Shounen no Abyss
Boy's Abyss

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This manga is an uncomfortable read, in the best possible way. it's early on in serialization, so this review is pretty premature, but the characters are wonderfully debased and they feel free to express the darkest sides of themselves. They feel sympathetic, even though you know they're making the wrong choices. It's cathartic in a way to see these characters be so darkly sexual.

There are multiple ways to see every story, of course, and some may see it as a simple harem fantasy with emo elements. I see it as a scary mixture of sexuality with some of the darkest emotions humans can have. ... in addition, it captures a corruption of adolescent discovery that wallflowers may find relatable. possibly upsettingly so. it's a powerful read so far. and i'm looking forward to reading it week to week.

for now I am really enjoying this manga. one thing that I really enjoy about it are the characters. Each character is different for why they feel certain emotions. Each character feels real, their emotions feel real. In the story it conveys how no matter how much material objects you have or how many girls want to do it with you, you can still feel empty. it conveys how depression isn't just something that can be fixed by your possessions. Overall I feel like the story conveys how each person has different reasons for living, and different reasons for wanting death. The main character tries ... to push people out of his life so he doesn't hurt them when he dies. And Nagi Aoe doesn't particularly care about who dies with or without her. I think these two characters contrast each other really well. I think the some of the sex scenes were forced, unnecessary kind of icky but i am willing to overlook that because i am very invested in the characters.

To be honest this is probably the best manga you'll ever read only for the vibes. For real, no deep thinking, no trying to analyze things and try to find deeper meaning in the characters and their motivations, this is the kind of manga you just let yourself be drifted along with. In case you're worried about the usual, let me tell you, I can't assure you it's well written, but it'd be a lie to say it's badly written. I can't tell you anything makes sense, but it also doesn't NOT make sense. Overall, i think the biggest strength in this manga relies simply ... in how good the author is at making a thriller intriguing enough you will, quite literally, be at the edge of your seat with no time to think about what the cast are even thinking about cuz somebody even crazier is gonna appear next. Yeah, you're gonna learn to be afraid of a two page illustration filled with dialogue once you're a couple chapters in.

And if i must forcibly talk about characters, I'll say it: the only character you kind of learn about and truly want to come to understand, is The Town. Yeah, with capitals. Its name is never truly mentioned, but it goes beyond just a setting, it becomes a full fledged character, alive and breathing down everyone's necks, mysterious beyond compare, to the point the only question you'll find yourself asking after some volumes is "just WHAT is this Town?". A setting becoming a character, an entity, is a classic element in literature but so rare in manga. To truly enjoy this work, I think that's the only character you should have in mind. And again, you don't need to do any sort of mental gymnastics to get it, just let the cast slowly show it to you.

This is my first review, so bear with me.

I've only read a quite few mangas before, and this manga is actually one of the few mangas that struck me real hard. The story starts off quite gloomy— and that itself has got me hooked in quite easily.

A story about a boy finding himself in chains and having no control of his life, the manga itself takes in many dark themes; depression, suicide, hopelessness. Add a sexual touch to it and good lord does it bite my feelings hard. The characters, you feel solace for them, even though whatever they did may not be justifiable from ... every perspective offered. I can literally feel the stress of whatever the main character has gone through, while still feeling the disarray of the characters surrounding him.
I relate to some of them quite strongly.

The art is also charming and pleasant. It emits tragedy, the void that the main character feels throughout the story.

This manga makes me feel empty, and I love it. It's as if I had stepped in the main character's shoes, the hollowness I feel is very much similar to his.

Sorry for the jumble of words, I tried my best to put my thought into this. Anyways, I definitely recommend this as it's not a typical romantic manga (perhaps because I've been reading rom-com, haha), and is easily one of the most exquisite mangas I've found.

As a actual story with good plot and moments. Meh. But when taken not seriously at all. THIS MANGA IS HILARIOUS 10/10 I laughed out loud like 5 times in 2 chapters. Now you might be saying wow. Your a horrible person. Well when taken seriously this manga feels like it wants to be dark and horrible and stuff, but in the end it kinda just feels like the author wanted a bunch of horrible things to happen to the characters and they would all go insane. There isn't really any rhyme or reason for it to happening. Now when taking not seriously. The degree ... at which something this bad had to happen to this many characters in such a convenient way and short amount of time makes this a comedy masterpiece. They ways that the characters respond to these unfortunate events are also hilariously wrong and amazing. 10/10

Missed opportunity for greatness. But good none the less.

I followed this manga a while back. I was in this arc of reading sort of edgy material (Tokyo ghoul) (Berserk) and wanted more. Then I stumbled across this manga where it was dark edgy and truthful while also dealing with a lot of mental problems but not being action focused but more drama. I caught up to it on chapter 173 and slowly waited for the chapters to come out. I hadn't even realised but the manga had come to an abrupt end.

From the start I loved the themes and how the story played out. ... Every bit of it was unique for and something I had never seen before. The characters the mystery and the strong emotional feelings that were present during some major parts. It was ready to set up some major action and create a beautiful finale but, that didn't happen. It was short and didn't fill in any of the gaps that were left untouched. It felt rushed and kind of missed its whole big plot. Up until that point it was perfect just to let it drop and rush the ending. Even though I have given it a 9/10 here it may be closer to an 8 though its a mixed feeling.

This show cuts deep and you should definitely read it for the journey. Although the ending was lacklustre and a wasted opportunity it leaves room for the imagination and if not anything it does wrap everything up well and fix the main struggles characters face in the manga.

For anyone reading this and expect a linear, neat, and beautiful story - please don't

Shounen no abyss is true to its name - the abyss; the bottomless point of a person can experience and a deep character journey; a depression of all people, the abyss of the character, the chaotic and sad sequence throughout the arc, and the heartbreak and the falling dreams along the way. Please don't read this if your condition is not stable since it involves a pretty sensitive topic and some of the suicidal thoughts of the character may relate to some of the people.

Shounen no abyss is a masterpiece on ... its own level, its complex drama, and conflict throughout the series lead to no conclusion at all - and that's why we love it. It seems like there is no end to this conflict. It will take you to places; it will create an atmosphere that very little manga can imitate; it will take you towards an emotional journey of each of the characters.

Shounen no abyss is a deep manga and very sensitive - so, please be stable and calm your nerves before you embark on a journey to nowhere

Shounen no Abyss has made me laugh out loud so many times just in the first 5 chapters alone, seeming like a parody of overly dramatic romantic dramas with its ridiculous coincidences and all of its characters on the edge of madness. Except, there is perhaps one small caveat to this. It's not actually a satire. Everything is played straight and the author expects you to take the manga seriously. And I love it even more because of this.

Almost every chapter is a blast, but any Sensei-centered chapter is a real treat to go through. Just following her going from slightly crazy yandere to full ... on madness is a true joy and she makes the manga for me. Some of my favorite moments from this manga are scenes with her in the spotlight, being this manic person who endlessly pursues Reiji wanting to save him from this crazy town (which she does have a point).

The way the MC gets jerked around like some damsel does bring to mind the Otome genre, and it Shounen no Abyss does feel like a (poorly-written) otome game, just genderswapped. Most of the hallmarks are here, a self-insert needing to be saved by stronger, often older love interests, psychological and physical abuse, but with the MC always still attracted to these horrible horrible people at the end of the day. And while I loathe these cliches whenever I see em in Otome, here they are kind of refreshing in a way and do add to the comedy aspect.

They say the best comedies come from serious works fumbling about and failing to be serious, as opposed to an actual satire or parody, and Shounen no Abyss accomplishes this and then some. As of this writing unfortunately things seem to be slowing down and going back to normalcy, but I do hope to be proven wrong and I do hope the author has more insanity lurking behind future chapters. For this alone, this otherwise flawed manga has became a gem for me.

Or at the very least I can still look forward to more Sensei.

7/10

It's good, but it could be MUCH better. There is no breathing space in the manga, there's no dynamic. It's always dark and it gets darker and darker and sadder and more depressing, and it gets to a point where everything starts to sound just too forced and repetitive. Its not realistic.

By way of comparison, Berserk (which is an extremely dark story) does this sort of thing much better. It's dark and it just gets heavier, but there are moments when you laugh, there are moments of comic relief, there are moments when the characters are happy, there are reflective moments, even if only for ... a short moment. And when the dark atmosphere comes back, you are impacted by it again, which is not the case here.

All the characters are mentally fucked up and have a sad past, there is no gray area, it's just black and white like that. Which ends up breaking my suspension of disbelief a lot.

Overall 8/10 Characters carry through having believable motives. Story itself is predictable, but certainly isnt bad. Art is really strong. I believe if you have come from or currently live in a small town you will understand these characters much more than most people. Overall id highly recommend this if you're itching to see some good old tragedy with a little meaning. and mental illness and personality disorders used to a believable degree (which is an impossibly rare thing in manga)

7/10 story
To sum it up. Its about a boy who is constantly abused and taken advantage, someone who is entirely trapped. A boy who slowly ... becomes a man after meeting someone so unbelievably out of his reach that to him she is a deity, a saviour in a sense. someone who entirely changes the trajectory of his entire existence. A story about finding a sense of self, a will to live.

Ive seen a few reviews on here that its 'fake deep', that the author 'only put in s/a for the shock value and never delve deeper into it', points i understand to some degree. To delve into the second point a little; most people who have been s/a'ed just dont make it their outward personality. This is as deep as i will be able to get without stepping into spoiler territory. I personally believe that the author has done a great job using s/a relatively tastefully as a plot device and as a character motivator. i do not think that it was misused or even overused.

Characters 9/10
i really enjoyed the characters in this manga. they feel complex even when there a few things that get hand fisted into their arcs. Just like real life; everyone suffers from their own problems, everyone's problems are just as complex and real as your own. every single one of these characters feel like its makes total sense into what they do. and alot of it isn't just put out on the front porch for all to see after the first viewing. you find out slowly what each and everyone of them go through in what i thought was a really good look these topics.

It subtly delves into mental illnesses like i haven't seen in awhile. "subtly" meaning that the author doesnt just outright say it. From what I've seen on here, a good amount of people just took this manga at face value and really just 'hate read' it. So there were a good amount of people saying that the characters were one dimensional, a statement i just don't agree with. If you do read this, put on the good old fashioned 'i took half a semester psych class my first year of college' cap on and i think youll enjoy the characters as much as i have.

Art 9
One thing that is often overlooked in manga these days is visual story tell. this manga does a great job at showing character dynamics through its panels alone. In some chapters you really dont need to even looks at the words, through the art alone you are given most of the context. I would write more but i think ive gotten most of my points across.

If any of what ive spewed out has made any sense to you. i think you should give it a shot. at the very least its 100+ chapters with a story you admittedly can just turn your brain off to read and take everything at face value.

This review is based on what i've read so far. This can change* on the future.

MINOR SPOILER!!

First of all this manga have a lot of sex and adult stuff and if you are not a big fan of NTR skip this!.

The story is simply good the pacing is great it didn't feel boring at all and it's pretty easy to understand the story.

Art is great, its clean and some panels are simply fantastic to looks at and it perfectly fit the theme of the story dark, depressing, sad.

Characters in this series are so good, our main character Reiji a high school boy who want ... to die that badly and even trying a lovers suicide with Nagi a former idol that recently move to the town. And this one teacher who "save" both Nagi and Reiji from committing suicide and she's overly obsess with Reiji now.

I enjoy every part of this series i like the dark sad theme of the story and it's one of my go to type of story/genre.

Overall this manga is great if you like reading dark/depressing/grown up/heavy drama story maybe this one is for you!.

Reading this work made me a little depressed, it left me in a way that I didn't expect.

The story goes well and you'll better understand everyone's feelings as you read it, but nevertheless, as a result, we see Reiji himself sinking into his depression and his desire to commit suicide.

We also currently have Nagi absent from the scene now, hopefully she'll be back soon, and somehow she and Reiji can find some feeling of happiness, that she and he can keep them together, just the two of them.

I've been worried about how much the teacher could end up harming Reiji, she doesn't really hit her ... head very well, there's a certain fear that this will turn into a School Days.

This manga is exceptionally good in the way it portrays the world in a negative and pessimistic way.

The art simply matches the story and tone to an amazing extent. The mystery behind character origins and intentions normally would ruin a manga, but this seemingly fuels the story intensely, invoking strong emotions and confusion.

The first few chapters run at light speed, with vicious feelings whipped in it, but everything starts to slow down and you get a look and how this story ended up here.

What this manga truly aces is the manipulation, all these characters come in and you seem to hold a firm opinion ... on them, but when they explain their motives you begin to doubt them, even wondering if they are truthful or lying.

TLDR: Good art, godlike story, dark tone of the world and mystery galore.

This story can be a bit uncomfortable for some people, that's true, but for me works pretty well. It's a such real scenario. That's one of these stories there are so relatable on a scary level. This guy life isn't easy, people keeping throwing shit at him but he manages pretty much. It's one of that tragedy romance stories and I love it. The characters have a such realistic management of emotions and here's where (maybe) people might not like this story. This manga represents eager, anger, love, death, depression and a such realistic detachment for life that may offender some sensitive people and so ... shit hits the fan. It's a pleasant mature romance story to read. It can't please everyone and I understand that. But if you looking for a mature romance, that's the right call. Maybe it look like a shitty teenager cliche at first, but it's pretty good as the story unfolds. It's worth binging on a weekend.

This manga is an uncomfortable read, in the best possible way. It portrays something that people who have suffered from depression might be able to read. The characters are wonderfully debased and they feel free to express the darkest sides of themselves. They feel sympathetic, even though you know they're making the wrong choices. It's cathartic in a way to see these characters be so darkly sexual. The characters are well written and accurately shown. Everyone in the series has their own cross to bear, and it shows how they affect people in a negative way. It is a series that will really make you ... think about the reason for living and the effects of a suicidal high schooler who is trying to find his purpose in life.

This is an incredibly messed up manga.
It's also a really fucking incredible manga, period.

Every character in this story has a story of their own. The main characters and the supporting cast have something that really makes the reader hooked onto them. Compared to other stories, the author really takes their time with carefully weaving together a string for every single one of them, and then intertwines said strings to create... I don't want to say "masterpiece", it's hard to find a word, really. The characters are all realistic as hell - not realistic as in things they do happen often very often, but realistic as ... in based on what happened in their past, you can clearly see the justification in what they are doing - no matter how disgusting or foul it may be.

It's dangerous to really take the story to heart though. Although it is very well written, I cannot say that there is even the smallest amount of what one would call "the moral of the story". In the end no one should ever try to experience anything that goes on in this manga.

If there is one thing that this manga is, it's emotional - not your usually break down crying or sunshine and rainbows kind of emotional, but instead emotional with much darker, almost melancholic tone. I don't want to speak for everyone, but I personally could relate to the scenarios taking place in a way I have never experienced in any kind of story. Every action made by someone is something I can imagine myself doing if I were in their situation

I can clearly see why many people wouldn't enjoy this story, as it does cover some very heavy topics, but if you are willing to take the plunge there's no real harm in doing so. Who knows, maybe you'll enjoy it, maybe you'll despise it. Either way, I highly recommend at least giving it some time to take a look.

As for the art, it's flawless. 10/10. No arguments will and can be made against this. I can count the number of manga that have comparable art to "Shounen no Abyss" on a single hand. The artist masterfully adds a whole other level of emotion with the way they depict the characters in their art.

All in all, it's a beautiful story. The way one may interpret it as beautiful may vary tremendously compared to the way others do, but it is inarguably, incontestably beautiful.

Thank you for your time.

A manga where logic should not be sought at all and how intriguing it is, the characters are the worst, they are horrible and they are so bad mentally, they all live as if they were looking for salvation, but despite that this manga follows a plot complex, disturbing and intriguing, very unpredictable, it is not known what will happen, highly recommended.

The story focuses on a town where our protagonist lives, he wants to escape and live a life, one day he meets a famous idol of which he is a fan and she proposes that they do a double suicide, she was looking for ... salvation, from there part history.

this review will contain some spoilers

the story and the characters

the manga can be summed up as suicide harem, as the mc and everyone around has depression for some reason or another and everyone wants to commit suicide, this manga really know how to explore its characters, psyche

this story isn't for everyone, but for me it was very enjoyable as there wasn't a single dull moment throughout the manga, every chapter leaves you with wanting more, as there are twist and turns, it always feels like its moving, there is a sense of mystery behind all the characters

the author really knows how set ... the tone, i will give you an example the mc has sex with Nagi a girl he just met, you would think it would feel extremally forced or contrived, but the way its pulled of really fits with tone, there is a sense of eeriness behind each character


as the name of the manga applies you will be sucked into an emotional depressing abyss,,

This manga gives you ray of hope by introducing you to a new character just to bring your Hope's collapsing down, you would think a character would come along be a beacon of hope for the mc, nope the mangaka be like, "we don't do that here" every character is selfish and flawed, they feel human, they use and abuse the mc in some way or form

reading this manga gave me similar feeling that i felt whilst watching welcome to nhk, although not as depressing as that show, it does tackle some similar themes

the art

the art style is pretty good for the most part but some panels can leave more to be desired, on some rare occasions you will get some panels which are really really great,
although its not this manga's main focus i must say the author really know how to draw boobs, and the

final thoughts

although i sang this manga's praise, there are some minor flaws which i want to mention

first of all i was not really a big fan of the yandere character, I thought she started of fine but later just became a plot device, I didn't like direction that the author took with her character, I felt that she could have been explored in a different way rather than just turning her into what felt like "comical villain"


if anyone's wondering weather or not to read this manga i highly suggest you do, you wont regret it

SPOILER WARNING!!!!!


I honestly was a bit hesitant to read it, 'cause disturbing manga aren't really my thing, but jesus is this a fucking stairway to insanity if a read, after reading the first chapter, i thought it was going to be bit crazy, sure, but after a few dozen chapters, it cranks up to 100. Reiji is the MC with a harem, but it's probably the most twisted, ... warped group of women that cling onto him for some reason( excluding chako, even though she's got her demons).
But the fact that the people aroun him helped shape him, Reiji's got problems of his own, although i get the feeling that it's been instilled with a gnarly sense of responsibility for his family, a toxic and dependent relationship with one of his childhood friends, attempting to commit double suicide with someone he'd just met, getting abused by his father, dude's got it rough to say the least. But i don't think asking someone he barely knows to save him is fair,yet he pushed that blame into his teacher, and she turned out to be another loonie who had a lot of issues and tried to use Reiji as a means o save herself, baiscally using each other. They just ended up falling deeper and deeper.
I'm really fucking curious to know how it'll end, this is a pretty creepy manga, and was the first of this type for me, still, it hits you right in the wrong ways.

So I binged the whole manga in just a day and all I can say is that it is pretty good, at the 1st chapter I got hooked and decided to read more of it not knowing that I have already read the whole manga in just half a day.

The story I gave it a 7:
Some can write a similar story to this one with depression, suicide, dark, etc. themes, but I like dramas and dark stories even though they are cliche and you know what will happen if you are like me and like dramas and dark stories you will like this manga while ... reading this I also feel uncomfortable with some scenes I will not say what happens but it is what it is if you run into this manga try to read the 1st chapter and if you got hooked get ready for a ride.

For the art, I give it a 9;
for the art style, I really liked the art style and the character design really gives a serious vibe and is just suited for the aura of the scene

Characters I give a good 9;
I really like the personality of the characters, somewhat busted up to the point where they just want to disappear, not problems with the characters, I like them as they are. Pretty Fucked Up.

Enjoyment also a solid 9;
Really enjoyed it to my preference. Dark. and had me hooked on the 1st chapter, it got me good.

Overall 9;
Just because it got me hooked and made me want to read all of it with just one chapter already makes it a great manga for me, if you run into this manga give it a try to read