Collections
Publication
Dark Horse (2006), Paperback, 208 pages
Description
Your body is their business! Five young students at a Buddhist university, three guys and two girls, 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 ("Black Heron�-their ominous bird logo) Corpse Delivery Service: whether suicide, murder, accident, or illness, they'll carry your body wherever it needs to go to free your soul! The kids from Kurosagi can smell a customer a mile away--it's a good thing one of the girls majored in embalming! Original Japanese format. Disclaimer: 18+ content advisory.… (more)
Language
Original language
Japanese
User reviews
LibraryThing member chyde
Hilarious and weird manga about a bunch of Buddhist oddballs who work for corpses in modern day Tokyo. Thank you, Dark Horse.
LibraryThing member JonathanGorman
A great mixture of dark humor and twisting some of the various modern "ghost whisper/talker with the dead" stuff that has been out lately. Very graphic. The stories remind me of the EC reprint comics I used to devour and love as a kid. I'll be reading more of the series.
LibraryThing member Garelvirat
I love this series for its humor, creativity, quirky cast, and the way it deals with the dark matter of death with no holds barred. I would especially recommend it to undergraduates and the recently graduated; if they're like me, they will identify with being so desperate for money that even
Show More
dead-end jobs will do. Show Less
LibraryThing member akswede
Definitely odd, but it's an enjoyable read and the graphics are well done. I'd hoped to read the Japanese version but can't find one that doesn't involve astronomical shipping costs. Oh well... someday!
LibraryThing member Lindoula
Definitely odd, but it's an enjoyable read and the graphics are well done. I'd hoped to read the Japanese version but can't find one that doesn't involve astronomical shipping costs. Oh well... someday!
LibraryThing member PhoenixTerran
The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service is a horror manga series written by Eiji Otsuka and illustrated by Housui Yamazaki, both of whom have worked on other horror-like manga--MPD Psycho and Mail, respectively. The first volume of The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service was originally published in Japan
Kuro Karatsu may not know it, but he is haunted or perhaps even possessed by a ghost. What he does know is that the dead can speak to and through him. After being roped into volunteering to pray for suicides found in the Aokigahara forest along with a few other students from his Buddhist university, Kuro discovers that he is not the only one with a unique skill. Makoto Numata, a tough guy with a sensitive soul, is a dowser. Except, instead of finding water, he is able to find dead bodies. The cute and petite Keiko Makino studied embalming and mortuary science in America, a profession with very little demand in Japan. Yuji Yuta is a relatively quite guy, but the alien he channels through a sock puppet is more than foulmouthed enough to make up for it. And then there's the mastermind Ao Sasaki who has brought them all together. She is determined to find a profitable scheme that will put all of their talents to good use. And thus, the Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service is born--a group of nearly unemployable students putting the dead to rest on their own terms.
Although I have read The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service before, I had forgotten how funny the series actually is. It's not so much a horror manga as it is a supernatural-horror-mystery manga with a heavy dose of a very dark sense of humor. Which isn't to say the horror element isn't an important part of The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, because it certainly is. The series just somehow manages to be very good-natured about it, mostly due to the quirkiness of its cast and great dialogue. While the first volume of The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service doesn't show the development of the group's friendship, it is obvious from their interactions with one another and their banter that they all get along well. I find their relaxed, nonchalant attitude when dealing with the dead to be very amusing. They act as though nothing is out of the ordinary. Sure, death is a natural part of life, but normally corpses don't move of their own volition. The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service doesn't let that phase them, though.
The first volume of The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service collects four different stories. While the stories do make small references to one another and continue to reveal more about the characters and their histories, they all stand completely on their own. As might be expected from a horror series, many of the stories end up being fairly gruesome and rather disturbing. Although Yamazaki shows some restraint in the artwork, there is still plenty of blood and guts in The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service. Frankly though, the gore and corpses tend to be less terrifying than most of the living that Kuro and the others end up having to face on behalf of the dead. The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service is a strange mix of humor and horror--both psychological and grotesque--but Otsuka and Yamazaki make it work. The manga is entertaining, engaging, and has a great cast of characters. I really enjoyed my reread of The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, Volume 1.
Experiments in Manga
Show More
in 2002, the English-language edition being released by Dark Horse in 2006. The series is currently ongoing and is available through volume fifteen in Japan; Dark Horse has so far released twelve volumes. I initially started reading The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service for two reasons. The series was first brought to my attention because the covers are so distinctive and striking and they caught my eye. But perhaps more importantly, I was already familiar with Otsuka's work on MPD Psycho (which interestingly enough, end us up crossing over with The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service) and wanted to read more of his manga. Because The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service was selected for August 2012's Manga Moveable Feast, I wanted to revisit the series.Kuro Karatsu may not know it, but he is haunted or perhaps even possessed by a ghost. What he does know is that the dead can speak to and through him. After being roped into volunteering to pray for suicides found in the Aokigahara forest along with a few other students from his Buddhist university, Kuro discovers that he is not the only one with a unique skill. Makoto Numata, a tough guy with a sensitive soul, is a dowser. Except, instead of finding water, he is able to find dead bodies. The cute and petite Keiko Makino studied embalming and mortuary science in America, a profession with very little demand in Japan. Yuji Yuta is a relatively quite guy, but the alien he channels through a sock puppet is more than foulmouthed enough to make up for it. And then there's the mastermind Ao Sasaki who has brought them all together. She is determined to find a profitable scheme that will put all of their talents to good use. And thus, the Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service is born--a group of nearly unemployable students putting the dead to rest on their own terms.
Although I have read The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service before, I had forgotten how funny the series actually is. It's not so much a horror manga as it is a supernatural-horror-mystery manga with a heavy dose of a very dark sense of humor. Which isn't to say the horror element isn't an important part of The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, because it certainly is. The series just somehow manages to be very good-natured about it, mostly due to the quirkiness of its cast and great dialogue. While the first volume of The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service doesn't show the development of the group's friendship, it is obvious from their interactions with one another and their banter that they all get along well. I find their relaxed, nonchalant attitude when dealing with the dead to be very amusing. They act as though nothing is out of the ordinary. Sure, death is a natural part of life, but normally corpses don't move of their own volition. The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service doesn't let that phase them, though.
The first volume of The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service collects four different stories. While the stories do make small references to one another and continue to reveal more about the characters and their histories, they all stand completely on their own. As might be expected from a horror series, many of the stories end up being fairly gruesome and rather disturbing. Although Yamazaki shows some restraint in the artwork, there is still plenty of blood and guts in The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service. Frankly though, the gore and corpses tend to be less terrifying than most of the living that Kuro and the others end up having to face on behalf of the dead. The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service is a strange mix of humor and horror--both psychological and grotesque--but Otsuka and Yamazaki make it work. The manga is entertaining, engaging, and has a great cast of characters. I really enjoyed my reread of The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, Volume 1.
Experiments in Manga
Show Less
LibraryThing member stretch
A group of 5, no make it 6, oddball students from a Buddhist university use their unique skills to find and deliver dead bodies to their rightful resting place, for a price of course this is a delivery service after all. A pretty straight forward service, except the clientele aren't the kinds of
Darkly comedic and graphic, this twisted bunch of Scooby-Doo adventurers is beyond entertaining in execution. Sure, the premise is far-fetched and silly, but this band of misfits seem to care about what they do and each other, even if their backstories could use some fleshing out. Told episodically, it is the perfect Manga to jump in and out of, since they reintroduce the premise each time and the stories themselves aren't linked. However, as much as I enjoy these type of stories, they are not for everyone the depictions of death by all its means is beautifully drawn but graphic. And this series deals with some very troubling subjects from child molestation, poverty, abandonment, murder, and suicide. Basically it's all the content warnings.
I thoroughly enjoyed this volume, it's right in my wheelhouse, but I don't expect many others will. It'll be something I can jump into from time to time and with 14 volumes published in English something that will last while.
Show More
people that die happily in their sleep or are well taken care of in their final moments, there is retribution to be paid to the living. And a matter of payment to work out.Darkly comedic and graphic, this twisted bunch of Scooby-Doo adventurers is beyond entertaining in execution. Sure, the premise is far-fetched and silly, but this band of misfits seem to care about what they do and each other, even if their backstories could use some fleshing out. Told episodically, it is the perfect Manga to jump in and out of, since they reintroduce the premise each time and the stories themselves aren't linked. However, as much as I enjoy these type of stories, they are not for everyone the depictions of death by all its means is beautifully drawn but graphic. And this series deals with some very troubling subjects from child molestation, poverty, abandonment, murder, and suicide. Basically it's all the content warnings.
I thoroughly enjoyed this volume, it's right in my wheelhouse, but I don't expect many others will. It'll be something I can jump into from time to time and with 14 volumes published in English something that will last while.
Show Less
LibraryThing member villemezbrown
A Japanese Scooby gang drives around in their version of the Mystery Machine seeking out corpses that haven't been properly buried and helping their restless spirits find karmic closure.
The members of the group have skills that help in the quest: a dowser who can find corpses, a medium to talk for
The chapters in this first book are all self-contained little adventures with the college students venturing out to face heavy stuff like a suicide, child molestation, elder abuse, a serial killer, and . . . ~shudder~ . . . an insurance actuary. The bickering oddballs manage to keep the tone light even as the corpses pile up.
I have a couple more volumes on hand and a looking forward to seeing where this goes.
The members of the group have skills that help in the quest: a dowser who can find corpses, a medium to talk for
Show More
the spirits, an embalmer to care for the bodies, a puppeteer who can channel advice from an alien entity, and a business manager to make sure the corpses and karma provide them a little bit of cash to fund their endeavors.The chapters in this first book are all self-contained little adventures with the college students venturing out to face heavy stuff like a suicide, child molestation, elder abuse, a serial killer, and . . . ~shudder~ . . . an insurance actuary. The bickering oddballs manage to keep the tone light even as the corpses pile up.
I have a couple more volumes on hand and a looking forward to seeing where this goes.
Show Less
LibraryThing member quantum.alex
light-hearted read on horror. the murderers get their just desserts. irony abounds but seems to lose steam near the end. wish it was a full story rather than episodic.