The Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok

The Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok

Volume 1 of the North American Release
魔探偵ロキ RAGNAROK
(Matantei Roki RAGNAROK)
Genre Occult detective, Mythic fiction, Comedy, Romance
Manga
The Mythical Detective Loki
Written by Sakura Kinoshita
Published by Square Enix
Demographic Shōnen
Magazine Monthly Shōnen Gangan
Original run August 2002 – December 2003
Volumes 7
Manga
Written by Sakura Kinoshita
Published by Mag Garden
Demographic Shōnen
Magazine Monthly Comic Blade
Original run November 2002 – September 25, 2004
Volumes 5
Anime television series
Directed by Hiroshi Watanabe
Studio Studio Deen
Licensed by
Network TV Tokyo
English network
Original run April 5, 2003 – September 27, 2003
Episodes 26

The Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok (魔探偵ロキ RAGNAROK Matantei Roki RAGNAROK, lit. Demon Detective Loki: RAGNAROK) is a manga by Sakura Kinoshita published from August 1999 to October 2004. A television anime based upon the manga series ran for 26 episodes from April 5, 2003, to September 27, 2003, in Japan.

The series originally ran in the magazine Monthly Shōnen Gangan under the name The Mythical Detective Loki (魔探偵ロキ, Matantei Loki), but Ragnarok was added to the title when the series was purchased by publishing company MAG Garden and moved to Comic Blade magazine. The Mythical Detective Loki was collected in 7 volumes by Gangan Comics, which were later republished by Blade Comics; it has not been officially licensed for US distribution. The Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok ran for 5 more volumes, which were published in Japan by Blade Comics, and picked up for translation and English release by ADV Manga. Chuang Yi has released an English version in Singapore. The anime has been licensed for English release by Section 23 Films. The anime series was broadcast in Mexico and South America by the anime television network, Animax, under the name Mythical Sleuth Loki.

Plot summary

Loki, the Norse god of mischief, has been exiled to the human world by the god Odin for reasons that he doesn't understand. Along with being exiled, Loki is forced to take the form of a human child, and the only way he can return to the realm of the gods is by collecting the evil auras which take over human hearts. In order to do this, he starts a detective agency which specializes in the paranormal. Loki is assisted by his loyal companion Yamino and the pair are soon joined by a human girl named Mayura Daidouji who is manic for mysteries and often unwittingly assists him in catching the auras. As time passes, however, other Norse gods and characters appear, some of whom befriend Loki and others of whom are intent on assassinating him.

Characters

Loki

ロキLoki
God of mischief (and in some versions chaos) in Norse mythology. Trapped in the body of a child, he seeks a way back to the realm of the gods and his original body. He is the father of Fenrir, Yamino (Jormungand), and Hel. He has red-brown hair and green eyes; he also has an aversion to deep water, as well as a possibly small case of amaxophobia, since he seems to hate riding in cars. (Or perhaps he simply becomes carsick.) Loki has many romantic interests. In both series, Freyja loved him in the world of gods but he does not like her that way. Although in the anime, Loki is shown to be happy about Freya's feelings for him (Episode 13), ever since their initial confrontation where Loki learned of Freya's loneliness because of him. The youngest Norn Sister, Skuld, is also attracted to him mostly because of his kindness and beauty. Mayura seems to have romantic feelings towards him because of his courage, intelligence and concern for her. However, Mayura is the only one of these three who doesn't know Loki is actually an age old god, thus, her affection is somewhat unclear. Another quality of Loki is that his sense of foresight is quite remarkable, as he can usually figure things out way before anyone else does (though Yamino, Fenrir, and Ecchan figured out who Spica really was long before Loki did). Loki is more wild and silly in the manga than he is in the anime (his personality more befitting his body in the manga); also his relationship with Mayura is seen more clearly. He's obviously in love with Mayura.

Voiced by: Yuriko Fuchizaki (Japanese), Shannon Emerick (English)[1]
Adult Form - Takahiro Sakurai (Japanese),[2] Jose Diaz (English)

Mayura Daidouji

大堂寺繭良, Daidōji Mayura; まゆら is used in place of 繭良 after her introduction.
The main human character of the series: a pink-haired, red-eyed, 16-year-old, high school student obsessed with mysteries and the occult. Despite her love of mysteries, she never manages to find out who Loki is - partly because she has absolutely no sixth sense, despite being the daughter of a Shinto priest. Mayura also seems to have romantic feelings towards Loki near the end of the anime series. However it is shown unclearly in the manga, since she only knows him as a child. She does not believe in God because her mother died despite countless prayers.[3] There are significant differences in her personality in the manga and anime. In the manga, Mayura is calmer, not shouting "Fushigi mystery!" (strange mystery) as often as she does in the anime and seems to have a sharper sense (being able to know Loki is "different" and wanting to ask him who or what he was in the seventeenth chapter).

Voiced by: Yui Horie (Japanese), Kira Vincent-Davis (English)

Yamino Ryusuke

闇野竜介, Yamino Ryūsuke; in the manga, various characters also address and refer to him as メガネ Megane, i.e. "glasses" or "four-eyes"
Loki's second son takes the form of a polite, bespectacled boy in his late teens, and serves as his housekeeper, cook, and assistant. He enjoys cooking, cleaning and other domestic activities, and in the anime, he also has an amusing addiction to ordering useless items from mail-order catalogs. His real name is Jormungand, also known as the Midgard serpent, since his true form is that of a giant serpent that encircles the Earth. Loki rescued Yamino from the bottom of the sea by casting a spell on him (thus giving him a human form) so that he could accompany his father on Earth;[4] for this, he is eternally grateful. The revelation of Yamino's true identity occurs earlier in the manga than the anime, and seems to play more of a part in his characterization for the first manga series. He probably wears glasses as a reference to the Indian cobra (眼鏡蛇 meganehebi, or "glasses snake", in Japanese).

Voiced by: Shinichiro Miki (Japanese), Illich Guardiola (English)

Fenrir

フェンリルFenriru
Loki's first son takes the form of a small black dog. His real identity is that of the Fenrisulfr, a giant wolf bound by the gods. Fenrir enjoys food and taunting Yamino. A running gag in both the anime and manga is how Fenrir can be very bossy and intentionally crude around Yamino, then instantly become the most affectionate and harmless puppy-son possible the moment "Daddy" walks in[5] (during the series, he has an almost scary Father Complex. He's very outwardly protective of Loki, spouting threats when Loki may be in danger). While the gods can understand his words, it would appear that when a human hears him talk all they hear is a regular dog (though his barking sounds like he's singing).

Voiced by: Hirofumi Nojima (Japanese), John Swasey (English)

Hel

ヘルHeru
Loki's only daughter, Hel is the goddess of the underworld. Portrayed as an adolescent girl with wavy pink hair, green eyes and glasses, and a strong obsession with her father, though the nature of it differs between the manga and anime. In the anime, she is seen to be trying to kill Loki at first as Odin told her that Loki and her brothers no longer care for her and hated her, thus, making her wanting to make Loki experience the same kind of pain she experienced.[6] In the manga, she wishes to kill her father so that he will always be with her in the underworld.

Voiced by: Omi Minami (Japanese), Rozie Curtis (English, ep 14), Taylor Hannah (English, eps 22+)

Narugami

鳴神Narugami
Actually the Norse God of thunder, Thor, in the form of a teenage boy with brown hair and eyes. He was sent to Earth from the realm of gods to kill Loki; in the manga, he doesn't remember this at first, while in the anime, he chooses not to kill Loki because he sees no reason to. Unfortunately, he forgot how to return to the realm of the gods, so he is forced to work a wide array of part-time jobs to support himself, which becomes another one of the series' recurring jokes. He always carries around a wooden sword, which is actually Thor's hammer Mjollnir in disguise. Loki addresses him as Narukami, itself a double pun on god (神 kami) and lightning (雷 kaminari), as clarified by Kinoshita in the second series.

Voiced by: Shotaro Morikubo (Japanese), Chris Patton (English)

Reiya Ohshima

大島玲也 Ōshima Reiya, usually called レイヤ Reiya; "Reya" is a spelling adopted by ADV Manga
Reiya is a young girl with blue-violet eyes, brown hair and a cute crush on young Loki. In the anime, she is the sole survivor of a rich family killed in a car accident, and she hires Loki to solve a mystery about her mansion. In the manga, she hires Loki because she has been having unsettling dreams about her deceased sister Lisa; she lives with her aunt, uncle, and two older cousins. Reiya's true identity is the transmigrated Norse goddess Freyja—unlike Loki, however, Reiya's memory was wiped by Odin, so she has no memory of her past life. Reiya becomes Freyja when the necklace Brisingamen is put around her neck, but reverts to Reiya when the necklace is removed, with no memory of what happens while wearing it. Freyja, just like her alter ego, is enamored with Loki, though she's far more aggressive about it than Reiya. Reiya is also capable of becoming Freyja when extremely jealous or threatened, as well as other circumstances.

Voiced by: Rika Komatsu (Japanese), Brittney Karbowski (English)

Freyja

フレイヤFureiya
Freyja is the goddess of love and beauty. She loves Loki, but Loki does not return the feelings. Despite this, Freya refuses to give up and does everything she can to put Loki into situations where she can take advantage of him. When Loki was banished from the world of gods, Freyja begged Odin to let him return thus making Odin furious. Odin turned her into a child, Reiya, erased all her memories and sent her to the world of the mortals. She initially hated Loki for ignoring her and not reciprocating her feelings for him, and that she was lonely because of it. However, she learned to accept it and still refuses to give up on him. Thus, whenever she takes over Reiya, she aggressively pursues Loki and keeps others away from him, in particular Skuld.

Voiced by: Junko Asami (Japanese), Shelley Calene-Black (English)

Kazumi Higashiyama (Heimdall)

東山和実 Higashiyama Kazumi
Heimdall is the god of light and the Guardian of the bridge that leads to Asgard (The Bifrost Bridge), sent by Odin to assassinate Loki, the watchman Heimdall takes the form of a young boy as a disguise. However, due to the theft of his right eye, he is forced to have neck-length purple hair that completely covers the right side of his face. His nails are actually long, sharp claws, so he wears bulky gloves to hide them. Because he is the god of strategy, he devises clever plans, such as control over other beings or even mirages to taunt the opponent. It's believed that if he and Loki clashed they would both die as the myth in Ragnarok portrayed it, so a serious confrontation is avoided until the end of the series, in which Loki convinces him that he may have lost his eye but gained a friend, the falcon that accompanied him. He believes Loki to be the thief that stole his eye, so in addition to carrying out the assassination order, he intends to retrieve his eye or avenge its loss by any means necessary. Although he is one of the more serious characters in the series, Heimdall is also the butt of many jokes. The manga frequently makes fun of his serious personality and his obsession with Loki, and even though "Kazumi Higashiyama" doesn't attend school, Heimdall still has a daily schedule consisting of piano lessons, singing lessons, and cram school. In the anime, Heimdall usually gets dragged along on shopping sprees by his roommate Freyr, much to his own dismay.

His name is very similar to Kinoshita's co-author in Tactics, Kazuko Higashiyama.

Voiced by: Romi Park (Japanese), Greg Ayres (English)[7]

Mysterious Thief Freyr

怪盗フレイ Kaitō Furei; sometimes translated as "Phantom Thief Freyr" and other variants.
Freyr is Freyja's older brother and the god of fertility. He was brought to Earth to aid Heimdall in the destruction of Loki, but quickly drops that mission to search for Freyja once he realizes she is there, too. Somewhere along the line, he decides to get Loki's attention by becoming a master jewel thief; the natural enemy of any great detective. Impulsive and quixotic, Freyr seems to think of everything in terms of Romantic cliché, dramatic stereotypes, and absurd non sequiturs. His primary agenda is to find Freyja, or at least ensure that Loki isn't corrupting her. However, in the course of his plans, Freyr runs into Mayura, falls in love at first sight, and renames her Yamato Nadeshiko (大和撫子 Yamato Nadeshiko, a name for the prototypical ideal woman; a sort of Japanese Dulcinea), and in the English anime, his "Classic Japanese Beauty."

Voiced by: Takehito Koyasu (Japanese), Jason Douglas (English)

The Norn Sisters

ノルンNorun
Verdandi, Urd and Skuld are the goddesses of fate. In the manga, they are a bit ambiguous in their loyalties. Though they help Loki often, such as by giving him the magical ring Draupnir (which can be used to store evil spirits), they have plans of their own, separate from those of Odin and the other gods. Urd, in particular, is implied to be manipulating events on her own. In the anime, they have been sent to earth by Odin to kill Loki. Most of their attempts fall into the "Monster of the Week" pattern familiar to Super Sentai shows and magical girl/magical boy anime.

In the anime, there are many strong hints that Loki had an affair with Skuld in Asgard—an entire episode is even dedicated to this question—which could be the Norns' fuel for 'hating' and helping him. It is not known for sure though. In the manga, Skuld certainly has a crush on Loki, but there are no hints of anything more serious.

Voiced by: Verdandi - Mamiko Noto (Japanese), Tamara Levine (English)
Urd - Mariko Suzuki (Japanese), Kaytha Coker (English)
Skuld - Mai Nakahara (Japanese), Melissa Davis (English)

Odin

オーディンŌdin
Odin is the King of the Gods. Odin is only referred to, never seen or interacted with, in the first series of the manga. In the second series, he is hinted at for a while with silhouettes and frames containing parts of his clothing, but eventually is seen unobscured. In the anime, he is only shown as a red eye, but also referred to with the emergence of two ravens that, if they appear together, stand for Huginn and Muninn, Odin's two messengers (see episode 1). Odin seeks to kill Loki, but is somehow unable to do so himself, so he sends assassins instead. He was the one who commanded Loki to take Heimdall's eye. Ironically, he is portrayed as an eye, the very part he gave to get ultimate knowledge.

Spica

スピカSupika
Spica is the reincarnation of Angrboda, the giantess who bore three of Loki's children (the ones that were a precursor to Ragnarok). She is the mother of Fenrir, Jormungand, and Hel. In her human form, Spica is a normally mute girl with a HUGE appetite. In the anime she only appears briefly in the final episode.

Utgard-Loki

ウトガルドロキUtogarudo Roki
Utgard Loki is the "other" Loki, who held half of Loki's power— Loki identifies Utgard as his past self. He is the King of Utgard, Land of the Giants. When Urd killed Utgard Loki in the manga, Loki got his power back. He seems to have a strange obsession over Spica.

Koutaro

A rich school boy and friend of Loki. In the anime he's a classmate of Mayura. He only appears in few episodes and is shown to be a ladies man, going after almost every pretty girl he sees.

Misao Daidouji

Misao Daidouji is the father of Mayura. He hates mystery and Loki but unlike his daughter, he can see some of the things that Loki summons. He is a minor character, except on episode four; My Dad's a Great Detective!?

Inspector Masumi Niiyama

Masumi Niiyamais a police investigator who occasionally runs into Loki & the gang while on a case. He is friends with Misao Daidouji.

Media

Manga

Japanese

Limited Editions

These were often packaged with special extras, such as audio drama CDs or collectible figurines.

English (North American)

English (Singapore)

Anime

Episode list

Episode # Episode Name
01 "First Night - Demon Detective Appears"  
Mayura Daidouji, is a girl is who is love with aliens and supernatural things. Once day in a clock tower, she finds a haunted and abandoned doll who talks and wants her to play with her. She agrees and brings her back home. Soon a black cat takes away the doll, and she comes upon the Enjyaku Detective Agency. She walks into the agency and meets the handsome man Yamino who she thought was the detective, but the real detective was a small boy named Loki. She asks him to find a doll, but sent her out. Although she was sent out he went looking for the doll anyways, and meets her at the tower. They then fight the haunted doll and revives the truth that she was not abandoned. Back at the agency she declares herself the new helper of the business 
02 "Second Night - The Allies of Justice are Totally Broke?!"  
During a festival held in Mayura's school, Loki came to visit Mayura and Yamino who came to help her in order to recruit members for her club. Due to lack of members in her club, Loki was unfortunately dragged along to follow her on the 7 Mysteries of the school tour. Proving that 6 out of 7 are not mysteries, Mayura brought Loki to see The Wandering Armour at her school entrance which proved to be real. Eventually, Loki defeated the armour with the help of a transfer student, Narugami who at the end is revealed that he is Thor, God of Thunder who's currently living in poverty and taking up part-time jobs. 
03 "Third Night - The Descending Assassin"  
The Enjaku Detective Agency now is against a mysterious case with angry birds attacking people in the zoo. Mayura decides to plan everything and takes everyone to the zoo, including the zookeeper for the birds. She forgets about her mission and looks at all of the animals while Loki and Yamino rests. She then bumps into Narugami who is working in an anteater costume. Then they all leave for the bird cage, leaving Narugami behind. A mysterious bird comes swooping down and hypnotizes Mayura. Later Loki figures out that a Nordic god named Heimdall sets up the trap and hypnotized the zookeeper as well to get Mayura to lure Loki in. After solving the case, they return to the agency and Heimdall kisses Mayura and the episode ends 
04 "Fourth Night - Papa was a Famous Detective!?"  
Mayura's father thinks that all of the mystery junk she always talked about is useless and is bad for her. He wants her to stop going on detective adventures. To help her solve her problems between Mayura and her dad, Loki used his powers to bring them both back to their memories of 10 years ago. As their memories revealed that her dad told her that he was a "detective" when she was younger, Mayura remembered it was because of him that she loved mysteries which led to an understand at the end. 
05 "Fifth Night - Kaitou Freyr's Challenge"  
A new god appears, Frey (Freyr), as a thief. He steals many things and Loki has no interest in the robberies until he discovers that Frey is also going to steal the Briggsamen necklace. Frey challenges Loki to stop him. Loki goes to meet him when Frey steals the necklace, but is unable to stop him. We learn that Freya is his sister, and that she may be on Earth. 
06 "Sixth Night - A Girl Under Attack"  
07 "Seventh Night - Goddess Freya, Awaken!"  
Loki and Thor rush off to find Freya, on their way they reunite with Yamino and an unconscious Mayura, who fell while trying to catch up with them. They gang find themselves in an aquarium and Loki sees sea otters for the first time. They later find a fearful Freya, but Loki senses darkness in her... 
08 "Eighth Night - Onwards!! Yamino Detective Agency"  
Loki is abducted by two bank robbers on the street who kidnap him after he discovers their true identities. Thanks to an earlier conversation between Mayura and Yamino, Loki decides to let them come and rescue him, rather than getting himself out of the situation on his own. He leaves them several clues and Mayura and Yamino hurry to find him before something bad happens. There is also a reference to Yamino's true nature--as Loki's Son! 
09 "Ninth Night - Mayura's Way to Certain Victory in the Ceremonial Test!?"  
10 "Tenth Night - Evening Coffee House"  
11 "Eleventh Night - Transfer Student in Love"  
Mayura is in trouble when her Mystery Club lacks enough members for the student council to keep it running. She has an ultimatum, find new members or the Mystery Club will be disbanded.Freyr transfers to Mayura's school to help her out. 
12 "Twelfth Night - The Trap of Dracula's Castle"  
Loki must go into a vitural reality game to save his friends that are stuck inside. The game taps in the players subconscious and use the people close to them. Enemies in the game are destroyed by destroying the red jewel that they wear. In the end a monster from the world of the Gods was in control. He defeated it and they were back to reality. 
13 "Thirteenth Night - Flower of Illusion"  
Loki is transformed into his original form, and tries to enjoy it by taking a walk around town, only to encounter his friends. Loki soon realizes that him turning into his original form was caused by an evil plant that he later destroys, turning him into his child form once again. 
14 "Fourteenth Night - Light Dog, Dark Dog, and Black Dog"  
Mayura Finds a dog, While Loki investigates mysterious blackouts 
15 "Fifteenth Night - Beautiful Assassins"  
Verdandi, Urd and Skuld appear and traps Mayura in a enchanted place. Loki goes to save her and encounters Odin. 
16 "Sixteenth Night - Demonic Bell"  
17 "Seventeenth Night - Kitchen Sanctuary"  
18 "The Seven-Colored Detective Appears!"  
19 "Narugami-kun's Pure-hearted Story"  
20 "Red Shoes"  
21 "The Dawn of Heimdall"  
22 "The Truth About the Goddesses"  
23 "The Summer Girl Beside the Lake"  
24 "The Shadow of Loneliness"  
Mayura, suspicious of Loki, investigates his house while he and the other gods have a picnic. Unfortunately, she is involved in Hel’s evil plans… 
25 "End of the Dream"  
When Hel kidnaps Yamino, Ecchan and Fenrir, Loki is forced into action. He and the goddess of the underworld embark on a strange journey on a train car…but will it end victoriously for Loki or will he perish in Hel’s flames? 
26 "The Departure of the Gods"  
The assassins have stopped attacking Loki and now he is free to return to the world of the gods. The only thing stopping him is Mayura. Can he bear to return to the world of the gods and leave her? 

References

  1. ↑ "Behind the Voice Actors".
  2. ↑ "Behind the Voice Actors".
  3. ↑ "Matantei Loki Ragnarok Episode 26".
  4. ↑ "Matantei Loki Ragnarok Episode 8".
  5. ↑ "Matantei Loki Ragnarok Episode 14".
  6. ↑ "Matantei Loki Ragnarok Episode 25".
  7. ↑ "Behind the Voice Actors".
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