How to read the Lord El-Melloi II Case Files Light Novels
I was recently reminded that there is a lot of people who simply don’t know that they can read the Case Files light novels, and that there are people who do know but have no idea where to find them. This is especially a problem when these people have only watched the anime and want to know where they can find more of the story. Since it kind of requires you to go through some hoops (not a whole lot but still), I decided to take a page out of @humbertozero‘s excellent Fate/strange Fake resource post and make one for my other favorite Type-Moon Fate spinoff, the dossiers of El-Melon.
Read the First Volume: Lord El-Melloi II Case Files Vol.1 (PDF) (EPUB)
Read the Second Volume: Lord El-Melloi II Case Files Vol.2 (PDF) (EPUB)
Read the Third Volume: Lord El-Melloi II Case Files Vol.3 (PDF) (EPUB)
Read the Fourth Volume: Lord El-Melloi II Case Files Vol.4 (PDF) (EPUB1) (EPUB2)
Read the Fifth Volume: Lord El-Melloi II Case Files Vol.5 (PDF) (EPUB)
Read the Sixth Volume: Lord El-Melloi II Case Files Vol.6 (PDF) (EPUB)
Read the Seventh Volume: Lord El-Melloi II Case Files Vol.7 (PDF) (EPUB)
Read the Eighth Volume: Lord El-Melloi II Case Files Vol.8 (PDF) (EPUB)
Read the Ninth Volume: Lord El-Melloi II Case Files Vol.9 (PDF) (EPUB)
Read the Tenth Volume: Lord El-Melloi II Case Files Vol.10 (PDF) (EPUB)
It should be noted first that I am just the compiler here. I am neither the translator nor am I the files’ creator. So all credits go to…
Credits and thanks to TwilightsCall on the Beast Lair forums (from which the majority of the other creditors originally posted their contributions) for translating the first 4 volumes and some of volume 5, thus getting the ball rolling. Further thanks to azwhoisverybored for translating the rest of the series from volume 6 onwards, and thanks to Kneenaw for starting the translation for the rest of volume 5. Thanks to Dotelias for making EPUBs for volumes 1-3, thanks to cereal_ for making EPUBs of volume 4, thanks to u/confusedkuratowski on Reddit for making EPUB of volume 6, and thanks to ProtoformX for making PDFs and EPUBs for volumes 5 to 10 as well as for Adventures volume 1 and 2!
And big thanks to Makoto Sanda for writing Case Files in the first place!
The anime adaptation of Case Files, with the mouthful of a title that is Lord El-Melloi II’s Case Files: Rail Zeppelin Grace Note, is particular to use as an entry-point in the series, because it only partially adapts the series. See, the author, Makoto Sanda, said in interview that the two first arcs/cases in the series didn’t quite work as scripts for anime episodes, so the anime only adapted the third case/arc, Rail Zeppelin, which is more action oriented than the more mystery focused first arcs. But because they still needed to explain stuff like Gray, Reines, El-Melloi’s students, etc., many of whom are relevant characters to the arc, the first half/six episodes of the anime is about introducing them.
So to the question “where do I start reading after the anime?”, the answer is unironically to restart at volume 1. And then you may skip volumes 4-5 since they are the Rail Zeppelin arc and there are not much differences besides some characters not being present during that arc. This is why I think you can watch the anime first if that’s more your speed (I have my problems and criticisms of the anime but that’s irrelevant to this post).
And you can’t start with the anime and start reading with volume 6, the first 3 volumes have characters and plot points that come back for the final arc, so you’re gonna be incredibly lost if you think to consume the series this way.
Weirdly enough, despite being original episodes, the anime originals are most likely canon in some ways. Episode 0, the original OVA, is an expansion of an anecdote Gray mentions in the first volume’s prologue, and Episode 1 takes place during Waver’s travels before the story starts and is an actual story, one of the 3 incidents Sanda has in mind for Waver’s journey before he returned to London. Episodes 2 to 6 take place during the one month period between volume 3 and volume 4, and finally the special OVA take place on Christmas also in between arcs.
The manga’s translation used to be on hiatus for a long time, but it has fortunately been picked up by the team doing the UBW and HF mangas. As of the time of writing (14/10/24), it has been translated up to the Rail Zeppelin arc, meaning if LNs aren’t your thing, you can experience the first two arcs that weren’t adapted in the anime in manga form. It has really gorgeous art so definitely check it out.
The Adventures of El-Melloi II
The sequel series currently ongoing, started a year after the first Case Files ended in 2019. You might know it as “the (other) series where Rin shows up grown up and also a pirate” and, as of recent volumes, “that one series where Shirou comes back spending the entire time half-naked”. @reignsan has been compiling pretty thorough chapter-by-chapter summaries of the volumes by @kaibutsushidousha if you don’t mind being spoiled. Or you can be patient and wait for azwhoisverybored to finish translating them on Beast Lair in this thread.
At the time of writing (14/10/24), the first and second volume of Adventures have been completed and compiled into PDF and EPUB forms:
First Volume: The Man Who Devoured God (PDF)(EPUB)
Second Volume: The Demon of the Wandering Sea I (PDF)(EPUB)
Lord El-Melloi II Case Files material
This is absolutely not required reading in any shape or form, those lore books are usually of interest only to dumb nerds like me lol. A timeline of the Clock Tower? An explanation of its politics? Yes please. But it also has insights into the characters by the author that aren’t in the books proper, as well as behind-the-scenes explanations for some decisions (for example, why it’s Gray with the American spelling instead of Grey with the British spelling). Only the glossary/encyclopedia is translated, but give it a look…after you read the series, because it assumes you did and has some big spoilers.
What’s that? You heard something about a Buzzfeed quizz about the most handsome Clock Tower teachers and how it’s somehow a plot point? Look no further than one of my only posts that did numbers. Read the summary, it’s hilarious.
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