Mitsuko Hoshino (My Dear Detective)

Created by Natsumi Ito

My Dear Detective (subtitle: “Mitsuko’s Case Files”), the manga series featuring Japan’s first female private eye, MITSUKO “MIMI” HOSHINO, is a far cry from the more hard-boiled, violent manga and anime antics of, say, City Hunter or Cowboy Bebop. In fact, the concept here is more often described as “light-hearted,” “sweet” or — brace yourself — “cute.”

I  mean, check out that cover. Not exactly Mickey Spillane, right?

Set in the Showa era of early 1930s Japan, twenty-something Mitsuko is struggling to make a go of it as the only female operative at the Ginza Detective Bureau in Tokyo, “where a Western wind blows into the East”. Then in walks Saku Yoshida, a handsome young waiter, possibly still in his teens, who needs her help.

It’s not much of a case (none of the mysteries in the series are), but the two of them hit it off, and he decides to stick around as her partner, although not romantically.

Yet.

You could tag it “really, really like at first sight.”

And so it goes. The cases mostly revolve, not around murder or violence, but around broken or strained relationships (romantic, familial, professional, etc.), and how Mimi resolves them. And in an era when working women were a rarity and often easily dismissed, Saku’s unwavering support is, well, very cute.

The series first appeared in the magazine Manga Action in May 202, and moved to the Web Comic Action website resuming on October 18, 2024. The series has since been compiled into eight tankōbon volumes as of May 2025, with a promised ninth and final volume set to be released soon. English collections, translated by Samuel R. Messne, began appearing digitally in 2023 (with print editions following), each featuring five stories — plus extra historical background to give non-Japanese readers some context.

COMICS (MANGA)

• MY DEAR DETECTIVE: MITSUKO’S CASE FILES
  (2021-)
  Serialized weekly in Manga Action
  Created by Natsumi Ito
  Written by Natsumi Ito
  Art by Natsumi Ito
  English translation: Samuel R. Messne
  • “The Glass Slipper”
  • “The Perplexing Picture”
  • “The Lady on Stage (Part One”
  • “The Lady on Stage (Part Two)”
  • “The Innocent Monster (Part One)”
  • “The Innocent Monster (Part Two)”
  • “The Innocent Monster (Part Three)”
  • “A Silent Night for Christmas”
  • “His Brother’s Keeper (Part One)”
  • “His Brother’s Keeper (Part Two)”
  • “His Brother’s Keeper (Part Three)”
  • “His Brother’s Keeper (Part Four)”
  • “Little Miss Sawako’s First Love”
  • “The Proof is in the Pudding “
  • “Scarlet Fingertips (Part One)”
  • “Scarlet Fingertips (Part Two)”
  • “Secret  ‘neath the Organ”
  • “Delivery Dreamer”
  • “It Started at Tokyo Station (Part One)”
  • “It Started at Tokyo Station (Part Two)”
  • “A Murky Document (Part One)”
  • “A Murky Document (Part Two)”
  • “The Turtle Household”
  • “The Swordsman’s Code”
  • “A Secret on Wings (Part One)”
  • “A Secret on Wings (Part Two)”
  • “Where the Veil Went”
  • “Mitsuko’s Mother is in Town”
  • “His Boys and His Billiards”
  • “The Faux Fox (Part One)”

COLLECTIONS (English Translations)

• MY DEAR DETECTIVE: MITSUKO’S CASE FILES VOL. 1 (2023) | Buy this book | Kindle it!
• MY DEAR DETECTIVE: MITSUKO’S CASE FILES VOL. 2 (2023 | Buy this book | Kindle it!
• MY DEAR DETECTIVE: MITSUKO’S CASE FILES VOL. 3 (2023) | Buy this book | Kindle it!
• MY DEAR DETECTIVE: MITSUKO’S CASE FILES VOL. 4 (2024) | Buy this book | Kindle it!
• MY DEAR DETECTIVE: MITSUKO’S CASE FILES VOL. 5 (2024) | Kindle it!
• MY DEAR DETECTIVE: MITSUKO’S CASE FILES VOL. 6 (2025) | Kindle it!

FURTHER INVESTIGATION

• Big in Japan
  Japanese Eyes

Respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith.