Print Review: Remote volumes 1-4

Review Remote volumes 1-4Written by WarpshadowRating good

Police dramas are kind of rare in manga but unless you really need to read one in manga form you can skip remote and be okay with your life.

Like many women in Japan officer Kurumi was expecting to quit her job when she got married but financial circumstances made her stay on the force. As her old post had been filled by someone else she is transferred to the unsolved crimes unit aka the crypt which is known for it’s high turnover rate. Kurumi finds out that her new partner is a brilliant but antisocial shut in named Kozaburo Himuro and her job is to be the outside ears and eyes for him. With her job going from handing out parking tickets to solving murder cases the big question is can Kurumi handle the stress of it all?

It is natural for crime dramas to star characters that are experienced and composed detectives. Remote breaks from this expectation with putting a novice like Kurumi front and center. This is made a bit more believable by connecting her with an immobile well of experience as well as making the quick deductions that move the plot forward. Even though the setup is one fairly average girl and her bishonen companion there is more than enough fan service on Kurumi’s part to make this clearly not a shojo manga. Overall I found this to be a fairly interesting crime drama but one that like that genre in the first place are probably going to enjoy it.