YMMV / The Kindaichi Case Files

• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • The live action adaptation makes it seem more like Kindaichi is Oblivious to Love (at least in Miyuki's case) rather than just playing coy.
  • Because Miyuki induces so many Eureka Moments, the Chinese fandom likes to joke that she's the real detective and Kindaichi is only The Watson.
• Angst? What Angst?:
  • Reika considering all she's been through. Her father was murdered in a botched kidnapping, the man she thought was her father was actually the kidnapper/murderer (though it's clear he genuinely loved Reika as his own) who then murdered a man to protect his secret and was then murdered in turn by her long-lost brother who then sacrificed himself to save her with Reika reflexively yelling out "ONIICHAN!" just as he was buried by an avalanche, and she was also kidnapped by her envious, bitter manager in a later case. How this girl hasn't had a nervous breakdown is a feat unto itself.
  • Ryuuji Saki is such a Keet that you can easily forget that the only reason he's in the story at all is to take over his dead older brother's role as Kindaichi's Camera Fiend. Considering how Ryuuta was murdered because his camera records caught onto a vital clue in the case that the murderer wants to hide, you'd think he'd be a little more cautious with how he flaunts his camera around. In the 37 Year Old Kindaichi series, he nonchalantly takes a job at a venue where his brother had been murdered, and doesn't seem too bothered about it, despite Kindaichi's misgivings.
  • Both Hajime and Miyuki have been involved in numerous cases where the victims and/or culprits are their school mates and close friends. Even worse, they have almost been killed by the culprits quite a number of times. Yet after the case is over, they go back to business as usual, as if nothing happens.
    • Possibly downplayed with Hajime Kindaichi himself, as he shows greater reluctance towards solving murder cases as an adult than he does/did in his high school days, having witnessed a lot of them in his younger days.
• Fandom Rivalry: Fans often compare this series to Case Closed and debate which one is better, due to having similar premises. But that isn't to say that there are no fans that like both series.
• Ho Yay: Kindaichi remarks numerous time about how pretty Tendo Shirou from the "Amakusa Treasure Legend Murder Case" is and is seen blushing when Tendo steps into the sauna.
• Magnificent Bastard: The Gentleman Thief is really a cunning woman and Master of Disguise with a penchant for stealing precious items and leaving notes to her next targets. Disguising herself as a young journalist, Diago Maki, the Thief targets Gamou Gouzou's residence to steal his painting, "My Beloved Daughter". Although almost outwitted by Kindaichi, the Thief disguises herself as and old woman and ties him to a basket of heavy rocks, leaving him stranded in the middle of a busy street. Later appearances show the Thief uses the same ploy to trick Kindaichi and get away with her stolen goods, saying she hopes to meet her challenging rival again.
• Nightmare Fuel:
  • Most cases with a supposedly "supernatural" culprit count. There are many of them. The live action "The Seven Mysteries of the School" ("Smoke and Mirrors" in the U.S. manga translation) case had a scene involving a science lab at night with a jar containing a human head that suddenly... opened its eyes.
  • The animal cruelty the culprits commit can be quite unnerving, especially when they had no point to begin with.
  • The first victim of the Isle of Hidden Treasure Island murder case is especially brutal since he is decapitated into pieces. This is one of the few bodies that the Vietnamese print has to censored for being too brutal.
• They Copied It, So It Sucks!: The second case in the series, the Ijinkan Murder Case, is very clearly ripping off the Tokyo Zodiac Murders. Making it worse, the solution to how one of the murders is carried out, wherein a bed is hoisted up to the windows in order for its occupant to be killed is a theory that was rejected in Toyko Zodiac Murders for being too ridiculous.
• Unintentionally Unsympathetic:
  • Eiji Tono A.K.A. Hikage Miyama is allowed to live a happy life despite having committed a series of brutal murders on innocents (and doesn't show any remorse when confronted about it) just because he lost all his memories of his past life, including his crimes, and is "reborn" as a new and overall better person. A lot of readers disagree with this outcome and thinks that Touno/Miyama should still be arrested for the murders he committed.
  • Reika's biological mother Keiko Kitamura was supposed to be a sympathetic figure who cuts all tie with her to distance Reika from the spotlight, but the fact that she was introduced much later after Reika's background is revealed means that she saw fitting to keep her connection to Reika a secret after her caretaker (very likely to be her father and thus Keiko's ex partner) was murdered and Reika along with her biological brother were kidnapped instead of going public to conduct a manhunt and rescue.
• Values Dissonance:
  • The Hidden Treasure Island murder case has the 17 year old Midori Mimasaka sharing on panel kiss with the 13 year old Koichiro Saeki. This might make some Westerners uneasy given how huge the age difference is between them, especially since Midori is supposed to be a tragic figure.
  • One case involved a tragedy behind a secret marijuana farm. The portrayal of the MacGuffin in question might seem very excessive in American viewer's eyes but in Japan, marijuana is portrayed as the worst thing ever.
    • The portrayal of said MacGuffin would have likely been considered more mainstream in the eyes of American viewers in the early 90's, the time of the premier of said case arc, back when the accepted public perception towards it was still very negative.
    • Ironically enough, this is also portrayed as a Deliberate Values Dissonance in-universe, since growing marijuana was a lot more acceptable before Western powers came to Japan.
  • There are also a large number of student-teacher relationships early in the series. Granted, they were still considered scandalous by the characters but they were played as sympathetic due to their circumstances.
  • Yukio Nijikawa from the Western Style Hotel Murder case is portrayed as a Depraved Bisexual drug addict guy whose reputation isn't above propositioning a teenage boy half his age. That would not fly today with more progress on LGBT rights.
  • From the same case, Remi Mako is a Psycho Lesbian who is obsessed with and is depicted on panel sexually harassing Karen Fumizuki. Again, this would not fly today.
  • For a more positive example: Yasuoka Manami's story of being blacklisted for being a victim of rape is sadly too common during the time period of the story. However, increasing societal attitude has led the charge of changing attitudes toward rape victims, leading to a big overhaul of Japanese rape law during the early 2020s.
• What Do You Mean, It's for Kids?: Despite the violent nature of the serial murder cases and Surprisingly Realistic Outcome happening, this series is classified as Shonen aimed for teenagers.
• Woolseyism:
  • Interestingly inverted in "Mummy's Curse" where Hajime explains that he figured out which mansions belong to which owner by figuring out that everyone has a Meaningful Name based on their mansion. In the Japanese version, he simply deduced who the remaining mansion owner is by process of elimination after being introduced to each.
  • In Smoke and Mirrors, a clue requires the knowledge of Japanese computers which have a function that can alternate between Japanese and Latin characters. In the English version, this was changed to a cipher.
  • The Vietnamese translation has a lot of dialogue change. Usually occurs during the killer's mental breakdown that cramp in some more details of their backstory or Alternative Character Interpretation.

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