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美少女の新メンバー登場？ 描かれると死ぬ謎の絵馬とは？ コインロッカーの赤ちゃんの霊など、今巻もコワいよ！ ロングセラー新感覚ホラーコミック！
189 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2008
7 people are currently reading
180 people want to read
About the author
Eiji Otsuka
361 books143 followers大塚英志
Social anthropologist and novelist. Graduated from college with degree in anthropology, women's folklore, human sacrifice and post-war manga. In addition to his work with manga he is a critic, essayist, and author of several successful non-fiction books on Japanese popular and “otaku” sub-cultures. One of his first animation script works was Maho no Rouge Lipstick, an adult lolicon OVA. Otsuka was the editor for the bishojo lolicon manga series Petit Apple Pie.
In the 80s, Otsuka was editor-in-chief of Manga Burikko, a leading women's manga magazine where he pioneered research on the “otaku” sub-culture in modern Japan. In 1988 he published "Manga no Koro" (The Structure of Comics), a serious study of Japanese comics and their social significance. Also as critic, Otsuka Eiji, summarized the case of the Japanese red army's 1972 murders as a conflict between the masculine and the feminine principles as they were both embodied by women and against women (Otsuka,1994).
Social anthropologist and novelist. Graduated from college with degree in anthropology, women's folklore, human sacrifice and post-war manga. In addition to his work with manga he is a critic, essayist, and author of several successful non-fiction books on Japanese popular and “otaku” sub-cultures. One of his first animation script works was Maho no Rouge Lipstick, an adult lolicon OVA. Otsuka was the editor for the bishojo lolicon manga series Petit Apple Pie.
In the 80s, Otsuka was editor-in-chief of Manga Burikko, a leading women's manga magazine where he pioneered research on the “otaku” sub-culture in modern Japan. In 1988 he published "Manga no Koro" (The Structure of Comics), a serious study of Japanese comics and their social significance. Also as critic, Otsuka Eiji, summarized the case of the Japanese red army's 1972 murders as a conflict between the masculine and the feminine principles as they were both embodied by women and against women (Otsuka,1994).
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
December 16, 2025
I am addicted to this series. I’m reaching out to libby, begging for more loans on hoopla, banging on the doors of my local libraries for more copies. Now we wait for the omnibus to come in from MelCat.
June 10, 2012
Volume 8 tells three of Otsuka's best stories.
The first tale is ghost story with a gentler tone than this series is known for. But Otsuka is back in form for the next two tales. In both of these he follows his favorite theme of how history and folk traditions find their way into modern Japanese culture.
Kaneari, an obnoxious, wealthy, trendsetting wedding planner, is the malevolent force in the second story. He lives the ultimate playboy lifestyle, and the men of the KCDS meet him when they deliver at 40,000,000 yen refrigerator to his apartment. (Correct me if I am wrong, but there is no such thing as a refrigerator that costs around $500K.) Sasaki, the most entrepreneurial of the KCDS, takes an interest in Kaneari's new service, arranged marriages among the deceased. This was an actual practice in parts of Japan, where those who died before they were married could be married to one another for very Japanese reasons explained in the notes but that I will not try to explain here. Of course there proves to be something very fishy and supernatural going on. The drawings made for a shinto shrine to commemorate these events have to power to hasten the demise of the still living halves of the ceremony. The climax is one of the best revenge nightmares ever as Kaneari and his party animal friends receive surprise visits from dead but very angry young women, all dressed as traditional Japanese brides. Kinky and cool.
The final story introduces the disturbing Japanese tradition of the josanbu, midwives willing to kill unwanted babies at birth. The story also involves the introduction of "baby drops" at Tokyo hospitals. These are places where a person can anonymously leave unwanted children. (Similar experiments have taken place in the U.S. In one Kansas City incident, a single father brought all nine of his children to the hospital.) There is also a mysterious stand of unused lockers with magical properties and more information on how Japanese corpses are cleaned for burial than you might want to know. On the upside, it could be that Karatsu has met his true love.
The first tale is ghost story with a gentler tone than this series is known for. But Otsuka is back in form for the next two tales. In both of these he follows his favorite theme of how history and folk traditions find their way into modern Japanese culture.
Kaneari, an obnoxious, wealthy, trendsetting wedding planner, is the malevolent force in the second story. He lives the ultimate playboy lifestyle, and the men of the KCDS meet him when they deliver at 40,000,000 yen refrigerator to his apartment. (Correct me if I am wrong, but there is no such thing as a refrigerator that costs around $500K.) Sasaki, the most entrepreneurial of the KCDS, takes an interest in Kaneari's new service, arranged marriages among the deceased. This was an actual practice in parts of Japan, where those who died before they were married could be married to one another for very Japanese reasons explained in the notes but that I will not try to explain here. Of course there proves to be something very fishy and supernatural going on. The drawings made for a shinto shrine to commemorate these events have to power to hasten the demise of the still living halves of the ceremony. The climax is one of the best revenge nightmares ever as Kaneari and his party animal friends receive surprise visits from dead but very angry young women, all dressed as traditional Japanese brides. Kinky and cool.
The final story introduces the disturbing Japanese tradition of the josanbu, midwives willing to kill unwanted babies at birth. The story also involves the introduction of "baby drops" at Tokyo hospitals. These are places where a person can anonymously leave unwanted children. (Similar experiments have taken place in the U.S. In one Kansas City incident, a single father brought all nine of his children to the hospital.) There is also a mysterious stand of unused lockers with magical properties and more information on how Japanese corpses are cleaned for burial than you might want to know. On the upside, it could be that Karatsu has met his true love.
July 28, 2014
I enjoyed this volume of the series quite a bit. It was very amusing to watch "normal" people interact with the KCDS club as they searched for new members. After reading the stories for a while it's nice to get the perspective that no matter how many weird characters they encounter (such as the Shirosagi people) they are still in a vast minority in society.
The other stories were all up to the usual standards of Otsuka, engaging and adding to the plot without hitting you over the head with devices. This series really is very well developed in so many areas, great characters, setting, art, story, plot, just very well done.
The other stories were all up to the usual standards of Otsuka, engaging and adding to the plot without hitting you over the head with devices. This series really is very well developed in so many areas, great characters, setting, art, story, plot, just very well done.
May 30, 2012
Stuff I Read – Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service Vol 8
So here we are at volume 8, following on the heals of a volume that was more heavy in moving along the larger story, at least when it comes to the Corpse Cleaning Service and such. But, alas, my hopes that this one would pick up where that left off have been in vain, as we are given four unrelated but quite entertaining stories. If anything, this volume might be characterized as being much more centered on love or attraction or relationships or something like that. The first story is a very short one that introduces a new member and possible girl for Karatsu. The second story is about a dog and a young couple trying to get married. The third story is about post death marriages. And the last case is about dead babies and introduces another possible girl for Karatsu. So while the stories vary a good deal, they all seem to revolve around the idea of relationships. Which isn’t a bad thing. Really, for being four different stories these are all well done and seem complete, which is nice when compared to some of the other volumes where stories can seem a bit rushed and undeveloped.
The shortest story is the first, which has the Kurosagi Cash Money-Makin’ Club looking for new members. A young woman shows up to join, and she seems to hit it off with Karatsu. A hilarious series of interviews ensue as one by one the new would-be members are scared off, until only the young woman is left. It is funny to see how the group reacts to new people, especially given that these people are much more normal, at least in the sense that their “powers” are either not powers or are fake. Other than that this is sort of a refresher for the series, I guess in case anyone picked up the volume without having read through volume 1. That aside, though, the show then goes on the road as the group goes out to teach the young woman the trade. So it’s back to the forest where they first started their club. Only the twist comes towards the end as they find the body of a young woman, who turns out to be the woman they have been with the entire time. Apparently she hadn’t really wanted to die and was allowed to stay to help find her body. A nice, short story.
The second story is a bit more tragic. To me, at least, because it centers around a former police dog going to live with a young couple about to be married. For good measure it turns out there is a drug smuggling and illegal immigration operation going on, which leads to the untimely death of the adorable dog. And perhaps I’m weird but I find the death of a dog more tragic than the accidental suicide of a young woman. In any event, the group stays to expose the operation and bring the villain to justice, though in this case that means he ends up on the wrong side of undead dog teeth. But so it goes, I guess. Again, this story is full of the humor that makes the series very enjoyable, while at the same time dealing with murder and death and exploitation. This isn’t a very long story, either, but I think that it helps that it didn’t try to do too much. This story was simple and provided a good story without a mystery. It was more to see how everything would play out and to have fun while doing it. Which is fine by me.
The third story is, I think, the longest of the volume, and involves arranged marriages after death, where men die but are wed to dead women, only in the case of this the grooms aren’t really asking before killing there brides. It is an interesting concept, where if a picture of a couple is put into a special shrine, the spirit of the man (I guess it could be the woman, but it is a man every time in this case) comes back and kills the woman so they can have their ceremony. Well, as the group investigates, the story takes a more personal route as Sasaki is targeted. The main part of the story involves a young artist who helps out the group from time to time and who gets hired to draw the pictures that cause so much pain. When he eventually refuses, he is killed and the group finds him. Here again we see the spirit who works with Karatsu helping Sasaki directly, implying some larger link between those two, or perhaps between Sasalo and Karatsu. That is yet to be seen. But indeed, this leads to the artist being revived to get revenge on the men in charge of the operation, and to get revenge are the spirits of all the women killed. So it is a nice turn around at the end and everything wraps up rather nicely.
If the third story isn’t the longest, then this one could be, but at the very least this story is longer than the first two, and introduces a new possible love interest for Karatsu, the last one having turned out to be dead and all. She is a nurse who has a power slightly similar to Karatsu’s, but she can only hear the last message of the dead. So not as useful a trick. The mystery involves a series of dead babies that show up at a hospital drop box, and a series of seeming resurrections where the recently dead are coming back to life but with the mannerisms of a baby. So the team begins its investigation, and eventually tracks down the person responsible, the nurse’s grandmother. Apparently a special type of midwife, her grandmother would also kill the child if the mother so desired, and then send the child away using a strange sort of dimensional door. A bizarre series of explanations later and the nurse is free from her grandmother’s responsibility and can go back to her own life. Again, this story was a bit complicated in its explanation, but it did enough with what room it had. It kept things moving and interesting while introducing new characters, so that was a definite positive.
And overall the volume delivered an enjoyable series of stories, though the common link of relationships wasn’t exactly my favorite. But most of the stories had a fair share of humor, excepting perhaps the last story, which was largely serious. But the series is picking things up, and while it does not get back to any larger story, it at least does a good job with the stories it does include. And the stories fit better in the volume. Whether that is because they are kept rather light or because the writer is starting to know how to use the space better, there is a marked improvement over similarly broken up volumes. And the series is still fun and engaging and provoking. It does a great job at being something I want to come back to, something that I want more of. And so I give this volume of the series an 8.25/10.
So here we are at volume 8, following on the heals of a volume that was more heavy in moving along the larger story, at least when it comes to the Corpse Cleaning Service and such. But, alas, my hopes that this one would pick up where that left off have been in vain, as we are given four unrelated but quite entertaining stories. If anything, this volume might be characterized as being much more centered on love or attraction or relationships or something like that. The first story is a very short one that introduces a new member and possible girl for Karatsu. The second story is about a dog and a young couple trying to get married. The third story is about post death marriages. And the last case is about dead babies and introduces another possible girl for Karatsu. So while the stories vary a good deal, they all seem to revolve around the idea of relationships. Which isn’t a bad thing. Really, for being four different stories these are all well done and seem complete, which is nice when compared to some of the other volumes where stories can seem a bit rushed and undeveloped.
The shortest story is the first, which has the Kurosagi Cash Money-Makin’ Club looking for new members. A young woman shows up to join, and she seems to hit it off with Karatsu. A hilarious series of interviews ensue as one by one the new would-be members are scared off, until only the young woman is left. It is funny to see how the group reacts to new people, especially given that these people are much more normal, at least in the sense that their “powers” are either not powers or are fake. Other than that this is sort of a refresher for the series, I guess in case anyone picked up the volume without having read through volume 1. That aside, though, the show then goes on the road as the group goes out to teach the young woman the trade. So it’s back to the forest where they first started their club. Only the twist comes towards the end as they find the body of a young woman, who turns out to be the woman they have been with the entire time. Apparently she hadn’t really wanted to die and was allowed to stay to help find her body. A nice, short story.
The second story is a bit more tragic. To me, at least, because it centers around a former police dog going to live with a young couple about to be married. For good measure it turns out there is a drug smuggling and illegal immigration operation going on, which leads to the untimely death of the adorable dog. And perhaps I’m weird but I find the death of a dog more tragic than the accidental suicide of a young woman. In any event, the group stays to expose the operation and bring the villain to justice, though in this case that means he ends up on the wrong side of undead dog teeth. But so it goes, I guess. Again, this story is full of the humor that makes the series very enjoyable, while at the same time dealing with murder and death and exploitation. This isn’t a very long story, either, but I think that it helps that it didn’t try to do too much. This story was simple and provided a good story without a mystery. It was more to see how everything would play out and to have fun while doing it. Which is fine by me.
The third story is, I think, the longest of the volume, and involves arranged marriages after death, where men die but are wed to dead women, only in the case of this the grooms aren’t really asking before killing there brides. It is an interesting concept, where if a picture of a couple is put into a special shrine, the spirit of the man (I guess it could be the woman, but it is a man every time in this case) comes back and kills the woman so they can have their ceremony. Well, as the group investigates, the story takes a more personal route as Sasaki is targeted. The main part of the story involves a young artist who helps out the group from time to time and who gets hired to draw the pictures that cause so much pain. When he eventually refuses, he is killed and the group finds him. Here again we see the spirit who works with Karatsu helping Sasaki directly, implying some larger link between those two, or perhaps between Sasalo and Karatsu. That is yet to be seen. But indeed, this leads to the artist being revived to get revenge on the men in charge of the operation, and to get revenge are the spirits of all the women killed. So it is a nice turn around at the end and everything wraps up rather nicely.
If the third story isn’t the longest, then this one could be, but at the very least this story is longer than the first two, and introduces a new possible love interest for Karatsu, the last one having turned out to be dead and all. She is a nurse who has a power slightly similar to Karatsu’s, but she can only hear the last message of the dead. So not as useful a trick. The mystery involves a series of dead babies that show up at a hospital drop box, and a series of seeming resurrections where the recently dead are coming back to life but with the mannerisms of a baby. So the team begins its investigation, and eventually tracks down the person responsible, the nurse’s grandmother. Apparently a special type of midwife, her grandmother would also kill the child if the mother so desired, and then send the child away using a strange sort of dimensional door. A bizarre series of explanations later and the nurse is free from her grandmother’s responsibility and can go back to her own life. Again, this story was a bit complicated in its explanation, but it did enough with what room it had. It kept things moving and interesting while introducing new characters, so that was a definite positive.
And overall the volume delivered an enjoyable series of stories, though the common link of relationships wasn’t exactly my favorite. But most of the stories had a fair share of humor, excepting perhaps the last story, which was largely serious. But the series is picking things up, and while it does not get back to any larger story, it at least does a good job with the stories it does include. And the stories fit better in the volume. Whether that is because they are kept rather light or because the writer is starting to know how to use the space better, there is a marked improvement over similarly broken up volumes. And the series is still fun and engaging and provoking. It does a great job at being something I want to come back to, something that I want more of. And so I give this volume of the series an 8.25/10.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 1, 2021
Maybe you listened/watched to much Caitlin Doughty when your first reaction to some very graphic scenes is "oh the mangaka has done research" instead of "HOLY ICK". A side-note, I wish the editor's notes were less full of themselves, sometimes the information there is valid and interesting, but equally often it's just too damn personal. If I wanted to read the editor's blog with their random travel experiences in Japan, bad attempts at humor and gushing over fanboi stuff I'd do it online not in print, definitely not in editor's/translator's notes in a manga. By now I skip the editor's notes completely unless I'm especially interested in the content of a certain chapter and if I'm really lucky there will be information actually relating to the chapter not just another "This reminds the editor of when...". UGH. (Yes I ventured into the notes for the Baby-Box chapter and I regret it).
October 26, 2024
This volume was primarily about Japanese folklore and elements of Japanese culture about marriage, death, and practices of respecting the dead. The second store although morbid as one character had a close call was my favourite due to learning the old practice of marrying off the dead (primarily soldiers during war and interwar periods). The last story included included the take of the coin locker babies (Murakami’a book which I’ve recently purchased), modern vs cultural practices of preparing the dead, and roles midwives played in aiding mothers completing their pregnancy, birth and death.
August 11, 2018
Volume 8 of the Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service is several short stories in one book. It's almost like the author is trying out characters to add or expand within the series. The Service is a group of college graduates that realize that college did not prepare them for employment and they have to find their own path. They come together as each has a special skill in a paranormal service in helping spirits. It's a good series.
June 20, 2022
I love the 3 different stories in this volume!! The first story had quite the plot twist but shows the character of the characters. I like how even though most of the stories in the series have some Japanese history behind it, the last 2 stories in this volume focuses on a history that is still somewhat relevant to today. TW: infanticide
August 28, 2018
I really like this.
October 29, 2010
Once in a while, you'll find that one volume of a series that you really just love. That you keep reading over & over because you just like one or all of the stories in it. For this series, it's volume 8. (So far, anyway.)
This volume has what is quite possibly my favorite story of the series. In order to keep their club room & maybe even get some funding from the school, the members of KCDS attempt to gain new members. The requirements for entry are a little strict, but even so... only about 5 people show any interest in joining. After being insulted & horrified by the club members, most of the new recruits end up running off, except for one very special recruit! The stories after this one are just as good, although they didn't tickle my funny bone like the first story did. There's a story about weddings for the dead as well as a mystery surrounding deceased infants being placed inside a hospital dropbox.
The stories in this volume really do make this my favorite volume of the series. They're all well plotted out & you get a really nice feeling for all of the characters. The artwork is well done in this volume & you can see where it's improved over previous volumes. The only sour note for this volume is knowing that the next volume wasn't quite as good, which isn't this volume's fault at all.
This volume has what is quite possibly my favorite story of the series. In order to keep their club room & maybe even get some funding from the school, the members of KCDS attempt to gain new members. The requirements for entry are a little strict, but even so... only about 5 people show any interest in joining. After being insulted & horrified by the club members, most of the new recruits end up running off, except for one very special recruit! The stories after this one are just as good, although they didn't tickle my funny bone like the first story did. There's a story about weddings for the dead as well as a mystery surrounding deceased infants being placed inside a hospital dropbox.
The stories in this volume really do make this my favorite volume of the series. They're all well plotted out & you get a really nice feeling for all of the characters. The artwork is well done in this volume & you can see where it's improved over previous volumes. The only sour note for this volume is knowing that the next volume wasn't quite as good, which isn't this volume's fault at all.
July 25, 2010
I can't read these volumes fast enough. In volume 8, we have a sweet opening story about a new member to the Kurosagi group's club on the campus of the Buddhist university they all matriculated at. A second story centers on the practice of "meikonshiki" - a resurrected traditional art of marrying singles after they are deceased...and in darker corners, finding a way to unite corpses with partners from the world of the living. And in the final story, we learn about a midwife practice that promises to end lives as well as save them. At the conclusion of the volume, the authors imply (through Karatsu) that the character Yui Kikuchi (nurse) may return in future stories. We also get a sense that Sasaki may have feelings for Karatsu that go a little beyond just being friends and co-workers...and she also may be one of the few who is starting to detect the presence of Karatsu's spiritual comrade in arms, Yaichi...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 18, 2011
I just picked this up randomly at the library, not even realizing I was getting vol 8 in a series.
A group of people with special abilities re-animate corpses to help fulfill their final wishes. Sound spooky and creepy? Well, kinda. But the coolest part is learning all about weird Japanese ideas, myths and practices related to death and dying. (Such as: an entire section on abortion practices--like the midwives who were prepared to commit infanticide in an era where abortion was a social secret, or the practice of sending unwanted infants down the river in a woven reed basket). The footnotes explicate the differences, which makes them interesting in their own right.
If I ever come across any of the other volumes, they would be worth the read!
A group of people with special abilities re-animate corpses to help fulfill their final wishes. Sound spooky and creepy? Well, kinda. But the coolest part is learning all about weird Japanese ideas, myths and practices related to death and dying. (Such as: an entire section on abortion practices--like the midwives who were prepared to commit infanticide in an era where abortion was a social secret, or the practice of sending unwanted infants down the river in a woven reed basket). The footnotes explicate the differences, which makes them interesting in their own right.
If I ever come across any of the other volumes, they would be worth the read!
March 20, 2016
There are some hints of the many mysterious rituals for the dead stated in this chapter (in early volumes they even mention rituals from ancient Egypt!) which rooted from ancient Japan. I had to look up for words like "shigo kekkon" (marriage for the dead), "santogara" (newborn's shell), "josanbu" (killer midwive), "akago-zuka" (baby headstone) and learn their connection to the Japanese belief of the world of the dead. It's always more fun to learn about people's culture by graphic novel, more so because you can tell Eiji Otsuka-sensei is well-read.
November 1, 2019
I reviewed volumes 1-14 for Lady Business, but the long and short of it is that it's one of my favourite horror series, and when it wants to do political commentary, it goes HARD. It just also has some storylines that I side-eye INTENSELY.
Caution warnings for the series:
Caution warnings for the series:
September 1, 2009
I love how KCDS puts a twist on things - it's probably the cleverest thing I am reading at the moment.
I'm also continually impressed by the notes at the back. Who knew you could learn so much about Japan's reproductive health services from a comic on the supernatural? Educational and hilarious, that's what I like...
I'm also continually impressed by the notes at the back. Who knew you could learn so much about Japan's reproductive health services from a comic on the supernatural? Educational and hilarious, that's what I like...
November 24, 2009
Finished this book in one sitting. Easy read. I love how the authors come up with different stories. This book gets deeper into some of the character's past life, which wasn't really present in the first couple books. A must for Kurosagi Corpse Delivery service fan. I love all the tidbits that's in the front of the book (technically the back of the book for Japanese readers).
March 29, 2010
I liked the unexpected twist of the first story, although it was a bit odd that all the characters had to be introduced again. Maybe the manga switched magazines in Japan or something. A new venue might also explain the vibe in the last story that had Numata asking, "Are we turning into a love comedy?!"
September 25, 2010
Great little manga series about a group of graduates from the local buddhist academy who can't find jobs. They join together to become a company that grants final requests to their clients. The clients? Why they are corpses. Funny, scary and thoughtful in turns. Well worth reading.
May 1, 2009
Still good. :)
May 25, 2009
Best one yet! Loved all the stories and I thought the last few pages were absolutely gorgeous...phenomenal art!
October 29, 2009
It is getting creepier and even more creepier and I like it! 8-)
August 29, 2011
I really liked the first story in this volume about the new "club" member. Nice twist. I thought the creepy babies in the other story were VERY creepy.
March 5, 2015
this is definitely the best volume in the KCDS series.
September 28, 2015
Se está volviendo tedioso, pero de una forma en la que no puedes soltarlo y solo quieres saber más.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews