Zaregoto - Book 1: The Kubikiri Cycle - Book Review

8/19/2014 -  7:50PM  - GMT+8
By: Seth Legaspi

I don't usually make book reviews since making one really takes a lot of effort for me, but I believe that the more I do something, the easier it gets, and what better way to start it off, but with one of Nisio Isin's creations.

Front Cover of the Light Novel

Who is Nisio Isin though? Zaregoto's author, Nisio Isin, is also known for the "Monogatari Series," "Medaka Box," among other titles. More familiar now... Right? If not, I fully and highly suggest you look into those two titles that I mentioned above.

Zaregoto - 戯言 - "Nonsense"

Kubikiri -　くびきり or 首切り.

According to Google Translate, yes I'm cheap that way; kubikiri means "ax." However, according to the series' own wiki, the subtitle means, "The beheading cycle." 

Or 'decapitation...' It sounds more umm... Grim that way?

The Light Novel (LN) starts off with a cast of characters that gives a general description of each of the characters to be encountered in the LN, thus giving off that effect of a 'theatrical start.' This cast of characters is then followed by a quote from Nietschze, "[sic] Having one too many talents is even more dangerous than having one too few," giving off a certain philosophy that the author wants to impart.

The story narrates with the first person point of view of the main character, I (yes the Main Character's name is never revealed), who goes to an island as the bodyguard of Kunagisa Tomo, a genius engineer. The reason for the trip was due to an invitation by some rich wealthy heiress who was bored, and decided to invite some geniuses to her island for the sake of fun. 

As the subtitle suggests, the story is about a series of murders involving decapitations, as I read it though, I had no idea about the subtitle. In fact, I did not even read that summary thing at the back of the book, and when things starting to take a turn for the worse; it was then that I realized that I was reading a mystery novel. Yes I was quite surprised by that fact... One interesting thing to note would be the use of 'I' in a first person point of view throughout the LN. It literally gave me the feeling as though I, the reader, was participating inside the story itself, thus losing myself in the story figuratively. 

If I were to compare it to something else, I would say that the Novel has a few similarities with Agatha Christie's "And then there were none." It is similar in its island setting along with the mystery-genre trait of having the reader think about who might be the culprit, along with certain other cliche's in the Mystery genre. 

Despite the cliche's and similarites, Nisio Isin, gives Zaregoto his own unique style. With his clever use of, 'I,'  it gave off an experience similar to watching a movie in 3D, which in my opinion should be IMAX with how I got so engrossed in reading Zaregoto. Adding to this would be Nisio Isin's certain style with placing smooth philosophical things inside his work, which can be observed through the quotes at the beginning of each chapter, as well as with certain things that the characters say.

In my opinion, Nisio Isin's LN is a very refreshing take on the Mystery Genre, which has really captured that certain part of me that has a thing with the Mystery Genre.

Currently, the series has only two volumes published in English by Del Ray Manga, as of the time of this review's creation. I recommend Zaregoto for any fans of Nisio Isin, as well as for those with interests in the Mystery Genre itself.

Let's talk about Murders?