Based on the manga by Yoshiichi Akahito, the supernatural adventure Corpse Princess (2008) borrows elements from Bleach, Death Note, and Gunslinger Girl. When humans with intense desires or regrets die, they may become Shikabane, corpses animated by their restless spirits. They can only be killed by Shikabane Hime, or Corpse Princesses–female spirits who have allied with the monks of a secret Buddhist sect to wage war on the undead. The Princesses take the form of high-school girls who use machine gun pistols to blow the zombies’ brains out. Blithely ignorant 15-year-old Ouri is drawn into these battles when he learns that his “big brother” Keisei is bound to undead warrior Makina. After a series of fairly straightforward battles, a traitorous monk strikes at Keisei and Makina, followed by the arrival of the Seven Stars, the Shikabanes who murdered Makina and her family. Good-natured, loyal Ouri bonds with Makina as the first season of Corpse Princess draws to a close. Corpse Princess Kuro followed in 2009, but the ending is a foregone conclusion. The Princesses are older than the murderous waifs in Gunslinger Girl, but their frustrated affection for their human partners has an unsavory edge. Ouri feels like the hero of a harem comedy who somehow stumbled into a bloodbath. Violent, fast paced, and not particularly original, Corpse Princess will appeal primarily to adolescent boys who want to watch girls kicking undead derrière. (Rated TV MA: violence, violence against women, grotesque imagery, risqué humor, alcohol and tobacco use) –Charles Solomon

(1. The Dead Dance, 2. The Game Continues, 3. Voice of the Night, 4. Hymn of Tragedy, 5. Traitor Monk, 6. At the End of the Dangerous Run, 7. The False Power of Words, 8. Serenity, 9. Set Your Heart Aflutter, 10. Stars on the Ground, 11. One Night, 12. Dawn, 13. Funeral Program for a Contracted Monk)

Makina Hoshino is already dead, but she can’t let go of this twisted world. She burned to death along with her entire family in a fire started by freaks that wouldn’t stay buried. Makina knows she doesn’t belong among the living, but that won’t stop her from unleashing the full fury of her twin MAC-11 machine guns on the rotting remains of those who refuse to die. She’s hell-bent on filling every empty grave she can find with the monsters that should be six feet under. Makina is a Shikabane Hime – a Corpse Princess – and it’s her job to finish off the undead leftovers haunting the dark corners of a city that used to be safe.