Remote Vol. #03

By Megan Lavey     October 14, 2004
Release Date: October 01, 2004



Creative Talent
Writer/Artist:Story by: Seimaru Amagi / Art by: Tetsuya Koshiba
Translated by:Haruko Furukawa
Adapted by:

What They Say
Officer Kurumi finds the main bomb, but is prevented from disarming it by the student body president, who has discovered her and is not pleased that she's not in the classroom with everyone else. As the dark secrets of the school's past are revealed, Kurumi still has to save the lives of the students...

The Review
Packaging:
The cover photo this time isn't so eye-catching, as it presents Kurumi in the high school uniform she's using for the undercover operation. I do like the fading behind her, but this pose just isn't as attractive as the first two books. The spine is done up as an opened cell phone, which is appropriate to the series. The back has files spread over a table with the summary typed out as one of the files. This volume is shrink-wrapped due to content.

Artwork:
For me, the artwork in this volume took a sudden dive south. Himuro looks extremely chubby at times and I'm about over the panty shots. The first volume had the right mix of action and fanservice to make someone satisfied, but not go over the top. With this book, however, it's gone way over the top. I think I now know what the majority of Kurumi's underwear collection consists of. Too bad that doesn't add to the plot of the story. There's some very graphic scenes here, blurred out genetalia and all, which adds to the increased rating for this volume.

Text:
The SFX remains untranslated, but the language is toned way down from the first volume. Other than that, it was a clean read with no noticeable glitches.

Content: (May contain spoilers)
Kurumi is still stuck in the school, which causes some problems as the students catch onto her and she is forced to reveal her cover as a police officer. But, that doesn't matter in the killer's eyes. As the events unfold, Kurumi discovers the horrible sequence of events that leads to the prostitution and death of a student and how that spurs the killer to do what he does.

But, even after everything is said and done, Kurumi still must find and defuse the bomb before it blows them all away.

After that's over, she moves into a simpler job, where she must play bodyguard to a very spoiled teenager.

I don't want to give away how the second case turned out. It was very shocking and sad, and quite honestly the best part of the book. Once you realize what happens and how that affects the killer, you can't help feeling sorry for him, as Kurumi does. Kurumi's compassion leads to problems with her solving the case and with Himuro as well.

My biggest frusturation is that after two very complex cases that take a toll emotionally on Kurumi, we've not seen any real character growth from her. She is the same person she is at the beginning of the series with just a bit more spunk. But, that's it. I was surprised at the amount of whining that she did at the beginning of the third case, and I feel that by this time in the story, this should be fading from her. Kurumi knows what her job entails now. While I don't expect her to turn into Eve Dallas from J.D. Robb's "In Death" series, I do expect her to grow out of the childish whiniest that was cute in the first volume, somewhat annoying in the second and growing extremely annoying now.

We don't get a lot from Himuro's end this time, expect for that he is experiencing some growth in his feelings for Kurumi. He brushes off his old girlfriend to make sure Kurumi is okay during the second case. I'm looking forward to seeing the mystery unfold about him.

Comments
Remote is still an enjoyable series, but the stagnant character growth on Kurumi's part and the excessive fanservice that has grown to be a part of this series does take away from it. The first volume had everything going for it, and I was very excited to pick up the series. But, in order for the series to keep at that same level, I hope to see some changes on Kurumi's end - soon.