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Gempak Starz Licenses Ankoku Joshi Mystery Novel
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
Malaysian publisher Gempak Starz announced last Friday that it has licensed Rikako Akiyoshi's Ankoku Joshi (The Dark Maidens) novel, and will release it with the title Tabir Gelap Gadis.
The novel is set at a school named the Virgin Mary Girls Academy, where Itsumi Shiraishi, the beautiful daughter of the school's director, recently died. Whether the death was an accident, a suicide, or a murder remains a mystery, known only to the lily that Itsumi clutched in her hand as she died. Rumors begin to circulate that the members of the literature club that Itsumi supervised were responsible for her death. With leadership of the club transferring to Sayuri Sumikawa, the club members continue their practice of reading short stories they wrote to each other. One week, they meet to read stories with the theme of "Itsumi Shiraishi's death," with each of the five members intent on using their own story to discover who among them murdered Itsumi.
Akiyoshi initially serialized the story in Futabasha's Shōsetsu Suiri magazine and Futabasha published the story in a novel in June 2013. Futabasha also digitally published a two-volume manga adaptation by Yuna Anisaki in March 2015.
The novel inspired a live-action film in 2017. Anime screenwriter and director Mari Okada wrote the script as her first live-action project.
