Seikimatsu Tantei Kurabu

Detective Club

By Yotsuya Simone

Overall: What the balls.
Smex Factor: Sexy Sexy
Art: Ugly
Status: 1 Volume; Complete

Review: This may be the most bizarre thing I’ve ever read. It’s—It’s Sherlock Holmes; it’s Sherlock Holmes doujinshi.

Now, I’d be lying if I said I’m a big Sherlock Holmes fan. I’m not; I’ve barely read any of the stories, and definitely not since elementary school. But I am the daughter of literature majors, so I’d be damned if I wasn’t sufficiently familiar with the characters of Watson and Holmes. (Besides, with all their media portrayals, who isn’t these days?)

Well, if you aren’t familiar: There’s been speculation about Holmes’ sexuality for ages. He’s an odd character, for sure. Addicted to opium, sexually disinterested in women, and most likely extremely bipolar. The man’s a little off kilter, to say the least, and his relationship, no matter the portrayal, has always been a bit...odd.

But the characters in this manga! Holmes’s personality is so lovingly crafted to reflect his canon personality, it’s absurd! In the normal (read: nonsexual) scenes, he seems perfectly in place, even if it’s drawn with a culture-clashy old manga style. The characters and cases are even taken from the real stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle! The manga-ka’s Holmes, though, seems to have been inspired by Jeremy Brett of the 1980’s BBC television show, with perhaps a dash of the more handsome (according to people who aren't me) Basil Rathbone. (Just around the nose.)


Watson, on the other hand, makes me weep a little. His relationship with Holmes has had many interpretations in the media, but I never would've thought him to be...how would I explain it...Like a neglected wife? Constantly vying for attention and lamenting at the lack of love shown towards him... Even kissing Holmes spontaneously! You are not the Watson I know! In fact, you're pretty irritating. One would think he'd be used this behavior. Or at the very least, take it like a grown man. (Wait, this guy was supposed to be a war veteran??)

Things really get weird when the actual “yaoi” bit comes into play. I never would’ve thought to apply the word “tsundere” to a classical literary figure like Sherlock Holmes (especially Sherlock Holmes), but there you go. Sherlock Holmes, besides being mentally disturbed (or perhaps because of it), is tsundere. And an uke too, apparently. I don’t know about y’all, but I’m not particularly interested in fantasizing about Jeremy Brett’s sex life (although this may not be terribly far off, considering he left his wife for a man).

My mind while reading this….was blank. In a state of suspended animation. Not a single thought was processed. I think that I’m just not capable of comprehending something like this. Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law? Sure, there’s enough of that on deviantart alone. (And I hear the new BBC show "Sherlock" is chock full of homoerotic UST.)  But classic style Holmes and Watson? Simply bizarre.

(And I think the title is a bit of a misnomer, honestly.)