17-sai.

I personally feel that this manga gets a lot of hate from people who feel like it's not adapting Junko Furuta's case the right way and to that I ask. What is the right way? Is it to completly tear away all form of hope and just paint bleakness at every corner? Cause to that I would argue that the manga does so and that it truly does capture the self destructive behavior of the criminals. People are allow to find this as a subpar read or even a very inneffective tribute but it is none the less a tribute that I don't believe isworthless or void of any sentement to the real case. The overall story presents a really bleak but overall hopeful outlook that people should never give up on trying to right wrongs and find justice even when justice might not be able to be served to the fullest. And as the story itself, I find it to be a rather good crime thriller with lots of moments that drag morality to the peak of between dark and grey and tests your will to stomach characters who will disapoint and struggle thoughtout with not a ton of hope in sight. Overall I would say give this story a read and if you find yourself mad then that is fine but I would reccomend to try and vent your anger to the true criminals the story is based on then the author for their attempts to try and show Junko as a very brave individual who deserves to be seen more as a tragic hero who fought hard and deserved better.

English is not my first language, so sorry for the mistakes They messed up a lot in the beginning, but it got more interesting and better narrated once the focus shifted to her sister. Initially, though, it felt like they were trying to make you pity Hiroki, which is just bizarre. At first, he even seemed like a victim too, but by chapter 4 or 5, it’s clearly shown that he brings a friend along to assault her as well, just so he wouldn’t be the only one to take the blame. And yet, the author keeps trying to make you sympathize with this character, which ishonestly disturbing. It’s almost like the abuse and torture the girl suffers are just treated as background noise, while the main focus is on the mental breakdown of one of the people responsible for it. Knowing it’s based on a real case makes it even more disgusting. When the story focuses on the sister, it gets way more interesting, and I honestly think it would’ve been better if it had been that way from the start. Or at least, if Hiroki’s perspective in the beginning didn’t try to sell any sympathy for him, but instead showed him through the victim’s eyes—just another one of the people responsible for her suffering. If it were purely fictional, that’d be one thing, but as I mentioned, it’s based on a real case, and treating one of the culprits (who is shown to be incredibly selfish) as a victim just feels disrespectful. They try to address this at the end, with Miki calling him a coward and that implies that he carries that guilt, but even so, it doesn’t come close to the pain the victim endured, which I feel could’ve been explored much more. Her thoughts or feelings were never really expressed. Sure, from her expressions alone, you can tell she was dissociating or something similar, but they end up portraying her almost like a doll—just as the criminals treated her—which is really sad. We get more of their perspective on the case than hers.

As of now, there's only one review for this manga. When I first found this, that review almost dissuaded me from reading; honestly, I was scared of what I was about to read. It took me a couple of months before I could actually sit down and read the whole thing, so I will leave you my general impression in order to help people with doubts like me decide whether to read it or not. To keep it spoiler free, I'll just say that the manga is a lot more "vanilla" compared to the actual crime which you can read about on wikipedia, so unless you'revery sensitive there's really not a high chance of you puking over this. Having said this, the thing is that it actually sickened me, because it remembered me that in this worlsy there are people far more cruel and disgusting than those depicted on this story. Story: 7 -> Well written, sometimes one would question the choices made by the characters, but human beings behave different under pressure. Art: 6 -> Not gore of that's what you wanna know, about the same amount of blood you would see on a "delinquent high schooler brawl", aside from that is pretty much average. Characters: 8 -> Not much to say, kind of generic but I like to see it as a way to say that these things happen on your everyday neighborhood, no need for a supervillain or damaged antagonist, just normal people. Enjoyment: 7 -> As I said before, this experience was not saddening than it was exciting, so 7 is just a whim. It deserves it. Overall: 7 -> Good read, not great though. I can't really put into words who should or shouldn't read this manga, but it is definitely worth a shot. Thanks for reading.