Zaregoto: The Kubikiri Cycle

 We made it, we are down to the last letter, the Z, of our alphabet challenge, and still have a month left to watch other stuff.

And the Z is for Zaregoto, the Kubikiri Cycle of which I read and enjoyed the first light novel.

Numbering 8 episodes, it does start different from the book, in a sort of interdimensional debate about the girls on the island and how humanity functions, as well as where genius begins and ends.

On Raven's Feather Island, a group of women has been gathered together with our hero, Kunagasi Tomo's assistant, in the Akagami residence.  As we learn the rooms and the inhabitants, like Akame, one of the 7 brightest geniusses in the world, we learn that the mistress of the house isn't allowed of the island anymore.  To that end, she offers invitations to the smartest out there for company during their stays, like great painters, master chefs and more.

 

He meets with the painter,  Kanami Ibuki, who wants to talk with him in order to be able to make a painting afterwards.  The island allowed to spend time as they like, except they all needed to eat supper together as the sole rule.  During dinner, some of the girls enter a discussion about being only mediocre instead of a genius.  While sitting in the salon with Maki, a psychic, an earthquake takes place shaking the house, as Kanami's assistant rings her, assuring she is okay.  But a day later, her decapitated body is found in the atelier.  

They are now faced with the investigation of the murder, with Akane not having an alibi.  But with a three meter wide paint river across the room due to the earthquake, things don't add up about the time of the murder.  And apparently, it wasn`t the first murder to ever happen on the island... Akane is locked up in a storeroom until the dtective Aikawa arrives in 6 days in the form of a famous detective.  But Tomo and Li-chan wonder, where did the head go?

As they continue searching for clues, Li-chan goes to talk with Akane.  This gives him fresh insights not only into himself, but into humans as a whole, as well as his feelings towards Tomo.  One of the maid's, Akari,  assaults him, being out of control for something happening again apparently.  A second decapitated corpse, Akame, is found in a sealed locker room.  After discussing the events at the table, they find Tomo's computers smashed up when they return to their room.  Li and Tomo do their onw investigating into the matters, even having Teruko, one of the maids, actually speaking to them.  

When talking to the genius cook yayoi, Il starts connecting the dots, now only needing to find the proof for his theories to be supported.  Li is attacked in a dark room by the assassin, only to be saved by the maid Teruko.  However, she is shot, but as Tomo enters the room, the light reveals it was Akame after all.  The corpse of Ibuki had been dug up and used to fake her own death, together with Ibuki's assistant and he deducted that Ilia is actually one of the maids.  But as the police wasn't called, they walked free.

Back on land, Li is taken along for a ride by Aikawa who traced him down.  She knows something bothers Li in how he made the case, and explains a lot of things, like Kanami actually not being able to paint at all despite being a famous artist.  But that Akame and Kanami had actually traded places, and Shinya didn`t work with Akame at all, but actually with Kanami.  To Akame, it seemed like a fun prank to see how long it would take the geniuses to notice, but to Kanami, there where other motives...

So this was a great adaption of the light novel, and don't expect an action packed series.  Instead, expect a series that resolves like a movie of Hercule Poirot, with a shocking ending...