, also known as Puppet Entertainment Sherlock Holmes, is a Japanese puppetry television series written by Kōki Mitani and produced and broadcast by NHK. The puppets for the series were designed by Bunta Inoue.
The first series, consisting of 18 episodes, was broadcast on Sundays from 12 October 2014 to 15 February 2015 on NHK Educational TV (ETV). The first six episodes were previously broadcast on NHK General TV (GTV) in March and August 2014. A special programme titled ("Let's Search 'Sherlock Holmes' Thoroughly") was aired on 5 October 2014, and a segment titled "Sherlock Holmes Award" was broadcast on 28 December 2014. Each episode was rebroadcast on the following Friday. The programme received the Japan Sherlock Holmes Award on 22 March 2015.Facebook of Sherlock Gakuen (in Japanese)
The series is based on the Canon of Sherlock Holmes, with characters and events adapted to a fictional London boarding school, where a teenage Sherlock Holmes (voiced by Kōichi Yamadera) investigates various incidents with his roommate John H. Watson (voiced by Wataru Takagi). There are no murder cases, and some characters appear in situations or stories where they did not feature in the original works.
Some episodes began being rebroadcast from 22 February 2015. The production of new episodes was announced on the official programme website and on the "Sherlock Gakuen" website. Staff member Kunio Yoshikawa stated that an English-language version was also planned for production and broadcast.シャーロックホームズ 完全メモリアルブック、小学館、2015年、95頁。("Complete Memorial Book of 'Sherlock Holmes'", Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2015, p. 95)
On 1 June 2015, NHK announced that a new series, titled Holmes and Watson Mystery – (No heya: A Room of Mystery), would be broadcast on Thursdays from July to September 2015. The series featured John H. Watson providing commentary on Holmes's deductions, and also included rebroadcasts of some episodes from the first series.
Premise and character adaptations John H. Watson, a boy who transfers from Australia to a fictional London boarding school called Beeton School, becomes the roommate of Sherlock Holmes. Although Holmes has a reputation as a troublemaker, he possesses sharp powers of observation, and together the two solve the various incidents that occur at the school at the request of teachers and pupils.
The name "Beeton School" is derived from Beeton's Christmas Annual, the magazine in which the character Sherlock Holmes first appeared, as well as from Eton College.NHK's reply to the enquiry about the origin of the school's name.
In the series, Sherlock Holmes is portrayed as an eccentric but intelligent pupil who lives in room 221B of Baker House, one of the houses of Beeton School. He frequently sleeps during lessons and receives poor marks, particularly in literature, philosophy and astronomy. Teachers regard him as a troublemaker, but he demonstrates exceptional deductive reasoning skills and blows a party horn when thinking deeply.Shogakukan, pp. 6–7Shogakukan, p. 70
John H. Watson (pronounced "Watoson" in Japanese) is a transfer student from Australia and Holmes's roommate (Holmes is pronounced "Homuzu" in Japanese).Japanese-style pronunciation of "Holmes" is "Homuzu". He has a strong sense of justice and records their investigations in a notebook called the "Watoson Memo" (Memo by John H. Watson),Japanese-style pronunciation of "Watson" is "Watoson". which is published in the school paper, the "Strand Wall Poster" (a wall newspaper). Initially disheartened after a leg injury forces him to retire from playing rugby football, Watson regains his confidence through the case of Jefferson Hope ("The First Adventure") and comes to understand Holmes.Shogakukan, pp. 8–9Shogakukan, p. 35
Mrs Hudson (pronounced "Hadoson" in Japanese)Japanese-style pronunciation of "Hudson" is "Hadoson". serves as the housemother of Baker House (pronounced "Beika" in Japanese). She is cheerful and enjoys singing and baking cookies. She is the only character who calls Holmes by his first name, Sherlock (pronounced "Sharokku" in Japanese).Japanese-style pronunciation of "Sherlock" is "Sharokku". After Holmes helps her out of trouble in "The First Adventure," she develops a motherly affection for Holmes and Watson.Shogakukan, p. 16
James Moriarty (pronounced "Jeimuzu Moriati" in Japanese)Japanese-style pronunciation of "James Moriarty" is "Jeimuzu Moriati". is the tall, blond deputy headmaster of Beeton School. He has a dual-natured appearance: the right side of his face appears calm, while the left looks stern. He oversees the school and maintains strict discipline, particularly towards Holmes, whose independent behaviour often frustrates him.Shogakukan, p. 13
Mycroft Holmes (pronounced "Maikurofuto" in Japanese)Japanese-style pronunciation of "Mycroft" is "Maikurofuto". is a sixth form student of Dealer House, the elder brother of Sherlock, and the founder of the Diogenes Club within the school.Shogakukan, p. 90
Irene Adler is the school nurse who is romantically involved with Headmaster Ormstein but later becomes involved with art teacher Godfrey Norton. Her elegance and charm captivate both male teachers and pupils. She occasionally assists Holmes in his investigations and is known to playfully snap her fingers at his nose.Shogakukan, p. 12
Gordon Lestrade (pronounced "Resutoredo" in Japanese) is a pupil of Cooper House with a mod-style appearance. He serves on the school's life guidance committee but helps Holmes with cases that teachers disapprove of, particularly those opposed by Grimesby Roylott, the teacher responsible for student life guidance.Shogakukan, p. 6Shogakukan, p. 11Shogakukan, p. 53
Langdale Pike acts as Holmes's informant. He is quick and resourceful, though notoriously stingy. He partly fills the role of the Baker Street Irregulars through a group of mice that gather information for Holmes.
Sherman, a taxidermist in The Sign of the Four, is reimagined as a female pupil who loves animals and speaks in a boyish manner. She cooperates with Holmes in his investigations.
Production
Development
Following the broadcast of The Three Musketeers from 2009 to 2010, Kōki Mitani planned to adapt The Brothers Karamazov into a puppetry production. Although a long-time admirer of the Sherlock Holmes stories, Mitani was initially reluctant to adapt them for puppetry due to the difficulty of conveying investigative details through puppet performance. He was also concerned that it might be too late to produce a Sherlock Holmes adaptation, given the enduring popularity of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and the acclaim already received by the modern series Sherlock.("What kind of boy was Sherlock Holmes?", special August issue of Eureka, Tokyo: Seidosha, 2014, pp. 148–154)
Mitani initially considered creating a puppet closely resembling Sidney Paget's famous illustrations of Holmes, but abandoned the idea because tall puppets are difficult for puppeteers to manipulate. He ultimately decided to set the story in a fictional boarding school called "Beeton School", reimagining Sherlock Holmes as a fifteen-year-old schoolboy. Although many incidents occur within the school, the series contains no murders, and the same puppets are reused throughout.("Puppetry of Sherlock Holmes written by Kōki Mitani", Yomiuri Online, 13 March 2014)
According to Mitani, as the story progresses, viewers gradually come to understand the reason the series is set in a school. All four of Arthur Conan Doyle's novels — A Study in Scarlet, The Sign of the Four, The Hound of the Baskervilles, and The Valley of Fear — are dramatised in the puppetry. Mitani has stated that this may be the first adaptation to dramatise all four novels within a single series.Shogakukan, pp. 20–24
At a press conference in March 2014, Mitani remarked that only true Sherlockians would enjoy the series. Although this comment attracted criticism, he later clarified that what he meant was that genuine Sherlockians possess a sense of playfulness and open-mindedness that allows them to appreciate any adaptation of the Sherlock Holmes canon, and that the source material is rich enough to inspire creative derivative works.
Mitani also emphasised the importance of John Watson's role as a storyteller, calling it a brilliant invention by Arthur Conan Doyle. He described Watson as possessing warmth and passion that Holmes lacks, and expressed admiration for Martin Freeman's good-natured portrayal of Watson in Sherlock. In 2007, Freeman appeared in the stage play The Last Laugh, based on Mitani's play University of Laughs (Warai no daigaku, ).
Puppets and sets
Mitani stated that anything performed by a human can also be performed by a puppet.Shogakukan, p. 21 The puppets used in the series were designed by painter Bunta Inoue. To emphasise Holmes's intelligence, Inoue designed the character with large ears and a broad forehead, while also giving him a distinctive nose reminiscent of the original illustrations. Mitani provided Inoue with detailed guidance on the puppets' appearance. For instance, the designs of Sir Henry Baskerville and Stapleton, characters from the episode based on The Hound of the Baskervilles, were modelled on Prince William and Woody Allen, respectively.
Inoue explained that he aimed to make the puppets appealing to children and to inspire them to create their own doodles. He also served as a judge for an illustration contest featuring this series and The Three Musketeers, held in Edogawa Ward, Tokyo, in September 2014. The faces of the puppets are generally expressionless, with emotion conveyed primarily through lighting effects, similar to techniques used in Noh and Bunraku theatre.Other techniques from Bunraku are also employed in the series. The hair of male puppets is painted in bright, carousel-like colours,Shogakukan, p. 52 while shibori dyeing techniques are used for the hair of female puppets.Shogakukan, p. 63
As the series is produced in Japan, washi paper is frequently used in the construction of sets and props, including bags, tea sets, and lanterns illuminated by LED lamps. Washi is also used for trees and interior decorations, often combined with cheesecloth and nonwoven fabric to create a natural and warm atmosphere. Nonwoven fabric is particularly valued for preventing light reflection during filming. The overall appearance of the set resembles that of a dollhouse, with the cloister modelled on that of an abbey in the Cotswolds. The design team also drew inspiration from the stained glass at the Sherlock Holmes Museum and the architecture of St Pancras Station when constructing the set.Shogakukan, pp. 58–63
Beeton School features a four-house system, with each house represented by a distinct colour: dark red for Archer, dark blue for Baker, green for Cooper, and grey for Dealer. These colours are reflected in the pupils' uniforms.Shogakukan, p. 15 Holmes wears the dark blue uniform of Baker House and displays a clock and a pair of compasses on his left chest, while Watson continues to wear the pale brown uniform of his former school. In Inoue's original sketches, Holmes carries a cane topped with a skull, and the words "Sherlock Holmes" are inscribed on the soles of his shoes using the stick figure characters from The Adventure of the Dancing Men.Shogakukan, p. 51
Voice acting For the selection of voice actors, Mitani asked the experienced actor Koichi Yamadera to voice Holmes, recognising that considerable acting skill was required to portray the complex character. Mitani has praised Yamadera for performing the role as if he were a boy who is naive and sensitive, despite not being so in reality.Mitani mentions this at the beginning of episode 3, broadcast in March 2014.