I came to Iris Zero looking for something in the same vein as Hyouka, and as such I did find here all that I was looking for. I enjoyed reading the manga, and could not stop until I couldn't find more chapters, yet it didn't leave that great of an impression on me, as an afterthought.


I wanted to keep my main point for last, but couldn't find a way to write about everything without refering to it. So let's start with the eponym set up : the irises. Most kids have the ability to see things normal humans wouldn't (and each individual have a specific thing they can see with their iris), and our main character, Mizushima, doesn't have such a special iris, hence he's an iris zero.

The idea is pretty good since it leaves a lot of room for creativity. But I feel like the author didn't make the best out of it. Firstable because throughout these 33 chapters that I was able to read, we didn't meet that many irises, which, to be fair, might not be that bad since it would rapidly become a mess in terms of story telling. Out of the maybe 7 I can think of, quite a bunch of them overlap in terms of the information it helps the main character gather, and would be easily replaced by any kind of sense of observation or deduction, especially as it is mainly a mystery manga. So I didn't find the "iris trick" that useful in terms of narrative, and I'd say it brings a bit of lazyness in terms of storytelling.


The characters' design is pretty nice overall. I especially like the girls' hair-styles, that somewhat reflect their personality. On that point I was a bit disapointed by the main character, Mizushima, as on the first page I thought "alright this time it's perfect !" I dislike when the design it too over the top, since I like my characters to be as credible as possible, but on the other hand it's a pain when in order to make the main character look ordinary, you confuse him with other characters (and it happens to me quite often). Mizushima looked great with his messy hair, but it doesn't catch the eye that much later on, and I ended up confusing him with side characters from time to time.

Anyhow, the characters are interesting, but lack depth. They often are a bit one dimensional, because they bear the weight of their iris, and we often don't learn much about them except their iris and the effect it had on them.

The main character is basically trying to hide because of his difference (his "minimal exposure motto"). In a chapter, the author takes the time to explain why he's so good at solving puzzles, saying that he developped an ability to conjecture, since he always was around people with an iris and tried to imagine what it was like. That's basically all we know about him in terms of personality.

His love interest, Sasamori, is paper thin in terms of character development. Amazingly I don't even recall the manga even studying the effect her iris had on her. She's the quite clichéd earnest and always full of energy, selfless young girl. We know about her popularity, her long lasting friendship with Yuki Asashi, the fact that she's somehow madly in love with the main character (I don't know if it's intended, but I keep trying to guess why she did confess to him in the first chapter), and that she loves meddling with other people's business (which isn't that clear to me, but you need that excuse for mysteries to be solved ; she doesn't have that amazing genuine curiosity Chitanda Eru from Hyouka seems to have about everything, yet they serve the same purpose as a character).

Yuki Asashi is one character that I'm quite sad about since I saw a lot of potential in her. She had an old conflict with the main character from younger days, and had quite an inner conflict herself because of her iris. Everything seems solved in one arc. To me, she's quite defined by her sole iris, in terms of personality, and becomes only a tool for mystery solving with her iris. Characters that join the group later on have a better background (a background at all), and better study even on the consequences of their iris. But she's the perfect example as to why the iris tends to lead to lazyness.

The manga does the usual mistake to forget about the characters' relatives. The parents all work late, or are absent somehow. It struck me as in one the last chapters I read (chapter 32 to be precise), Mizushima is woken up by his little sisters, and was amazed the author didn't use them before ! It would have been quite interesting, as oftentimes, when a character lacks social skills, their relationship with their siblings is even more important. Here what would have made it especially interesting is that it does seem that his sisters have an iris (one of Mizushima's friends comments saying they treat him "like an exotic animal"), so how does the family cope with the "iris zero" issue ? That would be interesting, and could take a frame here and there.


The romance in itself is forgettable. Sasamori confesses from the first chapter, and as the main character, I couldn't believe it was sincere. At first I thought it was a trick that was used to get him to help her, doesn't seem likely since she carries on with it. I thought she saw something with her iris, but it's contradicted by later events. Anyhow, Mizushima was quite suspicious but shows to be quite considerate towards her, and even protective later on, while he actually never responds to her confession (at least up to the 33rd chapter, but it's building up). That being established, their relationship is a bit of the common theme throughout every arc, but rather a tool to come to a resolution rather than the focus of the story.

Last arc I could read, a rival appeared, which pisses me off because I hold it as a pretty cheap trick in terms of romance stories : it's an easy way to get drama, but when they aren't a couple yet, it doesn't bring that many interesting questions, since their relationship has no solid grounds (for a counter-example, see Horimiya, the rival appearing while they already are a couple is much more interesting, asking the characters to reassure their love, deals with jealousy, its boundaries, can show other sides of the characters). But I can't hold that much of a grudge against the manga since it's pretty much used every time in romance stories.


All that being said, Iris Zero is mainly a mystery manga. The structure of the arcs revolve around each mystery the characters solve. The pacing is pretty good, and are interesting to read, although not that complicated (I could see the resolution coming from a mile away pretty much every time). This is where the "iris theme" is not the strongest. Although most mysteries revolve around the iris of a given character, the data the iris provide not that relevant, and the characters don't use the iris that much in order to come to the resolution, which makes sense since the main investigator is the iris zero.


Overall it's a pretty good read if mystery and romance are your thing, but is not the best manga you can find. I prefer Hyouka all the way, the characters are deeper, more credible, the mysteries are far more interesting, and the main love story far more touching.