This volume of Yoshimurakana’s series begins with a wholly gratuitous lesbian sex scene. Later in the volume there is another. Just in case you wondered if there was any reason to read Volume 16 of MURCIÉLAGO.
There are, of course, other reasons to read this volume, but they are much less lesbian in nature. ^_^ There’s also a surprising number of baths for a series that is about serial killers.

The “Comedy Writer” arc proceeds and both of the obvious culprits are obvious, so the story isn’t nearly as much about who as about why and what. One of the things I genuinely love about the series is that the creepy weirdness always has a why, but you’d be hard pressed to explain it to anyone.

Hinako is an endless source of contemplation, as well. She comes extremely close to beserkering her way to killing someone, and it’s only the timely interference of Chacha who keeps her from becoming someone she’s always far, far too close to becoming.

Once again, I find myself reminded that this series is not “good” in the sense of being likely to survive ages of literary criticism, but I will argue that it it timeless and, as an homage to Lovecraft’s oeuvre, as good as any.

We are just about caught up now to the Japanese volumes. I only just reviewed Volume 17 in Japanese last month. Volume 17 in English doesn’t yet have a pre-order up. We’re all just about as current as we can be. So the pace of creative murders and ugly sex is going to be a little slower. I don’t honestly know whether that’s good…or bad! ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Service – 10,000
Yuri – 10, but its ugly

Overall – 8

This series has, as I said in my review of the Japanese volume, an explicit not-quite consensual lesbian sex scene, some generic bathing scenes, and extraordinary violence and a creepy murderer. Oddly, not one of these things involve Kuroko. She spends the volume having a polite conversation before killing someone neatly and quietly. And then she has some consensual sex.