Remote, Volume 1

Let me be the first to say that I don't mind fanservice. While I'm not the target audience for it, I could really care less if the artist were to include it in the manga. Fanservice sells manga. However, this series tends to push the fanservice meter up past the normal levels into extreme levels of panty & ecchi shots. While it still didn't stop me from enjoying the series, at more than one point I remember shaking my head & saying "enough already! She wears panties, I get it!" While with some series that's all that carries the plotline, Remote truly doesn't need that extra boost. The plotlines are incredibly well thought out & while the characters are initially somewhat annoying (especially Kurumi), you quickly grow to like them as they mature through the series. Some readers may not be as fond of the artwork (it's not very polished or extremely detailed), the speedy style gets the job done & fits the gritty storylines. To be honest, if the plotline for this wasn't so darn good I would've only given this series about 2 stars. It's the good plotting that saves this series. Now onto the actual plotline. The story surrounds a young policewoman (Kurumi) who has been given the task of "babysitting" a young inspector (Himuro). Himuro would be the perfect inspector, but for two small problems: he is as emotionless as a toaster & he refuses to leave the basement of his house. Using Kurumi as a go-between, they solve all of the crimes that cross their paths. The setup for this is rather like a more adult "Case Closed" or a more risque "Kindaichi Chronicles", so I would recommend this to fans of those series. However, if the reader is easily offended, underage, or doesn't want to view endless pantyshots, they may be better off reading a different series.

A serial murderer is on the loose (maybe), a killer clown (or is it clowns), who has killed and plans to kill again. In fact, he even leaves clues and if the police are smart enough they might just stop him (or them). Officer Kurumi Ayaki was going to leave the force to get married, but she REALLY needs moeny and ends up trying to get back into her old position. But she is given another posting - in the Unsolved Crimes Division, also known as The Crypt, where her new boss is a young genius who refuses to step one foot outside his office. Now she has a cell phone, a gun and a series of horrific crimes. The bodies are piling up and she is in way over her head. How long can she last as a remote? Great, twisted story. So-so artwork.

The discovery of a murdered woman and someone dressed up as a clown near the site of the murder, kicks off the police thriller manga series Remote by Seimaru Amagi. A floppy disc is discovered by the corpse, and the police decide to hand the case over to brooding and calm but taciturn Inspector Kozaburo Himuro, head of the Unsolved Crimes Division, Unit A. He is stationed in "the Crypt," his personal house far away from the Criminal Investigation Division's headquarters. Joining him as his put-upon and sometimes reluctant partner is Kurumi Ayaki, a stunning 23 year old in the traffic division who was planning to retire so she could get married to her wimpy car salesman fiancé, Shingo. Unfortunately, the recession puts paid Shingo's expected promotion, where his salary might get halved. Kurumi, who has already handed in her resignation, is forced to retract it, and hence assigned to Himuro. As he is unable to leave due to an accident the previous year, Kurumi is forced to become his eyes and ears, with a cellphone with which the two can communicate. Despite his apparent coldness and the way he pushes Kurumi, I tend to like him better for his use of logic and intelligence. Kurumi is thus on 24 hour call. As Himuro tells her at one point, "you belong to a unit now. The only time you're off duty is when you're dead. If you can't deal with that, then maybe I should find someone who can." However, while discussing matters at the Central Towers Hotel, Kurumi unexpected sees a man dressed in a clown suit singing a nursery rhyme, and moments later, takes charge in the lobby where a man is found dead with a floppy disc in his pocket. Her ability for recall gives Himuro more to go on with, which makes him believe that maybe she is of good use after all. The clown has been leaving messages that serves as a password with which to open the floppy disc's files. The clue in the first murder is the message "SEND MORE MONEY." While Kurumi sees it as it is, Himuro recognizes it as a mathematical equation, SEND+MORE=MONEY, with each letter being a number. The files then reveal the location of each planned murder. The best scene involves Himuro sending Kurumi to a dark abandoned warehouse at night, where he expects her to find "one psychotic bozo." In other words, a clown, and Kurumi is forced to defend herself. However, two more killings occur, at which point it becomes clear that there have been different killers. Kurumi isn't exactly that well gifted in the brain department, and is a bit of a ditz, making up for it in her figure. However, she is a complement to the more logical and intelligent Himuro. At one point, while running to prevent another murder, she stops to help an injured boy, which enrages Himuro because she will be too late. And she is liked by two of Himuro's assistants, the hulking behemoth Bob Kato, nicknamed the Bobhemoth, and whose lunch consists of a tray full of hamburgers, and the older woman Hanae, who thinks Kurumi