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The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service #11
The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, Volume 11
Paint it black! Designer Bunpei Yorifuji darkens the iconic cover design in honor of the sinister "Class Cutter" - Kurosagi's longest story since Volume 2, inspired by one of the most infamous Japanese crimes of recent years. Can a girl who committed a brutal murder in grade school ever truly return to society... and why does Sasayama insist on dragging the Corpse Delivery Service into it?
232 pages, Paperback
First published March 5, 2009
7 people are currently reading
163 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 - 16 of 16 reviews
January 13, 2021
I could really do without all those teen pantyshots in the first story. It feels extra creepy thanks to the realistic artstyle.
October 19, 2010
Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service is one of those books I can't put down. Though after 11 volumes the stories border on formulaic, the books are still a draw for me because of the interactions between the characters. The books are translated well in that the dialogue carries the story along and provides you the pieces necessary to continue to build the characters' personalities as you read. Volume 12 is due out in the Spring. I can't wait to pick it up.
November 22, 2010
One of the few ongoing horror manga series that never fails to deliver creepy, inventive concepts in each volume (plus top notch artwork and gore!) A likeable group of gifted kids: a pyschic, a dowser, a hacker, an embalmer, and a channeler and his puppet, all assisting the recently deceased in a variety of astounding and horrific ways... HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
September 3, 2011
Shoulder karma rats, cool.
November 16, 2018
I really like this series. Volume 11 has two stories. It's the group in a girl's school in the first and working with a swimmer in the second.I won't go into more of the story. The group is more than a bunch of lovable losers but they are lovable losers. I can't see anyone just stumbling into volume 11 but if you did, the premise is that the group have gone to a Buddhist University and realized that they are unemployable. They get together, realize they all have some abilities that fit together and find a common purpose; to deliver the dead to their final resting place and to try to get some money out of it. The only mystery left is if my local library has a volume 12.
July 29, 2022
4.75/5 stars
Even though it seems longer cause of the amount of chapters, the plot flies by quick! This book has 2 stories, the first taking up 8 chapters. I like how the stories are more in depth and more supernatural elements are introduced within other characters aside from the protagonist group.
TW: serial child murderer
Even though it seems longer cause of the amount of chapters, the plot flies by quick! This book has 2 stories, the first taking up 8 chapters. I like how the stories are more in depth and more supernatural elements are introduced within other characters aside from the protagonist group.
TW: serial child murderer
January 13, 2025
I feel like were finally starting to uncover why some of these characters have strange supernatural powers. It seems like Detective Sasayama has been at work and knowledgeable about some things for a while now…👀. ALSO Karatsu x Sasaki?? im not the only one who sees it right??! LIKE CMON at this point it’s right there!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 29, 2018
I liked the story arcs in this one.
May 30, 2012
Stuff I Read – Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service Vol 11
Well, as the last few volumes have really raised the bar for the series, I figured I would just keep going on this series for as long as I could Unfortunately, I think this is the last volume that is currently out, though volume 12 is either just out or soon to be out. But who knows how long it will take the bookstore to stock it, so we’ll see on that. Worst case scenario is that this will be the last review of Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service for a while, which is a sad thing but if the next volumes of MPD Psycho ever decide to ship then at least there will be something to look forward to. Indeed. But volume 11 does something that hasn’t really been done since volume 2, and that is have a long story. Some volumes have had longer stories, perhaps breaking the volume down into three different cases, but this volume is dominated by a single case, with a very short second case thrown on the end for a little variety, though that story was definitely the weakest part of the volume.
The main story gets more into the detective turned social worker, the same character who appears in MPD Psycho, but who is now the group’s benefactor in many ways. At least, he’s the one who gives them the most work, and asks the most favors of them. In this story we learn that he has taken in a little girl who was found guilty of the murder of her mother, and kind of centers around a string of anonymous tips of upcoming crimes. The crimes are largely prevented because of the tips, but the criminals don’t actually remember posting the threats. These are centered around a girls school where the girl the detective took in goes to, and it was the same school she went before the murder. So to try to figure out what is going on the Detective arranges to have Makino and Yata do some teaching training at the school. Again here we see that it is Makino and Yata who are actually continuing their education, and one can kind of guess that they are the reason the club can still exist on campus.
In any event, Numata signs up as a security guard and all begins, as it is slowly revealed that the little girl has the ability to see small rat-like creatures that ride around on people’s backs and represent their evils, I suppose. At the very least, for people who are about to commit a murder or something similar, the rats become very large and talk to the girl when she covers one eye. Once again, this power first manifested when she lost her mother and sister, so it fits in with what we’ve learned from the other characters and how they got their abilities. And it is also revealed that the girl is looking for the man who killed her mother and sister, who she believes is still around the school. In the mean time this story is very well paced and keeps the tension climbing and climbing as the group finally learns the truth of it all. And, of course, the story wouldn’t be complete without the girl being taken by the killer of her mother and sister and threatened.
And through this all the book makes a bit of a statement on how people want to view the new generation, as it relates how it was assumed that the girl was guilty when the story came out, how everyone wanted to believe that this was the result of the changing culture bringing unwanted change, that the added violence in society and popular culture made the girl do it or something like that and they didn’t want to look deeper. At the same time the killer is motivated by a want to preserve what he sees as the innocence of youth, and maybe even the innocence of a previous generation, as he sees children becoming harder and more cruel. Which I don’t really buy, and which I think he would even be contributing to by his predation on them. But in any event, that theme is rather central to the story, with the ending being a kind of affirmation that this generation is no worse than any one previous, and that we shouldn’t assume that children are fallen just because we don’t completely understand them. It is something that gets brought up a bit in MPD Psycho, and it is obviously something the author feels strongly about, given how violent his series are. But so the girl is actually saved by her own shoulder rat and everything kind of works itself out after that.
The second story is very short and involves genetic doping in the Olympics, and really is a fairly funny story, but very short and really not that well paced. Things all happen very rapidly and with great suddenness, so really it doesn’t build much or achieve a very good level of clarity. It is kind of interesting because the premise is all right and the characters are always good, but this is a very by the numbers affair and I don’t really feel I can say much about it. But overall the volume is great, and I really like that they got into a longer story again. It might not have gotten back into some of the plot points brought up before, but I starts new stories and introduces new ideas and really does a good job overall of telling a great story. So this volume stands tall with a 9/10.
Well, as the last few volumes have really raised the bar for the series, I figured I would just keep going on this series for as long as I could Unfortunately, I think this is the last volume that is currently out, though volume 12 is either just out or soon to be out. But who knows how long it will take the bookstore to stock it, so we’ll see on that. Worst case scenario is that this will be the last review of Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service for a while, which is a sad thing but if the next volumes of MPD Psycho ever decide to ship then at least there will be something to look forward to. Indeed. But volume 11 does something that hasn’t really been done since volume 2, and that is have a long story. Some volumes have had longer stories, perhaps breaking the volume down into three different cases, but this volume is dominated by a single case, with a very short second case thrown on the end for a little variety, though that story was definitely the weakest part of the volume.
The main story gets more into the detective turned social worker, the same character who appears in MPD Psycho, but who is now the group’s benefactor in many ways. At least, he’s the one who gives them the most work, and asks the most favors of them. In this story we learn that he has taken in a little girl who was found guilty of the murder of her mother, and kind of centers around a string of anonymous tips of upcoming crimes. The crimes are largely prevented because of the tips, but the criminals don’t actually remember posting the threats. These are centered around a girls school where the girl the detective took in goes to, and it was the same school she went before the murder. So to try to figure out what is going on the Detective arranges to have Makino and Yata do some teaching training at the school. Again here we see that it is Makino and Yata who are actually continuing their education, and one can kind of guess that they are the reason the club can still exist on campus.
In any event, Numata signs up as a security guard and all begins, as it is slowly revealed that the little girl has the ability to see small rat-like creatures that ride around on people’s backs and represent their evils, I suppose. At the very least, for people who are about to commit a murder or something similar, the rats become very large and talk to the girl when she covers one eye. Once again, this power first manifested when she lost her mother and sister, so it fits in with what we’ve learned from the other characters and how they got their abilities. And it is also revealed that the girl is looking for the man who killed her mother and sister, who she believes is still around the school. In the mean time this story is very well paced and keeps the tension climbing and climbing as the group finally learns the truth of it all. And, of course, the story wouldn’t be complete without the girl being taken by the killer of her mother and sister and threatened.
And through this all the book makes a bit of a statement on how people want to view the new generation, as it relates how it was assumed that the girl was guilty when the story came out, how everyone wanted to believe that this was the result of the changing culture bringing unwanted change, that the added violence in society and popular culture made the girl do it or something like that and they didn’t want to look deeper. At the same time the killer is motivated by a want to preserve what he sees as the innocence of youth, and maybe even the innocence of a previous generation, as he sees children becoming harder and more cruel. Which I don’t really buy, and which I think he would even be contributing to by his predation on them. But in any event, that theme is rather central to the story, with the ending being a kind of affirmation that this generation is no worse than any one previous, and that we shouldn’t assume that children are fallen just because we don’t completely understand them. It is something that gets brought up a bit in MPD Psycho, and it is obviously something the author feels strongly about, given how violent his series are. But so the girl is actually saved by her own shoulder rat and everything kind of works itself out after that.
The second story is very short and involves genetic doping in the Olympics, and really is a fairly funny story, but very short and really not that well paced. Things all happen very rapidly and with great suddenness, so really it doesn’t build much or achieve a very good level of clarity. It is kind of interesting because the premise is all right and the characters are always good, but this is a very by the numbers affair and I don’t really feel I can say much about it. But overall the volume is great, and I really like that they got into a longer story again. It might not have gotten back into some of the plot points brought up before, but I starts new stories and introduces new ideas and really does a good job overall of telling a great story. So this volume stands tall with a 9/10.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 17, 2011
I was pleasantly surprised to find that this volume really brought me back into KCDS in a way that I hadn't enjoyed since the first few volumes of the series, mostly since this volume shows a little background about one of the characters that previously hadn't been as explored as some of the other cast members.
There's really only two stories in this book, with the "Class Cutter" tale being the longest and darkest. (They even changed the color of the volume from yellow to black sort of as a result of this.) CC has to be one of the better stories the series has had so far and also has some pretty amazing artwork. The plot manages to be intriguing without falling into overly predictable patterns and I liked that it gave us a bit of a deeper glimpse into the lives of some of our characters. The second story (involving the gang checking out a haunted hotel) wasn't as intense but was still pretty decent and I think that it was a fitting story to have after the CC episode.
What really intrigued me was that this book drew in many recent (and horrifying) real life acts, such as the Sasebo slashing (which I hadn't heard about until this volume but appears to be an inspiration for this volume) and other horrifying incidents. There was one part that I believe was based off of the Akihabara massacre, which I was familiar with. It really brought a new level of creepiness to the manga since many of the previous stories in KCDS were so over the top that they were pretty unrealistic.
One thing I do feel obligated to point out to fans of Sasaki and Makino is that there's lots of fanservice here as far as they're concerned, so you'll have that going for you as well.
There's really only two stories in this book, with the "Class Cutter" tale being the longest and darkest. (They even changed the color of the volume from yellow to black sort of as a result of this.) CC has to be one of the better stories the series has had so far and also has some pretty amazing artwork. The plot manages to be intriguing without falling into overly predictable patterns and I liked that it gave us a bit of a deeper glimpse into the lives of some of our characters. The second story (involving the gang checking out a haunted hotel) wasn't as intense but was still pretty decent and I think that it was a fitting story to have after the CC episode.
What really intrigued me was that this book drew in many recent (and horrifying) real life acts, such as the Sasebo slashing (which I hadn't heard about until this volume but appears to be an inspiration for this volume) and other horrifying incidents. There was one part that I believe was based off of the Akihabara massacre, which I was familiar with. It really brought a new level of creepiness to the manga since many of the previous stories in KCDS were so over the top that they were pretty unrealistic.
One thing I do feel obligated to point out to fans of Sasaki and Makino is that there's lots of fanservice here as far as they're concerned, so you'll have that going for you as well.
March 22, 2016
Nice tribute! the depiction of reality of alleged child murder and how society takes it... with a dash of supernatural power named Winnicot!
The first through 7th chapters was based on the real-life criminal case, but I'm not certain which criminal case brought here. The only leading I got from 'Class Cutter' is the one happened In June 2001. A 38-year-old unemployed man, Mamoru Takuma, burst onto an elementary school in Osaka and stabbed eight children to death with a knife and injured 13 other students and two teachers. (Perhaps someone can inform me whether my suspicion were true or not?)
The other chapters tell a case of athlete doping went awfully wrong (so wrong he ended up swim-holic zombie).
At the end of Chapter 7, Sasaki asked Sasayama whether he actually had hidden agenda behind all this 'recruiting' orphaned people with tragic childhood---who happen to have special abilities. Now that you mentioned it, Sasaki...I can't wait to read the next volume...
The first through 7th chapters was based on the real-life criminal case, but I'm not certain which criminal case brought here. The only leading I got from 'Class Cutter' is the one happened In June 2001. A 38-year-old unemployed man, Mamoru Takuma, burst onto an elementary school in Osaka and stabbed eight children to death with a knife and injured 13 other students and two teachers. (Perhaps someone can inform me whether my suspicion were true or not?)
The other chapters tell a case of athlete doping went awfully wrong (so wrong he ended up swim-holic zombie).
At the end of Chapter 7, Sasaki asked Sasayama whether he actually had hidden agenda behind all this 'recruiting' orphaned people with tragic childhood---who happen to have special abilities. Now that you mentioned it, Sasaki...I can't wait to read the next volume...
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:
December 31, 2010
Interesting. Young girl who discovered a new power. Nothing else to say. I still love the series, but honestly, this one and #10 (I actually don't remember the earlier ones, except the first 5 or so), there's basically only one major plot, and maybe one or two subplots. I'm kind of disappointed because I wanted to see more dead people. :-D However, it does get into some of the history in one character's.
August 13, 2014
I plowed through volumes 9-13 over a weekend and this one stood out. The first story is (loosely) based on a real incident about 10 years ago but with a supernatural twist. The second story is not quite as interesting but as a whole the volume is worth checking out.
April 29, 2013
If you see me looking at you with one eye, I'm not looking at you-I'm looking at the rat on your shoulder! ;)
October 1, 2015
Directores de primaria creepy son lo peor
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews