"School is literally Hell" is a familiar premise in genre fiction. One of the more recent modern mangas to explore this idea is Hajime Segawa's zombie horror, Corpse Blade, which started in 2020 and is now getting an English translation some four years later.
Published by Titan Manga, it's the story of Tsuranuki Tsutsuki, an average middle schooler who must join forces with a mysterious high-school girl in order to fend off the hordes of the dead and rescue his sister. Luckily, he's armed with a gun while the girl wields the magical Corpse Blade.
Check out a selection of pages from the first volume in the below, which show off the kinetic - and violent! - art style.
Corpse Blade was originally published in the pages of Monthly Shōnen Ace magazine between June 2020 and November 2021.
Hajime Segawa is also the author of Ga-Rei, a supernatural manga series about a high-school kid who can see spirits which ran for five years and inspired an anime prequel. Ga-Rei was also set for a live action adaptation at one point, though things have since gone rather quiet on that front.
Here's Titan's official synopsis for the first volume of Corpse Blade:
"The first volume in the legendary Corpse Blade series, an action packed romp through a zombie infested Tokyo! School, chores, killing the undead - all in an average day for Tsuranuki Tsutsuki! After his sister is kidnapped by the zombies, this middle schooler sets out to save her, becoming handy with a gun - but he won't be alone, as he encounters another kid on a quest, a mysterious high-school girl who can command the awesome power of the Corpse Blade!"
Corpse Blade Vol. 01 is published by Titan Manga on October 15.
Check out our picks of the top 10 manga from last year.
