Japanese Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Kenji Kuroda

くろだ けんじ

Kuroda Kenji

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1969-01-13 （Kuwana, Mie, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Scriptwriter, Scenario writer
Active Years
2000-

Education

Shinshu University
Faculty of Economics
Country: Japan
Mie Prefectural Kuwana High School
Country: Japan

Awards

Mephisto Prize
2000
Work: Wedding Dress
Organization: Kodansha (Mephisto editorial)
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Wedding Dress

2000 Mystery

Debut novel written while working as a freeter; won the 16th Mephisto Prize. A mystery revolving around a wedding and the complicated relationships surrounding it.

marriagehuman relationshipstrick/puzzle

Persona Detective

2000 Mystery

A detective novel with classic mystery elements. Later published in bunko format.

detectivedeductiontrick

Glass Matryoshka

2001 Mystery

A short novel featuring intricate relationships and locked-room-like contrivances.

locked-roomfamilydeception

Phantom Persephone

2004 Mystery

A mystery with a somewhat fantastical title that combines psychological portrayal with puzzle-solving.

psychologyfantasy elementspuzzle solving

Cute & Neet

2012 Mystery / Human drama

A mystery-tinged novel set against the backdrop of young people and their relationship with society.

youthsocial issueshuman relations

Drive (retitled: When You Get on the Wagon, Everyone Died.)

2014 Suspense / Mystery

A novel later retitled; features suspenseful elements and tension in confined settings.

closed settingsuspenselife and death

Family Puzzle (retitled: The God's Design)

2019 Mystery

A classic mystery centered on family secrets and riddles; retitled when released in bunko edition.

familysecretsinheritance

Ao Oni (Novelization series)

2013 Horror / Novelization

A series of novelizations based on the game 'Ao Oni'. A large number of volumes, mainly horror aimed at children and young adults.

horrorgame adaptationchildren/YA
Adaptations
  • [Comics] Ao Oni (comic) (2014)

Bibliography

  • Wedding Dress
  • Persona Detective
  • Glass Matryoshka
  • To Me Who Forgot Today About Tomorrow
  • Liar Puzzle: Birth of the Ultimate Detective
  • Two Detectives: Double Locked Room on the Sleeper Cassiopeia
  • Laughing Killer: Half-Reese Nursery Mystery Diary
  • Box of Darkness
  • Crazy Claimer
  • Amidagataki Snow Locked Room: Two Detectives Series
  • Daylight Insect: Half-Reese Nursery Mystery Diary
  • Phantom Persephone
  • To Rescue You from the Labyrinth of Mist
  • I Don't Want to Get Married
  • Cheating Girl
  • Stick Insect's Love ~Mimetic Girl~
  • Goodbye Phantom
  • Cute & Neet
  • Drive (When You Got on the Wagon, Everyone Died.)
  • Family Puzzle (The God's Design)

Adaptations

  • Ace Attorney (manga adaptation)
  • Ace Attorney Investigations (manga adaptation)
  • Ao Oni (comic based on novelizations)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Technical plots rooted in classical mysteryNarration using game-like pacing and devices
Recurring Motifs
puzzle tricksfamily secretsclosed/contained spaces

Legacy

Debuted after winning the Mephisto Prize and is known as a classical mystery writer. Active across genres including manga scripting and game novelizations, he is recognized for highly entertaining works.

In Popular Culture

  • Wrote scripts for manga adaptations of the Ace Attorney and Ace Attorney Investigations series
  • Influenced the children's horror niche through the Ao Oni novelization series

Trivia

  • Debuted after winning the 16th Mephisto Prize (2000).
  • Born in Kuwana, Mie Prefecture; graduated from Shinshu University Faculty of Economics.
  • Worked for a publisher and later as a freeter; wrote debut novel during that period.
  • Has authored many game novelizations and written scripts for manga.