The Mystery of the Egyptian Tomb (Agatha Christie's Great Detectives Poirot and Marple)

The Mystery of the Egyptian Tomb (エジプト墳墓の謎 - Ejiputo-funbo no Nazo) was a Japanese anime television story produced by Oriental Light and Magic for NHK television. The story was broadcast in two parts and formed Episodes 11 and 12 of NHK's anime series Agatha Christie's Great Detectives Poirot and Marple. The adaptation was written by Masashi Sogo, directed chiefly by Naohito Takahashi and first broadcast 19 September 2004 and 26 September 2004. It was an adaptation of the Agatha Christie's The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb.

Production Details
The story arc is narrated and broadcast in 2 episodes as follows:

Synopsis
Sir John Willard, a noted archaeologist dies while excavating an Egyptian tomb. Lady Willard is worried because her son, Sir Guy Willard intends to carry on his father's work, regardless of the risks. She confides in Poirot that she is worried about the talk on the ground that a curse is at work at the site. Poirot agrees to protect her son.

Comparison with Original Story
(may contain spoilers - click on expand to read) Except for the presence of Mabel, the adaptation is very faithful to the original story except for a few minor details.
 * Not often does this anime series dramatise Poirot's quirks but this one does. The anecdotes from the original story are faithfully reproduced: Poirot complains about the discomfort of the sea journey to Egypt. At the Mena House Hotel, he complains that his expensive shoes are ruined by the sand. On the way to the excavation site, he finds travelling by camel highly uncomfortable and switches to a donkey.
 * The death of Mr Bleibner is attributed to typhus. In the original, the cause is not specified.
 * In this adaptation, Poirot leaves the site to return to Cairo on a donkey led by Hassan. There he makes a call to the New York police. In the original, Poirot also received vital background information from the New York police but it is not mentioned how and he did not leave the site.
 * Rupert Bleibner committed suicide because he thought he suffered from an incurable disease. Unlike the original, leprosy is not specified here.
 * The denouement is slightly changed. In the original, Ames swallows cyanide and commits suicide about his crimes are exposed. Here, Hastings succeeds in stopping him. Ames then makes a full confession, including mentioning the details of the will Rupert had made in his favour. Poirot tells him he knows about this as it is in the possession of the New York police. As for motive for killing Schneider, this is only speculated in the original. Here, Ames confesses that Schneider knew Rupert and he feared Schneider might one day stumble on the truth. In a flashback, we see Schneider confronting Ames and asking him what had really happened with all the deaths.
 * In a detail not found in the original, Ames asks when Poirot first began to suspect him. Poirot explains that in an earlier scene, Poirot had suggested that the curse might be at work because the lid of the sarcophagus was slightly ajar. Sir John Willard had died there. Perhaps someone had been stealing from the contents of the sarcophagus and was being punished. Ames vehemently denies that, saying that Willard died of a heart attack. By falling forward, his head would hit the lid and knock it ajar. To Poirot, this was a case of Ames "protesting too much", perhaps driven by his guilty conscience.

Characters/Voice Talents
Note not every voice talent is credited. It is also possible that some of the voice talents supplied the voice of more than one character
 * Masako Jô as Oliver
 * Fumiko Orikasa as Mabel
 * Kôji Matoba as Sir Guy Willard
 * Hirofumi Nojima as Hastings
 * Kôtarô Satomi as Hercule Poirot
 * Atsuko Tanaka as Miss Lemon
 * Sir John Willard
 * Mr Bleibner
 * Rupert Bleibner
 * Lady Willard
 * Dr Tosswill
 * Mr Schneider
 * Dr Ames
 * Mr Harper
 * Hassan