Disclaimer: This is a review for the 2015 anime serise "Beautiful Bones - Sakurako's Investigation," with the alternate Japanese title of "A Corpse is Buried Under Sakurako's Feet."The first episode of "Beautiful Bones - Sakurako's Investigation" describes a sleepy Japanese town that seems to be stuck in the past. The opening credits of each episode also states "This story is dedicated to those who live trapped in the past"... against the backdrop of skulls sinking into a watery void. The statement would typically be used to describe stubborn societies who refuse to abandon their traditions and move forward with the progress of time, but here, the sentiment seems to be about those who have died, who will never see the futures of the living... or possibly of the loved ones they left behind, unable to move on themselves.It's a deep, poetic sentiment, but isn't much more than that, and the show seems to forget to make that a theme as the story progresses. "Sakurako's Investigation" isn't superb, but is well written enough (with interesting characters) to have hooked my interest. It's dark outlook on life, along with lighter moments, coupled with mystery and drama and intrigue, and gothic visuals, also happen to be a personal genre favorite, so I was wom over pretty quickly. If you happen to be squimish, however, an anime about dead corpses might be best avoided."Sakurako's Investigation" comes off as a mix between "Hyouka" and "Dusk Maiden of Amnesia." Sakurako is a beautiful woman who makes a living studying and working with skeletal remains (preparing specimens like you might see in a natural-history museum). Her anti-social personality and fascination with bones makes her well suited to it, and she works and lives alone (with an old family maid) in an old house off the beaten path. Regularly searching for corpses in her work, she inevitably comes across those of dead human people, the most interesting of all: a human corpse in a forest or on the beach probably has a much more interersting tale than a dead cat or fox. With a snap of her rubber gloves, and a repeated overly-animated violet-colored sequence, she begins her examination, and quickly deduces from the bones the type of person it was, and their cause of death.... if it were up to her, the cold Sakurako would just keep what she finds to add to her collection. Thankfully, she has Shotaro, a high school student who met her by chance, and acts as a friend and assistant to her work, involving the police when appropriate, and acting as the middle-man when they butt heads. He's the Watson to her Sherlock Holmes. It isn't a romantic relationship either (besides the age difference, Shotaro finds her fascination with bones too creepy, despite the mysterious beauty of her presence), so they make a good team, bickering about what to do and what food to eat afterwards. Sakurako isn't as cold-hearted as she appears either, mentioning multiple times that it's the suffering process DURING death that she mourns, not the immortal bones left behind. 
The series is episodic, with a new case almost every episode. Some stories do involve murder and tragedy, but most are more every-day. Death is a natural and common thing, after all. I didn't mind this, as the cases were well-written, and not constantly involving murder prevented this from just being a "C.S.I. - Japan" spin-off. Some cases aren't really true mysteries (such that clues aren't revealed until necessary, preventing the viewer from even attempting to solve the puzzle), but some are, making for a few engaging capers. And there's always a little drama, whether from tragedy, or from discovering a death wasn't as tragic as they originally thought. Even with a lack of an over-arching story or character-journey, I enjoyed watching "Sakurako's Investigation." It's the type of show I could watch for dozens of episodes. The types of clues on a skeleton start to get dry however, so the show wisely doesn't overstay its welcome beyond the first season of 12 episodes. It does try to weave in two long-running plot threads: the mystery behind Sakurako's deceased younger brother, and a big antagonist who might be the cause behind a couple of the show's cases. Episode 12 makes for a great penultimate episode... but nothing comes after, leaving this plot threads wide open. I wish for a second season, or at least on OVA, but considering that the original novel series still hasn't finished (several years later), a finale couldn't exist yet. If you accept that going in, I think there's still a lot to appreciate in the writing present.The show was animated by Troyca, one of their first independent works, as they're a relatively new studio. Visually, the show looks good, with a lot of autumn-colored, stained-glass, moonlit environments, rendered with detail and beauty. Animation is fine, but mostly remains unambitious. I rather enjoyed the somber opening and ending theme songs, even though they're more like something I'd have on in the background, rather than eagerly on my MP3 playlist. There's no English dub, and the Japanese acting is perfectly fine (not exceptional, but it'd be hard to imagine an English dub after being accustomed to these actors). For the most part, "Beautiful Bones - Sakurako's Investigation" is exactly what it says on the box. It's a little dark, a little gruesome, but grounded in reality, with the intent to show the beauty in death, not just the despair. I'm a sucket for gothic mysteries with quirky characters, so I was happy to watch it. If you're a fan of the genre, don't worry: it's good. Not great, but quite good.