Visual Novel / Tanteibu The Detective Club

Cover from the first volume, Showing Maya, Tora, and Natsu

Tanteibu: The Detective Club, literally translated as Detective Club: The Detective Club, is a visual novel published by Boost On, and released on the PlayStation Portable in 2011.

Eita Komaki is your typical unlucky high school student. 10 days into his first semester at Daioji Gakuen, he finds himself accused of theft by fellow first year Maya Higuchi, the school's resident detective and only member of the detective club. Resolved to clear his name, Eita assists Maya in tracking down the true culprit, leading to Eita becoming the club's second member. They are soon joined by Tora Suzumoto and Natsu Tamurai, and together, they work together to solve mysteries within the school

The game consists of 4 volumes, released monthly form August to November in 2011. Each volume is made up of 3 cases. Roughly translated, the volumes are:

Volume 1: Detectives, Ghosts, and Phantoms Thieves. Released on August 25th

Volume 2: Cryptography, a Closed Room, and The Phantom. Released on September 29th

Volume 3: Disbanded, a Painting, and a Bomb. Released on October 27th

Volume 4: Disappearances, The Counterattack, and The Finale. Released on November 24th

The game has not been released in any capacity outside Japan

Tanteibu: The Detective Club provides examples of the following tropes:

• Absence of Evidence: A major element of the second last case. Hours of investigation and questioning all lead to dead ends and almost no evidence. Eita concludes the only reason all the suspects have a solid alibi is because they're all covering for each other
• Absurdly Powerful Student Council: Shion is outright stated to have more power than the school's own principal, allowing her to take matters into her own hands when things get serious
• Amateur Sleuth: The detective club itself, though Maya is the only one who really wants to be a detective. Eita was basically roped into joining after Maya dragged him around and called him her assitant, Tora joined primarily to help make coffee, and Natsu joined due to her interest in criminal psychology. Ironically, Maya is the least skilled when it comes actual detective work
• Berserk Button: Insulting Maya's clothing choice. She tries desperately to emulate the appearance of a traditional hard boiled detective and anyone who insinuates otherwise faces her wrath. In the first case, Eita can remark she looks like somebody who is "trying way too hard". She does not take it well
  • Shouko does not appreciate being called "Buchou", though her anger is more subdued
• Brainwashed and Crazy: Revealed to be the trademark skill of Hell's Sun, and used on Kotori in the second volume, explaining their uncharacteristic anger during the 6th case. Gets even worse during the 4th volume, when it happens to Eiko, Shouko and the head of the science club. Unlike most examples of this trope, those affected do not display Mind-Control Eyes
• Butt-Monkey: Eita. Nothing ever seems to go right for him, earning him the nickname "The Lightning Rod" due to his tendency to attract trouble.
  • The game begins with him laying on the floor, having tripped in the middle of the school's cafeteria. He is then dragged away and accused of theft by Maya.
• Captain Obvious Reveal: Everyone (except Maya ) figures out the identity of The Fallen Star immediately after meeting him. When they finally reveal themselves to be Atsushi, Maya is the only one that is surprised.
• Clear My Name: The premise of the first case. Eita is accused of stealing from the girl's locker room, and teams up with Maya to find the culprit. Eita is desperate to solve the case as he fears being labeled a pervert. The culprit turns out to be Tora, who had merely eaten the cake in Maya's locker, and not done something more.....perverted, like Eita had thought.
• Cool Old Guy: Yoshikuni, head of the school's security, is incredibly friendly with the detective club and often assists them during cases.
• Darker and Edgier: The last few cases are notably more serious than the earlier ones, with Hell's Sun trying to outright kill the detective club in the 9th case.
• Darkest Hour: Things are pretty grim by the end of the third volume. Atsushi is presumed dead, a portion of the school has been destroyed, and Hell's Sun has gotten away. It takes the combined efforts of the detective club to snap Eita out of his HeroicBSoD.
• Death Trap: The detective club find themselves in one during the 9th case. They're trapped in a room with a bomb that can only be disarmed by deciphering a tough code. Even after cracking said code, the bomb immediately rearms itself
• Disc-One Final Boss: Fallen Star is built up as the big bad, but he is relatively benign. After his identity is revealed and he is presumed deadin volume 3, his position is usurped by Hell's Sun, who is far, far worse.
• Fake-Out Opening: The game begins with Eita laying in what appears to be a pool of his own blood. It's just ketchup.
• Gadgeteer Genius: Natsu invented Sodom, a miniature robot with it's own AI. Unfortunately, Sodom can only be active for 3 minutes before running out of battery.
• Great Detective: Maya fancies herself as one. Though she certainly has the passion and enthusiasm, her actual detective skills are lacking. That being said, she does have several moments where she makes extremely astute observations and deductions.
• Harmless Villain: Fallen Star. Though he is a phantom thief, he returns any item he has stolen when tracked down by the detective club. When the club also manages to solve his cryptic puzzles in the 4th case, he rewards them with a treasure chest full of chocolate coins. Taken even further in volume 4, where he saves Eita's life and later saves every member of the detective club by attempting to defuse a bomb, buying the others time to escape, which costs him his life. Maybe.
• Instant Sedation: Eita and Maya collapse almost immediately after drinking some drugged coffee.
• Large Ham: The phantom thief Fallen Star has a flair for theatrics. They have a booming voice and usually exit the scene by jumping off a rooftop.
• Locked Room Mystery: The 5th case. The newspaper club has been vandalized, with the newest issue being destroyed. The door and windows were locked all night, with there being no other way into the newspaper club
• Non-Uniform Uniform: Maya wears a long coat and fedora on top of her school uniform to try and invoke the image of a traditional hard boiled detective. Tora also wears a orange hoodie under her blazer, accentuating her carefree and lackadaisical personality.
• Playful Cat Smile: Natsu displays one fairly often, usually when teasing other member of the detective club
• Real Men Take It Black: Well, more like "Real Detectives Take It Black". Maya is obsessed with acting like a Hard boiled detective and insists on drinking her coffee black. She always spits it right into Eita's face.
• The Nose Knows: Tora's sense of smell is amazing, with her instantly able to identify and distinguish between a variety of smells. This proves invaluable in several cases.