Kindaichi Case Files

Kindaichi Case Files (Kindaichi Shonen no Jikenbo) is a serialized Japanese mystery manga series based on the crime solving adventures of a high school student, Hajime Kindaichi, who is set as the grandson of the famous (fictional) private detective Kosuke Kindaichi. They are written by Yozaburo Kanari, or Seimaru Amagi (depending on series) and illustrated by Fumiya Sato, and the collected stories are published in English by TOKYOPOP under the name The Kindaichi Case Files.

Kindaichi has also been adapted into an anime series consisting of 148 episodes, 2 anime movies, a live-action movie, and three live action series. Toei animation handled the anime adaption of the Kindaichi series.

Kindaichi mysteries are whodunnit stories featuring (usually multiple) gruesome murders, often with a supernatural tinge. They are typically of the style of John Dickson Carr, and frequently feature a locked room mystery or other seemingly "impossible" crimes, such as a murder occurring when all surviving suspects have (apparently) airtight alibis.

A notable distinction of The Kindaichi Case Files is that the killers are not depicted as psychopathic murderers and the murders are never committed for financial reasons alone. The identified killers all have deep rooted problems, often involving great emotional trauma through the greed or thoughtlessness of others, as their reasons for committing the murder(s). Thus the killers are often portrayed as sympathetic figures, as opposed to cold, calculating killers in some other mystery series.