Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book
Rate this book
Mass murderers may not have much by way of careeer skills, but Kuroko Koumori seems to have landed her dream job as a hitwoman for the Tokyo police! A license to kill other killers? That's some serious job satisfaction, right there!

214 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2014

22 people are currently reading
346 people want to read

About the author

Yoshimurakana

38 books16 followers

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
167 (37%)
4 stars
164 (37%)
3 stars
82 (18%)
2 stars
22 (4%)
1 star
7 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews
Profile Image for Shan( Shans_Shelves) 💜.
1,083 reviews94 followers
April 16, 2021
If you like horror and want to read not only a horror manga with a badass female assassin but with a LESBIAN badass female Assassin who has been hired by her government to kill CRIMINALS, and who regularly flirts with girls, and has a soft little sidekick who goes wild once she’s in control of a car.. well then buckle up, you’re in for a treat!

Murciélago is all that and more but there were some aspects that annoyed me.

Let’s start with the good:

- Our main character ( Kuroko Koumori) is a lethal weapon. She kills without mercy and damn is she GOOD AT IT. She’s also pretty hilarious and even though most scenes are gruesome, her humour lightened it a little( or maybe that’s just me.. I am odd sometimes LOL)

-I loved Hinako( Kuroko’s side kick). She’s adorable and while I’m confused as to why she’s Kuroko’s sidekick, I’m curious to see how their friendship- I say this lightly- develops.

- The book featured bad men getting what was coming to them and I appreciated that.

- The art is so COOL!

The not so good:

- I’m thorn because on one hand I love that Kuroko is a lesbian( it’s said on page too), she clearly states her attraction many times throughout the volume. She’s also very sexually active and mentions many partners. Which I loved because it’s different.

However it’s her attraction to EVERY women that bugs me. This is a complete personal thing but it read like the “Lesbian attracted to every women she sees” rhetoric, and as someone who grew up listening to that kind of homophobia it got under my skin.

-Next was the touching without consent. Kuroko seemed to think every women’s breasts could be felt without their permission.

Conclusion

I think this manga series is going to be a wild ride and I’m down to continue, I some issues with the Rep but they’re also completely personal. I am looking forward to seeing what other disasters Kuroko gets herself into and since this ended a little on a cliffhanger, I need the conclusion!

Content Warnings: Blood, Gore,
Profile Image for Alexis Sara.
105 reviews16 followers
February 15, 2018
Content Warning: Gore and Sex

If you don't have a problem with the above content warning then I think this is basically one of the best manga I've ever read. I am normally not the type of person to enjoy gore and yet here it doesn't really bother me (Your millage will vary). You follow a lesbian who is also a serial killer placed to work for the government and kill people they deem nonredeemable. There is pretty explicit lesbian sex scenes, Murcielago is a pretty bad person but she is very charming. It's really awesome to have a lesbian lead who is utterly detached from respectability politics. She's a murder who gets to walk free and date girls cuz she is really good at killing people. It feels very adult shounen with really cool action scenes but the heavy gore and sex that makes this not at all for people under age. I don't know if I will keep loving it but I am excited to read further volumes.
Profile Image for Tarara Jay.
28 reviews
February 21, 2017
A quirky, fun read.

Major kudos to Yen Press for translating this manga in which the protagonist is a gal interested in other girls... and said girls are not bashful high schoolers, but adults.
Profile Image for Rebecca.
4,328 reviews69 followers
May 23, 2017
What I most appreciate about this book is that no one is shaming Kuroko for her sex life - she's a predator, which bothers me, but in her mutual relationships, there's never a hint of "unwomanly" or slut shaming.

That said, if you don't want to see lots and lots of intestines, stay far away from this book.
Profile Image for Arsnoctis.
841 reviews150 followers
June 5, 2017
La protagonista e il tratto dell'autore sono ben caratterizzati e deliranti al punto giusto, ma i dialoghi e le scene proposte sono confusionari e non ho ben chiaro dove si voglia andare a parare, mi fermo al primo volume.
2.5 arrotondato per eccesso.
Profile Image for Robin.
99 reviews
June 9, 2020
Kreeg een paar random manga's bij mijn Fruits basket order wss omdat de verkoper er vanaf moest. Dit is een uhh zeer aparte manga maar wel vermakelijk

Also we stan a lesbian lead die geaccepteerd wordt danku
Profile Image for Kay ☾.
1,280 reviews22 followers
July 9, 2023
I think I have a thing for lesbian serial killer assassins. Kuroko is manipulative and literally a psycho but I love her. I like crazy. I don't like her being creepy with Hinako. That's why I removed a star. I can't wait to see where this story goes.
12 reviews1 follower
September 26, 2018
If you love Quintin Tarantino movies then read this.

A wild ride that's not for everyone. It's very violent but a lot of fun. A Lesbian psycho killer kills other psychos for her government. Weird violent and sexy.
Profile Image for Logan Stecher.
53 reviews
May 27, 2019
Kuroko is my spirit animal/patronus/etc in all ways. Can't say much else.
Profile Image for TheOASG.
91 reviews8 followers
June 15, 2017
In the history of famous duos, there’s Holmes and Watson, Jordan and Pippen, Batman and Robin, etc. For infamous, there’s Bonnie and Clyde, FUNimation and Nico Nico, Michael Jackson and Eddie Murphy, etc. No matter where you look — a book or a movie or a music video — a pairing exists that’s either legendary or disastrous.

Koumori and Tokazura in Murciélago might transcend both categories, as they’re protagonists of a visually more violent and hornier version of You’re Under Arrest and Yurikuma Arashi, and I’m all in on this one.

Yoshimurakana establishes immediately that Kuroko Koumori is a master executioner. But instead of being put on death row, the state enlists her to kill “abnormals”. Who are these abnormals? Well one happens to be a former wrestling star powered by unsafe and inhuman drugs. The other is a dude who escaped the psych ward and sings Ode to Joy in German while ripping bodies apart on a train. So yeah, the ones the police can’t handle are the ones Kuroko takes care of.

Yoshimurakana also establishes Kuroko’s desire to be with women… takes like 4 pages into chapter 1. If she spots a cute girl, there’s a high chance she can’t control her libido. While she has certain tastes (she might complain about their breast size though), she shows all the disdain to guys, especially any who messes with her girls.

So in truth, Kuroko makes me think of Jessica Jones, except her superpower is pleasuring ladies and taking lives.

The characters in Murciélago are one of the best parts of the manga. Kuroko stands out from everyone else, but you have her Robin, Hinako Tokazura, an expert reckless driver that’s insanely dumb; the typical tough guy police offer Tsuru who can’t believe he has to deal with these two; and even a random chick that enters Kuroko’s life manages to be memorable despite her generic personality.

It helps that the situations are outrageous enough to make these characters shine. I mean, it’s obviously illogical to drive your car inside a building and reach the roof, but that’s what happened here.

It’s also illogical to pull a wrestling bell out of your breasts and engage a burly babyface wrestler that’s doped up, but that gets done anyways. So a lot of stuff happens, but it’s done in a manner that’s enjoyable and not absolutely out of nowhere.

The romancing of the girls is also a major standout, and one that’s either your style or is not. For example, one chapter has Kuroko getting turned on even as hundreds are gunned down and sliced right around her. Later in the volume, you have some pages where she totally takes advantage of a girl using a dating site.

But at least in Volume 1, the yuri element is not quite as dominant as the violence. It’s not that people are just getting killed violently, but Yoshimurakana draws the entrails of a human body in gruesome detail — and then you get a moment where a car falls from a tall building and the wheel lands on an intestine.

Needless to say, the biggest problem will be the moments where it tries to get serious, and for a manga that’s embraced being nonsense, the seriousness only comes off poorly. So I can only tell you there’s no point in taking Murciélago super seriously. It’s a nonsensical read that’s super fun, super violent, and will make you feel bad for reading it. But then you’ll just desire to read more, though make sure your desire’s not too strong like Kuroko’s.

- Justin
Profile Image for Justin.
858 reviews13 followers
August 23, 2017
I picked this up awhile back during a RightStuf sale, and after reading the first graphic novel of Bedlam, I figured I should finally give Murcielago a shot to compare and contrast.

The two stories have a similar premise at their core: a psychopathic serial killer gets forcibly recruited into working for the good guys. But whereas the "protagonist" of Bedlam ends up with a Clockwork Orange-type of aversion to direct violence, here Kuroko revels in it. She'll help out the authorities to stay out of jail, but she'll do it on her terms. The result is a much more over the top, action-oriented approach to the subject matter, than Bedlam's slower, more reserved take.

Okay, enough with the comparisons. How's Murcielago on its own merits? Well, it's a lot more fun than I was afraid it would be. The synopsis on the back makes the series sound like it's going to be nothing but fanservice, and while there is some, it's...a lot less omnipresent than I expected it to be. The story is bookended by a pair of sex scenes at the beginning and end, but even with these, aside from a few panels the, uh...juicy bits are hidden by strategically-placed locks of hair, cell phones, etc. So yeah, there's fanservice, but it's not overwhelming by any means.

With that out of the way, let's look at the story. Murcielago isn't quite a villain of the week-type of series, but so far there hasn't been an overarching story beyond Kuroko and Hinako (her driver) going after various targets. It is just the first volume, so that may change, and what's here is entertaining enough that I can certainly wait. Murcielago is kind of a more demented version of Gunsmith Cats: two female vigilantes (for lack of a better term) take on high-risk jobs to bring down dangerous criminals, but here, a lot more people end up dead or dismembered. And despite there only being a handful of actual fanservice, there's a lot of ruminating from the protagonist of how she wants to get into every female character's pants. Thankfully, Kuroko's and Hinako's relationship is deeper than that; two actually work well together, and their skill sets complement each other nicely. Kuroko's time as a mass murderer gives her a keen insight into the criminal mind (which she displays in a variety of ways), whereas Hinako's driving skills and knowledge of the layout of the city come into play in some rather impressive situations.

As for the art, I really liked it. The character designs are distinctive, the facial expressions are great, and there's actual detail to the surroundings. There's a lot of action in this series, and thankfully, that's drawn well too. When a car crashes into a building, or someone gets shot, the force of the impact really comes across. Visually, Murcielago doesn't disappoint.

As I said, I picked up this volume because it was cheap, without expecting too much. But I'm glad I bought it, because underneath the eye-rolling description on the back, there's a solid action/crime series to be had here. Time will tell if it develops a more engaging meta-plot, or if it remains the manga equivalent of a summer popcorn flick, but for now I'm quite enjoying Murcielago.
1,026 reviews10 followers
April 19, 2020
So, first things first -- there's plenty of gore and a fair amount of sex in this book, so if that ain't going to do it for you, stay away.

That said, I actually really enjoyed this -- more than I expected actually. It's a tale of a psycho who hunts even bigger psychos for the police in lieu of going to jail. And when she's not doing that, mostly she's either having sexy with cute ladies, trying to have sex with cute ladies, thinking about having sex with cute ladies, or watching porn of cute ladies having sex with each other. This lady is -always- thirsty.

She also has a preternatural sense to avoid things that are trying to hurt or kill her and another that allows her to either pull o0r create for this sort of story. . Which, as her lone pursuit aside from getting in panties is going toe to toe with monsters, are hugely helpful. And so we have the setup.

There were a couple ways this could go, and this manga chose to go with a darkly comedic over-the-top theme. and I think it works well for the sort of story we're getting here. Koumori doesn't revel in bloodshed, but she also doesn't shy away from it, and a good part of the comedy is how unphased she and her adorable driver are by just about every weird thing that happens to her. Giant monster wrestler literally destroying his opponents? Massive murder mansion? Psycho on a train? It's all whatever. The only thing that'll get her attention is a nice rack.

And something I kind of appreciate -- while she's definitely not above copping a feel whenever the opportunity presents itself (I get she's an amorale monster herself, but still, ugh), the sex scenes presented in the book are enthusiastically partaken in by both parties, a trend I dearly hope continues.

All in all, I think I'll eventually be moving on with this series. Maybe not immediately -- despite a massive cliffhanger, I'm not feeling that "I HAVE to know what happens next" feeling. But
Profile Image for Mark.
2,807 reviews271 followers
April 12, 2020
How do you make your anti-hero more likeable? Put them up against even worse people! Kuroko Koumuri is a hitwoman for the police and she’s very good at her job and also quite possibly the thirstiest lesbian in all of manga.

This is not normally the sort of book I like, but the goofball art style and incredibly over-the-top way it treats literally everything helps to mellow out the flying entrails and such.

Having read a fair amount of more graphic series such as Gantz or MPD Psycho, it honestly makes a difference enduring some guy getting half his head blown off when you’ve got a car leapfrogging across four rooftops and then down through a window into an office building. None of this is meant to be taken seriously.

Kuroko is something else as a character. I saw another review that described her as lesbian Captain Kirk and that wouldn’t be far off, though James Bond might be a closer assessment. She definitely has some boundary issues - there’s a subway encounter that’s pretty crass - but if you can put up with it, this series really grew on me.

The second storyline is also set up as a trap in a huge mansion and that’s like narrative catnip to me, I’m not gonna lie.

So you’ve got graphic action, a (mostly) good lead, sex positivity, and positively graphic sex (well, it’s not full on hentai but it definitely skirts that limit). Not my usual fare, but I’ll definitely come back for another volume (damn cliffhangers).
Profile Image for 78sunny.
2,338 reviews41 followers
June 26, 2019
Inhaltlich geht es hier um eine übernatürliche Beamten der Polizei/Geheimdienst, die Verbrecher ausschalten soll, dabei aber auch kein Mitleid mit Opfern hat.
Girlslove und chaotischer Action. Zwei Dinge, die ich nicht so gern lese und leider war dies hier der Fall. Das Girlslove-Thema war eher nebensächlich und sogar ganz witzig, daher hat es mich nicht gestört. Der Actionanteil war aber sehr, sehr hoch und ich hatte mehrere Probleme damit. Zum einen waren die Zeichnungen sehr chaotisch. Teilweise habe ich gar nicht verstanden, was mir ein Panel sagen sollte. Mein größtes Problem bei Actionmangas ist aber die Kombination aus Action und Humor. Das passt für mich nur bei sehr, sehr wenigen Mangas und hier war es nicht der Fall. Ich fand das ganze gar nicht witzig und viel zu brutal. Eine Handlungsstrang wurde entweder nicht beendet oder ich hab's nicht kapiert, was die Mangaka mir sagen wollte. Für mich ist es definitiv nichts gewesen und ich werde die Reihe nicht weiterlesen.
Da macht auch der größtenteils schöne Zeichenstil (außer die Actionszenen) nichts mehr wett.

Story 1,6/5
Zeichenstil 3,6/5
Gesamt 2,4/5
Profile Image for Ariz.
461 reviews21 followers
Read
August 15, 2020
I didn't really like it. Also missed the content warning on this one which I found to be a hilarious surprise right away.

I knew nothing going in so I was also surprised that the lead was attracted to women. That being said she was presented in a bit of a predatory way. Not in the fact that she liked cute girls and had lolita magazines. But in one scene she harassed someone on the train and it was a joke. It was portrayed in that quirky funny way a lot of anime and manga show harassment and non-consensual touching (insert eye roll). Which I personally hate, but is sadly common. Also people being harassed on trains in Japan is a common thing and it makes me sad to see it be a joke. Not that people can't make those jokes and have them be funny, but for me, I've found these things to be unnecessary and in poor taste.

Other than that the art I liked. Boobs were Largely emphasized though.
The actual story I didn't care for. It wasn't bad, I just wasn't invested. Near the end it didn't wrap up the story line they started, but I don't forsee myself picking up the next volume.
It wasn't particularly bad, just not for me.
Profile Image for Karolina.
30 reviews3 followers
September 6, 2017
Chociaż manga autorstwa Kana Youshimura to seinen, spodobała się także i mnie. Murcielago od razu uderza po twarzy ostrą sceną erotyczną, by kilka stron później przesłonić kadry powyrywanymi kończynami. W obu przypadkach zastanawiałam się jak wykonanie czegoś takiego byłoby możliwe w rzeczywistym świecie. Jednak zgubienie czeka tego, kto również postanowi zastanawiać się nad logiką tej mangi. Murcielago uderza nadprzyrodzonymi elementami wręcz w każdym kadrze. Autor nadaje ton opowieści poprzez nakreślenie głównej bohaterki.

jeśli nie boicie się ogromnej dozy dziwności, lubicie czarny humor i nie straszne są Wam wszędobylskie wnętrzności, to sięgnijcie po Murcielago jak najszybciej. Zdecydowanie nie są to flaki z olejem, a z olejkiem (do masażu erotycznego).

Całość recenzji na: http://www.geekkochanajmocniej.pl/201...
Profile Image for Bryan Alexander.
Author 4 books318 followers
May 5, 2023
Murciélago is a twisted romp of a book. It's about a serial killer who now works for the police, helping them deal with... odd or violent crimes. So it's full of wild violence.

It's also very goofy. The killer is our protagonist and has a great time with everything. She critiques other murderers, stages scenes from professional wrestling, and just delights in her work.

She's also a lesbian sex fiend, constantly hitting on women, even in the middle of battles. Said "women" look like they're early teens or adolescents, in the typical anime style, which does become eyebrow-raising when they're hit on by the clearly much older heroine.

So it's a bit like the much darker Johnny the Homicidal Maniac, but with sexy fun and a gender switch.

This volume ends in the middle of a plot or two. I'll probably read on.
Profile Image for Julieta Steyr.
Author 13 books26 followers
April 14, 2018
Kuroko tiene dos placeres en la vida: asesinar y satisfacer su líbido con algunas mujeres con bonitos pechos, también es una asesina serial con 715 muertes en su haber. Sumado a eso, tiene un sexto sentido para percibir el peligro lo que la convierte en casi una superheroína. Su compañera de aventuras, ahora que está trabajando para la policía, es Hinako que al menos en este volúmen es más una conductora al borde de la demencia que cualquier otra cosa. Ah, see y una cosita linda también.
Es un manga muy absurdo, fuera de serie, con más que varios toques de gore que pueden espantar a los estómagos flojos que ni llegarán a ver las escenas de sexo a tono con este tipo de lectura descabellada.
Profile Image for David Hill.
81 reviews2 followers
September 4, 2021
This was a Goodreads recommendation. I was surprised at the amount of nudity and sexual activity in this series its almost a soft core porn. I definitely wouldn't recommend this to anyone under 18. That aside the rest of the story was actually really entertaining and fun to read. Murcielago follows the life of Kuroko Koumori a murderer snatched from death row hired by the government to assassinate serial killers. The MC is a bit of a sadist which plays into the humor of the story and in a way reminds me of Alucard from "Hellsing". I would love to see an anime adaptation of this manga.
Profile Image for marmarmar.
176 reviews27 followers
manga
December 22, 2021
I don't believe in the glorification of murder. I do believe in the empowerment of women. Yo era esa frase durante todo este tomo.

NO PENSÉ QUE ME IBA GUSTAR TANTO. Amo lo loca que está y amo toda la sangre que hay y amo cómo van por ahí destruyendo edificios en ese endemoniado auto y amo lo bonito que se ve el caos. Siento que hay muchos misterios respecto a Kuroko y también respecto a los demás personajes y me pica horrible la curiosidad. Y ENCIMA ESTÁ GRACIOSO. Definitivamente quiero seguir con la serie y ruego, pido, imploro que solo mejore. De momento pienso que es un 4.
Profile Image for Rereader.
1,442 reviews206 followers
March 10, 2019
Good, gruesome, sexy fun! Kuroko is a terrible yet charismatic character who somehow manages to be murderously sadistic and funnily laid back at the same time. I love a series that doesn't take itself too seriously, allowing the reader to just sit back and have fun. The pacing is incredible-despite there being a ton of exposition, it doesn't bog down the story and offers just as much action to balance it out. Tons of fun, give it a try if you want an explicit, fun story.
Profile Image for AsianMerr.
449 reviews6 followers
October 3, 2023
This was not good at all. It feels like a generic manga from an otaku in all the weird ways. Maybe it’s gets better? I mean it has 20+ volumes printed in English at the time of this review. I was interested to see how the MC got out of execution but that’s barely brushed on in a side story and only for a page or two. Also there’s some mystery with the main duo, like they must be more that what they are right? If not then this is lameeee.
Profile Image for Luce.
141 reviews
March 19, 2024
Une psychopathe lesbienne est recrutée par le gouvernement pour se débarrasser de certains criminels. Elle est accompagnée par une policière assez naïve. C'est un manga bien déjanté avec une antihéroïne badass.
En revanche , il y a des passages ecchi qui sont superflus et n'apportent rien à l'intrigue. C'est aussi un manga qui date et des passages seraient censurés aujourd'hui, le comportement de certains personnages étant problématique.
Profile Image for Julmarie Llanos.
5 reviews
December 15, 2023
It’s a good read if you can tolerate the gore and sexual themes but be aware that volume 6 is a quite difficult read ( in my personal experience) other than that the series first 4 volumes are nice, but after a while the author kinda forgets how to write the protagonist? Even so 5 stars because I enjoyed how weird it is except that one volume.
Profile Image for Brook.
Author 1 book35 followers
June 19, 2017
Hella bizarre and gory lesbian murder detective manga. Like a less cerebral MPD psycho, with a pervy lesbian protagonist. There’s fast cars, pro-wrestlers, and a murder house. It’s silly and I liked it.
Profile Image for Malum.
2,841 reviews168 followers
May 12, 2020
Interesting concept, but I found the main character more annoying than interesting. She's like the RPG player that murders her way through any and all obstacles rather than finding interesting solutions to puzzles, thus ruining the game for everyone else.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.