Terror has struck the sleepy little town of Shiraike. A serial killer stalks the streets murdering innocent girls. Twenty-nine grisly murders have been committed, with no clues to catch the killer. Until the town receives a strange visitor: a beautiful young woman who can raise the dead. She is Reiko: The Zombie Shop, necromancer for hire. For a price, she'll wake your dead, if only to find a clue to their demise, but she's not responsible for what the dead will say or do once they awaken!
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Really nifty idea, so-so execution,
By
This review is from: Reiko The Zombie Shop, Vol. 1 (v. 1) (Paperback)
Rei Mikamoto, Reiko the Zombie Shop, vol. 1 (Dark Horse Comics, 2005)
Man, Reiko the Zombie Shop is a great idea-- a traveling necromancer (who also, of course, happens to be a gorgeous high school student-- hey, this is manga, right?) available for hire to raise the dead so the living can converse with them, to get information about how they died or what have you. Except that the dead that anyone would really want to raise are going to be... not happy. And here you can read "not happy" as "really, really violent." The problem is that the writing isn't what one would call top-notch. (There's an amusing meta moment towards the end of volume 1 where one of Reiko's friends asks her "Zombie shop? What's that? A place where you can buy occult souvenirs?") And while I'm certainly willing to put some of it down to substandard Engrish translation, it becomes obvious the farther on you go that Mikamoto has gotten more proficient with language as time has gone on, and as the previous quote shows, is not above making fun of her own stumbles over language once she discovers them; I can only hope the writing keeps improving throughout the series. It also helps that, once you've turned the last page of this book, you'll wonder how on earth they managed to come up with a volume 2, much less an entire series. That alone will send you on to book two. It's an amusing little book, good for fans of Hideshi Hino or Suehiro Maruo (or, perhaps, as a gateway drug to them, for fans of more mainstream manga). ***
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Cute Zombie Fun,
By J. Thomas (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Reiko The Zombie Shop, Vol. 1 (v. 1) (Paperback)
Reiko the Zombie Shop: Volume 1 introduces us to Reiko, a high school girl with the unique and special power to raise the dead - at least partially - as the life the reanimated corpse will become a zombie for a short time. During this awakening the zombie can tell whoever is around how she died. And if she died at the hands of another, she might take her brief breath of life to inflict a zombie-riffic revenge.
Reiko doesn't use her power simply for the benefit of her fellow man. She makes no bones about it; she is in it for the money. The people that hire her are usually trying to find out how a loved one or friend passed away. Reiko recommends chaining down the body before bringing it back from the dead, as if the guilty party is in the room - the person that had a hand in the untimely demise - there is no telling what might happen. Of course, just because a person is a zombie, doesn't mean they are brainless, and sometimes they have a wily way of getting out of those chains during their short stay in the land of the living... Reiko the Zombie Shop is cleverly arranged as a group of short episodes combined with a longer story about a serial murderer who kills little girls in a small town. The stories combine elements of humor with horror, which keep the reader always guessing. You don't know if you will be turning the page to a cute little scene, or a blood-soaked zombie attack! The style of Reiko is more modern than some of the manga we have looked at recently. This works both to its advantage and disadvantage. Many of the characters, including Reiko, have a bit of the "standardized" manga character look - the well-known oversized eyes and Barbie doll measurements. On the other hand, this makes the scenes of violence that much more shocking when they happen. The clean look of much of a story is suddenly invaded, and although horror isn't as graphic as some manga we have seen, the contrast is very sharp and very sudden. This style fits well with the pace and mood of the book. The translation is handled very competently by Michael Gombos. (You may remember Michael helped us with our article on Dark Horse and manga translation earlier this year.) The English is smooth and appropriate for the story, (it is rated for older teens). Reiko the Zombie Shop: Volume 1 bursts out of the gates, and sets the mood for the series right from the start. As the stories progress, they get more intense, and the end of the first volume explodes off the pages. It seems to be setting up for more in-depth stories in future volumes. (Volumes 1~4 are available now. Volume 5 is released December 6, 2006).
5.0 out of 5 stars
Reiko the Zombie Shop is fun to read,
By
This review is from: Reiko The Zombie Shop, Vol. 1 (v. 1) (Paperback)
Reiko the Zombie Shop, necromancer for hire is a young girl who can raise the dead. There are six volumes in the series, and all build upon the idea of raising the dead to find out what killed them. Of course there are also some interesting twists that go along with this, and surprising stories as well. Overall the series is really good, starting off with Volume 1, where Reiko shows up in town to help solve the murders of 29 young girls.
Reiko is a professional necromancer, meaning for a fee she will raise the dead to see what killed them. What makes the book difficult at times is that it is disconnected, in that this is in an episode format. You have to read the book, not just necessarily skim it to get the full story of what is going on, it is easy to miss important bits in the book which means you get to go back and reread sections if you missed an important point. Overall this is a pretty decent series, with Volume one standing out because of some of the more taboo issues that are raised in the book. Like a young girls suicide that is investigated, (plot twist, no spoilers), with a very surprising ending. In all, good book to pick up, good series to read, entertaining, but you really have to pay attention at times; otherwise you find yourself flipping back and forth in the book, which also isn't all that bad unless you are in a hurry.
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