Since we seem to have started off this week on a note of low expectations, let’s talk MURCIELAGO.  Volume 1 was an introduction to the story of Koumori Kuroko, a psychotic lesbian who uses her powers for the police, sort of, ish, and is allowed freedom to operate sort of, ish. In any case, she gets to kill people and boink women and be weird and creepy and awful and still be the good guy. Ish.

In MURCIELAGO, Volume 2 (ムルシエラゴ), we pick up in a creepy mansion on top of a creepy hill, where a seriously creepy old guy has invited a lot of assassins and is killing them off in creepy ways.  Kuroko had taken fancy to an apparently nice girl who somehow got mixed up in all this and, in attempt to sleep with her, is saving her from any number of horrible deaths. How horrible? Arms and legs everywhere…are the not-gross bits.

The creepy old dude sends his assassin maid (duh, everyone has one of those) after Kuroko’s group, because they stubbornly refuse to be killed horribly. So the creepy maid is super horrible and creepy and managed to kill the Yakuza dude, but who really cared about him? We were busy watching Kuroko take out the cameras in a room wielding a dildo that she just happens to keep in her bra. Yes, this manga is that kind of classy.

Things you never expect to read in a manga: “Congenital Insensitivity to Pain and Anhydrosis” Kuroko says (in English) when fighting Yukari, the killer maid, to which Yukari replies, “Not congenital, learned.” I found this to be hilarious, but that may be me.

Kuroko manages to cut both of Yukari’s arms off and save her anyway, and the cute girl, and the other assassins, then the creepy old guy dies a horrible death. End of arc.

While a lot of police discuss Kuroko in a locked room with conspiracy faces on, Kuroko gets some sex, which is good, because then we launch into a weird arc bout a little girl who, oddly, Kuroko seems actually protective of and only ever so slightly inappropriate with.

The art is intentionally messy, the stories are more vague guidelines to squeeze in scenes of violence and sex.

Ratings:

Art – 6 Still very ugly
Story – 7 Still Violence and sex, but mostly horrible violence
Characters – 8 Double the amount of psychotic women means it was twice as good.
Service – 10 Creative, awful and pervasive
Yuri – 9 Did I mention the sex? Not enough to consider this volume a “Yuri manga” But, still.

Overall – 9

This series is reprehensible crap. I think I like it. I can’t wait to read Volume 3.