Zankoku na Kami ga Shihai suru

I felt compelled to write this review in order to point out the hidden gem that this manga is. Written by Hagio Moto, A Cruel God Reigns is a tragic story that focuses on the life of Jeremy, a high school boy who is regularly sexually abused by his step-father, until in his fragile mental state, he decides to murder him. His plan is carried out successfully, however by accident he becomes responsible for his mother’s death as well.

Hagio Moto herself said that while in the works, she was pondering how it’s possible for mothers to know of the sexual abuse their kid has been subjected to and despite that, do nothing and ignore this in favor of keeping their family intact. This mindset gave birth to this epic story. While not for the faint-hearted, this story expands into something much more than what you would originally expect; it is an introspective and poignant story of recovery, atonement and redemption, which denotes the characters’ dilemmas, traumas and feelings in an incredibly human and emotional way.

The characters are are no doubt one of the most excellent aspects of the manga. First off, we have Jeremy, the highschooler who becomes the victim of sexual abuse. Jeremy’s despair is displayed in excruciating detail; he is willing to go through any kind of horrible torture to avoid his mother finding out about this abuse. His fear of rejection and indifference from his own mother is what seals his lips from speaking out, thus perpetuating his ordeal. Jeremy’s fragile mental health gradually deteriorates, getting to the point of contemplating murder simply to escape from the bottomless despair, shame and helplessness he feels. The cruel irony of enduring his sexual abuse for the sake of his mother, and the fact that he gained his freedom with her accidental murder is a heartbreaking and intriguing theme that is explored frequently throughout the manga.

Secondly, we have Greg. Greg is the stepfather who abuses Jeremy. He is a manipulative, twisted man with pedophilic and sadistic tendencies. He not only violates Jeremy, but he also tampers with his mind, buying his silence in the process. Greg puts on the facade of the model husband and parent, not raising any suspicion whatsoever to those around him. It’s terrifying because it’s realistic.

Sandra is Jeremy’s mom, recently married to Greg. A woman of fragile physical and mental condition, Sandra is extremely happy about her marriage; due to the depression she felt after her late husband’s (Jeremy’s father’s) death, she latches onto Greg and idealizes him and the family she wishes to build. Lost inside her own fantasies, she misses what has been going on under her nose.

Lastly, we have Ian, the second main character. He is the son of Greg, and Jeremy’s step brother. Ian has some clues that Jeremy killed his own father, which makes him discover his father’s disposition and Jeremy’s cruel abuse at his hands. Ian seems like the typical good looking playboy, but in fact he is a boy with a soft heart, who is sensible and tries to help Jeremy at every turn, before and after the murder. He feels guilty for his ignorance over what happened to Jeremy, and perplexed after realizing that the ideal father he believed in was a lie. Torn between the moral dilemma of punishing a criminal and his sympathy for Jeremy, he ends up falling in love with him. The love he feels for Jeremy is passionate, motivating Ian to help and support Jeremy, but also making him wonder if he shares his father’s proclivities. Due to all these tumultuous emotions, he makes extremely tragic and glaring mistakes. However you can’t hate him because he always tries to improve himself, questioning his own selfish behavior, owning up to his mistakes and challenging his beliefs.

Undoubtedly, the best part of the story is the astonishing psychology the author has employed in every page of the manga. Each character’s emotions, doubts, dilemmas and feelings are intensely palpable to the reader and highlighted by the hauntingly poignant art and dialogue. The characters’ inner world is carefully constructed in layers upon layers. A recurring theme is the vicious cycle of how parents’ traumas influence their parenting, thus traumatizing their children, whose traumas in turn influence their personal choices and those around them. For sure, no one is perfect; just as in reality, the characters make mistakes, they repeatedly wound themselves, hurt others, make progress and then regress. It is frustrating, but that’s how life is. In trying to forget our pain, we make mistakes and sometimes hurt ourselves or others along the way.

If you decide to give this a try, then get ready to shed a few tears along the way. The author manages to expertly convey her intentions and put you through an emotional turmoil. The story will make you angry, hopeful, sad, frustrated and optimistic at various different moments. If you want to read a realistic, moving and suspenseful story with fleshed out characters, then this is definitely a series will stay with you for a long time after reading.

Words cannot describe how much I love this manga. First of, I don't read shojo manga and I'm surprised by how hooked I was with a series that doesn't particularly cater to my tastes . Without getting into massive spoilers, A Cruel God Reigns is about Jeremy, a young man who is blackmailed by his stepfather Greg, after he marries his suicidal mother Sandra. If Jeremy doesn't comply, Greg will divorce Sandra which may be the last straw to push her off the edge and end her life. This manga is heavy, and I am only briefly going over what it's about.

I believe this manga has some of the best depictions of mental illness and of those who fall victim to sexual assault. The leads in this story are complex broken people. While it is easy to blame Jeremy for not telling the truth to authorities, the work shows the viewer that the state of mind of these victims are very much clouded by terror and anxiety. For one, Jeremy's biggest fear is seeing his mother fall apart. He doesn't want to disrupt the stability Greg has built for her even if that stable happy lifestyle is toxic in itself and built on a pile of lies.

Jeremy is horrendously tortured by his stepfather when they sleep together. It's to the point where the poor boy barely clings to his sanity. With his hands tied, he has nobody to run to and sadly accepts his fate. He represses his feelings for the well-being of his other family members. Ashamed of what they would think of him if they knew the true colors of him and his stepfather. The audience see the symptoms of this suffering as Jeremy goes down the rabbit hole of repressed feelings. He tries to escape his life at home by taking drugs at school, sleeping with other students and has intense dark twisted fantasies of murdering Greg. We also see him try to hide his scars, physically and mentally. Even when he is alone in a safe area, the brutal domination of his stepfather still lingers in his mind and his conscious is never calm as he feels himself still being punished when no one is around.

I also congratulate the author Hagio Moto, the godmother of shojo manga, for somehow making my sympathize with the cruel monster that is Greg Lowland. Greg is tormented monster who can't escape his past trauma. After his previous wife killed herself, his ideal of love changed and turned into something sickly. He himself is struggling to understand his mind. Instead of moving on and accepting what happened in the past, he has regressed all feelings and memories of his deceased wife and harms others to repress his guilt. Yes, it is not a valid reason for it, but it does help shed light on the predators of assault as they are also mentally unstable. Things could of been different, if Greg seaked help instead of it turning into a fuel for his urges.

Sadly, my biggest issue with the manga, is the second half of the series. It's, to put it simply, terrible. At the halfway point, when the main plot of the series ends, instead of a conclusion, we get a rambly epilogue of 20 chapters that goes one for way too long. It completely shatters the latter half of the experience. It feels as if the mangaka was forced by her editors to continue the work even if it was at its end. The last few chapters completely rewrite characters such as Jeremy and his stepbrother Ian. It brings in new characters and creates needless sub-plots that don't go anywhere and are filler. It ruins the story for me. However, I cannot deny that the first half of this manga is nothing short of fantastic. Its why it made it on this list.

Zankoku na Kami ga Shihai Suru. "A Cruel God Reigns," in English.

Some call this a "Boys' Love" series. But that's a lie. Because there is no love. This is not a fluffy bunny shounen-ai or yaoi. This is a chilling, horrifyingly realistic story of long-term sexual abuse. It is the life inside a nightmare.

Never has my blood boiled so much in anger while reading a manga. Greg, the man who came from abroad to marry Jeremy's widowed mother isn't just interested in her. He's also interested in Jeremy. A two-for-the-price-of-one marriage. He says he loves Sandra wholeheartedly. And he tells Jeremy that he loves just as much: he tells him as he rapes him.

Jeremy's sense of intimacy is shattered, and sex is now a dirty thing. He is shocked and dismayed when his girlfriend tells him that his way of kissing has become strange. When she wants to have sex, he is frightened, and afraid of the touch of skin.

And he has no one to turn to for help. His girlfriend would feel betrayed if she knew he'd been intimate with another person, and an older man at that. Sandra, his mother, has several screws loose. She is very mentally fragile, and had attempted suicide several times in the past. She has no skill in reading people's moods, and is utterly selfish. There is no way he can tell her that her adored husband is having nightly trysts in her son's room. Greg also holds her over Jeremy's head, threatening to tell her about their "relationship" if he tries to protest or run away.

Greg takes Jeremy and Sandra from their home in New England to his mansion in Britain, where live his two younger sons, he being a widower. As Sandra continues to smile and enjoy the happy illusion that all is well, Jeremy begins to have suspicions that Greg's former wife was murdered. People are hiding something. Could Sandra also be in danger?

As I said, this series made me very mad. Not mad at the author. Mad at Greg. At Sandra. At Greg's son Ian who doesn't put two and two together. At the woman who knows what is going on but does not stop it. Angry about this terrible situation that this boy is being forced into. I want to smack Greg, and kill him slowly, excruciatingly. He is a monster. He is insane. And the story feels all too horribly realistic. The tone feels very real. Sexual abuse by parents and step-parents happens all too often. I felt like I was watching real events being enacted. I felt sick.

The abuse is not depicted graphically, thankfully. But you can see enough to make a good guess what's going on. The shock, fear and helplessness comes through vividly. What I wouldn't give to see Greg with his cruel hands locked in a prison forever, and Jeremy taken somewhere where he can be safe, and never threatened again.

This is an older story, which began publication in 1993, by Hagio Moto, considered one of the "Founding Mothers" of the Boys' Love genre, and author of the 1974 work "Heart of Thomas." The art style is a little bit old-school, but not very. I'm very picky about my art, and detest a lot of the older shoujo styles, but hers I like. It is very expressive, and the characters have variety and…well, character. Also, because of her roots in early shounen-ai, may explain why she is careful to craft a good story, unlike most modern yaois, which have unrealistic settings, stereotypical characters, and are all about idealized sex.

The characters are all exceptionally-made. Jeremy is just a normal boy. He has a girlfriend, is attached to and protective of his mother as his only family member, and does things normal boys do. After his crushing experiences, he reacts as a person can be expected to. Sandra is a high-strung woman (who doesn't deserve her son) and has the immaturity of a young girl who dreams of a romantic prince coming to sweep her off her feet. And she constantly makes inferences about people, accusing them, something high-strung people really do. And her demands cause people around her to try to keep her happy, and keep her mind at peace. Greg is a filthy old pedophile, who can finagle anyone into doing anything, lying to himself, saying that what he does is "true love." He is one of those awful people who would do the world a favor by dying, yet they still life prosperous lives, leaving a wake of tragedy behind them.

I had heard of this manga a lot before I tried reading it. I generally don't read yaois, and I after reading the synopsis I thought it would be graphic and gratuitous and all about giving sadistic yaoi fans a "high." But I am glad to say I had sadly underestimated it.

This is a good story. A very good story. But it is very cruel. It won't make you very happy--if it does, something is wrong with you. But it is good. Good in the way anything is when it presents an excellently-crafted story, believable characters, and a high tone of realism. I think anyone who is a fan of good manga will appreciate this.

[SPOILER WARNING]

Zankoku na Kami ga Shihai Suru, otherwise known as A Cruel God Reins in its English translation, is much more than just your ordinary story. What's astonishing about this is that the plot is not extraordinary at all. It has no fantasy elements, no sci-fi, no action, and it's definitly not even close to being what many would consider a romance. No, what is most appealing about this manga is not any form of grandeur but the realism of it's plot and characters.

This manga takes a serious plot line and actually portrays it and its subject matter in a true-to-life fashion. Rape, torture, emotional and mental abuse, prostitution, drugs, blackmail, suicide, and murder are all things portrayed in this manga as they really are. There is no sugarcoating, no explanations or excuses, just truth. This is what makes this manga stand out more than many of the titles sharing it's genre.

As for its actual genres, Drama, Josei, Mature, Psychological, Slice Of Life, and Tragedy are mentioned and all run true. Most understandable is the Psychological aspects and the tragedy. In fact,this manga actually begins with the expressive line, "Let me tell you about a tragedy." and even if you can't remember any other lines from the story, I can guarantee you'll always remember that first sentence.

This story is also, however, labeled as a yaoi or shounen ai. As much as one may like or appreciate the genre, there is no denying that many of the story lines in this group can be predictable and unrealistic. I can honestly tell you now that despite being labeled as a yaoi, this is in no way about gays or a gay story. Those that do not like yaoi or shounen ai have just as much a chance of liking this story as those that do.

The scenes of sex are not much scenes at all. You see nothing of the actual sex and only the before and after effects of the act. This manga definitely has no intention of turning anyone on or encouraging sexual behavior. In fact, If this manga or any of its scenes in any way excite you, you probably do have some deeply rooted psychological problems you should get checked out. This might actually scare some away from sex, or at least beat into people's head how serious it actually is and should be taken. Nowadays sex is over-rated and overemphasized in today's media, and often that media doesn't give people the right idea about many topics, not just sex. I thank this manga and it's writer, Hagio Moto, seriously and relish the day I found this story and it's tragic and amazing portrayal of its character's sad lives.

Having said all that, this story is definitely not for everyone. As stated before it's not graphic, but the actual subject manner itself is so serious that many people may not be able to read through it to its end. Even I, who pride myself on being able to read almost anything, no matter how painful, often found myself in tears over some of the stories circumstances. Other times, I would get so angry that my hands would ball into fists, my teeth would clench, and I'd actually feel like punching something. There really is no describing the emotional turmoil I went through when reading this but, long story short, those that are looking for a happy, romantic, or sexy story should stay the heck away from this.

Story: 9/10

The story is basically about a young normal teenage boy named Jeremy who's sensitive mother Sandra gets remarried after a while of being alone. He is happy for her, but eventually this new man starts to show his true colors as a sadist and a pedophile and targets him. He is repeatedly blackmailed and forced into obeying this man and after months of horrific abuse, his mind becomes unstable and his thoughts vicious. Unable to take the pain of this torture any longer, Jeremy decides to kill his stepfather. His plans and the effect they have bring Jeremy crashing down completely when in the attempt he kills not only his stepfather but his mother as well.

While being tormented by the guilt and pain of this tragic miscalculation, Ian, Jeremy's older stepbrother, observes his much weirder behavior and starts to suspect that Jeremy, in fact, did kill them. However, after discovering that Jeremy was in fact regularly abused by his father beforehand, Ian finds himself unable to come to terms with and decide what he should do with this information.

Eventually finding that he himself lusts after Jeremy, Ian becomes disturbed and scared of his own mind and thoughts, wondering if he may be much like his father. Their relationship and, in fact, everyone's relationship in this manga become frayed and difficult to really put a name to. No character is this story is perfect. They all have their obvious flaws and they all have their own good sides too.

Characters: 10/10

Without giving away too much on the actual plot that's really as much as I can give you in a review but since the characters are pretty much the true jewels in the story I'd be truly remiss to forget mentioning at least the most important of them.

First we have our main character Jeremy. Jeremy goes through a lot of changes throughout the story. We start off with a normal and seemingly happy teenager that lives and is close with his mother and has many friends, even an amazing girlfriend named Vivi. However, with the introduction of his new stepfather, into his life, we see him start to become more quiet and introverted. We watch his slow yet steady fall into insanity. We watch as the torture and turmoils eventually begin to effect him so badly that he begins to contemplate and actually carry out murder. Jeremy is my favorite character mainly because I understand his motivations the best. I find that many of his reactions match what I myself would have probably done in the situation, and as scary as that is, giving his actual situation, his authentic character makes him a great lead.

Next I'll give a brief summary of Jeremy's older stepbrother, Ian. At first we can interpret Ian as your average good looking playboy. He's apparently good at getting girls and through most of the story he has one. Of course him being in this particular story means he'll end up being much more than that. In many instances, it's Ian that's looking after Jeremy or trying to help him, even if the way he goes about things is often not all that helpful. Part of the problem with Ian stems from his ignorance. With everything that is going on and with all the clues he is offered, many from Jeremy himself, he still does not put two and two together. In fact even when told alright what is happening between Jeremy and his own father, he refuses to believe it until given concrete proof and, he unintentionally hurts Jeremy more than once. Even with the proof he seems to just have a hard time coming to terms with stuff, and it's apparent that he does not understand Jeremy at all although he's constantly trying to.

Next we have both Sandra, Jeremy's mother, and Greg, the stepfather.

You see right off the bat that Sandra is a very sensitive woman. She doesn't take things well, or more accurately, at all really. She's attempted suicide quite a few times, and even the smallest things seem to send her over the brink. Sandra is a very messed up character, and this causes me to have very mixed feelings about her. On one hand, I understand her and her depression since my mother suffers the same way and, in fact, has a lot in common with this woman. I'm also furious with her, because if she had been a better and stronger mother and really looked into what was going on and tried to stop it, then none of the tragic incidents in this manga would have had to occur. I know it's usually not fair to point fingers or put the blame on any particular person, especially since quite a numerous set of people share the blame for what happened, and continued to happen, between Jeremy and Greg, but I see her guilt as the greatest. Jeremy really cared for his mother and, in most of the incidents, suffered through what he did just so she wouldn't have too. While she was living a happy and seemingly cheerful life, as we saw from the outside, her son was suffering and she never did anything to help.

Greg, however, is the true horror of this story. Without him there is no plot and no real horror. You are never given any true reason for why he is the way he is or how he came to be that way, so it's easiest to just think of him as a psychopath. It's definitely the title that best fits him. He brutally tortures not just Jeremy but Natasha and other prostitutes from the past as well, and feels no apparent remorse. He gets off on other's pain and even treats his youngest son Matt as if he is not his while just seemingly ignoring Ian. The thing with Greg is that he's a good actor. In the eyes of people that haven't been abused by him, he gives off the image of a perfect English gentleman. This makes it all the more terrible for those that are stuck in his trap of abuse and torment. He tells Jeremy that he does what he does to him because he loves him, which probably completely turns Jeremy off from the feeling and the word in the future.


As many more characters as there are, those are the main four and mostly the glue and the whole of which the whole rest of the story centers around.

This manga is not for the faint of heart and not something that some people would want to read. However if it matches the type of story you believe yourself to be interested in, you will definitely not regret having checked this one out.


The Art: 8/10

The last thing I want to talk about for this manga is the art. The manga started releasing in 1992 so some of the drawings and character designs will have a style about them that some won't like. Personally I love the art and think it was done in the best way for the subject manner. Lots of beautiful and symbolic imagery is used throughout the story and people that don't like the art even have to admit that it has some great images. The art can and will eventually grow on anyone if you give it time, so don't let that be the reason you don't give this manga a longer look.

Zankoku na Kami ga Shihai or A Cruel God Reins is a tragedy manga about serious subjects actually taken seriously. I believe this manga to be a masterpiece in it's own right and a true must read for people that want something a little more real life.

Enjoyment: 10/10

Overall: 9/10


I hope you liked my first ever review.

Would you rather have a shitty life where your abused everyday while the one you love most is happy, or would you rather you live without that life without abuse while the one you love the most, is in a deep state of depression yearning for the love they once had. That was how "A cruel God reigns" opened with Jeremy choosing his mother's happiness over his, either choice, someone is going to end up dead physically or mentally.
Jeremy the main character chooses to protect his mother from spiralling into depression by assuring that her fiancee Greg doesn't break up her. Jeremy has to satisfy his new step fathers homosexual desires which takes a toll on him mentally more from the guilt of betray his mother behind her back then the actual homosexual relationship. The further this affair between Greg and Jeremy goes on, the more psychologically damage he comes which ultimately affects his relationships and how he interacts with others.

Jeremy as a character, was not a disappointment, he was trapped but never become a victim of Stockholm syndrome as many other shoujo magizines incorporate when writing about an abusive sadistic relationship. However, Jeremy's mother is probably the worst character in this entire serialisation. She is a wining selfish bitch, and I didn't even think I could hate her even more until *plot twist*. Despite Jeremy's mother and a few other easy to hate characters, the characters are well written.

The art is was a bit above standard for its time period until less effort went into it as the series went on. Probably because the author got lazy.

Overall its a great story that drags on too long, seriously, just read to chapter 55 as intended as it just drags on and becomes an actual yaoi.

This is one of the earliest BL mangas out there, I believe, and you can definitely see the striking differences between the shounen-ai emerging 30 years ago compared to today. The visuals especially are different. Boys look like boys (kind of. Still have bambi eyes, still hairless. And Ian, who appears a bit later, is a definite bishonen.) There is a nice amount background and not a lot of skimping on the characters' details.

What struck me most about this manga was how disturbingly realistic it is. The abused protagonist is not a helpless creature. He's just a normal boy with normal friends and a normal life, and barely realizes it when his world is turned upside down. You can really see him progress down the path of insanity too, as the manipulative stepfather continually gives Jeremy the illusion that he is free, when really he's practically digging his own grave. The story is a bit slow in progression, but I think that's for the best, because it emphasizes that pedophilia doesn't just magically appear and you can spot it like that. It's skillfully hidden, starts from the smallest thing and spirals into a living hell.

The sex scenes show very little, but the theme is definitely disturbing enough in itself. The author doesn't try to make it hot, but she definitely conveys the emotion behind it very well.

Warning, there's still a lot that needs to be scanlated and its age does not make it the most popular manga. While it's a good read, it might be said that anything you might wish to happen in to the characters will be a long time coming.

As someone who's experienced something similar, this was hard to read yet enjoyable.
The characters are complex, and I can say I admire that the most.
Anyone who reads this might have a drastically different view of the characters than another person, mostly because the characters seem to have a whole different level of complexity than I have seen before.

The realistic aspects of it, including how some of Jeremy's situations were handled poorly, add to the realistic aspects of the story(Realistic as in a lot of abuse cases are handled poorly). Jeremy even reminded me of myself. The struggles, every single struggle, and how is self-worth is low, those are all too real to me.
It also made me realize how hard it can be for someone like Ian(someone who hasn't experienced the type of abuse first-hand) to help someone like Jeremy.He struggles to understand him.

The realistic aspect of the story is sometimes scary. At times I thought the story was a bit of a mess, the emotional aspect of the characters seemed a bit all over the place. But then again, that's also another realistic aspect of dealing with abuse, it's a roller coaster ride.

[CONTAINS MINOR SPOILERS]

Heartbroken, after watching Banana Fish, I wandered online and I asked to the mighty google, “please, can you give me a manga like Banana Fish but with a happy ending? I beg of you, mighty google.”

And the mighty google said “After us a savage god”

This is a long one, a 17 volumes and complete manga, and I recommend reading all the warnings before even approaching it. The manga contains domestic abuse, grooming, assaults, suicide, murder, prostitution, drugs, violence, an adult taking advantage of a minor, unhealthy relationships, all the worst of the worst. There are no graphic scenes, but just the allusion to them is to be considered graphic in this case.

This is the story of Jeremy, who is a teenager living only with his mother Sandra, and one day meeting the man his mother is dating. Sandra’s boyfriend, a British man named Greg, uses Jeremy’s love for Sandra to abuse him. Sandra has been left heart broken and suicidal after the death of her first husband, and she cannot now imagine a life without Greg. Afraid that Sandra might fall into a depression again, Jeremy accepts to stay silent about the abuse.

The whole first part of the manga is about Jeremy, living under the power of Greg, now moved to the UK with him and Sandra, trying to escape by moving to a school, by threatening Greg, by contacting a psychologist, by clearly screaming for help to his friends, who seems to see that there is something going on, but cannot imagine it is as horrible as it is.

The manga starts with a flash forward: Jeremy has done something to Greg’s car and the man has died, in an accident. He is finally free, but unfortunately Sandra has also died, and this is enough to break the last of Jeremy’s strength. Ian, Greg’s own biological son, starts to suspect that Jeremy has killed Greg, and starts to investigate.

The story is drawn beautiful. I cannot even state how many pages were just heartbreaking metaphors of the kind of anxiety, despair and depression Jeremy feels through the manga, the way he feels so trapped that murdering Greg is the only way he can escape the situation. He falls and falls into the abuse, until his world is completely changed, and I admit I had to skip some chapters because it was just so heartbreaking.

Jeremy was absolutely heartbreaking. The author did an amazing job in rising the stakes, but especially in showing the hints Jeremy was basically screaming at his school mates, at Ian, the way the people around him should have understood what was happening. And I enjoyed the realistic way Ian starts to find out of what is going on.

Unfortunately, the second part of the story was the opposite of the kind of happy ending I needed. When I saw that the rest was not the recovery of Jeremy, with the help of Ian, his brother, and some professionals, I just left it, I couldn't continue reading about Jeremy falling from abuse into an unhealthy relationship.

Vulnerabilities are like glass threads. Communicating, the desire to understand one another- there's always a risk of breaking. The world is filled with people in the process of breaking. If you want to go through life without getting hurt, the only option is isolation. If its one or the other, in order not to break and not be broken, is choosing isolation equal to death? If so, is death something to be so afraid of in the first place?

Maybe there's someone out there who doesn't fear death, in that vein, isolation. We don't really hear from them, so they seemingly don't exist. Surely they exist. Collectively they exist like forgotten people, dreams, and thoughts. But so what? We're not here for an abstract concept like lost art.

I expected a messed up story, a melodramatic cliche to topple over itself. For a brief time, it felt that way. I had smug self satisfaction thinking that. But the story continued, and continued. And I was sated for all of my true desires. I was very satisfied by this story. It was very sensible. There was no unwanted preaching. There were no cheap, one dimensional characters. There wasn't even a background character that didn't have their own life constantly on their mind.

No one acted in a ridiculous manner without reason. There were no mind boggling misunderstandings. There was only slow, satisfying revelation. Feeling frustration, as a reader toward a certain aspect, is acceptable if it is the intention of the writer.

Jeremy's feelings muddled everything he saw. When Ian began to share his same memories and dreams, it was not confusing to follow what was happening. Following the story along, understanding what the characters were going through...

It's so incredible that a writer can have a skill such as emotional manipulation. It's required to reach the hearts of readers. Readers want to be taken in another world, right? They want to be emotionally moved. In other words, we're willing to be vulnerable with the author's intentions. It's give and take. In that way, I feel that this author thoroughly respects her audience.

This is a very refined, very developed story with gorgeous artwork that very strongly desires to communicate with its reader. It will take the time to lay bare all of its fibers so that it can to be understood.

I've been itching to write this for a long time by now.

Story 10/10
Zankoku na Kami ga Shihai Suru is a catching story about a high school boy trying to cope with his stepfather regularly abusing him. He's suffering, running away, crying and losing it, then he faces it and solves his problem only to find another one. He is constantly giving up and trying to vanish, then being forced to live and try again.
It's not 'BL' as such, but certainly a piece full of love, desire, overlooking, suffering and regret.

Art 8/10
This manga started in 1993. That is a year before I was even born, so of course the art is not as fancy as in some newer ones. If you give this up because of it, I pity you. It's not bad at all once you get used to it.

Characters 10/10
The characters are beautifully pictured with real personalities, combining both good and bad traits. Sometimes the characters are lost and looking for help, sometimes they fight and face the reality. Everyone is unique and I have the feeling that even those of peripheral importance are strong individuals.

Enjoyment 10/10
I laughed, I cried, I was completely drawn in the story. I wasn't feeling bored even once. This manga is just brilliant.

Overall 10/10
To sum it up, I love this manga. I found it when I was looking for something psychological - and it may actually be the best manga I've ever read. It's a masterpiece.
However, I would recommend it only to those who are able to understand the meaning of being wounded and can accept that sometimes, wounded people do stupid nonsense when trying to forget the pain.