is a media franchise

Media franchise

A media franchise is an intellectual property involving the characters, setting and trademarks of an original work of media , such as a film, a work of literature, a television program or a video game. Generally, a whole series is made in a particular medium, along with merchandising and endorsements...

 owned by the Japanese trading card game company Bushiroad. It consists of an Internet radio drama

Radio drama

Radio drama is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance, broadcast on radio or published on audio media, such as tape or CD. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine the characters and story...

, released in December 2009; an anime adaptation by J.C.Staff

J.C.STAFF

, is a Japanese animation studio founded in January 1986. Their first release was the three episode OVA Sengoku Kidan Yōtōden, in 1987. They have produced several well-known anime series, such as Revolutionary Girl Utena, Excel Saga, Shingetsutan Tsukihime, Shakugan no Shana, Toaru Majutsu no...

, the first season of which aired between October 7, 2010 and December 23, 2010; a manga adaptation serialized in Comp Ace

Comp Ace

is a Japanese computer game and manga magazine published by Kadokawa Shoten. Comp Ace began as a special edition version of another one of Kadokawa Shoten's magazines, Comptiq. The first issue was released on March 26, 2005, and was published quarterly for the first three volumes which had cover...

from 2010; a visual novel

Visual novel

A is an interactive fiction game featuring mostly static graphics, usually with anime-style art, or occasionally live-action stills or video footage...

 PlayStation Portable

PlayStation Portable

The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...

 game, released in Japan on December 16, 2010; a trading card game tie-in with Bushiroad's Weiß Schwarz

Weiß Schwarz

is a Japanese collectible card game created by Bushiroad. Weiß Schwarz is a star system japanese trading card game created by Bushiroad. The game is separated into Weiß-side and Schwarz-side. Weiß & Schwarz is German for white and black respectively. The Weiß-side features mostly anime series while...

; and a light novel

Light novel

A is a style of Japanese novel primarily targeting junior high and high school students . The term "light novel" is a wasei-eigo, or a Japanese term formed from words in the English language. Light novels are often called or for short...

 series published by ASCII Media Works

ASCII Media Works

is a Japanese publishing company in the Kadokawa Group which formed on April 1, 2008 as a result of a merger between ASCII and MediaWorks where MediaWorks legally absorbed ASCII. Despite this, the former president of ASCII, Kiyoshi Takano, became the president of ASCII Media Works. The company...

 under their Dengeki Bunko

Dengeki Bunko

is a publishing imprint affiliated with the Japanese publishing company ASCII Media Works . It was established in June 1993 with the publication of Hyōryū Densetsu Crystania volume one, and is a light novel imprint aimed at a male audience...

 label. A second anime season was announced by Bushiroad via Twitter

Twitter

Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...

 to begin airing in January 2012.

The series is a homage to the detective fiction genre, and the four female leads are named after famous fictional detectives: Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...

, Nero Wolfe

Nero Wolfe

Nero Wolfe is a fictional detective, created in 1934 by the American mystery writer Rex Stout. Wolfe's confidential assistant Archie Goodwin narrates the cases of the detective genius. Stout wrote 33 novels and 39 short stories from 1934 to 1974, with most of them set in New York City. Wolfe's...

, Hercule Poirot

Hercule Poirot

Hercule Poirot is a fictional Belgian detective created by Agatha Christie. Along with Miss Marple, Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-lived characters, appearing in 33 novels and 51 short stories published between 1920 and 1975 and set in the same era.Poirot has been portrayed on...

 and Cordelia Gray.

Plot

Set in a futuristic world, there exist "Toys" which grant people superhuman abilities. This is responsible for a wave of crimes and necessitates employing Toy-using detectives to help solve them. Opera Kobayashi runs a detective agency, Milky Holmes, staffed by four aspiring young girl detectives who attend the Holmes Detective Academy, and each girl possesses their own unique Toy.

In the anime series, the four girls, Sherlock, Nero, Hercule and Cordelia, lose the ability to use their Toys during an encounter with the phantom thieves. Taking away from their rich lifestyle and thrown into an attic, the girls must try and regain use of their Toys or else face expulsion from Holmes Detective Academy.

Milky Holmes

The leader of Milky Holmes, named after Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...

. She's known to be particularly clumsy but is always caring. Her Toy gives her telekinesis.

An obnoxious girl with a hefty appetite, named after Nero Wolfe

Nero Wolfe

Nero Wolfe is a fictional detective, created in 1934 by the American mystery writer Rex Stout. Wolfe's confidential assistant Archie Goodwin narrates the cases of the detective genius. Stout wrote 33 novels and 39 short stories from 1934 to 1974, with most of them set in New York City. Wolfe's...

. She speaks with the masculine term 'boku'. Her Toy allows her to control machines.

A very shy girl, named after Hercule Poirot

Hercule Poirot

Hercule Poirot is a fictional Belgian detective created by Agatha Christie. Along with Miss Marple, Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-lived characters, appearing in 33 novels and 51 short stories published between 1920 and 1975 and set in the same era.Poirot has been portrayed on...

, who is easily embarrassed. Her Toy gives her superhuman strength.

A blonde girl who often gets delusional concerning the relationship within the group, named after Cordelia Gray. She tends to get rather delusional whenever she is scared. Her Toy allows her to see and hear things others cannot.

A stray cat the girls find and keep inside the attic.

He is said to be the person who taught the Milky Holmes. His name is based after Yoshio Kobayashi. In the PSP game, he lost his Toy much the same as the Milky Holmes.

Gentlemen Thieves

The leader of the Gentlemen Thieves whose Toys can cast illusions. She is currently undercover as the Student Council President at Holme's Academy. She craves strong opponents such as Sherlock to fight against, so when Milky Holmes lose their Toys, she strives to help them to return to their most powerful states so they can satisfy her. Named after Arsène Lupin

Arsène Lupin

Arsène Lupin is a fictional character who appears in a book series of detective fiction / crime fiction novels written by French writer Maurice Leblanc, as well as a number of non-canonical sequels and numerous film, television such as Night Hood, stage play and comic book adaptations.- Overview :A...

, her toys is the toys of Resplendence.

A stern man who battles with a katana. His Toys allow him to immobilize an opponent. Undercover as a school janitor. Named after Ishikawa Goemon

Ishikawa Goemon

was a semi-legendary Japanese outlaw hero who stole gold and valuables and gave them to the poor. Goemon is notable for being boiled alive along with his son in public after a failed assassination attempt on the civil war-era warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi. A large iron kettle-shaped bathtub is now...

.

A crafty magician who uses various English words and attacks using cards. He is wildly perverted and constantly shows off his erect nipples to the chagrin of the students. His toys allows him to disguise perfectly. Undercover as a teacher. His name is based after Edogawa Rampo's The Fiend of Twenty Faces.

A young boy with a Flame Toy used for lighting various explosives. Undercover as a classmate. Named after Nezumi Kozō

Nezumi Kozo

Nezumi Kozō is the nickname of Nakamura Jirokichi , a Japanese thief and folk hero who lived in Edo during the Edo period.-Capture and tattoo:In 1822, he was caught and tattooed, and banished from Edo...

.

Genius 4

The leader of Genius 4 (known as G4 for short), a police investigation unit. She is a bossy girl who looks down on Milky Holmes since they lost their toys. She smacks Sherlock with a golden mask whenever she calls her "Kokoro-chan". Her name is based on Edogawa Rampo's Kogoro Akechi

Kogoro Akechi

Kogoro Akechi is a fictional character and the creation of Japanese mystery writer Edogawa Rampo.He first appeared in the story "The D Slope Murder case" in 1925 and continued to appear in stories for a quarter of a century...

.

A spunky green haired girl. Her name is based on Zenigata Heiji

Zenigata Heiji

is Japanese fictional character, the hero of a series of Japanese novels, films and TV programmes set in the Edo period of Japanese history. He is a policeman who catches criminals by throwing coins, the zeni of the title, thus Zenigata Heiji. The hero was created by novelist Kodō Nomura in 1937...

.

A polite girl who can deal a sleep-inducing karate chop. Her name is based on Hasegawa Heizō.

A soft spoken girl who wears headphones. She appears to have a thing for retro technology. Her name is based on Tōyama Kagemoto

Toyama Kagemoto

was a hatamoto and an official of the Tokugawa Shogunate during the Edo Period of Japanese history. His ancestry was of the Minamoto clan of Mino Province. His father, Kagemichi, was the magistrate of Nagasaki. Kagemoto held the posts of Finance Magistrate, North Magistrate, and subsequently the...

.

The head of G4. His name is based on Kyōsuke Kamitsu.

Anime

An anime adaptation of Tantei Opera Milky Holmes by J.C. Staff aired between October 7, 2010 and December 23, 2010 and was also streamed by Crunchyroll

Crunchyroll

Crunchyroll is an American website and international online community focused on streaming East Asian media including anime, manga, drama, music, electronic entertainment, and auto racing content...

. A special episode aired in August 2011. The opening theme is by Suzuko Mimori, Sora Tokui, Mikoi Sasaki and Izumi Kitta, while the ending theme is by Faylan

Faylan

-Live:*"Flying Dutch Live Tour 2010 Polaris" - October 4, 2010*"Anisama Girls Night Live" - October 31, 2010-Compilations:, released March 24, 2005 *# "Just Believe in Love"*Elements Garden, released August 6, 2008...

. The ending theme for the TV special is by Mimori, Tokui, Sasaki and Kitta. A second anime season, titled will begin airing from January 5, 2012.

Visual Novels

A visual novel

Visual novel

A is an interactive fiction game featuring mostly static graphics, usually with anime-style art, or occasionally live-action stills or video footage...

 developed by Bushiroad was released on PlayStation Portable

PlayStation Portable

The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...

 on December 16, 2010. Players play the role of Opera Kobayashi, who must train Milky Holmes to be great detectives and use their abilities to stop thieves. The game's second chapter, Tantei Opera Milky Holmes 1.5 was released on September 29, 2011 from the PlayStation Store. A sequel, Tantei Opera Milky Holmes 2, will be released in August 2012.

Other Appearances

The four main characters of Milky Holmes appear briefly in many different episodes of Cardfight!! Vanguard

Cardfight!! Vanguard

is a Japanese trading card game created in collaboration between Akira Itō , Satoshi Nakamura , and Bushiroad president Takaaki Kidani. A 2011 anime television series based on the game was produced by TMS Entertainment and aired in Japan on TV Tokyo starting on January 8, 2011. In addition to the...

as cameos where they are simply shown in the background.