(EDIT April 24th, 2019: Now that Route End is completed, I want to say that I am not changing anything to this review from May 3rd, 2018. Even with the ending and what I speculated about a rushed up story, I still think I am partially right.)

I wanted to give more exposure to this great manga, so here is the first review on MAL.

What makes it a great manga? First of all the art. The author seems to be relatively unknown (at least to me) but there is no doubt that he is quite talented. The characters look different from one another and it helps memorize their name. The thing is, this is a realistic setting so there is no character looking weird. Then why not a perfect mark? Because as outstanding as it can be, the faces are mostly the same which is why the author needs to add some details specific to each character: a mole, blonde hair, goatee, buzzcut, wrinkles, bangs... You could easily give a nickname to each character based on physical appearance. And some drawings look rough, it could be from aesthetic sense but still, it is uneven.

As a thriller story, the suspense is crucial therefore the more you read the more it should draw you in. I believe it is quite successful on that part. In fact, I cannot wait to read the next chapter as the story starts with a serial killer but then brings the drama of characters and even side characters. Flashbacks, drama, and tragedies cemented together by a horror that comes and goes. You would think this is about a serial killer and cops trying to catch the bad guy but it's not. The psyche of each character is much more interesting than an unknown killer with sporadic appearances. The keywords here are "barely fleshed out characters" and "a killer you don't care about".

So the story, art, and character development are all great. What makes it so enjoyable? Well, it's the fact that you've never read anything like ROUTE END before. I am fairly sure it is the first of its kind in terms of drama, psychology, and setting. Where do you find a manga where the protagonist is a cleaning specialist of the deceased? Apart from that, ROUTE END brings a type of storytelling in mangas that is similar to movies and this is very well done through beautiful transitions.

ROUTE END is imperfect but it gets better. I have only read 19 chapters before writing this review but so far so good and it fully deserves a 9, close to 10 with little room for perfection. Yet I worry about the quality of the story because right now it's very high standard which might not suit a bigger audience. Then there's the risk it gets canceled because it's a niche. While I can understand how publishers think, it's still annoying to complete a manga with a rushed up and unfinished story.