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.