Los Asesinatos de la Mansión Decagonal #4

Los Asesinatos de la Mansión Decagonal, originally a 1987 novel by Yukito Ayatsuji, stands as a seminal work in the Japanese shin honkaku or new orthodox mystery movement. The story centers on a group of university students who visit an island that was the site of a gruesome unsolved murder, only to find themselves picked off one by one. This comic adaptation translates the tight, claustrophobic puzzle-solving of the original novel into a visual medium, maintaining the homage to classic Western locked-room mysteries while infusing it with the specific psychological tension characteristic of Ayatsuji’s writing.

This manga series features artwork by Hiro Kiyohara, who was tasked with visualizing the complex architectural layout of the decagonal house, a crucial element of the story’s central trick. The design approach focuses on sharp, clinical lines to emphasize the island's isolation and the cold logic of the killer. Upon its release, the adaptation was well-received for its ability to capture the atmospheric dread of the source material while presenting the intricate clues in a way that respects the reader's role in attempting to solve the mystery alongside the characters.