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When I started to read this manga, until I got through the first chapter, I thought that it was absolutely horrible. I expected that the storyline will go on like that, following whatever happened in the first chapter. I said to myself, "There's no way I can read 24 chapters of this!" and wanted to drop it. Now I'm glad I didn't.

The story of this manga is, according to the title, the most complex story I have ever read. No other manga ever followed the main characters through their entire life as this one did.
The main thing this manga shows is life. In only ... 24 chapters, the author was able to picture two human lives, crossing each other than parting ways only to meet again sometime in the future. It shows moments of happiness and sadness of various kinds, goals and purposes and a never ending love.
In many works, being in love is idealized - not here. Complex intercepts that not all days are happy and everything has its pros and cons.

It made laugh as well as cry several times. I got the feeling that I actually know the characters. I thought I understood them; I've grown attached to them and was hurt when they died. I can't even express all the admiration for Manda Ringo for managing this.

I have to say I especially love this kind of art. The bodies and sceneries are very realistic, nothing is prettified. It makes an individual realize that what makes things unusual or beautiful are the feelings connected to them.

I've been itching to write this for a long time by now.

Story 10/10
Zankoku na Kami ga Shihai Suru is a catching story about a high school boy trying to cope with his stepfather regularly abusing him. He's suffering, running away, crying and losing it, then he faces it and solves his problem only to find another one. He is constantly giving up and trying to vanish, then being forced to live and try again.
It's not 'BL' as such, but certainly a piece full of love, desire, overlooking, suffering and regret.

Art 8/10
This manga started in 1993. That is a year before I was even ... born, so of course the art is not as fancy as in some newer ones. If you give this up because of it, I pity you. It's not bad at all once you get used to it.

Characters 10/10
The characters are beautifully pictured with real personalities, combining both good and bad traits. Sometimes the characters are lost and looking for help, sometimes they fight and face the reality. Everyone is unique and I have the feeling that even those of peripheral importance are strong individuals.

Enjoyment 10/10
I laughed, I cried, I was completely drawn in the story. I wasn't feeling bored even once. This manga is just brilliant.

Overall 10/10
To sum it up, I love this manga. I found it when I was looking for something psychological - and it may actually be the best manga I've ever read. It's a masterpiece.
However, I would recommend it only to those who are able to understand the meaning of being wounded and can accept that sometimes, wounded people do stupid nonsense when trying to forget the pain.

This anime has left me with mixed feelings.
At first I was surprised by how good the graphics were (pretty good for 1998). Especially I liked how eyes were drawn. To think of it, I might have never seen such wide ones, there was always only that big "cute" eyes. And I also liked those modified images of real wood mingling with the drown ones.
To the story, at first it seemed a bit strange. Later it was confusing. Even later I was wondering what the heck I am watching.
The story itself wasn't bad or anything, but it would be better if there were more episodes ... and some things explained. Or maybe I just should read the manga.


Come to the main characters: a half-fox man who endures his inner pain and tries his very best to become part of the society, which does not accept him is parted with young boy unsure which sex he should be. Those two were slightly different and still so much alike. On the other side, the "villain" was almost nowhere to be seen; he got so little space to introduce so that you couldn't come to like him. I like villains - not this time.

The reason why I'm giving this anime a higher score than I actually planned to give is that there wasn't any sexual desire within Arimasa, which I find odd but interesting. Just why didn't he want to embrace the boy who was obviously in love and willing to do anything?
Nah, I'm going to watch it one more time to get into it a bit more.