Btooom!

In the real world, Ryouta Sakamoto is a reprehensible NEET. However, in the online world, he is one of the world's most fearsome players in the bomb-throwing game Btooom! One day, he achieves the game's 10th global rank. Unfortunately, his celebration is cut short when he wakes up to an exotic sight—a remote island far from the comfort of his room.

It soon becomes clear that a nefarious party has whisked Ryouta and many other individuals—including the blonde bombshell Himiko and real estate agent Kiyoshi Taira—into a harrowing, real-life game of Btooom! The bombs he wields are no longer virtual; rather, they are capable of sending people to a bloody and terrible doom. With his life now on the line, Ryouta must muster the courage and determination to survive in this hellish free-for-all, where the only way out is to kill seven other players.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Btooom! was published in English by Yen Press from February 26, 2013 to April 14, 2020; in Italian by Panini Comics under the Planet Manga imprint since September 22, 2012; in German by Tokyopop in 2-in-1 omnibuses since November, 2013; and in Spain and Argentina by Ivrea since January 2014 and July 18, 2014, respectively.

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Related Manga

Spin-off:	Btooom! U-18
Adaptation:	Btooom!

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Characters

Sakamoto, Ryouta

Main

Himiko

Main

Kira, Kousuke

Supporting

Taira, Kiyoshi

Supporting

Oda, Nobutaka

Supporting

Date, Masahito

Supporting

Akechi, Mitsuo

Supporting

Natsume, Souichi

Supporting

Miyamoto, Masashi

Supporting

Kinoshita, Hidemi

Supporting

Reviews

Jan 27, 2021

VankataKirkata

Recommended

This review contains light spoilers.

BTOOOM! has been a really wild ride. Admittedly it has its problems but you can get over them if you just suspense your disbelief for some of the things happening.
I know its not important to the review but I really want to mention that I had to wait two years for every chapter to come out then I looked for this manga everywhere and I almost thought it was lost media, but thanks to the (for now) only other reviewer of the btooom manga I found it. Note that those circumstances may make me biased toward liking it.

Art 8/10
An Interesting ... thing about this author is that he likes to draw faces really round to the point that they look like melons, but still I think he has skill. The backgrounds are outstanding, I really like how by the end of the last chapters the mangaka tells us about all the places he has been to to take reference photos. The guy has traveled half of the world just for the sake of making backgrounds. Absolute madman.

Characters 9/10
I like it how in this manga almost every character on the island gets a backstory. Exploring the reasons of why they were sent there, their motivation and resolve really adds to the depth of the whole story.
The only slightly annoying thing is Ryota's edgy phase (I won't go into detail and will refrain from spoiling you) but by the end of it I sympathized mainly to Himiko, because she did nothing wrong to deserve to be sent to the island and even her actions on the island were not criminal in any way.

Story 7/10
The things that happen are pretty wild but sometimes come out as plain silly and that makes you a bit less invested in the story but still I think its really fascinating. The author tries really hard to redeem the characters and make us forgive them for the things they have done, which may come as annoying to some people but I still think he did a good job.
Again use your suspense of disbelief because there are quite a few supernatural things happening. I don't know if the author is a fan of conspiracy theories or if its just a meme but I have never seen a manga or anime in which politics play such an important role to the story. So BTOOOM takes an original turn and has two endings, as the author puts it at the end of each ending, one is to pander to the readers and the other is the actual ending he wanted.
I think the ending he wanted is more well thought out and feels like the real ending to the story but unless you are a heartless person you will feel really bitter reading only that, so...
There is the another ending, I recommend reading this one last to feel better. Its not as well thought out but it makes you feel good which I think is more important.

Moral of the story:
Death to capitalists!!! The working class will rise up!!!

Maybe I am redundant but I still want to say that it has been a wild ride.
I get this feeling of sadness that the manga has ended and I no longer will be part of Ryota and Himiko's wild story of fighting for their survival with everything they've got. Miss you guys. 10/10

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Jun 5, 2021

ZeroNow

Recommended

I greatly enjoyed this series form beginning to end, and like other seinen manga like Gantz and Battle Royale, I found it to be great in all the ways I like. Very Good+ art (not Gantz great, but VG+), multiple engaging characters, huge complex storyline, just enough fan service, and a protagonist that starts off misguided but grows into a great character.

I really liked Sakamoto and Himiko (I want figures!), and strangely identified with their conscience-driven nature throughout. The gaming parallels and adjustment to the real world made for some interesting commentary, and (almost) all the supporting characters had their stories fleshed out in ways ...

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Jun 12, 2020

anim3y

Mixed Feelings

*MINOR SPOILERS*

A quick note: this is my first review, so if it seems like I don't know how to write a review, it's because I don't.

I'm going to have to give this manga a 6 in all categories. If I were to rate the first half, I'd give it an 8, but the second half gets a 4 for me. Thus, it has an overall average score of 6. Because many have already written reviews on the first half of the manga, I will be focusing on the flaws of the second half (if you want to know why the first half was good, read ... other reviews).

The main reason that I didn't enjoy the second half was because of this certain plot device called Kaguya. Kaguya is a child and cult founder with the supernatural ability to see and hear spirits. Essentially, her role in the story is to tell characters around her about what spirits are saying about them, which often channels emotional responses which lead to drastic actions. In other words, Kaguya is an immersion-breaking supernatural character and a cheap plot device for sudden character changes.

Kaguya's antics eventually just stomp over your moral compass, because every criminal around her gets instantly forgiven as soon as she spouts something about spirits. I'm not going to say anything specific to avoid spoilers, but she is part of the reason why I don't really feel like this manga was ever resolved.

This brings us to the last point - the resolution. I feel like nothing was really resolved by the end, because we didn't find out what happened to anything or anyone except for the players. However, even what we are given about the players is not fulfilling, because there are still many questions to be asked. Again, I'm not going to pick out anything specific, but let's just say that the players' actions on the island demand some sort of consequence, yet we are not presented with anything specific. Also, we never find out what happens to the company that created the game.

There is another reason why I disliked the second half, but to avoid spoilers I'll just say that Himiko's mental fortitude is godlike.

With all that said, the second half of the manga was a bit boring and disappointing as such. However, the first half was pretty good, so if you want to know what happens by the end, give the second half a try, I guess.

EDIT: I originally wrote this review having only read the light ending, but now I have read the dark ending as well (yes, this manga has alternate endings). It explains more about the behind-the-scenes of the game, but is, to say the least, incredibly absurd.

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