Kara no Shoujo



Kara no Shoujo (Girl Of The Shell) is an erotic visual novel created by game company Innocent Grey.

It’s Tokyo in 1956, right during the middle of the American occupation. Tokisaka Reiji is an ex-cop turned detective after the death of his fiancée six years ago to a serial killer known only by the name Rokushiki Makoto. The story begins when a pair of mutilated bodies are discovered and Reiji’s assistance is requested. At the same time a mysterious young girl named Kuchiki Toko makes a strange request: Please find my true self.

As all the victims have been young female students, Reiji is asked by the school with the most missing students to take a temporary lecturing job while he investigates. The school is rather oppressive and is seemingly populated almost entirely by indistinguishable drones. There are only a few students who seem to have a spark of individuality, and among them are several of the girls who have already been killed. At the academy, he runs into Toko again who asks if he’s made any progress. Can Reiji stop more murders from being committed and also discover whatever it is Toko is looking for?

Kara no Shoujo was released in early July 2011 by Mangagamer after they purchased the translation from a fan group.

This visual novel provides examples of:

 * AB Negative –
 * A Cup Angst – Kazuna, Shugo’s wife.
 * Anyone Can Die – There are a lot of endings, and there are a lot of dead people in them.
 * A Love to Dismember –
 * The Atoner –
 * Bittersweet Ending –
 * Brother Sister Incest –
 * Bungled Suicide –
 * But Not Too Foreign – Stella. Justified in that any fully foreign person would be very out of place in 1956 Japan.
 * But Thou Must – There are a few decisions where you’re given a choice of whether to do something or not, but you’ll generally end up doing it either way. For example, whether or not to try Hatsune’s cooking.
 * Clingy Jealous Girl – Mizuhara Toko. She actually does recognize Reiji as a good person and claims to herself not to hate him, but she still can’t get along with him due to her fixation on Kuchiki.
 * Cloudcuckoolander – Yukari worries about koi drowning, has a fondness for insects and uses them in her cooking.
 * Cordon Bleugh Chef – Hatsune’s tuna, tomato and soy sauce pancakes are surprisingly edible. The chocolate and baking soda sandwiches are not.
 * Continuity Nod - This series takes place after Innocent Grey's previous work Cartagra in which Takashiro Shugo is the main character. Takashiro, Kazuna and Hatsune are returning character from Cartagra.
 * Death By Sex – If you come across a sex scene with someone, they’re probably going to die in about a minute or two. Bad End!
 * Death of the Author – Mentioned in regard to the painting Kara no Shoujo. What the painter intended to express is not as important as what the viewer thinks.
 * Downer Ending – There are a lot of bad ends with extended story.
 * Driven to Suicide –
 * Eats Babies –
 * Even Evil Has Standards -
 * Everyone Is Related –
 * Eye Scream – The girl noted below had her eyes cut after she died.
 * Fan Disservice – Pretty naked girls are a good thing, right?
 * Four Eyes Zero Soul – Yaginuma.
 * Freak Out –
 * Genki Girl – Tsuzuriko.
 * Glory Hound – Yaginuma.
 * Good Girls Avoid Abortion
 * Gorn
 * Hot Mom – Chizuru.
 * If Its You Its Okay – An early scene with Kuchiki Toko and Mizuhara Toko has Mizuhara in love with Kuchiki, but admitting that since neither are lesbians there’s nothing she can do about it.
 * Ill Girl – Toko has ablastic anemia.
 * I'm a Humanitarian –
 * I Never Said It Was Poison –
 * Insufferable Genius – Yaginuma is a dick with an inflated view of his own abilities, but he still is pretty good.
 * Interrupted Suicide –
 * It Got Worse –
 * Freudian Excuse –
 * Jerkass – Yaginuma, Murase.
 * Jerkass Facade –
 * Kansai Regional Accent – Natsume, sort of. She speaks in a strange mishmash that’s mostly based on this, though.
 * Karma Houdini –
 * Keep the Reward – Reiji feels he didn’t earn a paycheck from Ouba.
 * Life or Limb Decision –
 * Little Sister Heroine - Yukari, to an extent. She's clearly here for these reasons, but in regards to the trope she appears to serve as more of a contrast with all the Villainous Incest going on.
 * Lovable Sex Maniac – Nene, the school nurse.
 * Mad Artist –
 * Multiple Endings – Most of which are bad.
 * My Name Is Not Durwood – Reiji starts calling Tsuzuriko Tojiko early on since her name is hard to say. Yukari does it sometimes as well.
 * Nice Job Breaking It Hero –
 * Oblivious to Love – Kyoko doesn’t seem to realize how Uozumi feels about her.
 * Onee Sama – Shows up in a couple places throughout, though since the story takes place in the 50s it doesn’t seem as well recognized instory. The first one seen is with Orihime, who seems to have quite the number of fangirls. Mizuhara and Kuchiki’s relationship is also described in a similar manner by Yukari
 * One Steve Limit – Averted with Kuchiki Toko and Mizuhara Toko.
 * The Ojou – Everyone at Ouba academy, really, but especially Orihime.
 * Parental Incest –
 * Rape As Backstory
 * Rape Is Okay When Its Female On Male – Averted.
 * Repetitive Name – Stella’s older sister, Celestial Stella. Both are related to stars.
 * Selective Obliviousness – Reiji realizes how Kyoko feels about him, he just doesn’t think it would be right to be involved with her.
 * Serial Killer
 * She Is Not My Girlfriend – Rather than being defensive about it, Reiji is mostly confused as to why everyone thinks there’s something between him and Toko. Tojiko and Mizuhara both assume he’s slept with her.
 * Single Target Sexuality – Mizuhara seems to live for Kuchiki.
 * Smarter Than You Look – Tsuzuriko.
 * Sophisticated As Hell – The notebook tends to be pretty professional in its contents until a little after Yaginuma is introduced. There’s a brief description of him as normal followed by “Still an asshole.”
 * Strange Girl – Toko and Stella.
 * Student Council President – Orihime.
 * Tall Dark and Bishoujo – Orihime.
 * Title Drop – Kara no Shoujo is considered the masterpiece of painter Mamiya Shinzo. It depicts a girl who looks like Toko inside a black egg.
 * Truly Single Parent –
 * UST – Toko and Reiji.
 * Villainous Incest –
 * Vitriolic Best Buds – Reiji and Uozumi seem to spend most of their time arguing.
 * Yamato Nadeshiko – Yukari. She even wears traditional Japanese clothing around the house. However, she's also a slight cloud cuckoolander and has some rather questionable taste, which rather detracts from the impression, or rather puts it in a comical light.
 * Vitriolic Best Buds – Reiji and Uozumi seem to spend most of their time arguing.
 * Yamato Nadeshiko – Yukari. She even wears traditional Japanese clothing around the house. However, she's also a slight cloud cuckoolander and has some rather questionable taste, which rather detracts from the impression, or rather puts it in a comical light.