The Man Who Died Seven Times

«The Man Who Died Seven Times» — a detective story with a fantastic premise of a time loop, where sixteen-year-old Hisataro Oba finds himself repeatedly inside the same day, and a familiar family celebration turns into a struggle against death and lies. Yasuhiko Nishizawa combines here a classic murder mystery with the tension of a closed circle: the action is centered in the estate of a wealthy grandfather, among relatives long bound by enmity over inheritance. In this story, not only the clues are important, but also the very structure of time, where any conversation, gesture, and decision can take on a different meaning with each new repetition. It results in a Japanese detective where family conflict, distrust, and calculation become not just a backdrop, but the main force driving the events forward.

During the New Year holidays, the family gathers in the house of Reijiro Fugami, the head of a large and wealthy clan. A long-standing fierce rivalry exists between his two daughters: each wants the future of the company to remain with her branch of the family. After one of the meetings, the grandfather dies, and for the protagonist, this becomes not a singular tragedy, but a recurring day in which he must track conversations anew, verify versions, and understand who benefited from the old man's death. The further this investigation progresses, the clearer it becomes: there are too many grievances, hidden calculations, and reasons for suspicion in the house.

• Hisataro Oba — a sixteen-year-old hero and narrator who falls into a «time hole» and lives one day nine times. The repetitions give him a rare opportunity to notice what usually slips away and gradually piece together the picture of the crime.
• Reijiro Fugami — the hero's grandfather, a wealthy head of the family and the center of the common conflict. His position, power, and the question of inheritance make him a figure upon whom the interests of all relatives depend.
• The hero's mother and her sister — daughters of Reijiro, long at odds over the future of the family company. Their rivalry sets the tone for everything happening in the house.