What do you think?
Rate this book
The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service #13
The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, Volume 13
Your body is their business! Five strange young students at a Buddhist university find little call for their job skills in today's Tokyo... among the living, that is. But all that stuff in college they were told would never pay off - you know, channeling, dowsing, ESP - gives them a direct line to the dead... the dead who are still trapped in their corpses and can't move on to the next reincarnation. The five form the Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service: whether suicide, murder, accident, or illness, they'll carry your body wherever it needs to go to free your soul! In Volume 13 old friends and enemies alike return as Sasaki and Karatsu step off the plane from Okinawa - right into a gruesome scheme of zombification both traditional and technical, courtesy of the sinister Shirosagi duo! Then, one man's freedom depends on Sasaki, as she's called to serve as a lay judge in Japan's unique trial system...and where the pressure is on to reach the "correct" verdict.
208 pages, Paperback
First published February 4, 2010
7 people are currently reading
171 people want to read
About the author
Eiji Otsuka
353?books141?followers´ó‰VÓ¢Ö¾
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).
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 5, 2012
I was surprised to see that this volume was as laid back as it was, in comparison to some of the more recent volumes. By this I mean that it mostly resembles the initial cases by the crew where everything was of the "monster of the day" variety. There is some progression for the series as a whole, including one revelation that made me feel like I would have to re-read the previous volume. If you've been following the series at all, you'll know that for the most part you can follow the story so far without having to do an intense amount of re-reading.
Story-wise, the stuff here was slightly sad and also fairly interesting. I can't elaborate on the big reveal, but it's interesting to see what effect this will have on the character dynamics and inter-personal relationships. We have a nice little story about a young girl that sees revenge on guys that prey upon young runaways as well as one about a trial where Sasaki has to play Sherlock for a murder trial.
I think that these are some of the stronger stories I've seen in a while and I really enjoyed the murder trial story because it was nice to see most of the story focus on good old fashioned sleuthing rather than relying on the supernatural abilities of others. Those are present, but Sasaki's wits are the main focus of this story and that's what made me like it so much. At times I think the story uses the supernatural stuff as a catch-all to solve everything and explain whatever is going on. It pretty much became the equivalent of Sailor Moon waving her wand to solve everything, so it's nice to see a slight variation from this.
All in all, this was a rather nice volume. You don't have to have read the previous volumes to enjoy some of the stories, but you will feel lost with some of the plot points brought up in the first parts of the volume.
Story-wise, the stuff here was slightly sad and also fairly interesting. I can't elaborate on the big reveal, but it's interesting to see what effect this will have on the character dynamics and inter-personal relationships. We have a nice little story about a young girl that sees revenge on guys that prey upon young runaways as well as one about a trial where Sasaki has to play Sherlock for a murder trial.
I think that these are some of the stronger stories I've seen in a while and I really enjoyed the murder trial story because it was nice to see most of the story focus on good old fashioned sleuthing rather than relying on the supernatural abilities of others. Those are present, but Sasaki's wits are the main focus of this story and that's what made me like it so much. At times I think the story uses the supernatural stuff as a catch-all to solve everything and explain whatever is going on. It pretty much became the equivalent of Sailor Moon waving her wand to solve everything, so it's nice to see a slight variation from this.
All in all, this was a rather nice volume. You don't have to have read the previous volumes to enjoy some of the stories, but you will feel lost with some of the plot points brought up in the first parts of the volume.
July 28, 2014
Although this wasn't my favorite volume in the series so far, it far exceeds most other manga available in my opinion.
My reasoning is as follows:
Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service - Unique and catchy title, the style of the book with both English and Kanji titles as well as the 'staff' pictures wrapping around both covers and the 'deconstructed action figure' relating to one of the stories is visually appealing and unlike any other series. It's both modern and playful at the same time.
The stories often are concluded in one or two chapters without scenes dragging on and on as in most battle manga or even another of my favorite series Bakuman, which has manga battles lasting volumes and volumes. Although most of the mysteries are solved in shorter arcs there are larger mysteries going on which intertwine throughout the series, each story adding a little bit of information, another hint or another piece of the puzzle.
I have yet to see another series that adds as much to the experience as those who work on Kurosagi do. Once you've finished with the wonderful experience of reading Otsuka and Yamazaki's wonderful manga you are treated to often detailed and always interesting notes on the story and sound effects used within. This is especially great for non-Japanese readers who may or may not understand some of the references made within the story.
One interesting tid-bit from this volumes "Disjecta Membra," is that Tokyo has put a bid in to host the 2020 Summer Olympics, which happens to be the Olympics being prepared for in the film Akira.
I would recommend KCD to anyone who likes supernatural, paranormal or mystery stories. As well as those who don't like the predictability of the typical manga genres.
My reasoning is as follows:
Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service - Unique and catchy title, the style of the book with both English and Kanji titles as well as the 'staff' pictures wrapping around both covers and the 'deconstructed action figure' relating to one of the stories is visually appealing and unlike any other series. It's both modern and playful at the same time.
The stories often are concluded in one or two chapters without scenes dragging on and on as in most battle manga or even another of my favorite series Bakuman, which has manga battles lasting volumes and volumes. Although most of the mysteries are solved in shorter arcs there are larger mysteries going on which intertwine throughout the series, each story adding a little bit of information, another hint or another piece of the puzzle.
I have yet to see another series that adds as much to the experience as those who work on Kurosagi do. Once you've finished with the wonderful experience of reading Otsuka and Yamazaki's wonderful manga you are treated to often detailed and always interesting notes on the story and sound effects used within. This is especially great for non-Japanese readers who may or may not understand some of the references made within the story.
One interesting tid-bit from this volumes "Disjecta Membra," is that Tokyo has put a bid in to host the 2020 Summer Olympics, which happens to be the Olympics being prepared for in the film Akira.
I would recommend KCD to anyone who likes supernatural, paranormal or mystery stories. As well as those who don't like the predictability of the typical manga genres.
September 30, 2019
A nightmare at Disneyland; a murder trial about super senses; and a multicultural myth that takes root (literally) in modern day.
Again, this series is so macabre and there are points in time where I forget that it's supernatural. I FORGET that these people, the main characters are supernatural! So it throws me for a loop every time! And I love that aspect of it; it makes it seem all the more real.
Again, this series is so macabre and there are points in time where I forget that it's supernatural. I FORGET that these people, the main characters are supernatural! So it throws me for a loop every time! And I love that aspect of it; it makes it seem all the more real.
February 5, 2019
The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service is usually humorous and has 2 good stories in store for the reader. This one was ok but not their best. The first seemed to go on and on and didn't deliver as usual. The second one was short and seemed to end abruptly. Still, I like the series and expect the next one to come through for me.
August 30, 2018
That court case part was great.
September 21, 2020
As brutal a read as Kurosagi ever is, though the stories' content in this volume (a girl killed by a man who was enraged when she rejected his sexual advances, another girl murdered when police indifference enabled her stalker to become a murderer) felt nastier than usual given the timing with highly-publicized events in New Delhi, Stubenville, the Congo, &c. Not to say the volume was bad--it's not. It just seemed harder to read than some previous ones.
The first story was a neat tie-back to the robotics students of a previous volume, and included a few developments in Kurosagi's overall plot--including one "Wait, what?" twist that's prompted me to do a reread of the entire series. (Also, not gonna lie: the editor's note for that page made me laugh until my throat was sore.)
The second story was hands-down my favorite, because it was a fascinating look into Japan's lay judge system--Sasaki's total bamf Kiyoshi Mitarai-level sleuthing in that story would not have been possible without the lay judge system, which grants the judges far more autonomy in raising evidence and questioning witnesses than the jury system.
The third story was a shorter, somewhat usual story regarding Jomon and agricultural ritual killings (only in Kurosagi could that be considered 'usual.')
Yamazaki's art continues to improve--the increasing nuance of facial expressions especially--and Otsuka keeps the hooks in by tossing out more and more details of the larger plot behind the individual stories: this book has a little more about Yaichi, a little more about Shirosagi, a lot more about Karatsu and Sasaki; since I'm reading for the information on the past as well as for the zombies, this volume was as great as any.
The first story was a neat tie-back to the robotics students of a previous volume, and included a few developments in Kurosagi's overall plot--including one "Wait, what?" twist that's prompted me to do a reread of the entire series. (Also, not gonna lie: the editor's note for that page made me laugh until my throat was sore.)
The second story was hands-down my favorite, because it was a fascinating look into Japan's lay judge system--Sasaki's total bamf Kiyoshi Mitarai-level sleuthing in that story would not have been possible without the lay judge system, which grants the judges far more autonomy in raising evidence and questioning witnesses than the jury system.
The third story was a shorter, somewhat usual story regarding Jomon and agricultural ritual killings (only in Kurosagi could that be considered 'usual.')
Yamazaki's art continues to improve--the increasing nuance of facial expressions especially--and Otsuka keeps the hooks in by tossing out more and more details of the larger plot behind the individual stories: this book has a little more about Yaichi, a little more about Shirosagi, a lot more about Karatsu and Sasaki; since I'm reading for the information on the past as well as for the zombies, this volume was as great as any.
March 28, 2013
KCDS 13 is on par with the rest of the series in terms of writing, art and the enjoyably thorough editor notes. Every manga should have an editorial commentary track at the end.
However, I was really hoping for more plot that I got from this book. The Shirosagi characters show up again, and are as mysterious as ever. A plot twist is added that doesn't really answer any questions; neither Sasaki or Kuratsu will talk about their trip to Okinawa. It's been seven books since that incident with the burning corpse and we still don't know that much more about it.
However, the 'monster-of-the-week' stories and social commentary are just as entertaining without the secrets, and I quite liked the Phoenix Wright flavour of the second story in this volume. It'll certainly keep me reading this series for as long as they keep making it.
However, I was really hoping for more plot that I got from this book. The Shirosagi characters show up again, and are as mysterious as ever. A plot twist is added that doesn't really answer any questions; neither Sasaki or Kuratsu will talk about their trip to Okinawa. It's been seven books since that incident with the burning corpse and we still don't know that much more about it.
However, the 'monster-of-the-week' stories and social commentary are just as entertaining without the secrets, and I quite liked the Phoenix Wright flavour of the second story in this volume. It'll certainly keep me reading this series for as long as they keep making it.
March 28, 2016
The last chapter involved an ancient legend of coconut girl originated from Seram in Maluku, Indonesia (my own country, and I heard it for the first time now. Where the hell have I been?)
Yata mentioned the uncanny similarities of the story of Coconut girl of that Japanese folklore of the deity who gave birth of the first vegetable crops, Ogetsuhime, and the thought strike me: Is it possible, when Japan Island is still in one piece with Indonesia, when this whole world is still one big afloat Pangea, that the origin of the folklore is one single event which happened God knows where, and when the time comes the Island separating, but the people still bring the story each to their own, gave different names, different faces, but the root is still one...
Yata mentioned the uncanny similarities of the story of Coconut girl of that Japanese folklore of the deity who gave birth of the first vegetable crops, Ogetsuhime, and the thought strike me: Is it possible, when Japan Island is still in one piece with Indonesia, when this whole world is still one big afloat Pangea, that the origin of the folklore is one single event which happened God knows where, and when the time comes the Island separating, but the people still bring the story each to their own, gave different names, different faces, but the root is still one...
November 1, 2019
, 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:
March 7, 2016
Alas, I am now through the volumes available from the library. I look forward to reading more as they come available!
October 1, 2015
Ok, ya lo acept¨¦. El gore was turn down (for what?) pero si algo tiene es carisma de personajes y steadiness
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.