A small country town's got more than the usual crop circles to claim aliens drop by... they've got the extraterrestrial's body! It's going to be a different kind of alien autopsy when the Kurosagi crew investigates their oddest client yet. And there's more strange visitors from afar when an American entomologist drops in-blond, buxom and an expert on maggots - not to mention a crossover appearance by Reiji Akiba, the gun-toting exorcist of Mail!
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).
Either the tone shifted or I wasn't reading carefully, because this was a lot funnier than I recall previous volumes being. Especially the first story, where our crew is hired to make fake crop circles for Sasayama's almost-identical hick cousin.
We have new character, a mysterious ghost detective who is only around briefly but I expect to see return, and a busty blond American science student who goes around in a cowboy, bra (nipping out) and Daisy Dukes.
If you need a name for your garage band, I may I suggest Suicide Snails? You're welcome.
This volume offers a great go-round with the gang. Stories feature creepy-crawly things, crop circles, alien autopsies, urban legends and behind-the-scenes mayhem at a plastinated "Bodies" exhibit.
My only complaint about the series so far? We've now seen both female characters naked...when are the guys gonna strip down?
Each volume of this series finds out heroes desperate to make some cash and willing to accept most any work that will bring in a paycheck. In Vol. 4, they are signed on to help a destitute Japanese village become the Roswell, New Mexico, of Japan. While the three guys make crop circles litttle Makino checks out the supposed mummified alien corpse discovered by villagers fifty years ago. It is clearly the corpse of a monkey, but Kuratsu discovers an alien being trapped in the corpse, and so the teams sets to work.
As usual with this series, each episode takes on topical subjects in outrageous fashion, One of those touring exhibitions of plasticized human bodies leads the team into a hotbed of perverted science relating back to Unit 731, the WW II Japanese biological warfare initiative whose existence the nation denied until the 1990's. The wildest story involves the illegal imports for the exotic bug market which is causing an outbreak of suicides among collectors infected by a parasite that lives in a particularly desirable and illegal snail. The parasite does quite a number on its host's eyes and makes them want to fly. The results are predictably disastrous but it is all just nature taking its course.
The dialog throughout is profane and funny, and the visuals are consistently grotesque.
This weird series is for adults only! It does give some food for thought too. Unique offering in the manga world i find. This volume finds the group totally without paying jobs, and trying anything to get by. This issue makes you wonder more about what is a soul. Also teaches you some history/urban legends-Japan Style.
Volume 4 is a collection of four standalone stories, and man do we get a wide variety of cases, here. From aliens, to urban legends, to vengeful ghosts, to stranger things, the sheer diversity in these stories further cements Kurosagi as a weird, and truly unique series.
The writing is also really on-point in this volume, too, with various sections that genuinely made me laugh, or feel uncomfortable. It's by turns irreverent, witty, atmospheric, and thought-provoking, and I really have to admire the skills Eiji Otsuka brings to the table--to the point that I didn't even mind that this series does continue the stereotype that all Americans wear cowboy hats.
If you're looking for something out of the ordinary, and you're not squeamish, then I have absolutely no qualms about continuing to recommend The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service.
I like how more diverse characters are introduced, but their portrayal is stereotypical or exaggerated, to say the least. Not sure if the original text uses the same terms or if the translator tried to cater the language to the US audience, but using the r-word and having an American character say that "being called French is worse than the n-word" is just plain insensitive and inaccurate!
Translator needs to do better!!! It feels like the volumes are getting worse than better.
If you love "Mail", you're in for a treat as one of the chapters has a crossover with Akiba, the main character from the series! Other than that, I wasn't really into the chapters about the alien or insects. The other ones about the dissected corpse exhibit and of course the Mail crossover were pretty good though.
3.5 stars Another solid volume in the series. Maybe, I'm just not feeling this series anymore. I didn't feel as connected to the characters this time. But it has been about 2 years since I read the previous volume, so maybe that's it. Still great artwork, same characters. This volume wasn't as creepy as others IMO.
I particularly liked the first one about the alien body but the rest are fine, too, most are probably based on Japanese urban legends (they even say that outright).
I love this series but the was the first one that made me a little queasy. Note to readers: don't read the end of the final case while eating. Otherwise totally enjoyed it.
Stuff I Read – The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service vol 4
This fourth volume of manga marks a minor formal change for the series, containing four different stories instead of the more standard three. Really it’s not that noticeable, and this volume works well with the format, sticking once again to rather lighter stories. Or, at least, light in regards to itself. The manga remains rather disturbing at time, and goes to lengths to present the grotesque and twisted. In this it is wholly successful, and if judged solely on the werid and twisted corpses it presents this volume would be a resounding win. And, indeed, I do consider it a bit of a step up from the last volume, though this one definitely doesn’t provide much more in the terms of substance. But the volume settles back into exploring a story and resolving it rather than leaving before everything has been seen to.
It also has some of the funniest situations yet, and the first case is probably the best example of that. The group comes across a supposed alien corpse that turns out to be a monkey corpse with an alien spirit trapped inside of it. This gives Yata (the channeler) and his puppet most of the spotlight. And given that those are my favorite characters, perhaps it is no surprise that I liked this story so much. But really this is just a cute and funny story, a real break from most of the stories involving murder and death. This explores more the idea of aliens and that kind of thing, and is hilarious and has a great ending.
Which sets up the more typical (for this series at least) second story, which is probably the best suspense and horror story of the volume. Reminiscent of the story in the first volume featuring the serial killer hair stylist, this story features a similar urban legend that the group gets caught up in, this one revolving around abductions happening in China. Combine that with a museum that specializes in artistic representations of the dead and you get a rather creepy story that once again puts the group in mortal danger. This also brings back the aspect of the main character’s powers where he can empower corpses to seek vengeance. So it does really echo that story from the first book, where in the end the killer is turned on by what he considered his art.
The third story is unique in that according to the back (or front?) of the manga it is a crossover with another manga. I’m unfamiliar with that manga, but it does not hinge so much on the crossover that it is inaccessible to normal readers of the series. This case involves a dead baby and a rather interesting set of circumstances involving ghosts. That might be the crossover aspect, because ghosts have not played a role in the series before this. So a story about possession and infanticide is new, and was well done. The story also involves whatever force it is that helps the main character, though it really doesn’t shed a whole lot of light as to what is happening with it. And the ending has more to do with the other manga series of the cross over and doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, but it was still a good story overall.
The last story returns to humor but does it in a very strange and grotesque fashion. The group comes across a series of deaths that involve the corpse having had its eyes eaten by birds. The bodies are all found in high places, and the corpses, when questioned, say they want to become birds. So really it is a strange story. Thrown in for the hell of it is a American college student who acts as a very ridiculous but hilarious presence in the story. Together with the American the group tracks down what has been happening to these people, to some incredibly weird results. The scene that reveals what has happened is easily the strangest panel I have seen in manga. So that should say something. And while the story is not that long, it does provide some new ideas, some really odd scenes, and some good laughs.
All together this volume seems to be on the way back up from volume three, but I wouldn’t say that it has gotten back to how good it was in the first two volumes. It is entertaining and funny and suspenseful and well done, but most of the stories end up being without reward. Which would be fine, but part of the fun of the earlier stories was that the dead found inventive ways to pay them. In these last two volumes they really haven’t got much for their troubles, with the exception of the gift from the alien, which was great. But I want that to work its way back in a bit. Otherwise, it is still a good read. I give it a 7.5/10.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Overall Rating: A Synopsis: Your body is their business! From writer, Eiji Otsuka, and artist, Housui Yamazaki, Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service is a manga that combines horror, and humor. The surprising thing about the series is that it does a good job at both. The story follows five Buddhist college students as they start up a unique service, one that serves the dead. Using unique skills, like dowsing and speaking to the dead, they find the dead and help them free their souls for reincarnation. Oh, and did I mention one of them speaks to aliens through the puppet on his hand?
Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service follows Kuro Karatsu, an average student at an average Buddhist college. Kuro is trying to find a job, but his grades aren't good enough to get anything good. Fortunately for Kuro, he has a skill the other students don't, he can also speak to the dead. After getting roped into some volunteer service where he meets other specialists like himself, who can find dead bodies using dowsing, speak to aliens, and an embalmer (a rare occupation in Japan), the group forms the Kurosagi (which means black crane) Corpse Delivery Service. Their job is to find dead bodies whose souls cannot move on, and help free them so they can be reincarnated. Unfortunately for Kuro and the others, apparently the reason souls can't move on is because of some fucked up shit.
For example, the first case they get involved in deals with two lovers killed by the girl's father. Apparently, the girl had been a member of the pop group, Dokkiko, and the father had been abusing the girl. When he found out about her relationship, he became jealous and killed her and her boyfriend. Even more disturbingly, he replaces her corpse with a deer's carcass and takes her corpse back to their home to further abuse. Don't worry, the case ends happily enough, with the dead lovers killing the father so their souls can be released.
So, where's the humor? Well, if people speaking to aliens through hand puppets isn't enough to make you smile, I'm fairly sure you're dead inside. Even if that isn't your cup of tea, there is lots of shit to make you giggle in the series. For example, in the same story, Numada, the bad ass Dowser, comments on the pop group the dead girl belonged to, saying that she was a pure idol, and her departure from the group broke the hearts of all her fans. The delivery is fantastic and it's this kind of humor that makes the book great. The characters in the book deal with the horror like normal people. Well, normal people who have special powers and are kind of weird.
You might think that in a book where characters can speak to the dead, that the stories would be more action focused, or at least fast-paced, but the writing is often somber, and spends a lot of time presenting different facets of death and how people deal with it. The series also does an excellent job of juxtaposing real life issues like scrapping up enough money to buy lunch, and the supernatural issues that come along with speaking to the dead. I highly recommend checking this one out, but don't read it alone at night, unless you like creeping yourself out.
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This graphic novel series is about a group of recent graduates from a Buddhist University who were unable to find work (there are only so many monk positions to go around) and found that they had various abilities to contact the dead. They work at bringing the dead to their final resting place with generally poor results in getting paid for doing so. It is fairly interesting so far.
I read this a second time by accident. It actually gets better. I'd give it 3 1/2 stars now.
The title explains the idea of this series, pretty much. There were three stories in this volume; the first was about an "alien" that came to life when the itako (spirit communicator) came near it, and while the corpse turned out to be a russian chimp from early space exploration days there was a mysteeeeeeerious second soul inside it.
The second story was my favorite because it was the most believable, a one-off on the Bodies exhibit that's been touring the US. What if all those dead people didn't sign a waiver about plasticizing their bodies? What if they were still alive when...you get the picture.
Thirdly is a lesson on why you should never eat snails.
I keep reading this series because it's an intriguing & entertaining look at death from another culture's perspective, but it's not everyone's cup of tea.
Eiji Otsuka, The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, vol. 4 (Dark Horse, 2007)
We're back to the one-chapter episodes, and Otsuka delves into some very interesting places in the fourth volume of KCDS (if you make the logical leap in your head every time someone mentions Harbin...), including alien autopsies, a BodyWorlds exhibit (under another name, natch), and a hot American scientist named Reina who by the end of the volume seems as if she may end up becoming a team member. As usual, Otsuka proves a competent mystery writer, but an expert at character development, making us really believe these characters actually could be friends (even if they cordially despise one another most of the time). Wonderful stuff. ****
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.
This was more gruesome than I remember the others being...not sure if that's the case or if I just am more sensitive these days. Story is intriguing, and I still absolutely love what the alien puppet has to say.
I love the editors notes at the end of the book, besides being interesting, I find that I'm actually learning about Japanese culture/history through them. Nice little bonus to a horror manga, eh?
There were a few different stories in this book, as is usually the case with this series. One involved a Body Worlds-type display and another was about UFO's and space aliens (a funny and somewhat touching plot). Once again, Kurosagi Body Delivery Service totally delivers in this continuing story of our morbid rag-tag band. This has quickly become one of my favorite manga series, as I have said before. I just hope that my checkbook can keep up!
Bizarre story in this volume, though I liked that we finally give some credibility to the weird skill-set of young team member Yata and his ability to (on most days) just channel the voice/personality of a specific alien life form...using a sock puppet on one hand. A little dash of aliens/UFO fandom, a little pinch of the biologically bizarre, and a run-in with a paranormal private detective for hire. Good stuff.
The series is back on target! Volume 3 was kind of slow, compared to the rest of the series, but 4 was pretty awesome. All of the chapters had the out-there, quirky, WTF plot premises that I love. Not sure I love Reina's character too much... I read manga to get AWAY from the obnoxious American characters! But maybe she won't stick around for long!
A case of gradually diminishing returns -- the stabs at topicality (Unit 731) and interesting invocations of traditional Buddhist lore can't hide the fact that this is Generic Manga #13, complete with a hazily defined nakama and a Death Note-style over-plot gradually taking shape. Diverting but inessential.
I have my suspicions about those Body World exhibits.
Anyway, an American woman turns up just so Yamazaki can hit us with even more ridiculous outfits that what Sasaki typically wears. I remember the visible thong trend, but I don't remember waistlines being low enough to show off the front of the underwear...