Mail Vol. #03

By Patricia Beard     July 18, 2007
Release Date: January 31, 2007



Creative Talent
Writer/Artist:Housui Yamazaki
Translated by:Douglas Varenas
Adapted by:Carl Gustav Horn

What They Say
Detective Akiba takes a trip down memory lane to his childhood, when as a young blind boy he befriended a little girl in the woods near his house. In "Un-notifying," Detective Akiba must help a young woman terrorized by the ghost of a lonely girl whose lifeline to the world of the living is an old cell phone.

This is the final installment of Mail, but Akiba's adventures continue in The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service volume 4 in a crossover appearance.

The Review
In the opening story to this third and final volume of Mail, spirit detective Reiji Akiba forsakes his usual role as the Rod Serling of the spirit world to become the main character. We are returned to Akiba's youth, cleverly indicated by the reverse tone drawings that not only indicate the past, but remind the reader of Akiba's world of darkness as a young person. Here the past promise that Akiba made to a young friend is redeemed and Mikoto joins Akiba in the spirit detective agency.

The following stories are very much like those we have seen in previous volumes - updated ghost stories and urban legends. The standout story here is one involving the newly reanimated Mikoto. (There, I said it. But I'm not telling you how.) It is sad and creepy and Yamazaki shows the effect on Mikoto through skillfully depicted reactions of interest, wonder and a little fear.

While I really would like to see more of Mail, especially now that Mikoto has joined Akiba, this type of episodic story does have it's limitations. There are only so many unique stories, afer that it's all variations on a theme. However, readers will get one more chance to go spirit hunting with Akiba. He returns, sadly without Mikoto, for a chapter in Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service #4.