Line #1 Recap/TheKindaichiCaseFilesSnowDemonLegendMurderCase


1	"Snow Demon Legend Murder Case" (aka "Snow Yaksha Legend Murder Case" or "The Death TV Case") is the third case arc in the File Series of ''Manga/TheKindaichiCaseFiles''. This is also where Reika Hayami and Kengo Akechi debut, though before CharacterizationMarchesOn for Akechi.
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3	Kindaichi joins a team of entertainers and crew members for a TV production within a mansion located in the Taisetsu Mountain range in Hokkaido as an extra and help with errands for his part-time work at the local TV station during his winter break, but things take a deadly turn when a serial murderer starts a killing spree.
4	----
5	!!Tropes include:
6	* AndYouThoughtItWasAGame:
7	** When encountering the culprit, the actress, having caught on to the CandidCameraPrank theme of the TV production earlier, believes the culprit under the disguise of the snow demon from the local legend is also part of the crew playing pranks on her... until the moment the culprit's axe sinks into her skull, killing her on the spot.
8	** Played with regarding those who watch the culprit's appearance. Initially they are uncertain about whether this part is real or staged, but it turns into a MassOhCrap once everyone double-checks with the production crew members and receives confirmation that no one in the crew had brought the costume in question for the production.
9	* TheBet: Akechi, who at this point isn't impressed with Kindaichi's deduction prowess as Kenmochi is, proposes a bet on who can solve the case first. Should Akechi win, Kenmochi would have to [[TurnInYourBadge hand over his badge to Akechi]]. If Kindaichi wins, Kenmochi gets to do what he wishes with Akechi's.
10	* BigOMG: Kindaichi lets out one of these once the reality of an incoming murder sinks in while watching the culprit's appearance through the monitors. This leads to a MassOhCrap as the same reality starts sinking in for the others as well.
11	* BystanderSyndrome: Part of the backstory involves this. Ten years ago, the culprit (back then a ten-year-old) emerged from the wreckage of an airplane after its deadly crash and found her mother stuck underneath some wrecked airplane parts, while [[NeverFoundTheBody her father was nowhere to be found and presumed to be dead]]. She tried desperately to pull her mother out, but to no avail. When a group of journalists showed up, she pleaded with them for help, but they refused. The wreckage eventually fell and crushed her mother to death, and it was at this point that she resolved to kill the group in turn.
12	* CandidCameraPrank: What the TV production was intended to be at first for the celebrities that are involved (some of them, anyway) before [[ThisIsNotADrill things become real deadly]].
13	* ConvenientlyAnOrphan: As Kindaichi reveals during SummationGathering, the person who would [[DeadPersonImpersonation impersonate as the deceased wealthy painter]] grew up as an orphan with no relatives.
14	* DeadAllAlong: The [[TheHermit artist]] who owns the mansion where the TV production and the serial murder takes place turns out to have already been dead in the airplane accident that kick-started the whole series of events leading to the murder case arc, and [[DeadPersonImpersonation one person among the victims who discovered his body has been pretending to be him this whole time]].
15	* DeadPersonImpersonation: Among the victims, one of them turns out to have been impersonating a dead [[TheHermit artist]] in order to claim ownership on his wealth without the danger of blowing the cover.
16	* DeceasedFallGuyGambit: This is the first case arc where the culprit plants fake evidence after murdering the final intended target in an attempt to trick others into believing said victim committed the murders before committing suicide.
17	* DestroyTheEvidence: In this murder case, the evidence in question is a '''bridge''' -- an ice bridge, to be precise. Kindaichi reveals during SummationGathering that the culprit had, early on in the case arc, constructed one such bridge nearer to the buildings that are separated by a river surrounded by steep cliffs in order to shorten the travel time and allow oneself to park the vehicle to a SecurityBlindspot before carrying out the murder on [[ThePrimaDonna the actress]], destroying the bridge after crossing it with the intention of eliminating a crucial proof of the crime.
18	* DestroyTheSecurityCamera: The culprit destroys a nearby security camera after killing [[ThePrimaDonna the actress]]. As Kindaichi reveals in TheSummation, the motive is to manipulate others into paying attention to the painter's self-portrait, which can be seen through the destroyed security camera prior to the culprit destroying said camera and taking the portrait, for the DeceasedFallGuyGambit later on.
19	* DyingClue: There are some bits of grass-straw being discovered in hand when the cameraman's dead body is found. As Kindaichi reveals during the SummationGathering, the cameraman was trying to leave a message for the others via taking hold of the grass-straw in his dying moment.
20	* EarnYourHappyEnding: For Kenmochi, anyway. While he couldn't stop the murders or solve the case on his own merits, the fact that Kindaichi has solved the case means he's the winner of TheBet against Akechi, who is now forced to show him some respect as a result.
21	-->'''Kenmochi''': During all of my years working here, I've never felt this good. (hugs Kindaichi) All thanks to you.
22	-->'''Kindaichi''': Whoa, take it easy.
23	* ForcedToWatch: The scenario of the culprit killing the actress is done in plain view of everyone who's watching remotely from the monitors. Once those who watch the incident realize that ThisIsNotADrill, all of them can only witness powerlessly at the inevitable murder due to none of them being nearby enough to stop it in time.
24	* {{Foreshadowing}}: The culprit makes a claim early in the case arc while presenting herself with a pleasant personality, though at the time it's said to address Reika, when Kindaichi feels disappointed about her after overhearing her argument with the actress.
25	-->There's a saying: "Every woman has two faces."
26	* HeKnowsTooMuch: The cameraman turns out to be the first murder victim after seeing an ice bridge the culprit is making for a planned murder; on the other hand, he's been on the culprit's kill-list right from the start anyway, even without seeing anything incriminating.
27	* TheHermit: The wealthy painter is a recluse who rarely shows his own face to even the people he knows. In the backstory, this was the trait a group of journalists took advantage of in order for [[DeadPersonImpersonation one of them to pretend to be him without blowing the cover after discovering his dead body]] in the aftermath of the airplane accident that happened a decade ago.
28	* HisNameIs: The director comes to realize who's behind the murders after two people have already fallen victim, but he fails to notice the culprit standing behind him with an axe in hand and poised to kill him right as he's about to mention the culprit's name. The next time anyone else sees him, it's only after Kenmochi follows [[TrailOfBlood a trail of bloodstained money bills]] into his room and discovers his corpse.
29	* HostilityOnTheSet: InUniverse. Almost everyone who's been in the entertainment business long enough has some beef with the [[ThePrimaDonna actress]], which is why the director decides to plan a CandidCameraPrank on her as the production is near the end.
30	* HypocriticalHumor: When the cameraman offers Kindaichi a private footage of Reika bathing, Kindaichi declines because another woman is nearby, so cameraman tells him the time and location for the footage viewing. The cameraman enters the room with the video clip and finds Kindaichi anxiously waiting by the TV, now that there's no woman around.
31	-->'''Cameraman''': You seem pretty eager.
32	* InterruptedDeclarationOfLove: As Reika is about to leave after the case is over, she tries to say something to Kindaichi but doesn't manage to finish her words before the helicopter coming to pick her up leaves. It's heavily implied to be a love confession, as the case arc concludes with the combination of Reika answering a TV host's question about how many Valentine's Day chocolates she's giving out by saying "one"[[note]] (the host quickly follows up with more questions while Reika has an OhCrap reaction)[[/note]] and Kindaichi's mother receiving a Valentine's Day chocolate that's addressed to Kindaichi from a sender "R.H."[[note]] (Reika's surname is "Hayami")[[/note]].
33	* TheKillerWasLeftHanded: It's discovered when the murder spree ends that the painter -- or, rather, [[DeadPersonImpersonation the imposter pretending to be the painter]] -- is left-handed, which leads to Akechi's conclusion that the imposter is the murderer. Then Kindaichi finds evidence that the painter (the real one, that is) is also left-handed, that the imposter had mistakenly believed that the painter he had been impersonating all along was right-handed and, therefore, had been pretending to be right-handed while impersonating the painter, and that the culprit also wrongly believes that the deceased painter was right-handed, which Kindaichi reveals during SummationGathering, shattering the culprit's [[DeceasedFallGuyGambit plot of tricking others into believing that the imposter had committed murderer and then killed himself]].
34	* MassOhCrap: Most of the people watching the culprit's appearance in front of the actress have a panicked reaction upon realizing that [[ThisIsNotADrill the scenario is turning into a real murder]] and they're [[ForcedToWatch too far away from the location of the culprit to stop it]].
35	* MinorMajorCharacter: Miyuki is absent throughout the case until the very end. It's [[JustifiedTrope justified]] by Kindaichi explaining to Kenmochi that she was supposed to show up to help out with the TV production but got sick before the scheduled arrival. That being said, she gets to help with the case by researching about the wealthy artist and his connection with the airplane accident that happened ten years ago.
36	* MoodWhiplash: The CandidCameraPrank starts out with everyone watching gleefully at the actress getting scared, before the culprit wearing the costume of the snow demon appears on the scene, at which point the reality of an impending murder causes Kindaichi to react with a BigOMG and leads to a MassOhCrap once everyone realizes that ThisIsNotADrill and everybody is ForcedToWatch the murder happening in plain view of the security cameras.
37	* NotTheFirstVictim: The actress, whose death Kindaichi and many others are ForcedToWatch, turns out to be the second victim, while the cameraman, who has gone missing around the same time-span, is revealed to be the first murder victim.
38	* OrphansOrdeal: The culprit lost both of her parents in the airplane crash. She handles her father's presumed demise better than her mother's since the airplane crash itself presumably killed her father even though [[NeverFoundTheBody his body is never found]] while her mother died as the result of human-made factor (others' [[BystanderSyndrome refusal to provide help for an otherwise-preventable death]]), which drove the culprit to a murderous resolve.
39	* ThePrimaDonna: The actress has this reputation. Even after her death, one of the actors describes her as a "nag" at one point.
40	* ReclusiveArtist: InUniverse. The owner of the mansion is a wealthy painter who [[TheHermit almost never shows his face to others, even to people he knows]]. This ends up being [[ExploitedTrope exploited]], as he turns out to have been DeadAllAlong and part of the backstory involves his dead body being seen by a group of journalists who then decided to [[DeadPersonImpersonation have someone among them impersonate him in order to cash in on his wealth without the risk of blowing the cover]].
41	* SecurityBlindspot: The culprit, being among the TV production crew members, has detailed knowledge about where the security cameras can see. As Kindaichi reveals in TheSummation, the culprit parks the vehicle just far enough away for the vehicle to be undetected by the security cameras while still nearby enough to change into the snow demon costume disguise, enter the building where [[ThePrimaDonna the actress]] is, kills her, returns to the vehicle, takes off the costume, and wait until the estimated time is right to pretend to have just arrived at the building where the actress just died, creating TheAlibi as a result.
42	* ShovelStrike: The culprit kills the cameraman with a shovel when the latter, while tailing the culprit, discovers the ice bridge the culprit has been making with the intention of using it to help commit the murder on [[ThePrimaDonna the actress]] and the culprit decides that HeKnowsTooMuch.
43	* SlippingAMickey: Kindaichi states during TheSummation that the culprit probably put some sleeping pill inside the cup she gave to the [[TheHermit artist]] -- or, rather, [[DeadPersonImpersonation the imposter who pretends to be him]] -- early on during the events of the case arc in order to make his alibi less than ironclad and make the others, especially the police, suspect him so the effort into setting him up later as TheScapegoat would be easier.
44	* SmokingIsNotCool: Kindaichi's description of the director is that he "always has a cigarette in his mouth and stinks like one".
45	* SnowMeansDeath:
46	** The entire murder case arc sets within a mansion in the mountain range in Hokkaido, as a severe snowstorm is blowing. While no one dies directly from the weather effect, the snowstorm ensures the mansion is a ClosedCircle until the snowstorm passes.
47	** There's a legend in the Hokkaido village where the case arc is located about a woman and her baby who died in the snow after failing to find shelter. She is then reborn to take revenge during harsh snowstorms.
48	* TamperingWithFoodAndDrink: The [[TheHermit artist]] -- or, rather, [[DeadPersonImpersonation the imposter who pretends to be him]] -- is on the receiving end of this when the culprit does so to kill him before setting him up as TheScapegoat for the other murders.
49	* ThisIsNotADrill: When everyone who's awake watches through the security monitors the CandidCameraPrank against the actress remotely, [[MoodWhiplash the air of schadenfreude is thick, before it quickly gives way to an air of horror]] when the culprit, dressed as the snow demon holding an axe that is depicted in a painting within the mansion, emerges in view, and everyone present, having realized that it's no longer AllPartOfTheShow, is ForcedToWatch the actress in question being murdered.
50	* TrailOfBlood: A variation, as the scenario in question is "a trail of money bills with bloodstains", but the trope gets played straight otherwise. Kenmochi discovers one such trail that leads into a room, where he finds the axe the culprit has been using before spotting the corpse of the director.
51	* UnwittingPawn: Akechi falls for the culprit's DeceasedFallGuyGambit in this case arc due to the fake evidence being planted by the real culprit that's intended to trick others into believing [[DeadPersonImpersonation the imposter pretending to be the deceased painter]] had been the murderer.
52	* TheWatson: After [[ClearTheirName being cleared of suspicion thanks to Kindaichi's deduction]], Reika decides to help him in his efforts to find the real culprit, though her contributions usually amounts to asking questions that might be connected to the case at hand[[note]] -- that, and helping Kindaichi collect anything that might count as evidence[[/note]].
53	* WhoMurderedTheAsshole: After the actress has died as the first murder victim, the director believes the cameraman, who's missing at the moment and, therefore, the presumed most likely suspect, is the culprit due to the two of them having gotten into fights back when they were reporters. One of the actors, however, disagrees by arguing that this line of argument would mark ''everyone'' among the participants in this case arc who have been in the show business long enough with her as a prime suspect due to her notorious reputation as ThePrimaDonna.
54	-->Oh, come on. If you're looking for motives, pretty much everybody here has one.

Context Recap / TheKindaichiCaseFilesSnowDemonLegendMurderCase