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PREFACE

Young Officer Kurumi Ayaki is planning to quit her job as a Meter Maid so she can devote herself to preparing for her upcoming wedding to Shingo.  Unfortunately, financial difficulties force her to rethink her plans, and she asks for her old job back.  Suddenly, Kurumi finds herself reassigned to the Criminal Investigation Department’s “Unsolved Crimes Division, Special Unit A.”

This new assignment makes her the “babysitter” of the eccentric genius, Inspector Himura.  The mysterious Himura never leaves his room at “The Crypt,” so Kurumi must be his eyes and ears at the scene of the crime.  A particularly gruesome crime involving a clown and a computer disk…

MANGA VISION TEST

ARTWORK: Tetsuya Koshiba’s artwork is a bit different from what you see in a lot of manga.  The characters are a bit more rounded and soft looking than usual and they have more pronounced lips than many manga characters.  Sometimes the characters seem a bit stiff or awkward.  There is a lot of detail in the backgrounds, and the overall look of the manga is appealing, if unusual.

SOUND EFFECTS: The minimal sound effects are left untranslated, and they rarely interfere with the art.

EDITS: As far as I can tell, there are no edits or changes made to .remote..

EXTRAS: The only extras included are ads for other Tokyopop manga.

BOOK REPORT  

STORY:  The story is the real draw of this manga.  The mystery is well presented, and the clues give you enough information that you always feel like you are just about to figure out what is going on.  The suspense is kept at just the right level to keep the reader turning pages.

The only place the story really falters is when too much time is spent on Kurumi’s personal life, which comes across as fairly silly comic relief.

TRANSLATION:  Like most Tokyopop manga, the translation seems to be very accurate.  The swearing may be thrown in for the benefit of the American audience, and there are no honorifics used.

CHARACTERS:  Kurumi is an interesting character.  She often comes across as a bit of a silly, air headed, young woman but she does manage to pull herself together to rise to the challenges that she faces. 

Inspector Himura is a bit of a mystery.  Due to an unrevealed “accident” he lost his family and the ability to feel emotions.  He says he is unable to leave his room, but his always-racing mind drives him to solve mysteries.  He is somewhat aloof and often seems unaware that his behavior is difficult for others to deal with.  He is also surprisingly young and “pretty.”

Other characters include Himura’s housekeeper and the gigantic “Bob-hemoth,” who acts as Himura’s muscle.

FAN SERVICE:  There is fan service galore in .remote., mostly involving Kurumi’s panties, which appear at every possible opportunity.  There is also a fairly pointless shower scene, but the nudity is generally implied more than seen and is not too blatant.

FOOTNOTES:

Let me just say up front, I find clowns really, really creepy.  As clowns go, there seem to be two schools of thought:  some people find them to be charming comedians whose antics delight the young at heart, others find them to be disturbing symbols of darkness and depravity barely concealed behind a thin, painted veneer of forced smiles.  Obviously, I count myself in the latter category. 

Keeping in mind my feelings about clowns, you can probably understand why I consider them to be very effective villains.  The killer clown in .remote. capers away from his victims with a happy smile, leaving perplexing clues about the next victim in his wake.  There is just nothing much scarier than that, so I found this story very compelling. 

The mystery here is also very well conceived.  All too often, the clues in a mystery story are all too obvious to the reader, and you begin wondering just why the detective can’t see the answers that are staring him in the face.  That is not the case at all in .remote..  I was amazed along with Kurumi as Inspector Himura revealed the meaning behind each new clue and plot twist.  Again and again, he proves why he is invaluable to the force, even in his unusual circumstances.

The concept that Kurumi, connected to Himura by a cel phone and a headset, operates as his eyes and ears is a wonderfully clever mystery device.   Suspense builds for the reader and Kurumi, because we never know what she is about to walk into.  Kurumi doesn’t know what to expect as she walks around each corner at Himura’s request, so readers are equally unsure what to expect.  This is a neat and novel way of keeping readers on the edge of their seats.

On the down side, their first case together is not complete in this volume, you will have to read volume two to find out exactly who is behind the killings.  When the story dwells on Kurumi’s personal life, things often get very silly.  Her relationship with Shingo is played entirely for comedy, which distracts from the much more serious serial killer clown story.  The artwork, though attractive, can be a bit uneven and awkward at times.

Overall, .remote. presents an involving mystery, with some great twists. The characters are appealing, the mysteries are intriguing, and the concept is original.  If you are a fan of cop shows or mysteries, and you like eccentric detectives and pretty girls, you will enjoy .remote..  Just remember, clowns are bad.  Very, very bad.  Do not invite clowns into your home, and stay away from the circus if at all possible.  If you are approached in the street by a clown with a big, red bowtie and a killer gleam in his eyes, run!  You can’t say this manga didn’t try to warn you!

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