Ranked #463

Doubt (Manga)

A story about a group of people locked together in a strange place being killed off one-by-one: sounds fun, right? Well, that is if you're a horror buff. Even though this plot has been done to death (hehe, look at the puns a rollin'!) "Doubt" brings some new charm and perspective to the table with its telling.

First off, the most enjoyable and engaging part of this manga to me was the cell-phone based game that frames the overall story. The game deals with a group of rabbits who are being murdered one-by-one by a wolf hiding amongst them. So what do these little critters do? Why, pick a rabbit they suspect is the wolf and kill it, of course! If the rabbits pick wisely, they all live (yay!), if not, then they've just murdered one of there own (whoopsie!) and are still at risk of dying themselves (boo!). It's really sort of like the card game Mafia, but with demented looking bunnies. Call me morbid, but I wish that this cell-game depicted in the manga really existed. It sounds like fun to me.

Anyway, this cell game becomes the framework for the twisted game in which the characters of the manga find themselves. They, like the bunnies, are slowly being murdered and have to try to discover the wolf among them before it's too late. Unfortunately, the "wolf", at least who towards the end you think is the wolf, was painfully apparent to me from the get go. However, it turns out that there's a big twist at the end so that this foregone conclusion isn't quite what you're led to expect. That's a good thing, right? Wrong! The actual truth about the wolf as revealed in the last two chapters was so far-fetched and out there that I would have far preferred the obvious wolf to the actual one. I can't and won't give specifics because that would spoil it, but I will say the ending adds an element of the supernatural world a la JJ Abrams style that is hard to swallow (no disrespect to Mr. Abrams, I love you and "Lost" rocks!). And sadly, the issues extend beyond that.

There are so many twists by the end of the story that you get the impression that the artist/author put a ton of ideas in a hat, picked them out one-by-one, and played one twist out until the height of tension was found only to shout "BUT THEN...*insert random twist*". Some of the twists worked for the story and kept it from being boring. However, there were some that not only didn't seem to have a place and were hard to swallow, but that actually left you wondering what the point of them was, slapping a hand to your cheek, and saying an underwhelmed "Uh Huh". It gave the overall impression that the author was saying, "Hey! Look at how witty I am!" rather than trying to formulate a cohesive and entertaining plot.

As for characters, well, I thought they were all decent. Some more development would have been nice, but they all served their purpose. It really did play out like a horror movie in this fashion (you know, you've got a group of people, they all have their own issues, but those issues are largely irrelevant because they're all going to die anyway). I will say that I did ultimately feel that Mitsuki was done well and was highly intriguing in certain parts. Hajime was also a forerunner for good character, but then a certain hastily tacked on twist involving him ruined him for me. Especially because said twist didn't seem to serve any purpose other than being there for added shock value.

The art fit the style, and I noticed that the way the clothing wrinkled was particularly well done. Also, the numerous shots of the gosh darn creepy rabbit suit heads maintained a frightening tone and will ensure that you never look at bunnies the same way again. They were a great signature to the story. I want a poster...maybe not in my bedroom though. Waking up to those freaky rabbit heads looking at me would only inspire some acid trippy nightmares. The one downside to the art was that there were a few scenes drawn in such a way that it was difficult at first to figure out the action and what was happening. Also, there seem to be points in which action is implied rather than show. For example, there's a scene in which three characters are together in a room, then abruptly, one of them is gone. It's implied that this character walked away, however, there's no panel actually showing this action, so it was somewhat confusing. *POOF* Now you see 'em, now you don't.

Overall, it was a very enjoyable series...until the end completely destroyed it and made me laugh at how ridiculous it was. So, if you like suspense, horror, are a patient person (some of the story does seem rather drawn out at points), and are willing to stretch your imagination to accept unlikely plot twists at the end, you'll enjoy this manga. Basically, if you have the time, give it a go. If your time is precious and you value endings that make perfect sense, I'd try something else. read more

Whats is the one thing in the world that you can never doubt?
That my friend, is doubt itself. If you doubt the existence of doubt,
you are contradicting yourself. Since doubting doubt, ultimately means
you believe in doubt.

In a room filled with five people each of them has a their own bar code, and grotesque body hanging before them. There is a wolf masquerading as a rabbit. If they can find the wolf, they will survive. Choose the wrong rabbit, and all the rabbits will die.

This manga is very engrossing. After the first chapter, I was quickly hook in the world of Doubt. As the title says, the theme is all about Doubt. It talks about how important trust at the same time fragile, can be. The characters werent very original but its the relationship of each character to each other that counts. It was very immersing to have all the characters doubt each other, how they communicate and how they react to what is happening around them. This manga compels you to think for a logical reason on who the wolf can be, at some point it is even challenging.

The art is pretty decent. It aint bad at all. Personally, I liked it. It didnt give me a hard time to delve in as the art has a good drawing. The morbid deaths in particular are unsightly but definitely refined enough for you to understand that the sword of damocles is hanging above your head.

Its magnificent suspense approach bolsters the manga overall. It will give you goosebumps all the time as you try and figure out the true intents of each individual. The only thing missing here is music. If this was an anime, I bet it'll scare the bejesus out of me.

Conclusion. This manga is for those who can appreciate suspense and arent one of the weak hearted. If you want suspense, dont waste any more time and go read it now. For maximum enjoyment, I recommend you to listen to this while reading it. read more