Tantei Opera Milky Holmes

Tantei Opera Milky Holmes
Box art of the video game for the PSP. From top to bottom: Cordelia Glauca, Arsene, Nero Yuzurizaki, Opera Kobayashi, Hercule Barton and Sherlock Shellingford.
探偵オペラ ミルキィホームズ
Genre	Detective, Mystery, Comedy
Manga
Written by	Bushiroad
Illustrated by	Sorahiro Mizushima
Published by	Kadokawa Shoten
Demographic	Seinen
Magazine	Comp Ace
Original run	May 2010 – January 2011
Volumes	2
Anime television series
Directed by	Makoto Moriwaki
Written by	Kazuyuki Fudeyasu
Music by	Satoru Kousaki
Studio	J.C.Staff
Network	Tokyo MX
Original run	October 7, 2010 – December 23, 2010
Episodes	12 (+1 special)
Game
Developer	Artdink
Publisher	Bushiroad
Genre	Adventure
Rating	CERO: B
Platform	PlayStation Portable
Released	JP December 16, 2010
Light novel
Tantei Opera Milky Holmes: Overture
Written by	Hideaki Koyasu
Illustrated by	Natsuki Tanihara Keiichi Ishikura
Published by	ASCII Media Works
Demographic	Male
Imprint	Dengeki Bunko
Published	December 10, 2010
Anime television series
Tantei Opera Milky Holmes: Act 2
Directed by	Makoto Moriwaki
Written by	Kazuyuki Fudeyasu
Studio	J.C.Staff Artland
Network	Tokyo MX
Original run	January 5, 2012 – March 22, 2012
Episodes	12
Game
Tantei Opera Milky Holmes 2
Developer	Artdink
Publisher	Bushiroad
Genre	Adventure
Rating	CERO: B
Platform	PlayStation Portable
Released	JP August 23, 2012
Anime television series
Tantei Opera Milky Holmes Alternative
Studio	J.C.Staff Artland
Network	Tokyo MX
Original run	August 25, 2012 – January 9, 2013
Episodes	2
Anime television series
Futari wa Milky Holmes
Directed by	Hiroshi Nishikiori
Written by	Hideki Shirane
Studio	J.C. Staff Nomad
Network	Tokyo MX
Original run	July 2013 – scheduled

Tantei Opera Milky Holmes (探偵オペラ ミルキィホームズ, Tantei Opera Mirukii Hōmuzu) is a media franchise owned by the Japanese trading card game company Bushiroad. The first release was an Internet radio drama, released in December 2009. An anime adaptation by J.C.Staff aired between October 7, 2010 and December 23, 2010, with a special episode aired on August 26, 2011. The second anime season aired between January 5, 2012 and March 23, 2012 with another special aired on August 25, 2012. A third season was announced by Bushiroad to begin airing in Summer 2013. Other media includes a manga adaptation serialized in Comp Ace from 2010; a visual novel PlayStation Portable game, released in Japan on December 16, 2010, with a sequel released in August 2012; a trading card game tie-in with Bushiroad's Weiß Schwarz; and a light novel series published by ASCII Media Works under their Dengeki Bunko label. Milky Holmes is also the name of a seiyū unit consisting of the series' four main voice actresses; Suzuko Mimori, Sora Tokui, Mikoi Sasaki and Izumi Kitta.

The series is a homage to the detective fiction genre, and the four female leads are named after famous fictional detectives: Sherlock Holmes, Nero Wolfe, Hercule Poirot and Cordelia Gray.

Plot

Set in the near future in the Great Era of Detectives, chosen people are born with supernatural abilities known as Toys (トイズ, Toizu). Those who use these Toys for evil are responsible for a wave of crimes and necessitate employing Toy-using detectives to help solve them. In the Yokohama District, Opera Kobayashi runs a detective agency named Milky Holmes. It is staffed by four aspiring young girl detectives who attend the Holmes Detective Academy, and each girl possesses their own unique Toy.

In the anime series, the four girls, Sherlock, Nero, Hercule and Cordelia, lose the ability to use their Toys during an encounter with the phantom thieves. Taken away from their rich lifestyle and thrown into an attic, the girls must try and regain use of their Toys or else face expulsion from Holmes Detective Academy.

Characters

Each character is named after characters from detective novels.

Milky Holmes

Sherlock "Sheryl" Shellingford (シャーロック・シェリンフォード, Shārokku Sherinfōdo)

Voiced by: Suzuko Mimori

The airheaded leader of Milky Holmes. She's known to be particularly clumsy but is always caring. Her Toys give her the power of telekinesis.

Nero Yuzurizaki (譲崎 ネロ, Yuzurizaki Nero)

Voiced by: Sora Tokui

An obnoxious girl with a hefty appetite. She speaks with the masculine term 'boku' and is very selfish, often talking down on others while comforting her own greed. Her Toys allows her to control machines using a small piece of metal.

Hercule "Elly" Barton (エルキュール・バートン, Erukyūru Bāton)

Voiced by: Mikoi Sasaki

A very shy girl who is easily embarrassed. She often tries to be the voice of reason, but her timid nature means she's often ignored and yelled at afterwards. Her Toys gives her superhuman strength.

Cordelia Glauca (コーデリア・グラウカ, Kōderia Gurauka)

Voiced by: Izumi Kitta

A blonde girl who often gets delusional concerning the relationship within the group. She tends to get rather out of control whenever she is scared, particularly of the dark. Her Toys allows her to see and hear things others cannot.

Kamaboko (かまぼこ, lit. Fish Paste)

Voiced by: Hiro Shimono

A stray cat the girls find and keep inside the attic.

Opera Kobayashi (小林 オペラ, Kobayashi Opera)

Voiced by: Shūta Morishima

The main protagonist of the first PSP game who is said to be the person who trained Milky Holmes. His name is based after Yoshio Kobayashi. In the PSP game, he lost his Toy much the same as the Milky Holmes.

Ellery Himeyuri (エラリー・姫百合, Erarī Himeyuri)

Voiced by: Natsumi Takamori

The main protagonist of the Tantei Opera Milky Holmes 2 PSP game. Formerly a police officer who suddenly gained Toys, she was put in charge of Milky Holmes. Her Toys allow her to activate other people's Toys by force.

Thieves' Empire

Henriette Mystère (アンリエット・ミステール, Anrietto Misutēru) / Arsène (アルセーヌ, Arusēnu)

Voiced by: Satomi Akesaka

The well-endowed leader of the Gentlemen Thieves whose Toys can cast illusions. She is currently undercover as the Student Council President at Holmes's Academy. She craves strong opponents such as Sherlock to fight against, so when Milky Holmes lose their Toys, she strives to help them to return to their most powerful states so they can satisfy her. It is well implied that her team mates have a crush on her. When not in her school uniform, she generally wears outfits that show off her chest.

Souseki Ishinagare (石流 漱石, Ishinagare Sōseki) / Stone River (ストーンリバー, Sutōn Ribā)

Voiced by: Takuma Terashima

A stern man who battles with a katana. His Toys allow him to immobilize an opponent. Undercover as a school janitor, sometimes, as a chef.

Kai Nijuuri (二十里 海, Nijuuri Kai) / Twenty (トゥエンティ, Tuenti)

Voiced by: Daisuke Kishio

A crafty magician who uses various English words and attacks using cards. He is wildly perverted and constantly shows off his erect nipples to the chagrin of the students. His Toys allows him to disguise himself perfectly. Undercover as a teacher, his name is based after Edogawa Rampo's Fiend of Twenty Faces.

Jiro Nezu (根津 次郎, Nezu Jiro) / Rat (ラット, Ratto)

Voiced by: Hiro Shimono

A young boy with a Flame Toy used for lighting various explosives. Undercover as a classmate.

Josephine Mystère (ジョセフィーヌ・ミステール, Josafīnu Misutēru) / Cagliostro (カリオストロ, Kariosutoro)

Voiced by: Asami Sanada

Henriette's older sister who appears in the 2nd PSP game. During the game, she acts as student council president and assigns Ellery to be in charge of Milky Holmes.

Genius 4

Kokoro Akechi (明智 小衣, Akechi Kokoro)

Voiced by: Yoshino Nanjō

The leader of Genius 4 (known as G4 for short), a police investigation unit. She is a bossy girl who looks down on Milky Holmes since they lost their Toys and always claims to boast a massive IQ. She smacks Sherlock with a golden mask whenever she calls her "Kokoro-chan". She claims to have graduated from Harvard University at the age of 13.

Tsugiko Zenigata (銭形 次子, Zenigata Tsugiko)

Voiced by: Miyuki Sawashiro

A spunky green haired girl.

Hirano Hasegawa (長谷川 平乃, Hasegawa Hirano)

Voiced by: Ryōko Shintani

A polite girl who can deal a sleep-inducing karate chop.

Saku Tooyama (遠山 咲, Tōyama Saku)

Voiced by: Yukari Tamura

A soft spoken girl who wears headphones. She appears to have a thing for retro technology and is almost always seen with a lollipop in her mouth.

Rei Kamitsu (神津 玲, Kamitsu Rei)

Voiced by: Susumu Chiba

The head of G4. His name is based on Kyōsuke Kamitsu.

Milky Feathers

A pair of detectives who are the protagonists of the third anime season, Futari wa Milky Holmes.

Alice (アリス, Arisu)

Voiced by: Ayasa Itō

One half of Milky Feathers, who is an understudy of Milky Holmes.

Kazumi (カズミ)

Voiced by: Aimi Terakawa

Alice's partner in Milky Holmes.

Other characters

Mori Arty (森・アーティ, Mori Āti)

Voiced by: Motoki Takagi

A mysterious transfer student with a feminine appearance but masculine voice.

Irene Doala (アイリーン・ドアラー, Airīn Doarā)

Voiced by: Sayuri Yahagi

A young but wily girl who likes Kokoro and often kidnaps her for her own desires and plans to help her businessman father.

Buta (ブー太, Būta)

Voiced by: Shintaro Oohata, Rikiya Koyama (Handsome ver.)

A fat, pig-like boy who is obsessed with eating lard and is often wrongly accused by Milky Holmes of being a culprit. When he ends up gaining powers from the Toys that Sherlock Holmes had sealed away, he steals all the lard from the city, using it to change into a more powerful and handsome form.

Lily Adler (リリー・アドラー, Rirī Adorā)

Voiced by: Kana Asumi

A girl who appears in the Alternate episodes. Her Toys allow her to manipulate ice.

Media

Anime

See also: List of Tantei Opera Milky Holmes episodes

An anime adaptation of Tantei Opera Milky Holmes by J.C. Staff aired between October 7, 2010 and December 23, 2010 and was also streamed by Crunchyroll. A special episode aired in August 2011. A second anime season co-produced by Artland, titled Tantei Opera Milky Holmes: Act 2 (探偵オペラ ミルキィホームズ 第2幕, Tantei Opera Miruki Hōmuzu Dai-ni Maku) aired in Japan from January 5, 2012 to March 23, 2012 and was streamed by Nico Nico. A third season, title Futari wa Milky Holmes (ふたりはミルキィホームズ, lit. Together, We are Milky Holmes), will begin airing in July 2013. The series will be set two years following the other series and will focus on a new pair of protagonists.

A TV special episode based on the PSP games, titled Tantei Opera Milky Holmes Alternative One ~Opera Kobayashi and the Five Paintings (探偵オペラ ミルキィホームズ Alternative ONE～小林オペラと5枚の絵画～, Tantei Opera Miruki Hōmuzu Alternative ONE ~Kobayashi Opera to Go-mai no Kaiga), was streamed on Nico Nico Douga between August 19 and August 25, 2012, before airing on Tokyo MX on August 25, 2012. A follow up special, Tantei Opera Milky Holmes Alternative Two ~Opera Kobayashi and the Raven of the Empty Sky~ (探偵オペラ ミルキィホームズ Alternative TWO ～小林オペラと虚空の大鴉, Tantei Opera Miruki Hōmuzu Alternative TWO ~Kobayashi Opera to Kokū no Ōgarasu~), was announced and both Alternative episodes were released on Blu-ray and DVD on January 9, 2013.

Music

For the first season, the opening theme is "The Answer Is One! Not!!" (正解はひとつ!じゃない!!, Seikai wa Hitotsu! Janai!!) by Milky Holmes (Suzuko Mimori, Izumi Kitta, Sora Tokui and Mikoi Sasaki), whilst the ending theme is "Instinct Doubt" (本能のDOUBT, Honnou no DOUBT) by Faylan. The ending theme for the TV special is "Party Party!" (パーティーパーティー!, Pātī Pātī!) by Milky Holmes. For the second series, the opening theme is "Nazo! Nazo? Happiness!!" (ナゾ！ナゾ？Happiness!!) by Milky Holmes whilst the ending theme is "Lovely Girls Anthem" by Natsuko Aso.

A maxi single, Colorful Garden, was released on April 6, 2011.

Visual novels

A visual novel developed by Bushiroad was released on PlayStation Portable on December 16, 2010. Players play the role of Opera Kobayashi, who must train Milky Holmes to be great detectives and use their abilities to stop thieves. The game's second chapter, Tantei Opera Milky Holmes 1.5 was released on September 29, 2011 from the PlayStation Store. A sequel, Tantei Opera Milky Holmes 2, was released on August 23, 2012, casting players in the role of a new protagonist named Ellery Himeyuri.

Other appearances

The four main characters of Milky Holmes appear briefly in many different episodes of Cardfight!! Vanguard as cameos where they are simply shown in the background.

External links

• Official site (Japanese)
• Tantei Opera Milky Holmes (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia