The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service vol. 11

Way back in vol. 2, “Kurosagi” did a volume-length story about the group getting involved with mysterious, murderous happenings with a company that specializes in undertaking.  Despite a few plot holes, it was a satisfying tale that cemented the series as one to follow in my mind.  Nine volumes later, we’ve got another extended storyline that comes off even better.

As the volume opens we find that steady employment awaits Makino and Yata after social worker Sasayama recommends them for teaching positions at the prestigious Kadokawa Girl’s Academy.  Numata also winds up getting a job as a security guard after he asks loudly.  However, Ao and Karatsu soon find out that Sasayama has suckered them into solving another one of his problems.  An anonymous message board troll has been posting announcements about plans to commit various murders, all of which were reported within the vicinity of the Academy.

Complicating matters is that Sasayama’s 12-year-old niece Chihaya is attending there and she has a few big secrets of her own.  Not only was she accused of murdering her mother two years ago, but as a result of the trauma of the crime she has developed a supernatural power of her own.  Secrets like that don’t stay buried forever and once hers comes out, the KCDS has to find a way to make sure she doesn’t pay for it with her life.

As editor/adapter extraordinaire Carl Horn points out in the notes at the back of this volume, the story here was “loosely” adapted from a real life crime in Japan from 2004.  It’s hard to separate fact from fiction here, but writer Eiji Otsuka spins an engaing story about the past coming back to haunt someone who is (in theory) too young to deal with it.  He also takes the time to make some interesting points about the child justice system in Japan and to show Sasayama in a new light.  I liked seeing him a “guardian” role and it’s disappointing that it’s dismantled at the end of the story.

Interestingly the main cast aren’t the main focus of this story.  We do get plenty of good scenes with them, from Numata trying to run Yata down with a car, to Karatsu and Ao’s brief exhcange in the club room which highlights her affections for him even if he’s completely oblivious to them.  Still, this isn’t their story, it’s Chihaya’s.  It’s also worth noting that this story comes off as more of a slow burn than the previous extended arc in vol. 2.  Part of that comes from the fact that this tale isn’t about we’ve come to know, but also from how violence is used here.  In vol. 2, the story itself revolved around the desecration of corpses which in turn led to some real grand guignol scenes when they were brought back to life to wreak vengeance on the living (which is usually the case when these things happen).  Things are much more understated here, and the supernatural menace is also quieter (literally, I imagine the things speaking to Chihaya sound like a harsh whisper than a loud proclamation).  This has the effect of making the violence here more surprising and effective when it happens.

This isn’t the only story in the volume, as it closes out with a two-parter.  In a logical world you’d think that a story that revolves around the Beijing Olympics, next-generation swimwear, genetic doping, giant rats, photosensitive zombies and Glenn Danzig (in a manner of speaking… be sure to read Carl Horn’s notes for the full story) would be a schizophrenic mess.  For the “Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service,” it’s just another day on the job, mixing fact with just enough fiction to make for an enjoyably different read.

I’d be remiss if I ended this review without talking about the excellent art of Housui Yamazaki.  The man has the unenviable job of making all of the things I’ve talked about here look like they belong in the same world.  Fortunately his style is more than up for the task as he makes the environment around the characters look completely realistic and normal — which makes the supernatural goings-on seem that much creepier.  He doesn’t try to draw the cast with the same amount of realism, as their slightly cartoonish style allows for more flexibility in displaying emotion.

So really, this is another great volume in this series and I’m glad to see that Dark Horse is sticking with it (vol. 12 is due out in February) even if it isn’t burning up the sales charts.  But if my bitter inner fanboy had its way, it certainly would (right after “Blade of the Immortal,” of course).