Beautiful Bones: Sakurako's Investigation

Beautiful Bones: Sakurako's Investigation or A Corpse is Buried Under Sakurako's Feet (櫻子さんの足下には死体が埋まっている) is a Japanese mystery novel series written by Shiori Ōta, with illustrations by Tetsuo. Kadokawa Shoten has published seventeen volumes[1] since 2013 under their Kadokawa Bunko label, with over 1 million copies in print. The final volume in the series was released in March 2021.[2] An anime television series adaptation by Troyca aired in Japan between October and December 2015.[3][4] A live-action television series adaptation aired between April 23 and June 25, 2017, on Fuji TV.[5]

Plot

Sakurako Kujō is a genius beauty in her mid-twenties whose life is centered around one thing and one thing only: bones. With little tolerance for others, she would be completely isolated in her study full of skeletons if it weren't for high school boy Shotaro—her new assistant and constant companion. Why exactly she has taken a shine to him remains a mystery, but one thing is clear: Whenever the two go out together, the chances are high that they will come across a human corpse.

Characters

• Sakurako Kujō (九条 櫻子)
• (radio drama), Shizuka Itō (anime)
• Played by: Alisa Mizuki
• She is a beautiful woman who comes from a prominent family and lives in a big old house with only a housekeeper as a companion. She has a hobby of collecting the bones of dead animals and reconstructing them. However, she is more interested in human remains. And with her being an osteologist, she also developed forensic skills from her uncle, a prominent forensic scientist in the prefecture, and has helped with many unsolved murders. She has a dislike for interpersonal relationships, although she has a fiance working with the Hokkaido Prefectural Police. She would often refer to Shōtarō as "shōnen" ("boy") instead of his real name.

• Shōtarō Tatewaki (館脇 正太郎)
• (radio drama), Junya Enoki (anime)
• Played by: Taisuke Fujigaya
• He is a high school boy who assists Sakurako in her bone-digging expeditions. It so happens that they always find human remains in the process. He keeps Sakurako in check, as she tends to go crazy and try to keep the human remains for herself.

• Yuriko Kōgami (鴻上 百合子)
• (anime)
• Shōtarō's classmate who keeps becoming entwined with his cases by coincidence.

• Ume Sawa (沢 梅) Gran (ばあやさん)
• (anime)
• Played by: Machiko Washio
• Sakurako's caretaker, who is kind-hearted but also strict, particularly when it comes to Sakurako's love of sweets.

• Itsuki Isozaki (磯崎 齋)
• (anime)
• Played by: Takaya Kamikawa
• A life science teacher at Shōtarō's school. He is handsome and slightly arrogant though he does care for his students.

• Naoe Ariwara (在原 直江)
• Naoe is Sakurako's fiance who works as a police officer, and vouches for her when she works on a case.

• Hiroki Utsumi (内海 洋貴)
• (anime)
• Utsumi is a police officer who often helps Sakurako and Shōtarō on cases.

• Hector (へクター)
• A dog previously owned by a family Sakurako helped. After said family moved into an apartment they gave Hector to Sakurako. Hector consistently exhibits a powerful interest and excitement toward corpses, seeking them out and staying near them when he finds them, and getting as excited as Sakurako when new skeletons arrive.

• Haruto Imai (今居 陽人)
• (anime)
• A classmate and friend of Shōtarō's.

• Sōko Chiyoda (千代田 薔子)
• (anime)
• Sakurako's aunt who is a florist.

• Hanabusa (花房)
• (anime)
• A professional painter. He is the mastermind behind many of the homicides that Sakurako investigates.

Media

Reception

Nicole MacLean, writing for THEM Anime Reviews, was highly positive towards Sakurako Kujo and her expertise in osteology, commended the side characters and one-off episodes for being enjoyable, but was critical of the overarching plot feeling forced and lacking substance regarding Sakurako's antagonist.[26] Paul Jensen of Anime News Network praised the stories for their "calmer, quieter musings on life and death," felt that Sakurako's idiosyncrasies weren't presented well, and was critical of the writing leaning towards "forced drama and overwrought moral philosophy" when murder is involved and offering little information for its potential overarching villain. He concluded that: "There's some decent material in here, and it's good enough to justify a single viewing if you enjoy mystery shows [...] As it stands, I don't think it's compelling enough to win over a wider audience."[27]

External links