This year has been one unlike any other in many ways, which has reflected quite heavily in my Japanese immersion. Following my decision last year to take the plunge and move to Japan, along with a career switch to the game industry (if you can call anything I was doing prior a career), I finally managed to move this year and have begun living and working here full-time. With all the chaos of moving countries and getting set up in a new job, I’ve tried my best to keep my Japanese immersion consistent and at a decent pace in line with prior years, however as I think you’ll see in the stats my content consumption has leaned heavily in one single direction - books.

So in this post, I’d like to take the opportunity to look back at the year and reflect on the various bits of content I’ve consumed, as well as perform a short analysis on how I feel I did for the year and what I want to adjust moving forward. As usual, however, we’ll start with a short summary.

In 2024, I –

• Read 73 Japanese books, mostly fiction. (+25.9%)
• Listened to 131 podcast episodes. (-14.4%)
• Completed 1 series of anime, 0 TV shows and 0 movies. (-85.8%)
• Watched 1,096 hours of YouTube in Japanese. (+73.4%)
• Spoke for an untracked number of hours in Japanese. ※ (~%)

※ This year I stopped my tracked video chat time and began simply working and living using Japanese, so the number has almost definitely gone up but I have no way of confirming this.

In a continuing trend from last year, my reading time has gone up significantly while my consumption of other visual media and games has decreased by a fair margin. This is partially due to a shift in interests (books are awesome), but also simply due to physical books being the most easily accessible format throughout the moving process while having less access to a desktop/the internet.

Looking back at my goals for 2024, however, I have managed to achieve all but one of them with a large margin, which is an awesome feeling! It does feel like a slightly hollow victory, however, given how narrow my media consumption has been over the past year, so that’s something I’ll try to improve going into next year. Or maybe not, it’s best to consume what you enjoy.

With the overall stats out of the way, we can transition to the more exciting part - the books!

Books of 2024

#3 方舟 夕木春央による

♛ 黒牢城 米澤穂信による

#2 何者 朝井リョウによる

Picking a number one for this year was not a difficult task. There were very few books I read this year that truly stood out as something that would slot in to my top reads of all time, however 黒牢城 certainly rose to the occasion. Set in 戦国時代 Japan, the book takes the form of a series of murder mysteries told from the perspective of 荒木村重, whose castle is being slowly surrounded by the forces of 織田信長. Each mystery is individually enjoyable, well crafted and uniquely enabled by the setting of the story. Coming from my favourite active author, it’s also no surprise that the writing style was also very much in my wheelhouse, only compounded with the use of classical era-appropriate Japanese.

In the #2 spot is 何者, a book for which I was totally unprepared going in. Having myself just run through the corporate recruitment meat grinder, this read was incredibly well timed for me, and paired with the shocking reveal at the close made for a thrilling and memorable experience. This is one of those books where its best you know as little as possible before going in, so I’m going to give this one a flat recommendation here and suggest you check the individual review below for slightly more spoiler-lite information.

Finally, in the #3 spot is 方舟, a book whose praises have been sung very thoroughly at this point by many Japanese publications. The initial hook of a murder mystery set in an abandoned underground bunker had me reading through this in a few days flat, and the mystery concludes in a way which is both very satisfying as a reader and makes logical sense within the context of the book (a surprisingly rare trait, unfortunately). I did still have some minor reservations with this book, which you can read in my individual review, so decided to slot this in at the number three spot. Still a book absolutely worth reading, and deserving of a top spot.

And with the top out of the way, let’s head down to the very bottom of the barrel of my reading content from this year, that being –

#73 そして二人だけになった Until Death Do Us Part 森博嗣による

While I struggled quite a bit to pick my favourite three books of the year, as my pick for worst of the year “そして二人だけになった Until Death Do Us Part” was a shoe-in for the number #73 spot. That isn’t to say it’s even a particularly objectively terrible book, at least from a pure literary standpoint – the writing style is perfectly fine, and from an author I enjoy. It does, however, completely fail to meet the minimum bar of cohesion as a mystery novel.

If this book were in any other genre, I would most likely not have any complaints. However, with the marketing copy self-professing it as a 密室殺人事件 (it would not have been amiss to see the all-too-familiar “ミステリーの金字塔” on the cover) and coming from a particularly prolific mystery author whose most famous series I read and very much enjoyed, it was difficult to give this one a pass when it fundamentally fails to work as a mystery plot.

Some books, for instance this year’s incredibly popular 方舟, have tricks that I would consider near impossible to determine prior to the reveal with the information provided. This isn’t even particularly a stain on the work – in fact, in the case of 方舟 the reveal is an incredibly impactful end to the book, has logical grounding in-universe, and left a long lasting impression post-read.

“そして二人だけになった”, on the other hand, reveals its trick to a resounding “huh?”. The conclusion is set up as a two-layered reveal which is meant to provide one shocking どんでん返し after another, however instead falls entirely flat when it lacks the base believability required to make their subversion of expectations impactful. Each of the two “solutions” to the mysteries provided throughout the book feel incredibly absurdist and hand-wavey, and manage to blow away any tension built up through the prior chapters of the book.

That’s my best and worst of 2024, now all that remains is to fill in the middle! From here I’ll write a short, few sentence review of every book I’ve read this year, along with a rough star rating out of five. I’ve tried my best to combat my recency bias here and have refamiliarised myself with the older books in this list, but the ones toward the end will still probably end up being more detailed. This year’s list is in exact chronological order (thank you Bookmeter!).

As a first book of the year, 封印再度 is the fifth entry in the S&M series (yes, the name is terrible) and one that is faithful to the series’ routine of describing interesting locked room murders with tricks based around construction and physics techniques. This time, however, a lot more of the focus is placed on the interpersonal relationships between characters (particularly 犀川 and 萌絵), which personally was very welcome progression in a series that felt in need of additional character development. From what I remember, I blasted through this in a few sittings. Definitely worth a read if you’re working through the S&M series.

Since I enjoyed 封印再度 considerably, I moved directly onto the sixth entry in the series, 幻惑の死と使途. This book is part of a pair along with 夏のレプリカ which occur simultaneously in-universe, however this entry does not rely at all on the contents of that book, so the reading order is thankfully sane. This entry follows a magician who is murdered during a locked box escape, only to have their body mysteriously disappear post-murder. Overall the payoff is satisfying, and definitely worth a read if continuing the S&M series, even if not containing as interesting character development as 封印再度.

Following from the upper volume of ノルウェイの森 which I finished in 2023, this volume concludes the story following the protagonist through his relationship with 直子 and another patient/mentor レイコ during her stay at the psychiatric care facility. I feel I can’t speak too heavily on this volume for fear of spoilers, however I was satisfied with how the story resolved itself, even if it was a tad bittersweet. Overall, I’d recommend both volumes for any readers of 村上春樹.

The first part of a two part thriller/mystery epic by 太田愛, and one that had me captured for its duration. This follows the story of a man who stops dead still in Shibuya crossing, points directly up at the sky and dies on the spot, chasing it all the way down to a gritty tale about wartime censorship and journalistic integrity. I originally picked this up as I was a fan of another mystery from 太田愛, “幻夏”, and this volume definitely convinced me to later read more of her novels. A definite recommend for enjoyers of mystery or thriller.

Another book from my favourite active author in the mystery genre, 米澤穂信, and one that was released considerably close to his debut (2005). While there were definitely some highlights to be found in the characterisation and individual compartmentalised mysteries, this definitely feels more akin one of his older works when compared to something like 満願 or 黒牢城. Something I’d recommend if you’re already a fan of 米澤穂信, but otherwise just your average competent mystery novel.

Sticking with the mystery theme, but this time trying something different with a short story anthology written by a “who’s who” of current-day mystery authors. All of the short stories contained within the collection are of generally high quality (as you’d hope), despite there not being anything that sticks out as particularly memorable barring 供米. A light recommend for mystery enjoyers.

Another entry in the indomitable 館シリーズ by 綾辻行人, and in my opinion the weakest mystery thus far. Considering that the other books in the series are all stellar, however, that just makes this a slightly predictable but overall very competent mystery novel. The theming is on point, and feels more similar to the author’s horror novels than the other books in the series, tying the whole package nicely together even if the mystery elements were a tad weak. Recommend for 館シリーズ readers, light recommend otherwise.

After reading another 原田マハ book which was one of my top three reads last year, “本日はお日柄もよく”, I was inspired to try more of her works this year, beginning with キネマの神様. This one follows a deadbeat father whose only hobby is cinema, written from the perspective of his daughter. He takes takes to writing movie reviews, and the plot spirals out from there. It was an enjoyable read throughout, and I didn’t have to force myself through any of the 331 pages. Recommended for fans of character dramas.

I bought this almost wholly unaware of its contents, assuming that it was a follow up to the original “キネマの神様”. This is not that, however, and is in fact a rehashing of the movie adaptation of the original book which has then been re-novelised. Not worth the read if you’ve already picked up “キネマの神様”, and I would not even personally recommend it over the original. Skip this one and read the source material.

This one follows five university students, detailing their relationships as they go through a series of dramatic life events and how their dynamics change. This is one I find difficult to write about, as detailing anything feels like a spoiler, but I thoroughly enjoyed this one as with all of the other 伊坂幸太郎 books that I’ve gone through. It’s not a light read, but something I’d definitely recommend as a palette cleanser.

The companion novel to “幻惑の死と使途”, this one follows a friend of 萌絵 as they try to escape a set of kidnappers which are holding their family to ransom. To me, this feels a little like the author created an initial concept that took place outside of the S&M series universe, but decided to link this and the prior book together when coming to put pen to paper. It stands to reason, then, that while an enjoyable mystery novel considered alone, this has nearly no impact on the overall series, which disappointed me a little. If you’re in this deep though, there are some good interactions with 萌絵 here and there, so it’s worth the time investment for S&M series readers.

Another 森見登美彦 classic, ペンギン・ハイウェイ follows a set of schoolchildren investigating the mysterious appearance of penguins in their bog standard Japanese town, leading to some surrealist fun and typical charm I’ve come to expect from this author. There are some heavier topics included here, but overall it’s quite a light read and something I’d definitely recommend. This author really does not miss.

Continuing on the S&M series train, this is the first book to be set in the form of a series of diary entries, entirely written by a third party. The mystery laid out here is enjoyable alone, however what made me appreciate this one a significant amount more is that while at first glance it appears to make no contribution to the overall series’ plot, there is additional character background being provided without the reader even noticing for nearly the entire runtime. A definite recommend for S&M series readers.

As the last entry in my read-through of the 有川浩 自衛隊 trilogy, 空の中 details the story of a pilot acting as a negotiator with a giant entity of unknown origin floating in the skies above the 四国 shoreline. While not as strong as the two prior works in this series (塩の街 and 海の底), it still has fairly compelling character drama, and the premise was delivered on satisfyingly. Recommended, along with the other works in this series.

The ninth entry in the S&M series, and one that is a hefty read at 720 bunko pages. While I did blast through this in the space of about five days, this does mark the point in the series where I was hoping for a satisfying conclusion to the overall story. There is a fair amount of eye-roll worthy fan service (if you can even call it that?) included here, and while the central two murder mysteries converge in a satisfying way the overall payoff feels slightly too weak. A recommend for S&M series readers, as there is some overarching character development included here, but not something I’d hard recommend if it was a standalone novel.

Another 短編集 in the 虚構推理 series, and the overall sixth entry. While I did enjoy each individual 短編 and generally don’t have any complaints about the book on its own merits, I do wish that the author would focus on writing more 長編 in this series. As it stands, the 虚構推理 universe doesn’t really feel like it’s going anywhere, and while short and sweet stories within the existing framework of characters are a fun diversion, personally there’s a point at which, lacking any real development, they start feeling repetitive. Recommended standalone, but skippable if you’re breezing through the 虚構推理 series.

Reading through 斜陽 in 2023 really encouraged me to get more into works from 太宰治, and so I decided to pick up the 新潮文庫 version of 走れメロス, which also includes a few other short stories packaged into a still surprisingly short 304 pages. While I didn’t enjoy this as much as 斜陽, it was still a good time and definitely something I can recommend to anyone who enjoys 太宰治 or 文豪 content in general.

This is one of the very few books this year for which I wrote a review on Bookmeter, so I’ll borrow that here for the end of year impressions. Apologies, it is in Japanese.

四人の語り手が描き出す被害者像、殺害方法、そしてそれから導き出される結論を中心とする作品です。 一人ひとりの主人公が握っている情報や被害者との関係による違いが生み出す10通りの結論も全部面白く、一気に読み通しました。 最後に結論が出ないのは、いくら本の核心でも、やはりすっきりしませんが。7/10

Something a little different from my usual mystery reading habits, a hard-boiled police procedural. This book follows a female detective and her partner, detailing their efforts to solve an arson-homicide case while overcoming their communication issues. Not the peak of 純文学 or anything, but an enjoyable binge read. Recommended for any enjoyers of police detective novels.

It seems that I never learn with 住野よる, and this is another one of his classic romance plots which revolve around a unique concept, in this case the fact that the two protagonists can only communicate through an otherworldly phenomenon found at a bus shelter near the male protagonist’s house. Honestly, as far as 住野よる books go this was considerably better than かくしごと, so I’d recommend it if you’re a fan of his other works or romance in general. Otherwise, there’s no harm in giving this a miss.

The final and concluding tenth volume of the S&M series, and something I had been considerably looking forward to reading. The very first culprit of the series returns as the villain for this final volume, and contains the appropriate buildup and dramatic release expected of a 森博嗣 book. Unfortunately, due to a considerable focus on technology in this volume, some of the arguments made have not aged particularly well since the book was originally published in 1998. Still a worthwhile conclusion for this series, even simply for concluding character arcs that have been continuing for the past 8-10 volumes. Recommended for S&M series readers, obviously don’t jump into this if you haven’t gone through the prior 9 volumes.

After reading the entire 自衛隊 trilogy, a slight tone shift and even a shift in author name (later works now display her name as 有川ひろ). “アンマーとぼくら” follows the protagonist as he returns to Okinawa to visit his mother, and the everyday activities they get up to during his short stay back home. It’s a very sweet book with a potent message waiting at the end, and something I’d definitely recommend to anyone who’s currently living away from family.

The 直木賞 winning book describing the life of citizens that call the area around 心淋し川 their home – from the de-facto town leader with a troubled past to individual citizens battling to keep their families in good health, it’s a work that was definitely deserving of the praise it received at the time and one I enjoyed for the character description alone. Not entering my best books of all time, but a definite recommend.

As my fourth or fifth (at this point I’ve lost track) 村上春樹 work, the upper half of one of his more famous outside of Japan: 海辺のカフカ (Kafka on the Shore). At this point, there are several very consistent thematic similarities between the 村上春樹 works that I’ve read, and this book very much continues that trend even while in a slightly different setting. If you’re familiar with the 村上 writing style (春樹, not 龍), then you probably already know whether you’ll like this book. If you’re someone who’s just looking to try one of his works for the first time, I’d perhaps rather start with ノルウェイの森, but this isn’t a bad pick either.

Also known as “Ghost Writers” by its English subtitle, this book follows the work of one such ghostwriter as he tries to track down the past of a missing aspiring author at the request of his mother, in order to write a memoir on his life. As a mystery book, the trick itself left a fair impression on me post-read, so I have no complaints in that department. As a pure novel outside of the mystery elements, the characters are relatively interesting and the writing style was not particularly memorable in either a good or bad way. Recommended for mystery enjoyers, only a light recommendation otherwise.

The first 京極夏彦 book I read, and one of his that leans very much into the 純文学 aspects. Large chunks of this book are quite dark, and veers deep into what some people would consider “edgy” territory for portions of the protagonist’s internal monologues. There are definitely some points at which I did internally cringe while reading descriptions the protagonist’s psyche, however overall it did provide a cathartic conclusion to the tension built up throughout the novel, so it balanced out to an overall neutral impression. Light recommend for enjoyers of darker content and/or 純文学.

The final book in the 小市民 series, which has recently been the subject of a very well timed anime adaptation. As a climax to the push-pull dynamic between the two main characters, and as an individual mystery, I think I like this entry the most out of the four books in the series. If you’ve already worked through the prior three entries, “冬期限定” is a definite recommend. Would not recommend starting from this book however, despite the fact that it stands on its own as a mystery novel. You’ll miss out on all of the character development from prior instalments.

As the concluding volume of 海辺のカフカ, I have little to say about this volume that wasn’t mentioned in my overview of the first half. The story concludes in a satisfying way, with the underlying mystery element resolving itself properly. If you enjoyed the first volume, the second won’t disappoint. Likewise, if you didn’t particularly enjoy the first volume, there’s nothing fresh in the concluding half in my opinion.

This one has left quite a large impression in my memory for the solution being completely preposterous. Some spoiler-free reviews that I’d looked at online for this mentioned that the trick was just as shocking as 占星術殺人事件, which is one of my favourite books of all time and by the same author, so I went into this with fairly high expectations. The provided solution is legitimately insane; if anybody managed to figure this out before the reveal was presented, their mind should be studied for science. Only recommended if you’re an existing fan of 島田荘司 and want some background on his body of works.

Possibly one of the best out of left field hitters that I read this year. Having not previously read any 湊かなえ, this stood out from online chatter as the best of her current works, so I gave it a go. The hook kept me invested throughout, and the dynamic between schoolteacher and student throughout the mystery elements makes this a breath of fresh air compared to many similar setups from other authors. Saying anything more here would betray the quality of this book, which is always a pain point for reviewing mystery novels, but if you’re at all into character-driven mystery novels definitely give this one a read.

I’ll group both together for my review, as there isn’t a particular difference between the volumes and they’re part of a single continuous plotline. In comparsion to the previous entry in the 館シリーズ, “人形館の殺人”, this one feels more like a return to the normal format of the series, with 河南 finding himself in yet another eerie grand house and facing a set of bewildering murders one by one.

Although I managed to figure out the gimmick for this book by around halfway through the first volume, sussing out the intricacies of the solution and enjoying the tension between the characters built throughout made for a satisfying read nonetheless. Definite recommend for readers of the 館シリーズ, if you find the premise particularly interesting you can read this one without touching any of the prior books in the series without any issue.

The concluding volume of the thriller/mystery novel by 太田愛. This half is a sharp change of pace from the prior volume, as the three protagonists make their way to a remote island community where they suspect a fugitive police officer they’re chasing has fled to. From a thriller on a grand scale the story very much focuses down to a character-driven drama about unfolding the secrets of this remote island, almost to the point where it feels like a separate book from the first volume. This does eventually tie into a satisfying ending with the elements discovered during the first book, however it may be a little jarring (it certainly was for me). Recommended if the upper volume got you invested in the story.

Continuing the 加賀恭一郎シリーズ, this volume focuses on a murder where the suspects are very quickly whittled down to just two friends of the deceased, and spends most of its runtime providing clues to help the reader answer the titular question. The book itself does not actually reveal the answer to the very end, which may be offputting to some readers, however I personally don’t have a problem with that. The hook of this one was interesting enough to get me to read through in a few days, however it took me a little while longer away from the book to figure out which of the suspects was actually the murderer. Recommended if you’re the type that enjoys trying to figure out the mystery before the reveal hits, otherwise this may be less in your wheelhouse.

People often say that timing has a great effect on your individual experience of a piece of media, and perhaps this was the case for me and 何者. This book is a character drama that follows the experience of university students searching for jobs in preparation for exiting university, which lined up with the period directly after I had just finished doing the same. It also helps that I’m the type of person to shamelessly self-insert into the main character, no matter how terrible their characterisation, which led directly into the trap that the author sets for the unexpecting reader. A book which absolutely deserved its 直木賞, and one I would wholeheartedly recommend to anyone who has gone through the corporate recruiting meat grinder.

Bundled review for a chronologically adjacent 上下 set. Another thriller from 太田愛, this time following the sole survivor of a freak stabbing in central Tokyo who is chased by an assassin for unknown reasons. Similar to her other books, this feels a lot like reading a hit drama series if it was put to paper, which makes sense considering her career history as a screenwriter before entering the novel space. Definitely worth a read for any fans of suspense/thriller novels.

My second foray into 京極夏彦, this time into his more mystery focused body of works. This series is meant to be a classic blend of mystery, horror and 妖怪 folklore, and it certainly delivers on that promise. The author’s writing style I had already considerably enjoyed when reading “ヒトでなし”, so when placed into a mystery setting (much more of my wheelhouse) everything aligned to make a great reading experience. In its horror aspects you could consider this similar to the 館シリーズ, except with a much diminished emphasis on the trick element of the mystery and more emphasis on the folklore elements. Definite recommend, although be warned that several of the books in this series are ridiculously long and generally contain difficult language.

Bought this one purely out of curiosity for what goes into making a “good” mystery novel “good” rather than a desire to write any myself, although that may be something fun to try in future. As a beginners guide, it’s interesting to see an editor’s perspective on how mystery novels should be structured to both keep the reader engaged and convince any prospective editor that your work is worth not throwing out at first sight. More of a curiosity than anything, but interesting if you’re curious about the selection process for book awards and how the publishing industry treats mystery works.

Similar to the last entry, although this one is written by a collection of mystery authors who are all members of 日本推理作家協会, with each giving their perspective on a different topic regarding the writing and perception of mystery novels. While some of the essays in here give a very interesting perspective on the modern mystery landscape, some felt quite dry and/or self-aggrandising, so personally I’d give this a skip if you aren’t genuinely interested in writing mystery novels yourself.

Continuing my dive into 太宰治 this year, the revered 遺作 and one that almost always comes up as the first work mentioned under his name. Personally, I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I did 斜陽, however it was still a thoroughly enjoyable experience and the prose is expectedly great. Would recommend for any fans of 太宰 or 文豪 in general.

Another 東野圭吾 fare, this time following the murder of a popular author who dies under mysterious circumstances the night before he is due to leave the country. Compared to other more trick-focused 東野圭吾 books, this one leans more into the interpersonal relationship and motive side, which I think works to its benefit. Worth a read if you’re interested in getting into his books or are an existing fan.

Presented as a series of letters from a single individual out towards his friends, another comedy with light romance elements from 森見登美彦. The structure of this one feels very well put together, as even though you only get to see one side of the letter exchange, the way in which those letters are written allows you to perfectly draw out the kind of response and the details inside that are not explicitly printed on the page. Overall I really enjoyed reading through this one, and would definitely recommend it as a lighthearted gateway into 森見登美彦 books.

The first 短編集 in the 御手洗潔 series of books, and one that I thought was perfectly “fine”. None of the mysteries here left as much of an impression as either 占星術殺人事件 or 斜め屋敷の犯罪, in either a good or bad way. Perhaps worth a look through if you’re interested in reading the entire series, but definitely not required reading in my opinion.

Not to be confused with the 今敏 film of the same name, a classic early 宮部みゆき work written from an interesting perspective. The whole story is told through the eyes of a former police dog, マサ, and follows the events surrounding the murder of an up-and-coming youth league baseball player. Forcing all events in the book to be viewed through this lens does cause some believability issues, however it didn’t impact my enjoyment of the book in a major way. Would recommend for existing fans of 宮部みゆき.

Following on from the events of 容疑者Xの献身, this encompasses several smaller stories expressing the reluctance of ガリレオ to work with police since the incident (although he eventually ends up assisting in essentially every case). I honestly don’t remember many of the stories from this collection, so it’s safe to say it didn’t leave a lasting impression. Perhaps pick this one up if you’re following the series, otherwise there are plenty of other mystery novels which will fill the same void.

Another entry in the long-running 館シリーズ, and the one that left the least of an impression post-read. The trick used for the primary mystery didn’t really feel equal in shock factor or logical grounding to those presented in prior books, and left me with a slightly bitter aftertaste considering the rest of the book had managed to get me quite invested. Still worth the read if you’re going through the 館シリーズ as it manages to keep the tension well throughout and has other interesting elements, but I wouldn’t go in expecting the trick to be as satisfying as those in prior volumes.

The third full-length volume in the 御手洗潔 series, and one which marked a considerable step up for me from the prior 斜め屋敷の犯罪. This volume is written from the perspective of a man who wakes up on a park bench in the middle of 高円寺 with no idea of his name, address or memory of his past life, who through a series of coincidences becomes friends with 御手洗 and attempts to regain his memories. The mysteries presented here are interesting and their payoff sound, even if the ending was predictable from around the halfway mark. Definitely worth a read for any enjoyers of 占星術殺人事件.

Another 直木賞 winner, and one from my favourite currently active author nonetheless. It should not be particularly surprising, then, that I absolutely adore 黒牢城. Set in 戦国時代 Japan, this book takes the form of a series of murder mysteries told from the perspective of 荒木村重, whose castle is being slowly surrounded by the forces of 織田信長. Each mystery is carefully woven into the overarching story, and comes with an ending reveal which, while in itself not overly shocking, hides behind it an additional layer of trickery. Possibly one of my favourite books of all time, and one I would recommend any self-professing mystery enjoyer read.

The one pain point for newer readers may be that due to the setting being 戦国時代 Japan, the language and descriptions used are also era appropriate, meaning that there is some modestly difficult grammar and word use throughout. In my opinion though, even if that poses a challenge, the experience is definitely worth it.

The second 原田マハ book I got into this year, and a relatively light read compared to the majority of books I’d been working through. It’s a feel good experience and doesn’t include anything too hard-hitting, but also didn’t leave a huge impression on me post read. It’s also quite short at just 240 pages, so if you’re looking for a quick palette cleanser, perhaps give it a try.

For someone who’s fairly into mystery novels, and Japanese ones in particular, having read no 江戸川乱歩 was a glaring omission which I sought to fix this year. There are several collections of his short stories available, which for some reason all have confusingly similar names, and I selected this one essentially at random. D坂の殺人事件 and 人間椅子 were standouts from this collection, and it also contained the chilling 芋虫 which was honestly quite hard to read through. Definitely a must-read if you’re a follower of Japanese mystery.

After reading 何者 earlier in the year and being totally blindsided, I was keen to try another one work from 朝井リョウ, and eventually settled on 正欲. The topics covered in this book are quite sensitive, and due to that alone I’m going to gloss over the actual content of the book and just suggest you give it a read if you enjoyed any other book from 朝井リョウ.

Another one highlight of the books that I read this year, at least in terms of what left an impression. This book follows a no-name university running club who work their way up from having no running experience at all to competing in that year’s 箱根駅伝, with the power of friendship™ and sheer will of their slightly injured but enthusiastic leader. The writing style of 三浦しをん really carries this one in my opinion, definitely worth a read.

As someone who self-professes as a Japanese mystery author enjoyer, it would be hypocritical of me to have not read any 横溝正史 over my several years of Japanese reading at this point. One of his more famous works, this follows the story of 真珠郎, a boy bred purely for the purpose of revenge, as he carries out several murders in mysterious circumstances. Overall an enjoyable look into classic Japanese mystery, light recommendation.

Embarassingly, I picked this up thinking it was a novel looking back at the Pacific front, however it ended up being a manga on that topic in bunko format. Nevertheless it was an impactful read though, and does well to highlight the meaningless defenses that characterised Japan in the closing chapters of World War 2. Definitely not something that you can read over lunch, but I would recommend it if you’re looking for some wartime manga.

One of the podcasts which I’m a huge fan of, ゆる言語学ラジオ, put this out as a pseudo-novelised form of their format, taking the form of a discussion between the two hosts on various interesting tidbits on languages and linguistics in general. If you’ve never heard of this podcast and aren’t the type to listen to podcasts, I’d definitely recommend checking this book out. However, as an existing listener, this touches on topics that have essentially all been covered within previous episodes (and in my opinion in a more enjoyable format), so there wasn’t much additional value left for me.

This book seemed to be absolutely everywhere in Japan over the latter half of the year, and with very good reason. The initial hook had me reading through this in a few days flat, and the mystery concludes in a way which is both very satisfying as a reader and makes logical sense within the context of the book (a surprisingly rare trait, unfortunately). If there is one gripe that I have with 方舟, as I mentioned in my worst book overview, it’s that the trick seems near impossible to deduce before the reveal. Even then, this does not diminish the impact of the book at all for me, and I was thinking about this one for weeks after finishing reading. Definite recommend.

Also related to ゆる言語学ラジオ, this book is from the 喋り手 of that show and details a compilation of linguistically interesting and funny quotes from small children still getting a grasp on language, which as a concept sounded interesting to me (I even picked up a signed copy). Unfortunately, as much as I appreciated the gems in this one and the illustrations were incredibly cute, it felt a bit thin in overall content. Recommended if you’re just looking for a light read and a laugh, but don’t come into this with expectations of any deep linguistic analysis.

The follow up to 何者, one of my favourite books of the year, which naturally meant I picked this up with high expectations. It was fairly surprising, then, when 何様 felt less like a proper sequel and more like a “plus alpha” or epilogue to the first book. This book picks up several years after 何者 concludes, detailing the future lives of each of the cast members and their current life situation and thoughts. As someone who very much enjoyed the first book, I was not disappointed with the contents here, but my expectations were clearly a little off. Would recommend to anyone who read and enjoyed 何者.

Returning to some classic 米澤穂信, リカーシブル follows the story of a family returning to the mother’s home town after the sudden disappearance of the father. The two children of the family begin attending a new school in a new environment, and discover that they have memories of this place that they’ve supposedly never visited; cue mystery plot. Overall just a plain fun competent mystery experience, and one I enjoyed figuring out moving through the last third of the book. Recommended for any 米澤穂信 or mystery enjoyers.

Continuing in the ガリレオ series, this time a 長編 following the poisoning of a business magnate in his own home. The suspects here are quickly whittled down to only the wife, who was visiting her parents in 北海道 at the time of the murder, and the latter two thirds turn into a quite compelling “howdunnit”. The ending (at least from memory) was satisfying enough, and as I’m personally fond of the 東野圭吾 style I found this to be an enjoyable read. Recommended if you’re following the ガリレオ series, but you can absolutely jump straight to this one with no background.

The first in a four volume epic, and the longest entry in the currently published 館シリーズ. Compared to prior entries in the series, this one feels a little more like 人形館の殺人 in that it leans more into the horror aspects of the 綾辻行人 style and less the mystery portion, particularly in this first volume. If I’m being honest, this first book took quite a while to get through, as it’s almost entirely character background and setup for the following murders that occur in the last two thirds of the story. If you’re prepared for a 2000+ bunko page journey though, and have enjoyed previous 館シリーズ books, I would definitely recommend sticking through this one.

One of the books that I just selected on a whim while in a 丸善 this year, and accordingly one that was fairly middle of the road. The plot centers around a hotel which allegedly houses a service which allows guests to travel to parallel universes, to which several disenfranchised and beaten-down individuals gather to discover the truth. While perfectly passable, it felt on the whole quite generic and not something I’d go out of my way to read had this not been an impulse buy. If you think the concept is interesting, then maybe give it a go, but apart from that you’ll do no ill by skipping this entirely.

The second of four volumes. Finally some plot happening here, and the story begins to turn in an interesting direction. While the four volumes as a whole do all play more into horror elements than other 館シリーズ entries, the mystery provided here is in my opinion much more substantial than that of 人形館の殺人. Once the first half of this second volume was through, it no longer felt like a slog whatsoever. Worth the payoff, needless to say if you managed to finish the first volume, best lock in for the next three.

Another 東野圭吾 affair, and honestly I’m having a hard time keeping track of all the various “○○が××を殺した” titles here. This one follows the murder of a popular screenwriter and author, 穂高誠, who is essentially such a detestable human being that all of those in close relation to him have a motive for bumping him off. The book boils down to a “whodunnit” presented from the viewpoint four different suspects, with the answer not being revealed explicitly within the book in much similar fashion to “どちらかが彼女を殺した”. Similarly recommended for those who enjoy a classic “whodunnit” puzzle.

Unfortunately, this volume mentally blends with the fourth in my head, as the plot is now at full speed through both latter volumes. Accordingly, I don’t have much to say about specifically the third book, apart from that the lost child character (if you’ve read this, you’ll know which one) was ungodly infuriating. Keep reading if you’re working through this one, the end is worth it (in my opinion)!

Acclaimed winner by a considerable margin of my “Worst of the Year” award for 2024. If you want to see why it’s not particularly worth your time, read the more detailed review that is placed at the top of the article (or linked right there!).

The fourth and concluding volume of 暗黒館の殺人. Not much that I can say here without massively spoiling the ending for anyone thinking about picking this one up, apart from that the ending was satisfying enough to make me not regret reading through the prior 1600+ pages to reach this point. Compared to other entries in the series, not as immediately “leap out of your chair” shocking in terms of the tricks used, but definitely the most satisfying to finish as the characters had much more room to breathe and develop here compared to a typical 館シリーズ book.

Picked this up due to the interesting concept of murderers playing detective with each other over the internet, performing murders in person and then having the others solve it as a game. It’s really a 短編集 hiding as a 長編, as each mystery is almost entirely compartmentalised save for a few linking threads between each chapter, and some are fairly trivial to guess. The final reveal was quite impactful, which was much needed, however the final 50-75 pages fly off the rails into something completely different, eventually ending up with some unneeded sequel baiting. While I enjoyed a majority of this, it didn’t leave a good aftertaste, so I’d recommend on the condition of just reading the 短編 portions and skipping the final chapter.

Continuing on my 三浦しをん journey, this time the one that’s probably closest to 純文学 from this author. This was unexpectedly fairly unlike any of the other 三浦しをん books I’d read thus far, not necessarily in a negative way but certainly not her usual style. This is the type of book where I’m loath to say anything about the contents of itself, so I’ll just give a blanket recommendation here for anyone who enjoys character dramas with morally questionable characters.

After seeing the buzz around the Netflix series this year, decided to give this one a try as the concept of a novel about land hustlers sounded interesting. I can see why this made a good target for a streaming series, and did mostly enjoy my time with it throughout, but taken as a standalone book it was just kind of “fine”. Nothing particularly left an impression from this as I look back, good or bad, so I’ll leave it at an average review here.

Following my theme this year of trying to get into a larger pool of mystery authors, my first foray into the works of 有栖川有栖 (if you don’t count that one essay from ミステリーの書き方). Coincidentally, this one was also set at Christmas, so timing-wise matched very nicely. The book follows a standard issue detective story around the killing of an author and a random intruder during a Christmas party, hosted by the deceased. The way the mystery plays out gave me no complaints, and the writing style was to my liking, so I’ll definitely be reading more 有栖川有栖 in the future. Recommended if you’re a mystery head.

My final book of the year, and one that took me quite a while to finish due to extenuating circumstances (mostly just being busy around the end of the year). As the follow-up to “魍魎の匣”, this does not disappoint with the same blend of 妖怪 folklore and murder mystery, however the solution this time felt incredibly cheap and definitely dampened my impressions on the overall book. For almost all of the length of the book an enjoyable read, however one that felt tainted by a failed landing. I will read on in this series, but this may be worth a skip if you’re following on from 魍魎の匣.

Visual Media of 2024

Unfortunately, unlike previous years, this section is going to be almost entirely a footnote. I watched barely any visual media in 2024, only viewing a single anime series that I can remember at any point throughout the year.

That isn’t to say I watched no content in Japanese – in fact, quite the opposite. My YouTube watch time went through the roof this year as I found several channels that I really enjoy watching, however traditional media content has as a result taken a back seat.

I’m not going to give a bottom or top here since there aren’t even enough entries to fill those spots, but I’ll give a list of the shows that I either touched or watched through. There are probably some entries missing here, since I did a very bad job at tracking my watch history this year (maybe in part due to feeling not like study and more like leisure).

• 小市民シリーズ
• 虚構推理
• すべてがFになる THE PERFECT INSIDER

Games of 2024

Similar to my visual media consumption, this year my game consumption decreased significantly. Slightly ironic considering that I’ve started work in the game industry now, but that’s how the cookie crumbles when losing access to a computer with a decent graphics card for most of the year.

With that being said, I will give a top three for this year since I did play enough to actually constitute a list. Similar to prior years, these aren’t necessarily games which came out in the year 2024, simply titles I actually managed to get around to playing this year. All of my games this year were played on native hardware, so no ports or emulators.

#3 スーパーマリオパーティ ジャンボリー 任天堂

♛ ファミコン探偵倶楽部 笑み男 MAGES、任天堂企画制作本部

#2 大逆転裁判 成歩堂龍ノ介 SQUARE ENIX

In first place, a game I was very much looking forward to playing since its announcement, ファミコン探偵倶楽部 笑み男. As a self-professed enjoyer of mystery content, this was a godsend for a series which hadn’t seen action in a ridiculous amount of time (slightly evident from the name), and I went into this one with fairly high expectations, particularly given the developer. Thankfully, 笑み男 did not disappoint. This is (again) one of those titles where the less you know before playing, the better. If you’re a fan of mystery-based visual novels I would definitely give this one a try, perhaps after playing through the remaster of the first game (also available on Switch) for some context for the series.

Coming in second, a game which I had failed to get round to until importing my Japanese New 3DS LL, 大逆転裁判 成歩堂龍ノ介. Set in a completely different time period to the rest of the games, this felt like a breath of fresh air in the series, which had for the past few entries been exploring ideas in a modern setting (save for branching out into more religion and faith oriented themes). It also features, in my opinion, better character writing and more funny and genuinely interesting one-off characters than the past few 逆転裁判 games I played through, which greatly increased my enjoyment with the game. Definitely would recommend if you’ve played through any of the other games in the series and enjoyed it.

Finally, in the third spot, one perhaps which does not look too similar to any of the others on this list, but one I enjoyed thoroughly nonetheless: スーパーマリオパーティジャンボリー. From a pure “stupid fun” perspective, this マリオパーティ in particular has been a hit for me. Prior to this, I’d only ever played the games through friends, and was surprised with how much fun I had with the core gamemode simply sitting through and playing on my own time (in two player mode, mind).

Finally, here’s a list of some of the games I played and remembered from this year. This will be an incomplete list since, again, I did a pretty terrible job at tracking what I was consuming outside of written media.

• スーパーマリオパーティジャンボリー (NSW)
• ファミコン探偵倶楽部 笑み男 (NSW)
• 大逆転裁判 成歩堂龍ノ介 (3DS)
• LOST JUDGMENT：裁かれざる記憶 (PC)
• Longvinter (PC)
• STEINS;GATE (Incomplete, PC)
• 地球防衛軍５ (Incomplete, PC)
• プレートアップ！ (PC)
• Gigantic: Rampage Edition (PC)
• Deep Rock Galactic (PC)
• AI:ソムニウムファイル (Incomplete, PC)
• Bomb Rush Cyberfunk (PC)

Conclusion & Goals

With that all out of the way, that marks the end of my brief look back on the past 365 days of immersion! This year felt like a bit of a step back in terms of variety, however I still managed to achieve all but one of my 新年抱負, which I’ll take as a win given the reduction in time I’ve had available over the past year.

And, in keeping with last year’s review post, I’ll state my end goals for the next 365 days of my journey with Japanese, and some things I’d like to achieve along the way before this time rolls around again next year. Last year’s goals were set out with the expectation of additional time restrictions, which allowed me to set more realistic targets. This year, I’d like to try and shift my immersion toward more variety than simply novels, while keeping my time expectations in check.

So, with that said, next year, I will –

• Read at least 52 books. One book per week seems like a reasonable pace for me to achieve while consuming other media, and my main source of enjoyment for Japanese consumption comes from novels, so I’d like to continue that into the new year.
• Watch at least 25 pieces of visual media. I’ve missed being more into anime, so perhaps I’ll start watching some new series again this year.
• Play at least 10 singleplayer games. Specifying specifically singleplayer here to avoid cheesing this one, and it’s something I want to get back into more even outside of Japanese immersion.
• Finally do some substantial creative writing in Japanese. This was the singular goal from last year that I didn’t achieve, and one I am determined to smash through this time round.

Last year, I stated that I was happy to have reached a place where I was no longer immersing with the goal of learning specific content or passing an exam, and could simply immerse “for fun”. This year, I want to broaden what I’m able to enjoy with that understanding, and get back into the variety that I have been slowly losing over the course of 2023 and 2024.

As always, a very happy new year to you all, and I wish everyone else luck with their new round of 新年抱負. 🎉