It’s been a while since I posted a batch. Or anything at all. It’s not been a lot of posts this year, but here is another one nonetheless and it’s not SVSSS, although I will post reviews of volumes 3 and 4 sooner rather than later.
Believe it or not, mystery and crime are honestly my fav genres, aside from historical fiction, so it’s probably odd I don’t write about more mystery titles. But I’m here to share my thoughts on a few of different flavours today!
These are all available on BiliBili because it’s currently my go-to for webcomics. I guess I’m mostly into manhua right now in terms of comics. Lol.
Psychomania
When Ming Shu is out shipping clothes there’s suddenly a hostage situation at the library. He hurries over to find a woman willing to exchange for the hostage and it’s his chance to apprehend the criminal. The case is straightforward and not for his unit to handle. They, instead, handle a different murder after Ming Shu and his roommate and childhood friend Xiao Yu’an stumble upon a corpse.
This is based on a novel, and I think it maybe covers just one arc? I haven’t actually read the novel so it’s hard to say. Either way, it seems to be finished because the end was strangely rushed and it didn’t feel like it was the end of the story, just an arc. What I do know is that it’s based on the sequel to another novel, and we get to see flashbacks to what happened in that one, I believe.
It wasn’t the greatest, but I found the mystery very interesting nonetheless and the art was generally good. And who can really say no to gay policemen?
Breaking Through the Clouds
A few years ago Captain Jiang Ting from the anti-drug unit in G City died in the line of duty. Yet, when Vice Captain of Criminal Investigation in J City, Yan Xie, investigates the mysterious death of a young man at a karaoke bar, he recognises the helpful civilian Lu Chengjiang as that very Jiang Ting.
This is a slowburn romance, story-focused crime BL. I honestly love Yan Xie. He’s such a fool (affectionate) when it comes to Jiang Ting. The art has the vibes of an older BL/josei and I just kind of appreciate that style. Overall great and I can stare at Jiang Ting’s face whenever there’s a close-up of his eyes because they’re also so pretty.
The story is good and I think it makes the novel a lot of justice, and seeing some of my favourite scenes illustrated is just great. It manages to balance the comedy and the seriousness of the original work. Really recommended if you’re into this flavour of BL.
Global Examination
You Huo was suddenly pulled into some sort of examination of various school subjects with his cousin and uncle. But these exams aren’t what you’d expect, with a wrong answer possibly resulting in death. Meanwhile, Invigilators 001 and his subordinates 154 and 922 make sure the examinees follow the rules. But You Huo isn’t the type to follow rules if they make things harder for him than it has to be, and someone he manages to pull 001 into it as well.
This is another adaptation based on a slowburn novel. This one is in fact nearly glacial at the beginning, but I honestly like that about the main ship of this title. This is really well drawn, but there are moments when the translation fails to show it as well as the original language, such as when the text changes its font. That’s a general issue with BiliBili though – it seldom adjusts/handwrites font to simulate the original art. It’s a shame.
I truly recommend this too if you like kind of enemies to lovers and amnesia trope mixed with sci-fi elements, a stupid global system, slowburn, and mystery. No detectives or crime this time, just the mystery of what the heck is going on.
We’re All Transmigrators, so Why am I the Criminal?
After dying while escorting hostages, Li Changtian wakes up as a beggar next to a body. While trying to save her, he’s seen and assumed he murderer. Grand Inspector Yan Shu gets involved, trying to find solve the case and prove Li Changtian killed her.
The original of this is the same author who wrote This Villain Emperor’s Gotta Charm the Male Lead to Survive which I’ve reviewed twice, last time in my last batch, aka How to Survive as a Villain. Just like Villain Emperor, this features a transmigrator, but this one focuses more on solving mysteries. The people working on this are different from Villain Emperor, so I can’t say if this is better or worse than Villain Emperor, though. I chose to keep reading it more out of curiosity about how it compares to the other Yi Yi Yi Yi story I’ve read, and not because it’s all that good.
Also, ngl, I’m kinda impressed I could remember the Villain Emperor title in full without looking it up.
Omega Files
Due to a bizarre suicide case, Song Bei asked the eccentric medical examiner Shan Bo for help. Shan Bo reluctantly agrees and the two set out to solve the case. In the process, Song Bei learns of Shan Bo’s unusual autopsy method.
This is the one title I don’t really enjoy. I kept putting it on hold and then eventually gave up. I suppose I felt I could mention it because of that.
The issue is less that it’s not to my taste but that the storytelling doesn’t hold up. The story has places it feels really detached and it’s difficult to keep up with what’s going on. Definitely not on my recommendation list, that’s for sure. Which is unfortunate, because I was genuinely curious about Shan Bo and his powers. Just not curious enough to keep reading.
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