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Syd Craft: Love Is a Mystery

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Syd Craft: Love Is a Mystery
Cover of the first tankōbon volume, featuring (clockwise from seated) Syd Craft, Elio Evelyn (Levie Oleyn), Lulu Chatnoir, and Souffle Flamberry
シド・クラフトの最終推理
(Shido Kurafuto no Saishū Suiri)
Genre
Manga
Written byTaishi Tsutsui [ja]
Published byShueisha
English publisher
ImprintJump Comics
MagazineWeekly Shōnen Jump
DemographicShōnen
Original runNovember 18, 2024 – present
icon Anime and manga portal

Syd Craft: Love Is a Mystery (Japanese: シド・クラフトの最終推理, Hepburn: Shido Kurafuto no Saishū Suiri, lit. 'Syd Craft's Final Thoughts') is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Taishi Tsutsui, who also wrote the series We Never Learn. The series follows the story of Syd Craft, a brilliant young detective who solves mysteries with his assistant Elio Evelyn; together, they help police inspector Souffle Flamberry and thwart criminals, including the cat burglar Lulu Chatnoir. The four are entangled in an unrecognized, unrequited love triangle. It has been serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine since November 2024, with its individual chapters collected and published by Shueisha in tankōbon volumes.

Viz Media licensed the manga in North America. Shueisha simultaneously published the series in English on the website and app Manga Plus.

Plot

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Syd Craft is a "great detective" who combines keen observation with deductive reasoning to solve the most difficult cases while maintaining a cool, professional demeanor. Privately, he hates blood and scary situations, but fell into the detective business due to his background and talents; rather than mysteries, he relaxes by reading romance novels written by his favorite author, Levie Oleyn. Levie's novels are popular and allow Syd an outlet to socialize with others, including Lulu Chatnoir.

Syd is assisted by Elio Evelyn, a cheerful and popular teenager; while Elio idolizes Syd's suave manner and abilities, Syd envies Elio's easy manner with women. Syd is notably unlucky in love, as the women he meets also often are responsible for the crimes he solves. Police Inspector Souffle Flamberry reluctantly relies on their help to catch criminals and considers Syd a rival; she is determined to solve a crime before he does. Lulu has a secret identity as Phantom Thief Mistcat, an altruistic cat burglar whose heists are repeatedly stopped by Syd.

Characters

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Syd Craft (シド・クラフト, Shido Kurafuto)
Syd is a great detective, born to parents who were great detectives, and thrust into his celebrated great detective career through a series of childhood traumas: his first love's parents were murdered and she was adopted by distant relatives, his best friend turned to a life of crime as part of the family business, and his tutor was a serial killer. Since then, he has continued to attract difficult cases while seeking comfort and escape in the romance novels of Levie Oleyn. Despite his keen powers of observation, he fails to recognize the true identities of the women closest to him: faithful assistant Elio is actually Levie, police inspector Souffle is his first love, and romance fan Lulu is Phantom Thief Mistcat.
Elio Evelyn (エリオ・エヴリン, Erio Evurin) / Levie Oleyn (レビエ・オレイン, Rebie Orein)
Elio is Syd's young assistant, who idolizes and is learning Syd's skills. As an assistant, Elio dresses as a boy to disguise her true identity as the count's daughter of the same name, Elio Evelyn. She also writes under an anagrammatic pseudonym as novelist Levie Oleyn. After Syd cleared her of false criminal charges, she responded to his advertisement for a male assistant to learn the detective craft; unknown to her, he specifically requested a male assistant because talking to women makes him nervous. When she is overwhelmed by her feelings for Syd, she expresses them in written notes, which have been collected and published as romantic novels by Levie; she believes her confessions are safe, as she assumes Syd never reads romances.
Souffle Flamberry (スフレ・フランベリ, Sufure Furanberi)
Souffle is a police inspector who relies Syd's help to solve the most difficult cases, to her eternal shame; she considers Syd her fiercest rival and dreams that one day she will surpass him. Syd is able to talk to her because he is slightly intimidated by her forward manner. She and Syd are both unaware they thought of each other as their first loves, as they were separated as children after a robber murdered her parents. Like Syd, she does not know Elio is Levie.
Lulu Chatnoir (ルル・シャノワール, Ruru Shanowāru)
Lulu is also a fan of the romance novels of Levie Oleyn. Her secret identity as the seventh to bear the title Phantom Thief Mistcat is closely guarded by the Chatnoir family, which regard the Craft family as their mortal enemies. Lulu is quite perceptive and immediately saw that Elio is a woman after they first met; she later learns that Elio is Levie, the author. Syd assumes Lulu has started to visit the agency more often to pursue a relationship with Elio, as he believes Elio is popular with women. After learning that Syd is vulnerable to seduction, her attempts to gain an advantage result in awkward situations with Syd, just short of making him succumb.
Zero Craft (ゼロ・クラフト, Zero Kurafuto)
Zero is a mysterious relative of Syd who is the mastermind responsible for goading Scissorleg into his crimes and the Elfy bombing incident. Zero claims to love Syd and promises to keep sending difficult cases to him.

Publication

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Written and illustrated by Taishi Tsutsui, Syd Craft: Love Is a Mystery began serialization in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine on November 18, 2024.[2]

No. Release date ISBN
1 April 4, 2025[3]978-4-08-884453-4
  1. "A Great Detective's Fate" (名探偵の宿命, Mei Tantei no Shukumei Case)
  2. "The Great Detective and Secret Reverence" (名探偵と密かなる敬愛, Mei Tantei to Hisokanaru Keiai Case)
  3. "Thus the Transformation Deceives the Great Detective" (その変幻はかくして名探偵を絆し惑わす, Sono Hengen wa Kakushite Mei Tantei o Kizuna shi Madowasu)
  1. "Cats at Twilight Strangely Sleep to the Same Dream" (宵闇の猫は奇しくも同じ夢に眠る, Yoiyami no Neko wa Kushikumo Onaji Yume ni Nemuru)
  2. "The Great Detective and the Stormy Night" (名探偵と遣らずの雨の一夜, Mei Tantei to Yarazunoame no Ichiya)
  3. "The Lost Cat Dwells on an Enemy Love Letter" (迷い猫は敵陣の恋文に馳せる, Mayoi Neko wa Tekijin no Koibumi ni Haseru)
  4. "The Great Detective's Crew Sets Out to Sea in Disguise" (名探偵一味は装い洋上に舞う, Mei Tantei Ichimi wa Yosōi Yōjō ni Mau)
Syd Craft reflects briefly how he became a great detective, fated to attract cases. When he visits a pub with his popular assistant Elio Evelyn, Inspector Souffle Flamberry presents a murder mystery, and Syd deduces the pub's owner is the culprit. In separate reveals, Elio is a woman and Souffle is Syd's long-lost first love. Syd meets a fellow fan of romance novelist Levie Oleyn at Cafe Elmo; while tailing Syd, Elio encounters Souffle, and the cafe erupts into flames. Elio overhears a confession and is abducted; Syd pieces together the clues and saves her. Later, Elio writes down her overwhelming emotions for Syd: she is author Levie Oleyn, whose feelings are adapted into the Sophia's Unforgivable Love series. Syd's pen pal gives him tickets to a stage adaptation of Sophia in Wesdia; on the train ride there, he runs into Souffle, who is escorting con artist Petty Jean to jail. Petty overwhelms Souffle and assumes her identity, but Syd uncovers the deception. When they arrive, Syd invites Souffle to watch Sophia with him. Phantom Thief Mistcat (Lulu Chatnoir) taunts Souffle by declaring her next target is at a museum; when she goes to case it, Lulu and Syd bond over their shared love of the Sophia novels, and he inadvertently foils all of her attempts to steal the artwork while returning her book. After getting caught in the rain, Syd and Elio shelter with a kindly man who is the notorious killer Scissorleg. Elio mistakes Syd's actions for love and panics while they are hiding together, stopping the killer. When Lulu comes to the agency hoping to find Syd's weaknesses, she sees through Elio's male disguise immediately. Souffle arrives to explain a love note she apparently sent to Syd, and the others pounce on her for romance advice. Syd realizes the note is a bomb threat acrostic for the cruise ship Elfy and all four make plans to join the voyage. Posing as newlyweds, Syd and Souffle board the Elfy; stowaway Elio is pressed into service as a substitute singer and ad-libs lyrics revealing her jealousy. Syd and Souffle find and subdue one bomber in the boiler room, who reveals there is another bomber.

Chapters not yet published in volume format

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These chapters have yet to be published in a tankōbon volume. They were originally serialized in Japanese in issues of Weekly Shōnen Jump.[1][4]

  1. "The Scales of Love and Her Resolve" (愛の天秤と彼女の覚悟, Ai no Tenbin to Kanojo no Kakugo)
  2. "The Formless Fan and the Great Detective's Determination" (姿なき愛好家と名探偵の決意, Sugata Naki Aikō-ka to Mei Tantei no Ketsui)
  3. "The Drifting Great Detective Nearly Succumbs to the Hot Spring" (たゆたう名探偵は湯花の誘いに瀕する, Tayutau na Tantei wa Yubana no Sasoi ni Hinsuru)
  4. "The Great Detective Teams Up on His Long-Overdue Homecoming" (名探偵は久方の帰省に共闘する, Mei Tantei wa Hisakata no Kisei ni Kyōtō Suru)
  5. "An Extraordinary Day in a Magnificent Noble Daughter's Life" (絢爛たる令嬢のとある非日常, Kenrantaru Reijō no Toaru hi Nichijō)
  6. "The Great Detective Yields to the Red-Lipped Peach Blossom" (名探偵は朱唇の桃化に屈託する, Mei Tantei wa Shushin no Momo-ka ni Kuttaku Suru)
  7. "The Twilight Cat Scopes the Enemy's Situation" (宵闇の猫は敵陣情勢を俯瞰する, Yoiyami no Neko wa Tekijin Jōsei o Fukan Suru)
  8. "Ghosts Sometimes Seductively Tempt the Great Detective" (怪異は時に名探偵を蠱惑に誘う, Kaii wa Tokini Mei Tantei o Kowaku ni Izanau)
  9. "The Girl in Pursuit and the Lovely Inner Conflict" (追跡する彼女と可憐なる内包コンフリクト, Tsuiseki Suru Kanojo to Karen'naru Naihō Konfurikuto)
  10. "The Noble Daughter Author Has Another Chance Encounter at a Certain Meeting" (かの会合にて令嬢作家は再び邂逅する, Kano Kaigō Nite Reijō Sakka wa Futatabi Kaigō Suru)
  11. "For Whom the Twilight Cat Dances" (宵闇の猫は誰が為に舞う, Yoiyami no Neko wa Daregatame ni Mau)

References

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  1. ^ a b c "「ぼく勉」の筒井大志、新連載は名探偵のミステリーラブコメ ジャンプで始動" ['We Never Learn' author Taishi Tsutsui's new series is a detective mystery romantic comedy starting in Jump]. Natalie (in Japanese). November 18, 2024. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
  2. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (November 8, 2024). "We Never Learn's Taishi Tsutsui Launches New Manga on November 18 (Updated)". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
  3. ^ シド・クラフトの最終推理 1 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved February 18, 2025.
  4. ^ "Syd Craft: Love Is a Mystery". Manga Plus. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
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