Murcielago vol. 20

Vol. 19 teed up the return of master sniper Reiko to the series, implying that sparks (or at least fists) would start flying between her and Kuroko again.  This turns out to be something of a bait-and-switch as Reiko only features minimally into the plot of this volume.  Which involves a gathering of the family who owns the inn where Kuroko and her friends are currently staying as their dying patriarch prepares to parcel out his inheritance.  However, one of his sons winds up dying before his father, and with some pieces from a child’s game in his mouth.  It soon becomes clear that the entire family was involved in a mysterious death some years ago, and now someone is going to make them pay for it.

I’d say more, but what we get in vol. 20 is enough to make me wonder if the quality of the storyline from vols. 18 & 19 was more of a fluke than a return to form.  Several people get murdered in relatively ho-hum ways by this title’s standards while Kuroko only gets a little amorous and not violent at all while puzzling through the mystery at hand.  Which, I’ll add, is pretty dull since the family aren’t even interesting rich scumbags.  Things could change in vol. 21 when the nature of their crime is revealed, but I’m not going to get my hopes up.  The only real suspense vol. 20 offers is how it raises the question of, “Why am I still reading this series?” once again.

The bonus story in this volume features Reiko and her sidekick, while the translation notes let us know that it’s all a reference to the “Murcielago:  Arana” spinoff manga that ran for five volumes in Japan.  Normally I’d be annoyed at references to a Japanese-published title that isn’t available in English.  Given “Murcielago’s” extremely uneven quality over these last few years, I think I can understand why Yen Press hasn’t bothered to license and localize it yet.