Tsumi to Batsu no Spica - Ch. 7 - The Last Job (4)

[Gilthwixt]

While usually that would imply a detective approach, in this case it does not. It is a manga about crime mysteries -- but they're solved by psychic powers, not by detective powers.

Edit: Skimmed over the early comments... Well, that turned into a trash talking tennis match. Amusing, but it became a little hard to follow the arguments/points.

Again, it is a crime mystery. But it is not (so far) about mysteries that are solved by detection. Thus we don't have the usual game of "author will lay out clues, and the reader will try to figure out the solution before the author reveals it".

As for whether solutions are asspulls... "Asspull" is a legit concept, though whether or not something qualifies as an asspull is highly (but not entirely) subjective. And in this case, where things are being solved by psychic MC, any "clues" that we see are quite likely useless. After all, this series is (apparently) about cases that can't be solved by normal detection -- almost by its nature every solution is going to look like an asspull. But then you end up with the "expect the unexpected" paradox.

It's still a detective mystery but it's a Clueless Mystery where you're just here for the fun of the ride rather than encouraged to actually solve it. Clueless doesn't mean literally no clues, it simply doesn't give enough of them to qualify as Fair-play. The most important rule broken here is that we have to actually be introduced to all suspects before the culprit is revealed; the fact that the Idol was revealed as the culprit at the same time we "met" her is pretty unfair, given that it would have to be a completely wild guess to say it was the Idol Spica was watching all this time and not any of the other introduced characters.

What's obnoxious about this discussion and the dude saying it isn't an asspull is that he's up in arms to defend the series against any and all criticisms no matter how valid when it isn't even necessary. People are allowed to be disappointed that this series isn't fair-play, but Clueless Mysteries aren't "bad", just a different take on the genre. I already readjusted my expectations last week and still think this series is a fun read, so long as you aren't trying to "play along" and getting upset the author isn't playing fair.

 

[LEO109]

To be fair, the Japanese version does give a few clues: a part of the idol’s song title, “Whistling” appears in chapter 5; the song title also appears at the beginning of chapter 7. But It‘s just not translated…

And Spica says all her co-workers are good people. I think this is another clue.

This means that the culprit would be someone other than a co-worker that Spica could touch.

 

[komachi29]

bro remains obsessed

said the one who can't let go , holy projection
lil bro, why you so obsessed when u got no argument?

 

[Bananimal]

My biggest takeaway this chapter is that it makes my stomach hurt thinking about what the kind of whiskey that comes in a 5L plastic bottle must taste like.

Seriously, what's the point of being a successful idol if you're drinking Chernobyl sewer water instead of the good stuff?

 

[TestAddress]

This is why I don't try to guess the culprits in supernatural crime dramas.

I just wait for the author to reveal whatever obscure secret they have.

This. I never guessed cased closed right anyways.

 

[TestAddress]

I have

That was...kinda dumb. I feel like this reveal could've worked if they had set up this idol character before and not just some wacky coincidence that the girl just so happened to "read the heart" of the culprit a while ago.

This is just a reveal without any payoff.

been reading too many mystery novels to care...

... like My Home Hero.

 

[TestAddress]

Wasn't that the plot twist of Umineku no Naku Koro ni? That some uber witch god version of the girls from Higurashi where the true masterminds all along

Damn, didn't know those TWO are related. I thought they are different in-verses.

 

[Mangamoz]

Damn, didn't know those TWO are related. I thought they are different in-verses.

Yes and no, both are true and false.

Getting into the multiversal magicbabble of how it works would take forever to explain, and would just leave everyone confused.

 

[fflogschampion]

And Spica says all her co-workers are good people. I think this is another clue.

This means that the culprit would be someone other than a co-worker that Spica could touch.

Means nothing. She was praising the teacher until she pulled the rug on him.

 

[TestAddress]

Means nothing. She was praising the teacher until she pulled the rug on him.

Spica sexual harassment detective.

 

[Azaleal]

welp, sorry Tani-san, you're just an introvert. Turns out the idol is also count as fair play..

 

[EchoGirl]

What's obnoxious about this discussion and the dude saying it isn't an asspull is that he's up in arms to defend the series against any and all criticisms no matter how valid when it isn't even necessary. People are allowed to be disappointed that this series isn't fair-play, but Clueless Mysteries aren't "bad", just a different take on the genre. I already readjusted my expectations last week and still think this series is a fun read, so long as you aren't trying to "play along" and getting upset the author isn't playing fair.

I wonder if the JP side of the comments are critical/freaking out versus "woo evol idol girl!" kinda thing since 'non pure idols' might be a fun thing in fiction/manga

Makes me think of that "Prison" manga where it's an all females cast and them just having a daily life incarcerated, it would be pretty messed up if it's like an idol group made of morally bankrupt ppl/convicted criminal "We perform as a form of community service/to earn stuff for our cell like better towels" i bet controversy aside there'd be a niche audience for that the way ppl love the Yakuza games so much (tho that's a whole diff convo/tangential train of thought sorry xP)

 

[Insev]

I would like to apologize to tani-san, sorry for suspecting you

 

[PrinnyRamza]

Actually rereading the chapters this actually makes the most sense.

Spicy was working at the place before she even knew about the case. She only just met the detective so it makes no sense for any of her coworkers to be the killer. At least not for this case. She didn't even know that the husband wasn't the killer or not. That why she went to him. So if the killer isn't the husband nor anyone she met before then it had to be someone she would only know after her meeting with the husband.

The only person she met after the husband was the idol.

 

[tobias5678]

Confessor power!

 

[cromat]

Actually rereading the chapters this actually makes the most sense.

Spicy was working at the place before she even knew about the case. She only just met the detective so it makes no sense for any of her coworkers to be the killer. At least not for this case. She didn't even know that the husband wasn't the killer or not. That why she went to him. So if the killer isn't the husband nor anyone she met before then it had to be someone she would only know after her meeting with the husband.

The only person she met after the husband was the idol.

Not really, she could have met a ton of people after the husband. She works at a cafe so the author could have made a random customer the murderer.

 

[booterror]

This arc better end with the cop trying to capture her and Spica jumping into water to escape, ala:

 

[PrinnyRamza]

Not really, she could have met a ton of people after the husband. She works at a cafe so the author could have made a random customer the murderer.

Ya, but we never heard of any of those people. The idol is the only character that Spicy met after the husband that we were also introduced to.

Plus the chances of the killer appearing in her cafe would've been slim however if Spicy was intentionally going to meet the killer because the husband had suspicions then it makes sense for her to intentionally seek them out (by going to the concert.)

 

[SleepyDemon]

Honestly feels like an asspull but still interested to see where it goes.

Them having the culprit have a generic male silhouette before going "tee hee nope, it was a female idol all along actually ~pero" is so evil lol

 

[AnotherRat]

This shit so ass 😭.

Spica is cute tho. Only reason why I'll keep reading!