I think a lot of people know about Kindaichi — a mystery manga about a high school detective who solves various murder cases. I came across Kindaichi in a manga rental store back in secondary school. The gruesome murders were terrifying for a kid my age, so I didn’t read more than a couple volumes.
There was one particularly memorable case in which the killer cuts one unique part off his victims’ bodies. And then when those respective limbs/torsos/heads are put together, somehow they form a new body.
In other words the number of parts and the body count do not match due to some clever arrangement on the killer’s part (something like there are 9 victims, but when re-arranged there are actually 10 bodies).
I can’t remember the exact details, only that it was a particularly haunting case.
Searching for the hazy story
I was 12-13 when I first read that story. I was too young to understand its intricate plot. So for the past 13 or so years I’ve always had that in the back of my mind – to find that particular volume of Kindaichi and read it again.
Problem is, I do not remember which volume it was, and nor do I remember any details from the case. There’s practically zero clues. I thought I’d never find that story again.
Praise online manga sites!
Just a couple of days ago, I decided to Google the case with keywords like “Kindaichi, body parts, put together”. I found a discussion thread on vozforums where someone says the story is called “The Hexagon Village Case” (vụ án làng lục giác).
With some more Googling I found a site that scans the entire mange volume and lets you read for free. (Here’s the link to the website)
Needless to say I was pretty excited. My decade-long search has finally come to an end!
That evening, I spent almost an hour devouring the entire volume. Unlike Conan, Kindaichi cases are often packed with complex details and can go on for 10 chapters at a time, and hence the lengthy reading time.
I was not disappointed. Even by my now-adult standards it really is an amazing story — not only terrifying, but also deeply poignant and haunting.
I ended up reading a couple more volumes of Kindaichi, but nothing came quite close to that Hexagon village case.
Anyway, just a quick recap of a fun titbit in my life. My sincere gratitude goes to the people who volunteer their own time scanning and uploading manga for free. You gave closure to a piece of my mind! If this was 10 or so years ago, I would have to spend days combing through a pile of books at a used bookstore and still might never find what I’m looking for.