'Otaku Blue' is a French comic book set in Japan and following a young woman researching fan culture and a middle aged detective investigating a series of murders. The killings are of young women and in each case a different body part is stolen. It plays out like an eastern giallo and its examination of Japanese culture is kind of interesting at times, but never quite reaches the level of being insightful.
A bigger problem is the lack of any tension as the body count rises. It feels like the deaths are happening to give the detective something to do rather than for any other reason. The fact that this is just the first part of a story in two parts doesn't help either. The conclusion felt abrupt and I was left with little incentive to seek out the concluding part. ( )

With a serial killer, maid cafes, and Gothic Lolitas, you'd think this would be a sexy thriller, but it literally put me to sleep. Half the story is about Asami, a sociologist investigating otaku ("geeks") while her relationship with an annoying dude slowly falls apart. Meanwhile super dull police investigate a mysterious killer who cuts pieces off his victim's bodies. I suppose in the next volume these two stories will come together, but I shall not be returning to find out how as I do not care one iota. ( )

une enquète de crimes sadiques dans le milieu des otakus