke had on him at the time was evidence itself.
  • Unfortunately for Sakon, Kosuke somehow managed to escape the fire alive, even though he has no memories of how he did so. When he came to, he was at the forest road heading to two mountains at the prefectural border in a tattered and badly burned state before a mountaineer saved him. Sometime after he obtained a fake ID from a dying homeless man while he was living in the underground world for survival, he regained his memories of his past and got plastic surgery from an illicit surgeon. Then he returned to the brewery as a new employee under the alias he acquired, before murdering Sakon as payback for what he did in the past.
• Snakes Are Sinister: Played with.
  • Inverted in the local legend of Hakuja village, which goes that, back when the village was too desolate for farming, the village head's daughter-in-law had a dream one night in which a white snake deity informed her of a hidden spring where residents could find water to grow food and brew sake while issuing a warning that a curse would befall anyone harboring an impure heart. The villagers were informed of the dream and the tip the following day, and they built a temple of worship as a token of their appreciation to the white snake deity after finding the spring water that would allow them to prosper as the result of following the tip of the white snake deity. In addition, the names "hakuja" and "shirohebi", both of which literally mean "white snake" with the former being the name of the village and the latter the name of the factory in this murder case, reflect on this legend.
  • In the present time, there's a venomous white snake that's being kept as a pet in the Shirakami family. It plays a role in this case arc itself, but it's downplayed because its role in the murder is the result of the participants' manipulation of the events.
• Tempting Fate:
  • Zigzagged in the backstory. On the day before the temple fire, Sakon and Rengetsu had their argument for the last time over Sakon's mistake in mixing ingredients for sake-brewing. In the following conversation between Rengetsu and Kosuke, Rengetsu expressed concern about Sakon, whereas Kosuke felt Rengetsu might have been overreacting. Sadly, Rengetsu turned out to be right, as Sakon resorted to murdering Rengetsu to ensure that the head brewery owner status would be given to him, and he also attacked and tried to kill Kosuke for stumbling upon him in the process of murdering Rengetsu so that no one would be able to incriminate him.
  • In the present time, Kyoka privately feels relieved after the truth about her stepsons is revealed and Kosuke is taken away by the police, as she was planning to use the venomous snake she has Aoba care for to murder all three of them and the way things have been taking place has spared her the trouble of getting her own hands dirty. Unfortunately for her, Kosuke had found out about her plot and secretly set her snake in the bathroom where she would use by herself in order to get her killed by her own snake, which happens later that night after Kosuke has already been arrested.
• Third-Person Person: Aoba often addresses herself this way.
• Throw the Book at Them: Played for Laughs. The case arc begins with Miyuki telling Kindaichi the local legend of Hakuja village while Kenmochi is driving the three of them there. After Miyuki finishes the recitation, she asks for Kindaichi's feedback, only for him to respond that he's most excited about the part where the white snake deity was wrapping around the village head's daughter-in-law, prompting Miyuki to smack him on the head with the book she was reading from at the time.
  Kindaichi: Ow! Are you trying to kill me?!
  Miyuki: It's because of your perverted thoughts!
• Trauma-Induced Amnesia: Kosuke lost his memories of his past after the temple fire incident in part due to the trauma from it (that, and the carbon-monoxide poisoning from the fire burning). Some of his memories returned after seeing an article about Sakon, and more of them came back to him after the fugitive showed him an article of the temple fire that killed Rengetsu. That being said, not all of his memories have returned, as he still doesn't recall in the present time how he managed to escape the fire alive five years ago.
• Unwitting Pawn: Mr. Shirakami and Aoba both.
  • For Mr. Shirakami, he's tricked into believing Kosuke had committed a Murder-Suicide on Rengetsu and himself due to Sakon's deceit while committing a Sibling Murder right up until Kosuke sets the record straight in his own present-day confession, and he's also oblivious of Kyoka's murderous plot against his three sons^note  (though, to be fair, Kyoka keeps her plot strictly to herself, and Sibling Murder has allowed her to not need to do anything personally).
  • Aoba, meanwhile, faithfully serves as caretaker to Kyoka's venomous pet snake, never knowing what Kyoka has in mind with it^note  (though, given the legendary status a white snake has in the village and her complete trust in her mother Kyoka, she likely treats taking care of it as an honorable duty to insure prosperity — for herself and her mother, if not everyone else working in the brewery as well — and gives it no second thought).
• Viewer-Friendly Interface: The content of the confessional message of murdering Rengetsu (which turns out to be fabricated) on Kosuke's phone is shown with a large enough font that the readers can see easily.
• We Can Rule Together: As Kosuke states during his confession, the fugitive made a proposal of joining forces to take control of the brewery together when Kosuke scrutinized him in private one night. Kosuke agreed, but he had no intention of letting the brewery fall into the hands of the fugitive, and so he eventually kills the fugitive in turn.
• Wicked Stepmother: Even though Kyoka is not married with Mr. Shirakami, she nevertheless plays this trope straight, as she harbors nothing but murderous intention for her stepsons — in fact, the venomous pet snake she has Aoba care for is her "murder weapon" of choice against her stepsons. No one else is aware of her intention, however, as she keeps her true colors hidden from everyone else, Mr. Shirakami and Aoba included.^note  Unfortunately for her, Kosuke manages to find out about her secrets through his own investigative surveillance after his reentry into the brewery, which causes him to secretly set her venomous pet snake on her without Aoba knowing.
• Wise Serpent: The white snake deity that is featured in the Hakuja village legend is certainly knowledgeable, being the one to inform the villagers via a dream to the village chief's daughter-in-law about the hidden spring that would help them turn a desolate landscape in the village area into arable farmland. It also lacks the manipulative cunning one might expect from such an entity, as the only caveat it issues to the villagers is more of a warning that applies only to those harboring impure characters.