Families that murder together, stay together.
Creative Staff
Story & Art: Yoshimurakana
Translation: Christine Dashiell
What They Say
As a former mass murderer, Kuroko Koumori knows a thing or two about how killers think. A string of deaths points straight to an ex-con-turned-business mogul who used to skin the faces off his victims. But could it be a red herring? As chaos unfolds at the local amusement park, it might just be Kuroko’s partner, Hinako, who’s closest to the truth!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
This volume starts us off fresh with a new story arc examining some nasty serial killings. I say nasty because the killer cuts off the face of the victims. Then, the face is never found, so maybe some creepy Texas Chainsaw Massacre type stuff going on with this whack job killer. Even stranger is the fact this same type of serial killings also happened 20 years ago. Is it a copycat or the old killer back on his old turf?
The prime suspect is the man originally convicted of the crimes 20 years ago. Since serving his prison time, he has become the president of a large business. This President Asagi should be the culprit, but he has alibis. So, the special task force sends Kuroko in undercover to determine what’s going on with President Asagi. Not being one to beat around the bush, Kuroko gets in under her police cover and immediately puts a gun to his head and starts asking questions.
The fact that Kuroko asked questions and didn’t blow his head off was a surprise to me. She is an efficient killer and doesn’t have any interest in men, so it is surprising to see her use a non-lethal method to start. But, that doesn’t last long because President Asagi is a former killer and a master with the knife. He quickly pulls two knives on Kuroko and the duke it out right there in his office. They seem surprisingly evenly matched, but in the end, one of them has to be the victor.
While all this is going down, there are more things going on in the background of the police special forces. Some standard power jockeying, but also some odd cloak and dagger stuff. It becomes difficult to tell who is playing by the rules and who is answering to more senior mystery figures.
In Summary:
This series continues to be plenty entertaining. This volume focuses on a single battle between Kuroko and a serial killer. Knives versus guns, the winner walks away alive. There are no bystanders this time around, so the two combatants are able to go at each other all out. In the background scenes of this volume, the author continues to tease the readers with little tidbits of the criminal and police dealings going on in the dark corners of the city. Kuroko seems aware that something is going on, but how much she knows is still a mystery just like her. Basically, and humorously, the only thing out in the open for the public is the fact that Kuroko doesn’t like men and she’s a footloose and fancy-free lady’s lady!
Content Grade: B
Art Grade: B
Packaging Grade: A-
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: Older Teen
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: August 22, 2017
MSRP: $13.00
