Kuroko plays detective, which is odd for a mass murderer…
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Yoshimurakana
Translation/Adaptation: Christine Dashiell
What They Say
Every time it rains, a different umbrella-carrying girl wearing boots is found dead, strangled by an unknown assailant. It’s up to Kuroko to track down the killer, but with little to go on, all the police can do is wait. It doesn’t take long, though, before a young girl named Sora Kitagami suddenly finds herself in the company of a strange man she’s never met, who says he’s been looking for her for quite some time…
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Kuroko successfully wrapped up her last job and now she’s reaping both the monetary and sexy-time benefits!
The police call Kuroko in for help with a roving killer. This sick individual is only kidnapping and killing eight and nine-year-old girls. Plus, it might be related to a string of killing going back over many years across various police districts. The fact that it spanned various districts and had enough time between killings has lent itself to becoming a string of unsolved and seemingly unrelated crimes.
Thankfully, Kuroko is not only smart, but she can think like a killer. Well, it helps that she is a killer. That allows her to think of scenarios and motives beyond what a typical police investigator can. Not that it makes Kuroko a hero or anything, but it does make her an irreplaceable contributor to the investigation.
There are some very interesting side stories happening throughout this investigation. Thus far, Kuroko has taken steps to shelter women that she thinks she can either use as tools or sexual playthings, or both! So, it is not too surprising when she bumps into some of the girls from the defunct Virginal Rose cult and offers to pay them to act as her informants around town. Further adding to the evidence that Kuroko may just be the coolest lesbian character in all of manga!
Will Kuroko be able to find the child killer before he strikes again? Will she be able to turn the girls of the Virginal Rose into her own personal harem? Will Kuroko survive Chiyo’s wraith if she brings home another lover?!
In Summary:
This proves to be the darkest story arc in the Murcielago series. Someone has been killing young girls under the age of 10, and the metropolitan area is frightened beyond belief. This volume really hits home as it is a topic that happens in real life and not the entertaining fairy tale storylines that Murcielago has dealt with up till now. Anyone that has a kid can relate to the deep-seated fear of having your kid taken. This volume only ups the ante with the disgusting perpetrator doing what he does for the worthless reason’s he does them. I personally hated this volume and the only saving grace for me was the final revelation and the connections made between the killer and some of the victims. It proves to be a powerful ending to a sad chapter of this series that I’m happy to leave behind.
Content Grade: C
Art Grade: B
Packaging Grade: A
Text/Translation Grade: A
Age Rating: Older Teen
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: January 30, 2018
MSRP: $13.00
