Glaiza Explores Manga: Moriarty the Patriot Vol 5

We all share the same past, present, and future with the same goal in mind. That is because we three brothers combined are James Moriarty

Albert James Moriarty

Moriarty the Patriot (Yuukoku no Moriarty) is a manga series written by Ryōsuke Takeuchi and illustrated by Hikaru Miyoshi, and is available on Viz.Com where anyone can find mangas filled with action, adventure, fantasy, mystery, romance and more—thousands of manga volumes for every fan!

This review contains spoilers!

First Impressions:

I have been waiting forever for this moment, and it has finally arrived - Albert Moriarty is on the cover for volume 5 of Moriarty the Patriot - and he looks as fantastic as I imagined he would be. Though William might be the brains of the operation - and Louis the heart and emotion - I do think that Albert Moriarty is the brawn.

As revealed in previous volumes - Albert James Moriarty is the only true Moriarty in this re-incarnation. He might be just as ruthless, if not more ruthless than William and Louis - because he was willing to sacrifice his actual true family to achieve his goal of a righteous Britain.

Sure his parents weren't that great, and his actual younger brother was not that great of a person either - however - his younger brother was just a child and they were his parents when the surprise murder occurred.

Oh yeah, Albert is just as ruthless as any of the Moriarty brothers.

Story:

The first chapter of the fifth volume picks up right where the last one ends: John stands accused of a murder on a train, and the blood on his clothes does nothing to help his case. John's friends - though he probably hesitates to call Sherlock his friend right at this moment - attempt a race against time to save him from being named as the murderer. Confident in their abilities - both Sherlock and "Liam" make a bet on who can solve the case first - frustrating Louis and Lestrade equal amounts. In their separate ways - though very similar investigative skills - William and Sherlock were able to catch the culprit and clear John's name.

The next three chapters introduce a fan favorite: Irene Adler! Irene Adler is truly the breakout character of the Sherlock Holmes stories. Even though she appeared in only one story in the original stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - her and Moriarty still take so much space in the world of Sherlock and Sherlock's fans.

I love how they did multiple twists in this story. It has the essence of the original story of A Scandal in Bohemia. A King comes in with a request of Sherlock. A disguised Sherlock. A fake fire. A disguised Adler. But definitely very different from the original story. The hints of Irene Adler blackmailing a member of the royal family though, hints back to BBC's Sherlock for me - and I'm not even mad about it.

One more thing: I totally called it! The three Moriarty brothers consider themselves combined as James Moriarty! I one hundred percent knew it! There's not just one Moriarty, there's three of them and they are all wonderful! I had literal chills reading that line when I saw it.

Art:

I continue to gush at the gorgeousness of the background details of this manga. The footprints showing the criminals soles, the blood splatters, the train. Literally so many things about this manga impresses me when it comes to the art-work. I love how even though it's black and white - as most manga's tend to be - the different shades still betray what color it might be.

That's why it's slightly starting to confuse me because there are plenty of situations that the only difference between the characters are the way their hair looks. But I suppose that's just the danger with manga - there are tendency to have very similar character faces.

I can easily let that go though because the framing in this manga is exquisite. It's easy to follow the flow from one scene to the other. I am absolutely enjoying the way the framing of the characters work so that it has this feeling of action and fast pace.

Favorites:

I truly love the way Irene's story was told. It feels very different from a lot of the stories about Irene Adler that I've read. The reason why Irene Adler is such a perfect breakout character - is the exactly the same reason why even though Moriarty is only a part of the Sherlock stories for a short time, he still lives occupies space rent free the heads of all writers and producers that would attempt a retelling of Sherlock.

It's because both of them have the same quality of being a foil to the great Sherlock. They're smart, strong, impressive and they have their own goals that are very different from normal villains or possible romantic partners.

That's the strength of this series - giving William James Moriarty depth and meaning.

Drawbacks:

Alright, I'm going to be honest with all of you - I'm a big proponent of romance in a lot of stories that I read. I mean - I normally don't seek out stories just because of the romance potential in them - but I like seeing romantic tension popping up here and there in the stories that I consume.

Having said that, I really do not know how I feel about this whole Miss Hudson possibly having a crush on Sherlock thing. I had already accepted the fact that okay, maybe the beloved landlady is a lot younger, but I don't know if I can wrap my mind around this new development.

Only time will tell if I'm going to be for or against this.

Right now, I'm strictly in the uncertain position.

Final Words:

There's a lot for me to love in this story that I didn't mention in the favorites. Seeing the Queen, Mycroft being hilarious, Albert being on the cover - I'm still 100% all in with this manga and I cannot wait to see where this story will take me.

Thanks for joining me on my adventure!