An adaptation of
the BBC re-imagining of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes series, Sherlock, which aired in 2010 (season 1) and 2012 (season 2), with season 3
currently in the works.
In this series:
V.1 – Pink Iro no Kenkyuu
(from Baka-Updates
Manga)
John Watson has been recently invalided home from the war
in Afghanistan – where he was a doctor and a soldier – and now lives in a tiny
bedsit in London. He’s got a limp, a hand tremor, and a therapist and he is
bored. One day he runs across an old friend who introduces him to the most
interesting man John has ever met: the world’s only consulting detective, Sherlock
Holmes.
Sherlock is strange, brilliant, and probably a bit mad;
but he’s got two things to offer John right off the bat: a new flat and
excitement.
Sherlock correctly deduces John’s military career and
injuries just by looking at him; then invites him to come look at his flat on
Baker Street. John arrives on Baker Street to check out the flat and ends up
getting completely involved in Sherlock’s latest case. He spends the night
visiting a crime scene, getting ‘kidnapped’ by Sherlock’s arch enemy, waiting
for and then chasing down a suspect, and then chasing down a lead to find the
actual serial killer.
By the time the night is over John has shot one man to
save the life of a man he’s just met. He no longer has the limp, but he has a
new flat and a new flatmate to go with it. He’s also certain to never be bored
again with a friend and flatmate like Sherlock Holmes.
BBC’s Sherlock
is a modern retelling of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes novels and stories. The first episode, A Study in Pink, is based on the first
Sherlock Holmes story A Study in Scarlet.
If you’ve seen the episode of ASiP
you already know what happens in the manga version.
Pink Iro no Kenkyuu
is basically a scene-by-scene retelling of the episode, so if you enjoyed the
episode you’ll most likely enjoy the manga as well. There are, of course,
little differences here and there but nothing major.
The art is gorgeous, and also slightly different from the
‘traditional’ manga style. This is especially obvious in the characters’ faces.
The characters were drawn to look like the actors in the show, and the designs
are pretty spot-on. The artist even included Benedict’s eye freckle in
Sherlock’s design.
There isn’t too much of a focus on backgrounds, but there
are a few that are drawn that are brilliant and basically look exactly the same
as they are in the show. There’s even a two-panel spread of the living room
inside 221B that is very detailed, right down to the wallpaper. There’s also a
nice panel of the park where John runs into Mike, and Roland-Kerr Further
Education College (where Sherlock and the killer have their final showdown).
The physical volume also includes some colour pages,
which are beautifully done and reflect the colour scheme of the TV episode.
I can’t say much about the dialogue, though I’m assuming
it’s basically the same as in the show (with an extra line added here and
there, usually from John thinking to himself). The manga hasn’t been picked up
by any English publishers and the copy I have is in the original Japanese.
There are scanlations out there, but no official translations. Though
considering the show’s popularity (and the fact that the manga series got a
second volume for the show’s second episode, The Blind Banker) there’s a good chance of it being brought over.
So if you’re a fan of BBC’s Sherlock definitely check out the manga; though since it more or
less re-tells the episode scene-by-scene you won’t be missing any new material
if you don’t read it. It’s also worth checking out for the art alone just to
see the actors in the show in manga-style form.
Sherlock – Pink Iro
no Kenkyuu is published by Kadokawa Comics and is not available for
purchase in English at the time of this writing.
