Giant shark. Murder. Kidnapping. Creepy priest/nun combo. Lovecraftian chapter title. Excessive seafood consumption. Did I mention a Giant SHARK? MURCIÉLAGO , Volume 10 (ムルシエラゴ) has it all…depending on your definition of “all,” obviously. ^_^

After a little soujourn in school designed only to contain a peeing one’s self scene, news of a 7-meter shark has Hinako bouncing out of her skin to see the wonder. So the gang packs up and visits the aquarium. Hinako consumes a great deal of seafood in the cafe, while Chiyo and Kuroko have a surprisingly romantic moment together. Then the giant shark coughs up a hand and dies, so that’s the end of that. 

The dead shark leads the (what’s a good nickname for a Scooby Gang, only full of murderers, yakuza and the criminally insane?) gang on a mission to a fish market, to track down the ship that caught the shark where we meet Suiren, an attractive young female fisher on the lookout for her missing father.  And, the uber-creepy priest/nun son/mother combo at the local church who are clearly part of the kidnapping of random people in the local area. 

Kuroko’s vaguely interested in the murder of the left-hand’s owner, but she’s very interested in Suiren, so away we go! We get some quality time with police pathologist Yuria, and the whole package is tied up with the Lovecraftian title “The Deep Ones” for a satisfying whole…depending on your definition of “whole,” obviously. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – Well, it’s not getting worse
Story – 8
Characters – 8, although Hinako has been given an extra helping of weird along with her maguro
Service – 4 Shockingly low for this series
Yuri – 7 Chiyo and Kuroko’s moment was so sweet…until the shark yacked up the hand and died.

Overall – 8

Not *quite* as awesome as Giant Snakes, but Giant Sharks are cool too. ^_^