If you found Rikudou after reading a different boxing series you have probably realized from the synopsis that Rikudou is going to be dark.

And if you are now reading reviews, wondering whether or not you should read Rikudou, first consider what you're expecting from this series.

Are you looking for a boxing manga that has the same "Give it everything you've got" feeling like in Hajime no Ippo or maybe something like Ashita no Joe? If you are, then you need to understand that Rikudou is going to be a little bit different from them.

The first thing to understand about Rikudou is that it is not a Shounen, it's a Seinen. To be safe I'll explain that the difference between these two is that Shounen's target a younger male audience while Seinen's target men ages 18 to 40.

That said, Rikudou is going to be more mature than a Shounen manga but more importantly it's going to feel different than the Shounen action/sports/boxing mangas which you may or may not be familiar with.


STORY

This story of this manga is about Riku Azami, a boy born into an abusive environment and after the death of his father, he experienced greater traumas. His past is the reason he became a boxer. The powerlessness he felt as a child is his motivation in and out of the ring to become stronger.

I believe that the reason Riku chooses to fight as a boxer isn't that he loves the sport, but because he can only find comfort by constantly proving to himself that he's growing stronger.

However his boxing career doesn't bring him complete peace of mind. It may distract him from his past, but it forces him to make difficult choices. Beating other boxers, possibly ending the careers of fighters who are trying to escape their darkness or feed their family means victory comes with a sense of guilt. But to keep his past behind him Riku has to win whether or not he wants to beat the man standing in front of him.

Both victory and defeat have their consequences. And that makes the fighting in this different from other boxing manga you may have read.

In many ways this is a story about a broken child trying to overcome his past, and keep himself from falling apart, through professional boxing.

However at first glance this series may seem like it's just trying to be edgy, but I believe that it goes deeper than that by surrounding itself with the psychological conflicts of Riku Azami and his attempt to find solace from his painful memories.


ART

I want to talk about the Art in Rikudou. I actually really like the author's art style but what I think is worth mentioning is how well it suits this manga. The story and art sync with each other so well that I wanted to go over both of them in this review.

The way the characters and backgrounds are drawn is expressive and sets the mood of the story. The shading is very present which might make it look less "clean" than what you're used to, and without thinking about it some people may dislike this about this manga, but I believe that the shading adds to the overall atmosphere of Rikudou.

Out of curiosity and slight boredom I've gone through some pages and edited out a lot of the shading, but not so much that it looked unnatural, and I found that the mood changes slightly when you take away Rikudou's shaded atmosphere.

Maybe I've read too much into it, but I think that the heavy shading is more than just this author's art style, but intentionally done to emphasize the story and tone of the manga.


A WARNING

Given the nature of the story, this manga may make you feel uncomfortable at times but if you are able to read things like this, you will probably find this series enjoyable just as I have.