Customer Reviews

Mail, Vol. 1

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I picked this one up on a lark, and it's quickly become one of the most read collections I have. "Mail" sounds like the usual story of a detective who hunts ghosts, but the mood that Yamazaki establishes in these stories is truly and deeply haunting. The closest comparison I can make is The Sixth Sense put to paper, but far more startling and far more meaningful.

Highly recommended for anyone interested in manga, horror, or great literature!

I ordered the first three volumes because of Amazon recommending this after my last order of The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service (of which I'm a BIG fan). I love a good horror story, especial Japanese ones, and I was hoping that this was going to be a winner.

To me, MAIL was okay. It was far more episodic than I like, with no real arc story holding it together. If I had to compare it, I would say it's like Hell Girl, which I found (at least the first volume or so) too episodic for my tastes.

On the other hand, the stories ARE very creepy. They tap into a lot of scary things, and things that we consider "normal" until it's suddenly NOT. The tales are like "The Grudge," since most of the ghosts are more or less sticking around for revenge. If you're a fan of Japanese horror movies (or even Chinese), you can see some of the similarities in the stories, like, say, "One Missed Call."

The main character keeping the story together (Akiba) is actually interesting, and I may continue to read this series so I can find out more of his background. He's already shown some impressive power in the first three books, so I'm curious to know how far this will go and whether or not it'll develop an arc.

Overall, I enjoyed this series (up to vol 3) and I hope that it improves!

I was so scared by one of the pages in this series that I had to put it down, haha! I was in a well-lit room surrounded by friends, too. The drawings are not gory or disgusting, it's that the illustrator makes use of a page-turn to surprise you with an image that completely shatters your sense of safety.

This series follows a detective who seeks out unruly souls and commits them to their eternal slumber with his spiritual gun (and a cool mantra that changes every story). Each story is a small mystery, and the protagonist is clever and lovable. If you like a little thrill (without the gore that usually accompanies manga), this is a great series.

This first book also includes the story of how the protagonist came to be in his line of work.

I picked up MAIL on many recommendations & was not disappointed! This is kind of an off-shoot of my current favorite, "The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service", and while it doesn't share many of the lighter moments, it does have a similar theme of dealing with the dead. While Kurosagi's dead bodies are their "clients" who they are helping on to the afterlife by solving their murders, etc. "Mail"'s hero usually has to deal with troublesome ghosts who he must dispatch with his special gun whose bullets capture evil souls. Since sadly Kurosagi only has a few books left before it ends (it would make a great anime series if it hasn't been done yet), I'm definitely going to keep reading "Mail". Any grown-ups who like action mixed with the supernatural should be advised to do the same!

For me there are 2 emotions that are hard to be picked up from written works - fun & fear. Yo must be a master to deliver those and creator of Mail vol.1 Housui Yamazaki is one of them.

On a paper you have your typical story of a detective with supernatural traits of some sort (in this case - to see and "purify") - a typical setting for mystery/horror. But as it happens - sometimes trivial plot/idea can be made into a masterpiece with the right fulfillment - and this is the case. I felt as if i was reading one of Hitchcock's works that were put into graphical novel and had a sauce of Japanese spice.

I was positively surprised by this piece of work because this one was supposed to be just an add-on to "Kurosagi Corpse delivery service"Vol.1 and "MPD-Psycho"Vol.2/3/4 (have a habit of ordering 5 pieces of manga). Sometimes add-ons are more than a good - have already added to cart vol.2 & 3 - and will buy them as have my next salary.

Really recommend!

A paranormal investigator who tracks down ghosts. Sound good? well i think not. This is a waste of time. Not smart. Stories are too short with no substance.