Agatha Christie's Great Detectives Poirot and Marple (アガサ·クリスティーの名探偵ポワロとマープル Agasa Kurisutī no Meitantei Powaro to Māpuru) is an anime television series that adapted several Agatha Christie stories about Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. A new character named Mabel West, Miss Marple's great-niece, who becomes Poirot's junior assistant, is used to connect the two detectives.
The anime was produced by Oriental Light and Magic for NHK. The series was directed by Naohito Takahashi with music by Toshiyuki Watanabe and character designs by Sayuri Ichiishi. The opening theme is "Lucky Girl ni Hanataba wo" and the ending theme is "Wasurenaide," both performed by Tatsuro Yamashita. The 39 episodes broadcast were initially broadcast from 4 July 2004 to 15 May 2005 on NHK, and continues to be shown in re-runs on NHK and other networks in Japan. The series was adapted as manga under the same title, which was released in 2004 and 2005.
Adaptation[]
The TV series is a generally faithful adaptation of the original stories given the time constraints (typically one 25 minute episode for a short story, four episodes for a novel). Despite being a modern Japanese adaptation, the original (mainly English) locations and time period are retained. The most obvious story change is the addition of Mabel West and her pet duck, Oliver. However apart from her soliloquies, most of her lines are taken from the incidental dialogue of other characters in the original stories, so her presence does not materially alter the plot development.
Other changes are generally of a minor nature, for instance Inspector Japp becomes "Inspector Sharpe", possibly due to the derogatory implications attached to the word "jap". The significance of some details which rely on English idioms is changed, for example when a dying uncle taps his eye in Strange Jest, this was originally a reference to the saying All my eye and Betty Martin, but in the anime it becomes a reference to a stamp in which an angel appears to be winking (however the clue still achieves the same end).
Although the characters in the adaptation are English, they sometimes adopt Japanese behaviours. They sometimes bow to each other in greeting, and kneel on the floor when contrite.
Characters[]
- Hercule Poirot : Voiced by: Satomi Kōtarō
- Jane Marple : Voiced by: Kaoru Yachigusa
- Mabel West: Voiced by: Fumiko Orikasa
- Miss Lemon : Voiced by: Atsuko Tanaka
- Hastings : Voiced by: Hirofumi Nojima
- Oliver: Voiced by: Masako Jou
- Inspector Sharpe: Voiced by: Yuusaku Yara
Episodes[]
Stories adapted for the series were:
- Ep 1: The Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan
- Ep 2: The Riddle of the Cheap Flat (Original title: The Adventure of the Cheap Flat)
- Ep 3: Strange Will (Original title: Strange Jest)
- Ep 4: The Perfect Maid (Original title: The Case of the Perfect Maid)
- Ep 5-8: ABC Murders (original title: The A.B.C. Murders)
- Ep 9-10: The Disappearance of the Prime Minister (original title: The Kidnapped Prime Minister)
- Ep 11-12: The Mystery of the Egyptian Tomb (original title: The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb
- Ep 13: Tape-Measure Murder
- Ep 14: Crime of the Gold Ingots (Original title: Ingots of Gold, The Thirteen Problems, 1932)
- Ep 15: The Blue Geranium (Original title: The Blue Geranium, The Thirteen Problems, 1932)
- Ep 16-18: The Mystery of End House (Original title: Peril At End House, 1932)
- Ep 19-20: The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding
- Ep 21-24: 4:50 From Paddington
- Ep 25-26: The Plymouth Express
- Ep 27: Motive v. Opportunity (Original title: Motive v. Opportunity, The Thirteen Problems,1932)
- Ep 28-29: The Adventure of the Clapham Cook
- Ep 30-33: Sleeping Murder
- Ep 34: Four and Twenty Blackbirds (Original title: Four and Twenty Blackbirds)
- Ep 35: The Disappearance of Mr Davenheim
- Ep 36-39: Death in the Clouds
Manga[]
The series was adapted into three volumes of manga in 2004 and 2005 by NHK Publishing. The adaptations were written by Yukiyoshi Oohashi (大橋志吉) (volumes 1 and 3) and Syouji Yonemura (米村正二) (volume 2), and illustrated by Morihiko Ishikawa (石川森彦).
| Title | Release date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|
| The ABC Murders Ēbīshī Satsujin Jiken (ABC殺人事件) |
24 August 2004 | ISBN 4-14-454084-7 |
| 4:50 from Paddington Padinton Hatsu Yonjigojūbun (パディントン発4時50分) |
25 December 2004 | ISBN 4-14-454085-5 |
| Death in the Clouds Kumo no Naka no Shi (雲の中の死) |
30 May 2005 | ISBN 4-14-454086-3
|
Agatha Christie Travelogue and companion volume[]
After the screening of each episode, there followed a 3 minute mini-documentary series about the English locations and customs and how they related to Agatha Christie's works. This was for the benefit of the Japanese audience. The mini-series carried the title Agasa kurisuti kiko (アガサ・クリスティー紀行 - Agatha Christie Travelogue). A companion book for this series was also released by NHK Publishing under the title Misuteri no umareta tokoro - NHK agasa kurisuti kiko (ミステリーの生まれたと - NHKアガサ・クリスティー紀行 = Birthplace of Mystery - NHK Agatha Christie Travelogue).
DVD releases[]
The series was released on seven DVDs.
Region 2, NTSC, Language: Japanese, subtitle: No
| Title | Release date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|
| Agatha Christie's Great Detectives Poirot and Marple vol.1:"The ABC Murders" and Other Stories アガサ・クリスティーの名探偵ポワロとマープル Vol.1 ABC殺人事件 |
22 April 2005 | ISBN 4-7786-0100-9 |
| ("The Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan","The Adventure of the Cheap Flat") | ||
| Agatha Christie's Great Detectives Poirot and Marple vol.2:"4:50 from Paddington" and Other Stories アガサ・クリスティーの名探偵ポワロとマープル Vol.2 パディントン発4時50分 |
22 April 2005 | ISBN 4-7786-0101-7 |
| ("Strange Jest","The Case of the Perfect Maid") | ||
| Agatha Christie's Great Detectives Poirot and Marple vol.3:"The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb" and Other Stories アガサ・クリスティーの名探偵ポワロとマープル Vol.3 エジプト墳墓の謎 |
22 April 2005 | ISBN 4-7786-0102-5 |
| ("The Kidnapped Prime Minister","The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding") | ||
| Agatha Christie's Great Detectives Poirot and Marple vol.4:"Peril at End House" and Other Stories アガサ・クリスティーの名探偵ポワロとマープル Vol.4 エンド・ハウス怪事件 |
22 April 2005 | ISBN 4-7786-0103-3 |
| ("The Tape-Measure Murder","Ingots of Gold","The Blue Geranium") | ||
| Agatha Christie's Great Detectives Poirot and Marple vol.5:"The Plymouth Express" and Other Stories アガサ・クリスティーの名探偵ポワロとマープル Vol.5 プリマス行き急行列車 |
27 May 2005 | ISBN 4-7786-0104-1 |
| ("The Adventure of the Clapham Cook","Four-and-Twenty Blackbirds") | ||
| Agatha Christie's Great Detectives Poirot and Marple vol.6:"Sleeping Murder" and Other Story アガサ・クリスティーの名探偵ポワロとマープル Vol.6 スリーピング・マーダー |
27 May 2005 | ISBN 4-7786-0105-X |
| ("Motive versus Opportunity") | ||
| Agatha Christie's Great Detectives Poirot and Marple vol.7:"Death in the Clouds" and Other Story アガサ・クリスティーの名探偵ポワロとマープル Vol.7 雲の中の死 |
27 May 2005 | ISBN 4-7786-0106-8 |
| ("The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim") | ||