Pretty Boy Detective Club

Pretty Boy Detective Club (美少年探偵団), also known as the Bishōnen Series (美少年シリーズ), is a Japanese mystery novel series written by Nisio Isin and illustrated by Kinako. Kodansha released twelve volumes from October 2015 to May 2021 under their Kodansha Taiga label. A manga adaptation with art by Suzuka Oda was serialized from 2016 to 2019. It was collected in five tankōbon volumes. Both the novel series and the manga are licensed in North America by Vertical.[2] An anime television series adaptation by Shaft aired from April 11 to June 27, 2021, on ABC and TV Asahi's Animazing!!! programming block.

Plot

Mayumi Dōjima, a middle school student, searches for a "star" she witnessed ten years earlier, which she must find before her fourteenth birthday in order to keep her promise of becoming an astronaut. With time running out, she encounters the Pretty Boy Detective Club, a group of eccentric and wealthy boys at her school led by Manabu Sotoin, who agree to take on her case.

As they investigate, the club discovers that the "star" Mayumi saw was not a celestial body, but the launch of a secret satellite. This revelation draws the attention of mysterious individuals connected to the incident, leading to Mayumi's abduction. The club rescues her and uncovers that her exceptional eyesight is the reason she became a target. After the incident, Mayumi abandons her original goal of becoming an astronaut and joins the club, adopting its philosophy of pursuing beauty through mystery-solving.

Characters

• Mayumi Dojima (瞳島 眉美)
• The main protagonist of the series. Year 2, class B at Yubiwa Academy Middle School. She becomes the student council president in Dizaka no Bishōnen.
• She became involved with the Pretty Boy Detective Club in a case involving a star that she had been searching for ten years. Following the resolution of the case, she has been dressing up as a man and visiting the club. She has become a regular member since The Pretty Boy in the Attic. She has excessively-good eyesight and usually wears glasses to suppress it. She is also known as "Mayumi the Seer."
• She also appears in Mazemonogatari, a collaborative novel with the Monogatari series. Under the direction of Manabu, she visits the North White Snake Shrine to observe the heavens.
• Manabu Sotoin (双頭院 学)
• 5th grade, class A at Yubiwa Academy Elementary School. His nickname is Kogoro (fifth grader → Kogo). The leader of the Pretty Boy Detective Club. Also known as "Manabu the Aesthete." Mayumi calls him "the leader."
• He claims to be uneducated and acts cheerfully and arrogantly without reading the atmosphere but always seeks beauty and will not do anything that goes against aesthetics. Although he often does nothing but give orders, he is recognized as a leader by the group.
• Nagahiro Sakiguchi (咲口 長広)
• Year 3, class A at Yubiwa Academy Middle School. Former student council president. Vice leader of the Pretty Boy Detective Club. Also known as "Nagahiro the Orator." After Michiru pointed out to Mayumi in Oshie to Tabisuru Bishōnen that she was calling him "Sakiguchi-senpai," she started calling him "Senpai-kun."
• He has a fiancée who is in the first grade of elementary school, so he has been ridiculed as a lolicon, but he denies it. He says, "I'm not a lolicon. It's just that my fiancée, whom my parents decided on their own, happens to be six years old." He has been the president of the student council for three consecutive years since his speech as the representative of the new students when he entered the school. He has a beautiful voice, which he admits to himself and others, and is good at not only making speeches but also copying vocal cords. He is the liaison officer for the Detective Boys. He is a soft-spoken honor student.
• Michiru Fukuroi (袋井 満)
• Year 2, class A at Yubiwa Academy Middle School. Also known as "Michiru the Epicure." Mayumi calls him "delinquent."
• He is a dangerous person who tops the "ranking of students who should never be involved in the school." He is known as "the bossman" outside of school, but he is also a good cook and has a family-oriented side. He has a habit of using a lot of satirical metaphors.
• Hyota Ashikaga (足利 飆太)
• Year 1, class A at Yubiwa Academy Middle School. Ace of the track and field team. Also known as "Hyota the Adonis." Mayumi calls him "Mr. Bare-Legs."
• He wears a uniform that has been changed to look like shorts. Ever since he entered the school wearing such a uniform, all the girls who saw it stopped shortening their skirts and started wearing black stockings. He has a well-developed face and is ridiculed for being like the archangel who bosses other angels.
• He insists on exposing his legs even in winter. He is a member of the detective squad's physical strength and mobility section. Despite his cute appearance, he often acts carelessly and makes dangerous comments. Has been kidnapped three times in the past. His parents are divorced.
• Sosaku Yubiwa (指輪 創作)
• Year 1, class A at Yubiwa Academy Middle School. Also known as "Sosaku the Artiste." Mayumi calls him "Child Genius."
• He is the heir to the Yubiwa Foundation, the parent organization of the Yubiwa Academy. He is the de facto president of the Yubiwa Foundation. A child prodigy with both financial and artistic talents. He is a member of the Detective Boys' art team. He is expressionless and of few words, but only Manabu can read his thoughts. Usually, only speaks twice in each book.
• Rei (麗)
• The leader of the "Twenties," a group of illegal couriers. Also known as the "Twenty Faces of Beauty."
• She is not a good person, but she is a beautiful woman who loves her friends.
• Lai Fudatsuki (札槻 嘘)
• A second-year student at Hairdressing Middle School. Student council president. Charismatic and ambitious.
• He runs a casino called "Reasonable Doubt." He is involved with a private weapons company and reports on their products.
• He also appears in Mazemonogatari, a collaborative novel with the Monogatari series.

Media

Reception

The School Library Journal listed the first volume of Pretty Boy Detective Club as one of the top 10 manga of 2021.[43]

See also

• Psychic Detective Yakumo, a novel series with a manga adaptation illustrated by Suzuka Oda
• Disney Twisted-Wonderland, a mobile game with a manga adaptation written and illustrated by Suzuka Oda

External links