Review Detail

Sherlock and Watson have never been cooler than this, the first volume in Manga Classic's upcoming series of full color adaptations that promise to capture the mystery and charm of Conan Doyle's original stories. Here, a young Dr. Watson chances to be introduced to the quirky Sherlock Holmes as potential flatmates, and doctor and detective peel back the mysteries of each other all while a much more murderous mystery is afoot.

It's been a while since I read the original novel, but as is to be expected from Manga Classics, this volume seems a faithful adaptation. Holmes the close-lipped detective has a somewhat contentious working relationship with the police, and spends evenings sawing away at his poor violin. Watson is just entering the world of investigative work but proves personable, earnest, and duly impressed by Holmes' deductions.

The murder scenes clearly convey, well, murder, but without shocking violence or gore. And even in this short volume (about half the length of the typical Shakespearean Manga Classic, for example), there are glimpses of Holmes's childhood moments which give profound insight into his psychology and gives him more humanity than many an adaptation does.

As to the plot of A Study in Scarlet - I don't find it the most satisfying of all Holmesian mysteries in terms of the whodunnit / fact finding aspect. But that is no fault of the adaptation, and the tale is still an excellent introduction to this infamous investigative pair.