The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service

The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service (黒鷺死体宅配便) is a horror manga series written by Eiji Otsuka and drawn by Housui Yamazaki. First published in Kadokawa Mystery, the series later (October 2006) transferred to the companion publication Shōnen Ace, and now published in the magazine Young Ace. As of March 2009, 11 volumes have been published in Japan. The English translation is published by Dark Horse Comics.

The series follows five recently graduated university students who have formed a company which specializes in dealing with the dead and their last wishes.

A U.S. live-action film based on The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service is now in development.

Plot, Setting and Structure
The series deals with the exploits of five young graduates of a Buddhist college, all of which have a special skill, some of them supernatural and/or involving dead bodies. Most notable is Kuro Karatsu who has the ability to "speak" to the recently deceased and hear their last wishes. On this basis the group forms a business venture to fulfill said wishes in hopes for compensation. However, because corpses do not always die of natural causes or accidents, the group often encounters criminal activity or such compensation is unattainable.

The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service is usually structured into self-contained chapters though some successive stories, most notably the entire second volume, are one continuous story. This changes in later volumes due to a change in serialization. Most chapters are named after a japanese pop song with each chapter in a single volume usually named for songs by the same artist. The series is ostensibly set in modern day Japan with the main characters hanging around the Buddhist college near Tokyo the main characters attended, though the characters often travel elsewhere for summer jobs or to fulfill their "clients" wishes. Tokyo, usually Shinjuku, is often visited though it is not known exactly where the college is located in relation to the greater Tokyo metropolitan area.

Each volume of the manga features a structural drawing of a body on the cover that is relevant to the story starting with Volume 3. The cover and backcover also features a depiction of Karatsu, Numata, Sasaki, Makino, Yata and Kere Ellis. However, only Karatsu gets a Mugshot on each cover while the other characters may appear from behind, the side, one of their features (hands, eyes, feet) may be showcased or they may appear as X-Ray images or felt puppets. Above this depiction they are only identified as "Staff A" through "Staff E" (with Kere Ellis being "Staff E'") and a description of their skill underneath.

The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service

 * Kuro Karatsu (唐津 九郎) :A student Buddhist monk with average grades. He has the ability to "speak" with the recently deceased by the means of touching their bodies, allowing the team to learn their "clients'" desires. This skill develops over the course of the series and is linked to a spirit lingering near him named Yaichi. Involuntarily this can also lead to a temporary reanimation of the dead body touched and corpses in the immediate area, although Karatsu has no control over their actions afterwards. He is sometimes classified as an itako, although he is neither a woman nor blind.


 * Makoto Numata (沼田 真古人) :He uses a pendulum to dowse for the dead which enables him to find the bodies needed for the team's delivery work. Numata puts on a tough guy image including leather jackets and sunglasses, although he enjoys sides of Japanese pop culture which are rarely associated with such an image, such as interest in Japanese idol singers. He's the physically strongest of the group, but also tends to be the most emotional.


 * Ao Sasaki (佐々木 碧) :The brains behind the company. A skilled hacker and general computer expert. She also has a large information network and sometimes uses bribes (such as pictures of dead idols) as the means to achieve the ends. She also runs an Internet chat-room entitled "Corpse-Chat" and collects pictures of dead bodies. She also seems to enjoy literature and has recently started to attend a few psychology courses at the university.


 * Keiko Makino (槙野 慧子) :A licensed embalmer who handles the corpses found by Karatsu and Numata. She studied her trade in America since embalmers are rare in Japan, where most bodies are cremated rather than buried. She dresses in a goth loli style and also works with her skills on part-time jobs, for example for on an American military base.


 * Yuji Yata (谷田 有志) :A timid guy who wears a felt puppet on his left hand which he claims channels an alien intelligence. He seems to be a big nerd even though it only rarely shows through. He is fond of advanced mathematics like Mandelbrot and Julia sets and his apartment is filled with various sci-fi and most notably Star Wars memorabilia. Like Sasaki, he's also fairly knowledgeable about literature and urban legends. Yata's eyes are rarely seen as his hair almost always covers them.


 * Kere Ellis (ケレエレス) :A very foul-mouthed alien life form which communicates through Yata's hand puppet, though the group is at least in the beginning very skeptical if this alien isn't Yata himself or a split personality. Yata often apologizes for Kere Ellis' unruly behavior and often has his left hand physically abused in reaction to the alien's verbal abuse. Kere Ellis' design has changed significantly from the first chapter to the second but remained constant since.


 * Yaichi (やいち) :Yaichi is a spirit that seems to follow around Karatsu if not outright possessing him. He may be the source of Karatsu ability or at least be able to amplify it to a great extend. The most notable of Yaichi's feature are the severe scars on his face and his long white hair. One scar starts at the center-top of the face and runs down between the eyes and then down the right side. It is met below the eye by another scar coming from the right ear. A third scar runs across the left cheek starting from the corner of the mouth. Though there is no direct interaction or awareness with the group, he often helps the group with warnings or taking over some of the body movement of various characters who feel his presence during that period.

The Shirosagi Corpse Cleaning Service
The Shirosagi Corpse Cleaning Service is a mysterious organization that on the surface in the business to clean up murder and suicide sites. However, it appears that they are secretly after Karatsu's spirit Yaichi.


 * Ichiro Suzuki (鈴木 一郎) :This man has the same scars as Yaichi but his hair is black except for a patch white hair above his right eye. Sasayama remarked after give a description that he looks very much like Shingo Zuhaku (頭白 慎吾), a former police coroner and serial killer Sasayama shot when he was still a cop. However, Sasayama killed Zuhaku and also witnessed his burial and thus concludes that they can not be the same person. Sasayama also remarked that the name "Ichiro Suzuki" is probably fake. When conducting business as a corpse cleaner Suzuki wears a white jumpsuit, baseball cap, safety goggles and a breathing mask, obstructing his face almost completely.


 * The Girl :A small, black-haired girl with a big bow in her hair usually wearing a kimono with a black leather Obi. Her character has not been named in the story so far. She seems to be Suzuki's partner in their more nefarious activities and possesses some spiritual powers of her own, e.g. limited Telekinetic powers and the ability to converse with a group of spirits.

Other recurring characters

 * Tooru Sasayama (笹山 徹) :Sasayama is a character by Otsuka that also appeared in MPD Psycho. In this instance he is a lot older, has a large scar on his bald head an walks with cane due to a pegleg which is evidence for Kurosagi being set years after MPD Psycho. Initially the group thinks he is a Yakuza. He is no longer a police officer but instead works for the Shinjuku municipal social welfare office and often has trouble with unidentified bodies for which he asks the group for help, usually taking advantage of them. Also, he gives them odd jobs on occasion.


 * Yui Kikuchi (菊池 結) :A nurse trainee with the ability to hear the last words of a spirit before it passes on. She has two separate encounters with the Kurosagi team and seems to be romantically interested in Karatsu.


 * Nire (楡) :Mr. Nire is an entrepreneur in post-mortem services. At times he has run a funeral home, an mummification service and a cryogenic preservation facility, though many of his business ventures are somewhat shady. He knew about the Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service before they met and tried to recruit them for his business.


 * Shinuhe (死戸) :Mr. Nire's business partner in later exploits. He appears as a tall man usually in a hooded jacket. He is also covered in bandages which is explained by Mr. Nire as due to being a victim of an accident and having suffered severe burns. However, Shinuhe has also joked about being an actual resurrected egyptian Mummy. Regardless of that, he seems to be fond of ancient egypt either way and very knowledge about the process of and believes behind mummification which he is eager to share.


 * The crying woman :An unnamed elderly woman with the ability to affect other people around her and force them to involuntary crying. She appears to know about Yaichi and the Shirosagi Corpse Cleaning Service and knows Sasayama.


 * Jenny Kayama (香山 ジェニー) :Sasaki's psychotherapist who occasionally is asked by the Kurosagis to help them with a case. She apparently chose psychiatry due to her failings in medicine and reluctance to work with the physical human body. Nevertheless she seems to be unfazed by Karatsu's ability. Though young looking Sasaki stated that Jenny is as old as Sasayama.