Kogorou Akechi is the founder of a private investigation firm known as the Boy Detectives' Club. Together, this group takes on cases both great and small. One of their junior members, Kensuke Hanasaki, is out solving a case one day when he happens upon Yoshio Kobayashi, a mysterious amnesiac boy with an inability to die. After seeing his abilities in action, Kensuke offers Yoshio a deal: join the Boy Detectives' Club and help them solve cases, and in exchange he will find a way to help Yoshio die. The apathetic Yoshio accepts this deal begrudgingly, unaware of how different his life will become. Although he does not have much use for people, he gradually begins to acknowledge the group as he spends more time with them while solving cases. Trickster: From Edogawa Ranpo's "Shōnen Tantei-dan" follows Akechi and the rest of the Boy Detectives Club as they solve the various cases they are given, all while combating a hidden threat from the shadows, "The Fiend with Twenty Faces." The story is set in 203X, and the «Shounen Tantei-Dan» have been assembled under the mysterious detective Kogoro Akechi. Their actions have led to the resolution of various small and large incidents. One day, team member Kensuke Hanasaki meets a boy named Yoshio Kobayashi. Kobayashi, who has an undying body because of an "unidentifiable fog," wishes his own death and refuses contact with others. Hanasaki takes an interest in Kobayashi and invites him to join the Boy Detectives' Club. The encounter eventually leads them to the connection between the criminal nicknamed "Fiend with Twenty Faces" and Kogoro Akechi.
The anime production, inspired from The Boy Detectives Club and The Fiend With Twenty Faces novels written by Edogawa Ranpo, was unveiled by TMS Entertainment on June 1, 2016, with the anime's official website listing the series' main staff, main cast, synopsis and broadcast dates. Along with the anime, the project will include a manga, stage play, and a live-action film adaptation.
Broadcast
The series began airing on Tokyo MX at 1:05am and Yomiuri TV at 1:59am on October 4, 2016. It will later air on BS11 at 1:30am on October 5, 2016. The anime's first opening theme song from episodes 1 to 12 is "Kimi Dake no Boku de Iru Kara" by Gackt, while the first ending theme song, titled "1Hope Sniper", is performed by Azusa Tadokoro. From episodes 13 to 24, the second opening theme song is "Unmei Jirenma" by Azusa Tadokoro, while the second ending theme song is "Tsumi no Keishō by Gackt. It will be released across 8 Blu-ray home video release volumes, totalling 24 episodes. Crunchyroll is simulcasting the anime. Funimation is currently streaming a simuldub on their website, starting with the first episode on November 3, 2016. A prequel OVA written by Gō Zappa and Takeshi Miyamoto, titled "Episode 00", was released on December 22, 2016. The OVA consists of two parts with each part running for 25 minutes, totalling 50 minutes.
Episode list
Adaptations
Manga
Binta's manga adaptation began serialization in Kodansha's July 2016 issue of Magazine Special on June 20, 2016. The manga series has been compiled in one tankōbon volume as of October 2016; the first volume was released on October 17, 2016.
