Recap / The Kindaichi Case Files Kyoto Beauty Florist Murder Case

"Kyoto Beauty Florist Murder Case" is the third case arc in the "The (37-year-old) Kindaichi Case Files" spin-off series of The Kindaichi Case Files.

After Kindaichi inadvertently "volunteers" himself into the promotional project for a flower-arrangement art school in Kyoto and Marin volunteers to join him to help out, the two of them reach the house of the Kyougoku family, where one such school is located. Before the promotional project can be started, however, a murder mystery takes place...

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Tropes include:

• Alcoholic Parent: Played for Drama with Ganryuu and the culprit's stepfather.
  • Ganryuu is more "alcoholic uncle" since he has no offspring of his own, but otherwise he plays the trope straight. Part of his issues comes with his alcoholism, which exacerbates his already bad temper. The chef and servant of the family both encounter it firsthand (he brandished a kitchen knife at the chef in his drunken stupor, though thankfully the chef wasn't attacked; he also tried to rape the servant once after getting drunk, and it was lucky for her that the matriarch knocked on the door at that moment and jolted him back to his senses), as they inform the police chief during investigative interviews about the murder case.
  • In the backstory, the culprit's stepfather used to get violent after getting drunk. While the culprit's mother put up with it when the violence was aimed at her, she fought back the moment the culprit was targeted, ending with his stepfather being stabbed to death and her in prison.
• Attempted Rape: Ganryuu, while drunk, once tried to rape the servant while she was sleeping. He was thwarted because the matriarch knocked on the door at that moment.
• Big "WHAT?!": This is Kindaichi's reaction to the location of an upcoming event promotion project he has been assigned for being in Hotel Europa, Hakodate, where Kindaichi already had to solve a murder mystery case in the past.
• Childhood Friend Romance: The culprit and Sakurako have an "unlucky childhood friends" variant of this trope. They had actually known each other since their own childhood years. Due to the culprit's troubled home life, he lived elsewhere following his stepfather's death after his mother killed her abusive husband for getting abusive with her son, and it was only after high school that he rejoined the Kyougoku family^note , and the same troubled home life is also why he kept quiet about his earlier association with said family right up until he confesses to the crimes late in the case arc. After Sakurako talks to him about her decision to cut ties with her family and work as an independent flower-arrangement artist in order to support her family from behind the scenes and the culprit takes it upon himself to help her out whenever he can, they share a kiss at one point (which Sakurako initiates), but that's only as far as their romantic prospect goes, as Sakurako falls victim to the murder case before any further potential romantic progress can take shape.
• Creepy Crows: Downplayed. A group of crows gathers around Kindaichi's office building after he learns that his upcoming promotion work is set in Hotel Europa in Hakodate, where Kindaichi already had to solve a murder mystery case twenty years ago, which provides part of the Sequel Hook.
• Domestic Abuse: Part of the culprit's backstory involves having to grow up with a stepfather who was abusive to his mother. It only ended on one fateful day, when his stepfather physically attacked him and his mother killed her husband in the ensuing fight.
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Played for Drama in general.
  • The dynamics between Kaoruko and Sakurako plays with this trope.
    • While Kaoruko does her best to act responsible, she has a wilder side that got loose in the past, causing her to have physical relationship with quite a few men. She tries to start from scratch after the responsibility of upholding the flower-arrangement art style has fallen on her shoulders, but things don't go her way. The desperation of keeping her family afloat eventually drives her to murder her sister while trying to make it look like a suicide.
    • Sakurako, despite looking and acting more like the foolish sibling, actually tries to work hard to support the very family she has supposedly cut ties from, if behind the scenes. Unfortunately for her, almost everyone else in the family assumes her "foolish" acts were for real, with the culprit being the only one who's in the know, as he's the only person Sakurako has ever confided the truth for before she became a murder victim.
  • Seiryuu and Ganryuu play this straight. Seiryuu, the more responsible sibling, managed to keep the flower-arrangement art school going strong in the family with his mastery of the art and his kinder nature during his lifetime, before his untimely demise puts the burden of the family head on Ganryuu, his younger and more foolish brother, whose lack of expertise on both the flower-arrangement art and pottery (the latter of which he's shown more interest for but none of his ceramic works ever sold), much more spendthrift ways, and overall prickly attitudes have caused the Kyougoku family to be in sharp decline, both in financial status and in reputation.
• Furo Scene: One such scene takes place when Kindaichi spends a moment taking a bath for relaxation after waking up early on the first night staying in the Kyougoku residence. In addition to the rippling water and the light reflection from said bathwater obscuring more intimate part of his body from the readers, the scene soon leads to Mood Whiplash when he looks outside the bathroom window and spots Sakurako's dead body in the family garden.
• Got Volunteered: A self-induced example. Kindaichi, who's barely awake during a staff meeting due to having stayed up too late drinking with friends on the previous night, nods vigorously at one point out of desperation to prevent himself from falling asleep. Unfortunately for him, that happens to be the very moment his higher-up is asking for volunteers, and so he's chosen without intending to volunteer for the project.
  Kindaichi: (thinking to himself) W-Wait... why has it blown up like this?! Who knew that one simple nod could land me in hot water?!
• He Knows Too Much:
  • Inverted regarding Kaoruko, as she tries to kill the culprit when the latter confronts her with the truth behind Sakurako's death and threatens to tell the police if Kaoruko doesn't come clean, only for the culprit to kill her in self-defense in the ensuing struggle.
  • It's played straight(er) with Ganryuu, as his accidental discovery about something that turns out to be where Kaoruko's missing head is hidden at the time drives the culprit to kill him (and his overall Jerkass attitudes do nothing to dissuade the culprit).
• Honesty Is the Best Policy: When Kindaichi is at a loss for a way out of the scrutiny from the general affairs personnel about the hotel booking, especially since the hotel in question is heavily promoted as one for lovers/couples, after returning to work, Marin comes forward to provide an explanation, with her detailing everything honestly and full of confidence. Kindaichi is concerned that this approach wouldn't work, but the general affairs personnel reacts to Marin's explanation with a simple "so that's what happened" and walks away without further interrogation, much to Kindaichi's shock and relief.
• How the Mighty Have Fallen: Possibly played with in the sense that he didn't really earn the "mighty" status, but the account that the chef and the servant give to Kindaichi and Marin makes it clear that the financial status and the legacy of the Kyougoku family has plummeted after Ganryuu took over the family head position following his brother's untimely death. It never manages to Break the Haughty, however, as Ganryuu simply resorts to doubling down with his bossy, Jerkass attitudes toward the remaining members in the household, be they family, staff, or disciples, right up until the culprit murders him.
• I Didn't Mean to Kill Him: In this case, "her". The culprit confesses late in the case arc that killing Kaoruko was NOT the intent and that he was forced into killing her in self-defense when she tried to kill him for threatening to expose the truth about her murdering Sakurako and framing it as suicide.
• I'll Tell You When I've Had Enough!: Played for Laughs. Kindaichi's nighttime drinking with Saki and Souta prior to the start of the case arc goes from "the last one" to "three more beers" even after Saki already starts to worry that Kindaichi might have stayed up too late.
• Interrupted Suicide: After confessing to everyone present about his backstory and involvement in the murder case, the culprit then takes out a knife to kill himself. Kindaichi manages to stop him and talk him out of it, though not before suffering a non-fatal injury in the process of stopping him, as evidence by the presence of bandage over his left hand and wrist near the end of the case arc.
• Killing in Self-Defense: The culprit confronts Kaoruko with the truth behind Sakurako's death and threatens to tell the police unless Kaoruko comes clean, but Kaoruko reacts by wielding a knife with the intent to kill the culprit for threatening to expose her, which provokes the culprit into killing her to save his own life.
• Love Hotels: The hotel Marin manages to book for herself and Hajime turns out to be one such place, being heavily promoted for lovers/couples and all.
• Mama Bear: Part of the culprit's backstory involves his mother bearing his stepfather's abuse whenever her husband got drunk and violent, and the last straw came when her husband attacked him, which ended with her being in prison after stabbing her abusive husband to death.
• Never Suicide: In the murders of both Sakurako and Ganryuu, their respective killers try to frame their deaths as suicide, but the truth is discovered quickly.
• Not So Above It All: While Akechi normally doesn't show any strong emotions, he has a barely-controlled laughing fit when his subordinate suspects Kindaichi to be a Serial Killer due to his presence in various crimes at the end of this case arc, much to his subordinate's bewilderment and annoyance.
  Superintendent: Commissioner?! Please answer my question sincerely! I'm serious here!
  Akechi: [struggling to speak while still laughing] I've... told... you... wait... a second...
• Off with His Head!: "HER" head in this case. Kaoruko's corpse is found with her head missing, but Kindaichi manages to figure out where the culprit has it hidden.
• Outliving One's Offspring: The matriarch of the Kyougoku family ends up losing both of her twin daughters by the time the case arc concludes.
• Overly-Nervous Flop Sweat:
  • Kindaichi starts dripping sweat all over his body upon realizing that he Got Volunteered into the promotional project for a flower-arrangement art school in Kyoto without meaning to do so.
  • Kindaichi and Marin's meeting with the heads of the Otowa Black PR in the Kyoto Branch division, which already starts out rough due to their heavy smoking, only gets more and more exasperating for the former two as they watch the latter two lashing out against the head of the flower-arrangement family and their subsequent medication. By the time the Kyoto Branch division heads start the project summary, both Kindaichi and Marin are already showing copious amount of droplets on their heads.
  • Both Kindaichi and Marin sweat profusely when they realize too late that they have yet to book a hotel in Kyoto for their job and the same happens a half hour later after they try to book a hotel room in Kyoto without success.
  • When Ganryuu tries to talk Kindaichi down for his investigative talks with the police after Sakurako has become the first murder victim, his attempt at asserting intimidating dominance is undermined by a fly landing on his forehead right at the moment, and Kindaichi and Marin are forced to do their best to not laugh out loud, sweating all over their own bodies for their effort to restrain themselves.
  • Kindaichi goes through this sensation twice when he and Marin leave the Kyougoku family mansion for a hotel room: First when he realizes the available room Marin manages to find happens to be in a hotel that's heavily promoted for LOVERS, and then Marin dismisses his concern that the bill would be sent to their higher-ups in the company.
    Marin: Oh, don't worry, Manager! The bill isn't gonna say "LOVE HOTEL" on it, right?
  • After the murder case is wrapped up, Kindaichi finds himself under scrutiny from the general affairs personnel, who finds out the hotel Kindaichi and Marin had booked into for one night after seeing the invoice sent by the hotel. Kindaichi is sweating profusely and at a loss on what to say, though Marin is able to get both of them in the clear.
• Polar Opposite Twins: Deconstructed and Played for Drama, as it's revealed during the murder case investigation that Kaoruko and Sakurako have drastically different personalities.
  • As the culprit's own confession shows, Kaoruko harbored a rather elitist attitude, as illustrated with her harshly judgmental criticism of the culprit's blue-collar appearance, whereas Sakurako was much more welcoming to the culprit's modest upbringing — and this happened when they were kids.
  • Their differences would only grow as they age, to the point they turn into Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling, though the way they keep their true colors hidden from outsiders (and, in some cases, even others within their own family) result in misunderstandings about them.
• Posthumous Character: Seiryuu, the previous head of the Kyougoku family, died before the case arc began. It also doubles as Plot-Triggering Death, as the circumstances of the family have occurred the way they have been following his demise, up to and include the murder case.
• Race Against the Clock: Kindaichi and Marin are ordered to return to Tokyo the next morning once their manager learns of Ganryuu's death and the subsequent cancellation of the flower arrangement school promotional project, leaving Kindaichi with just one night to solve the murder case. He still manages it, though.
• "Ray of Hope" Ending: After the culprit is taken away by the police and Kindaichi and Marin leave Kyoto, the Kyougoku family matriarch laments the passing of her daughters and Ganryuu and worries that she would be left to shoulder the full burden of maintaining the family and its flower-arrangement art style and school on her own, but the lone remaining disciple vows to stay and help with the upkeep and suggests finding all the other fellow art practitioners for additional assistance for the art style preservation effort. Bonus point for the morning sunlight beaming down on the two of them as they discuss the future of the art school out at the patio.
• Sequel Hook: This case arc ends with Kindaichi being handed an event promotion project... in Hotel Europa in Hakodate, where Kindaichi already had to solve a murder mystery case in the past.
• Sibling Murder: In this case, it involves twin sisters. Kaoruko, the older of the two, turns out to have murdered her younger twin sister, Sakurako.
• Slashed Throat: Both Sakurako and Ganryuu are killed this way, though by two different people.
• Smoking Is Not Cool: Upon arriving in Kyoto, Kindaichi and Marin meet with the heads of the Otowa Black PR in the Kyoto Branch division. The meeting starts already rough for Kindaichi and Marin due to the Kyoto Branch division heads being heavy smokers, illustrated by cigarette butts piling up inside an ashtray and the cigarette smoke permeating the room, and said division heads needing medication shortly after the conversation starts doesn't make them appear any cooler, either.
• Tempting Fate:
  • On the night before the meeting is scheduled to take place, Kindaichi, Saki, and Sota are out drinking. Kindaichi wants to stop early, but Saki and Souta coax him into continuing, so Kindaichi relents under the premise of "having the last one". Cue the three of them having a lot more than "the last one" in the next panel.
  • En route to Kyoto, Kindaichi thinks to himself that he's going to Kyoto for work and "it's not like a case is going to spring up". Too bad for him that he's such a Mystery Magnet that a case does spring up shortly after he and Marin arrive, which develop in such a way that the promotional project ends up getting scrapped.
  • When Kindaichi and Marin decide to stay in a hotel to avoid further involvements with the murder case, Marin books a room in a hotel... that's promoted heavily for couples/lovers. Kindaichi is worried that the bill will show up in the company bill, but Marin dismisses it by claiming the hotel name won't appear on the bill, which only serves to worry him further. He's right — the bill, with the hotel name listed, ends up in the company bill after the case ends.
  • The backstory includes Sakurako telling the culprit that she decided to cut off ties with her family and to work as an independent flower-arranging artist, with the promise that she'd return to the family someday, which the culprit states in his confession. Sadly, the day of her return will never come because of the murder case.
• Thanks for the Mammary: During Kindaichi and Marin's stay at the Kyougoku household, Kindaichi sleeps next to Marin due to their sleeping arrangement and wakes up at 3:40 A.M. to find his hand on her breast, prompting him to take his hand off her in haste. Luckily for him, Marin is asleep throughout the entire incident.
• Uptown Girl: Sakurako's relationship with the culprit counts, as Sakurako has been brought up in the then-wealthy Kyougoku family while the culprit has been raised in a working-class one, but Sakurako welcomes the culprit with open arms, even after the culprit claims to be unfit to be with her after the turbulent family life culminates in the culprit's mother being in prison after killing her abusive husband for attacking their (step)offspring. Their relationship also overlaps with Childhood Friend Romance due to the two of them having known each other since childhood.