Corpse Princess
An undead girl hunts 108 corpses to earn heaven.
Corpse Princess (屍姫, Shikabane Hime) is a manga by Yoshiichi Akahito, who both wrote and illustrated it. It first appeared in Monthly Shōnen Gangan on April 12, 2005. The story follows Makina Hoshimura, an undead girl called the "Corpse Princess." She must kill 108 other undead corpses to earn her way into heaven, aided by a secret group of Buddhist monks who fight corpses. The manga was turned into a thirteen-episode anime by Feel and Gainax. The first season, Aka (Red), ran on AT-X from October 2 to December 25, 2008. The second season, Kuro (Black), aired from January to March 2009. Funimation licensed the anime for North America, releasing it subtitled as Shikabane Hime through online platforms and its own site. It debuted on North American television on the Funimation Channel on November 15, 2010.
After her murder, Makina Hoshimura becomes a living "Shikabane Hime." She uses two MAC-11 submachine guns and must kill 108 other Shikabane to reach heaven. The Buddhist monk Keisei Tagami, who belongs to the anti-corpse Kougon Sect, helps her. Her real goal is to destroy the Shikabane group called the Seven Stars and avenge her family's death.
Makina looks like a high school girl in a sailor uniform, with long purple hair tied in a red ribbon and two braided pigtails ending in metal hoops. She chose to become a Hime to find who killed her and her family. She is physically strong and fights with two Ingram MAC-11 submachine guns. Her Contracted Monk is Keisei Tagami. Later, it comes out that her family discovered how to make a Shikabane Hime, and the Seven Stars killed them and turned Makina into one. After Keisei dies, she accepts Ouri Kagami as her new Contracted Monk.
Ouri Kagami is a high school boy raised at Keisei's temple. He sees Keisei as a brother, though they are not related. A talking black cat often leads him to where Makina and the Shikabane are. The temple kids call him "Hanagami." After Keisei's death, he becomes Makina's new Contracted Monk. At the start of the anime, he moves out of the temple to live alone and takes part-time jobs.
Keisei Tagami is a Buddhist priest in the Kougon Sect. He found Ouri as a three-year-old and raised him at the temple orphanage. Keisei was also an orphan, raised by Makina's father. When the Hoshimura family was killed, he agreed to be Makina's Contracted Monk. He is a bit of a pervert, often hiding dirty mag
- Type
- Manga and anime series
- Creator
- Yoshiichi Akahito
- Premiere Date
- April 12, 2005
- Genre
- Action, supernatural
- Anime Seasons
- Two (Aka and Kuro)
- North American Licensee
- Funimation
- North American TV Debut
- November 15, 2010
Lore & Background
The story follows Makina Hoshimura, a high school girl who, after being murdered, becomes a Shikabane Hime (Corpse Princess). Armed with dual MAC-11 submachine guns, she must kill 108 other Shikabane to enter heaven, aided by Keisei Tagami, a Buddhist monk of the Kougon Sect. Her ultimate goal is to avenge her family's death by destroying the Shikabane known as the Seven Stars. After Keisei's death, Makina's contract transfers to Ouri Kagami, a high school boy raised at Keisei's temple.
Reader's Guide
Corpse Princess is significant as a supernatural action series blending Buddhist themes with undead horror. Its anime adaptation, produced by Feel and Gainax, brought the manga to a wider audience, with Funimation handling North American distribution. The series explores themes of regret, redemption, and the cost of vengeance through its characters, including other Shikabane Hime like Akira Tooka and Minai Ruo. While the anime concluded in 2009, the manga continued, offering deeper backstories for characters such as Saki Amase and Kamika Todoroki. The series remains a notable entry in the shōnen genre for its unique premise and character-driven storytelling.
Did You Know?
- Makina Hoshimura's weapons of choice are two Ingram MAC-11 submachine guns.
- The first anime season, Aka, aired from October 2 to December 25, 2008.
- Ouri Kagami is voiced by Tatsuya Hasome in Japanese and Aaron Dismuke in English.
- The series made its North American television debut on the Funimation Channel on November 15, 2010.
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