The 9th Hontame Literary Award, presented by the popular YouTube channel “Hontame.” Mikkaichi Rei’s “Murder in the Witch’s House” wins the Grand Prize in the Takumi category!
HarperCollins Japan Press release: September 8, 2025 To Members of the Press The 9th Hontame Literary Award, presented by the popular YouTube channel “Hontame,” has been awarded to Mikkaichi Rei’s “Murder in the Witch’s House,” in the Takumi category! Mikaichi Rei’s “Murder in the Witch’s House” (Harper BOOKS ) won the Grand Prize in the Takumi category of the 9th Hontame Literary Award. Hontame is an
entertainment information variety channel for book lovers hosted by educational YouTuber Takumi Yobinori and actress Akari Saito. The Hontame Literature Award, announced biannually on a popular YouTube channel with 143,000 subscribers, is a new style of literary award in which two MCs livestream the nominees and grand prize winners for the “Takumi Division (Mystery)” and “Akari Division (Pure
Literature/Entertainment)” categories. The 9th award, covering the first half of 2025, saw the winners announced via live broadcast on Saturday, September 6th. Mikaichi Rei, author of “Murder in the Witch’s House,” which won the Grand Prize in the “Takumi” category, also appeared as a guest on the program that day, sharing his joyful comments and thoughts on writing.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9zQOVA2HBw The winning entry is a reader-participation mystery that combines “murder” and “riddle solving”!
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/4274/82/4274-82-a9242a12ebba04162f8c105f4aad8b66-1447×2039.jpg Synopsis of “Murder in the Witch House” Rihito Shindo is a second-year university student studying science. His roommate, Shibun Kashiwagi, has completely different personalities, but they share a common hobby of solving mysteries and get along well. One day, the two decide to participate in an escape game held at a Western-style mansion deep in the mountains. However, during the game, a charred corpse is discovered inside. Horrified, the next victim soon appears… The only condition for leaving the mansion is to solve nine puzzles. A mysterious murder known as an “escape game” begins in a Western-style mansion deep in the mountains. A duo of science and humanities students take on a real-life mystery! (Commentary: Wakabayashi Fumi) Author Mikkaichi Rei is one of the young writers gaining attention for his “Legal Revenge” series, which began with “Legal Revenge,” which has also been adapted into a comic book. However, this is actually his first novel. Originally a fan of escape games, Mikkaichi became addicted to reading mystery novels at home after events were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Around the summer of 2020, he decided to try writing one himself, and instead of a pen, he picked up his smartphone and began writing out the storyline and dialogue. By the end of the year, he had accumulated 40,000 words, which he transferred to his computer. Amazingly, by February of the following year, he had finished writing a 160,000-word novel. This book is packed with puzzles that hold the key to the case, allowing you to join the protagonists in their quest to escape the locked mansion within the time limit. Experience this new type of mystery that combines escape games and mystery novels.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/4274/82/4274-82-4b00d228d22e2e16be077296843d1be3-996×742.jpg Part of the problem inserted in the body of the text Author Profile Born in Fukuoka Prefecture. Graduated from Keio University. In 2023, he made his debut with “Legal Revenge,” a hidden gem in the 21st “This Mystery is Amazing!” Grand Prize. This unique legal mystery has been made into a series and has sold over 100,000 copies in total. His other works include “Artistic Revenge” and “Sentimental Revenge” (both published by Takarajimasha). Bibliographic Information “Murder in the Witch’s House” Author: Mikkaichi Rei Price: ¥880 (tax included) Release date: May 15, 2025 : HarperCollins Japan Ltd. Format: Paperback Number of pages: 400 ISBN: 978-4-596-96275-1
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