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Volumes 1-3
Story and Art by Otsuka Eiji and Tajima Sho-u
Copyright © 1997~ Otsuka Eiji & Tajima Sho-u



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by Rika Takahashi
In these days where many mainstream manga experiment with retro
styles, many other manga from the "minor" publishers experiment
with new styles. In fact, many EX readers
may know Kadokawa Shoten's MONTHLY SHONEN ACE
as the magazine that carries a lot of the manga versions for today's
popular anime (the magazine launched with EVANGELION
as one of its flagship titles). At the same time, ACE
has its share of "experimental" manga. One such manga that explores
future possibilities is this series, MULTIPLE
PERSONALITY DETECTIVE (TAJUU JINKAKU TANTEI) PSYCHO.
The series deals with a main character that suffers from
Multiple Personality Syndrome (MPS). As the
series' title indicates, he is a detectivebut certainly not a
normal detective: he was a regular police officer until an incident
induced one of his "hidden" personalities to surface. The emergence
of this second personality induced a third personality, who the
reader will spend a lot of time with. In the beginning, the detective
investigates a series of bizarre homicidessuch as the murderer
who removes parts of the victims to make the next day's lunch.
Fortunately for him, he has the assistance of a female
cop-turned-private-detective by the name of Isono Machi. The two
combine their knowledge and profiling ability to find the culprits,
only to find that the criminals all have something in common.
Tajima Sho-u's distinctive art style, in even better form
than in his previous works such as MADARA,
shines through in each episode of MPD-PSYCHO.
His lines are thin yet strong, his occasional use of contrast is
startling. The color art shows a subtle blend of earthy colors, while
his monochrome images use the multitude of grays to fill the pages
with what little "color" the format can present. Some of the pages
can be wordy, but the placement of each balloon is calculated to
create a distinct feeling of the page as a whole. Some of the
camera angles Tajima uses provide much-needed impact to the scene.
Let's not forget about the realistic presentation of goreif
you're someone that can't stand bizarre murders with body parts and
corpse mutilation, this definitely isn't the manga for you.
The story, plotted by Otsuka Eiji, is intricate and
compelling. As noted earlier, the beginning of the series is presented
in the "casefiles of the detective" format often seen in series that
have detectives as the protagonist. However, as the series goes on,
the main focus of the story becomes the connection between the cases,
and the connection between all the homicidal maniacs and the main
character. The pacing for each revelation occurs in a rather timely
fashionnot too early to spoil the rest of the story, yet not
so slow that one feels "dragged on" by the plot. There are many
questions left unanswered during the story: some are answered later on
in the mange, some are answered in the auxiliary novels authored by
Otsuka, and others are still unknown.
All in all, MPD-PSYCHO is an atypical
"casefiles" manga that is a worthwhile read. However, the reading
level is rather high for a shonen manga (especially when special
terminology comes into play) so have a Japanese/English dictionary
handy! 
Published by Kadokawa Shoten (serialized in MONTHLY SHONEN ACE)
3 volumes out, ongoing
180~190 pages each, Black and White with 4 color pages / volume
vol.1 ISBN4-04-713188-1 C0979
vol.2 ISBN4-04-713210-1 C0979
vol.3 ISBN4-04-713260-8 C0979
¥580 (plus tax) per volume
Available now in Japan
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