But now, what does this manga tries to do? Well this shit works almost like japanese urban legend of Inunaki Village but for people with mental illness: Reiji is a high schooler with not really purpose in life, he just lives because he is alive; that is until he meets with his favorite idol: Nagi Aoe, she is just the same as Reiji, someone who lives because she isn't dead despite her situation and mentality being more extreme than Reiji, after Reiji shows her the way around their little town that Nagi say an iniquitous, wicked suggestion: Let's kill themselves she says to Reiji... And Is from that encounter that our plot starts...
But come on, basically the proverbial "God makes them the Devil pairs them" This may seem interesting when you read the first chapters, as you're met with Reiji's "friends" like Gen and Chako and despite having a really simple, straightforward and even dumb characterization it works for now, why? Because with this story we're just presented with the fact that the protagonist want to kill himself, so we obviously need the bully friend and the bad family situation... It is simple, but it just the ground the series choose to hold itself for a while, so the lector can be a little permissive. The thing that is wrong with this first chapter feels to unnatural, is like everything said here and how everyone act is over the place because we don't know anything from our main character that speak from itself, Reiji is too reactive through the first characters so the only moments when we see a little of himself is when people try to control his life, say literally they would be dead or order him something. Yeah, I know depressive people can be like that, of course, the thing is that due to the lack of immersion in Reiji's personality and thoughts, we are just left with a first chapter that tries to wrap everything that Reiji's character will be from other sources who aren't even that great tools to tell the story: The bully saying him that he is his childhood friend while Reiji doesn't say a thing just show how the characterization works here; Gen is a dick... Like a real dick... A REAL dick... And that's all, this happens because the story would usually bring characters to the plot not as characters, but as problematics (will go more deep into that later). That moment where Chako tells literally everything the novel and the story of a town in where he has literally been his WHOLE life (their whole conversation just feel like an excuse to bring up topics that will affect the story later as the mangaka couldn't bring the main character to interact in any meaningful way), with Nagi and his mom is more of that, it is specially weird when his mom textually says "Reiji, without your help I would be dead" and we just recently knew her... Okay I guess? I mean is obviously not serious, but the paneling seems a little off, like that it want us to feel it... But we just can't, we just can't empathize with Reiji's situation or with him yet. After this you can see that Reiji barely interacts at all even in the first chapter, is just normal, which is great! Because if I'm reading a psychological thriller with suicide as topic then at least I want to be presented with the normality, the mundane. Show me life, so after you show me death... Sadly, this chapter and as I told just summarize this manga, Reiji at the starts wasn't someone I was fond on, I thought that how the author presented him was weird but not necessarily terrible, little did I know that Reiji would go into what I would say the biggest flaw of this entire magnum opus dung: The main character.
Now all that about the first chapter is important, because I wanted to understand Reiji. We can always relate with characters who suffer in silence, with those struggles you usually fight alone, I wanted to feel that in him at the start, as so I would cheer him or be thrilled with how he manages to overcome his problems... But God forgive our main character be consistent, at first I was a little curious as even despite his loneliness and apathy, we can see Reiji's interest and even how he is a gentle guy (he met Nagi just because he was worried of anything happening to her and the fact that he didn't talked that much at the first character tells us that he may feel lonely and is obedient to others) which is pretty usually the case when you see character like these, the problem is that Reiji later comes like a husk and empty soul, not because of the themes, but because Reiji comes later just a character with depression, with no qualities and with no really actions... Because just remember, how many times did this series not know how to make a build up and just magically just to bring two characters together at a convenient moment? I can tell you some: When the teacher saves Reiji from suicide (around chapter 10), when Reiji meets with Nao at the hospital with Nozoe (chapter 100), etc. With that I want to say that the author just know how to puke things at us, I feel like I constantly need to clean my face as the author just like to throw nonsense after nonsense to make us feel like the story is progressing when in reality is just that "character X meets character Y, character Y mentions suicide and how character X should join it for a lovers or a double suicide, Character X says pretentious and edgy shit to extend the date of their death" and now repeat that line from chapter 1 until the end, that why I say this piece of work commit the worst sin a piece of literature can do, it's dishonest, what am I supposed to feel for Reiji when in chapter 10 he says to his teacher "There simply isn't a good future waiting for me unlike you, miss Shiba" just after Shiba told him "You're just 17, there's a lot more in life"... Can you see just how incongruent the dialogue feels here? Reiji is mentally unstable in this situation, so the author just does the same card that he will use in every situation; victimization and the one who screams louder wins, that annoys me because it's just like if the author doesn't care about how he portrays mental illness, he just wants to make us feel bad, makes us feel bad specially in a time when people romanticize the idea of dying young, dying together, that (ironically) the idea of death is cool and hot (typically because of the mix of identity, death and sexuality) in social media, so when the author just go and does his nonsense and babble about pseudo-philosophycal things and about life's nature it just comes as shallow. Victimization can be used to its own advantage as a way to portray a manipulator, but maybe just with one exception the rest are just putrid from their insides out, not as persons but as characters, he will justify anything in this manga because one character had a bad moment and that's all into it. This stricture sucks specially when you know that the other weapon this manga uses to make us feel heavy is sexuality, not just having characters do intercourse as a way to cope with their life or as a way of discovering themselves, this manga just literally shows you a character crying for it in the next character to have sex because it is his way of showing something mature.
This made me realize that, just like any pubescent, this work is just obsessed with death and sex, it wants to make an allegory between them in various moments (the whole idea of Aoe's death and her intimacy with Reiji) doesn't make good the story either, as those scenes just mess with the structure and the pacing. We were watching Reiji with Nagi Aoe talking about their empty life (which is pretty strange how the manga itself showed is weird as Aoe just say to him "your life isn't going anywhere" and like his whole character switched... Another bad bad for shōnen no abyss) to go to them having intercourse together, I know it is a scene of awkwardness for Reiji and characterizes their relationship from there onward, but it is placed at that moment just because it is with no reason at all (even tho Aoe herself say that, for a writing viewpoint is still doesn't hold together as the progression between their dialogues feel artificial talking just about death) just like how every important interaction between character occurs in the whole manga. And let just now start about how characters would even try to sexually harass (and worse) part of the female cast and all the other characters in the series are like "Hey, that's no good" and just leave it like that: In chapter 84 we see how Gen tries to sexually assault Chako, then Reiji comes and tries to stop him and just drop the line "But if you want to die this way, I don't think it would be too bad" and that moment just went over me, Reiji doesn't even understand himself because the author doesn't even understand Reiji. Is disappointing how a really tense moment is ruined with moments like that, with character just saying and mentioning suicide or death as if it was nothing more than a toy, that sucks because that just messes the atmosphere and tones, how are we gonna take it seriously if such a word is just thrown around like a ball, we cannot focus on the main topic with seriousness like that because the characters just feel to inhuman at that point, stop talking about death, talk about yourself, why would we care if that's a good way to die if you had not talked about anything else for 80 chapters? Specially when the manga is full of the same edgy dialogue that I just exemplified earlier, this manga would be writing by anyone in his "You don't understand me" era from their adolescence.
But that's not only Reiji, every character here in this mess feels like are just a bad and poor representation of problems or mental illness within people. In chapter 126 and 127 we discover that Gen wasn't attracted to Reiji (something that was speculated and let in the air by the author) and neither to Reiji's mother Yuko (which was said from Reiji) but that he feels like a woman, he was born in the wrong body... And how did he notice that? At his own words, because in Tokyo he saw people being themselves, people just dress as however they want it... And when did we, as lectors, saw that introspection in him? I know what happened here, the author wanted to make a twist about Gen, but he noticed that it wasn't as impressive or "fucked up" as it could be, no, so the author wanted to welcome us with his "development" by saying "I knew it, Reiji... I wanted to be Yuko" and is always that suspense about what's really inside the character's mind for what the author bet. How could I make it worse? How could I show how unstable he is? And that's how he went with that conclusion without doing any build up neither inner monologues that makes us feel empathy for him... And the cherry on top of the cake: "Reiji, don't die with Aoe neither with Chako. Die with me" (from chapter 127) just like how the author always end discussion between character. It's his own period, no more interaction neither thought-provoking dialogue. Add to this the poor retconning the manga always does with characters past established before to add a "layer" of deep to their interactions when it just makes more of a mess of the narrative and exposition of this whole cheap soap opera.
And let just nos start about how the character just contradict themselves 10 chapters later. Saying something deep just for it to be opposed by the same character itself make it clear that it just lives for the moment, it all an ephemeral Dantesque nightmare that once you, as lector, woke up, will be left thinking about how this manga works at as an oxymoron of the ideas stated by this, even the title itself was calling it, you cannot expect deep, or be in the bottomless pit when this treat everything like it's the simplest and dumbest concepts ever, an ode to the stupid, boring and cheap unpredictable elements of a work of fiction. The contradiction in its element is so clear that that's why this feels so incoherent and artificially made, have you happen to see a series where everything bad just happen to the protagonist because it is what is it? And to add in it the author just deals with it like a "feat" adding more and more tragedy to the story? It's like Murphy's law being constantly told at us, everything goes wrong because it goes wrong, and it will be the worst, why? Because with that excuse the author can throw even more pretentious dialogue at us without looking at himself ashamed of what he's writing.
I feel like there is also a discrepancy between this manga's structure and narrative with its own dialogue. You see, I feel like the author bet plenty of the character development and deep moments are telling us with the metaphor of the water tank and how some people are an "abyss" who just end up making everyone around them fall into them to a journey of pure despair and depression... I understand that, and I love when such suggestive narratives are used to tell us themes far apart from the main ones (like for example series as Houseki no Kuni or Vagabond) or even to make is more appealing and atmospheric, you can't be always telling to the lector or spectator everything straightforward with no sense of taste neither a charming prose, that's a where the heart of this type of stories goes along with the paneling; how to tell and what you tell. Shonen no abyss doesn't know exactly to where to go, it's like constantly trying to choose a way; a rough and raw one or a deep symbolic one, I don't usually mind when the tone of the narrative switch subtly or is generally different from one point to the other, what I have a problem is how does this manga try to do that: When we see Aoe's past we understand her sorrow, we're slowly going on a journey to understand her pain, maybe the paneling and imagery isn't as hard for us as it could be due to the lack of understanding of her daily life behind the incident (which was the first thing I thought would be more strong to show us) but it's competent in what it tries to portray: the fear of being alone; Are my parents dead? When is this gonna end? Those questions emerge instantly as you watch a little Aoe just lying there alone, without a mother or father to hug... But when does this flash back fall down as a story telling device? Well, precisely in the dialogue, this manga relays too much in dialogue to show us emotional pain and mental illness instead of taking advantage of its capacity to portray the narrative in the imagery: When Aoe and her uncle walk around they find out Aoe's bag (which was pretty convenient if you ask me, it's always conveniences to make the situations happen throughout the story) and when Aoe tells her uncle about how she had a little scolding from her parents, we're immediately welcomed by a panel of Aoe's uncle in his knees telling her "it's your fault your parents died" (chapter 172 and 173) and I was like puzzled... Really really puzzled, I'm not the only one who see that discrepancy between what has been telling us from this flash back to how is delivered, right? I cannot understand what was the process the mangaka made to change the structure and pacing of such a heavy background from one of the most important character of the series, is beyond me, all the next important things and way of thinking (or more like her trauma) comes from this exact dialogue which it feels like it was juxtaposed immediately after a poor intent of making a tragic moment, I know it's pretty implied (although it's pretty obvious) that Aoe's uncle used her to gain money taking advantage of her, but this way of orchestrate scenes is what makes Shonen no Abyss and infuriating reading, it feels hollow and lacking in identity with just any excuse to make it disgusting and tragic.
This scene is another perfect example of Shonen no Abyss proprieties as a story in this medium, it just lacks in delivering what it wants, I feel like a monochromatic mess of such untactful and antithesis of elements puts in like if it were a poor mix, the dynamics don't feel appealing either, which was the most awful thing when it comes to Reiji's character's relationships with others. All the arc with Shibasawa feels like an exchange between them that goes like: "Hey Reiji, I know it's not right, but I love you" "I love you too Shibasawa, lets just wait until I'm and adult" and then I don't know what type of mental gymnastic the teacher made in her head that she felt she needed to possess Reiji... Which isn't that bad as her character falls into that type of troupe, we know it and Reiji know it... But then Reiji doesn't even make a meaningful interaction with her, its always like "X character is doing this just because Y told him so" and it makes everything so stupidly linear that it just doesn't make up to the seriousness and "deep" that the dialogue and paneling tries to be evocative with the art, it falls into its own trap that it seems even funny sometimes. This is not a drama at all, it just does not present any feelings neither intent of seriousness at all, it always falls into its own little grace with dumb edgy dialogue and a narrative that tries to evoke the same as such works in the medium that makes better use of negative and positive space, paneling and art to make it more interesting to the lector.
I have always had my opinion on the debate of "shonen vs seinen" which is pretty much just a full yapping between blind fans of the big three in shonen and the "big three" (which people always use as am excuse to put in their favorite seinen manga just to show off to everyone else... Just a stupidity, but who cares) and I've always thought from it like this: plenty of shonen are between the 4/10 to 5/10 or 6/10 which isn't saying much whereas seinen tend to be more like 9/10 to being straight garbage and a 1/10 in my book... Why do I make this silly and maybe unnecessary allegory? Because I think that way of thinking and how my experience watching and reading in this medium of japanese media make me realize that it all could come down to the old expression of "bitting off more than you can chew" as the narratives and themes usually helps author to portray their product in a way very much different from one demographic to other... What do I have to say about this? First off this conversation and debate is so uninteresting and lacking on understanding of the medium that is straight boring, unnecessary and a little silly (and even a little ignorant of the existence of the other demographics)... The second on and the one in where we will continue is that it can explain the products of such like Shonen no Abyss and other plenty of more curious examples where they try to grasp what the demographic and possibility of being a seinen can bring and just eat it to puke it out in the table; an obnoxious mess with plenty of... Body fluids? Yeah, that's exactly what happened here: poor characters' dynamics, such a discrepancy between themes and how it is portrayed, a terrible structure filled with conveniences and inconsistencies, boring and edgy character and above all else, being dark for the sake of being dark, being sexual for the sake of being sexual, having mental illness for the sake of having mental illness. You know what they say: Nothing's better than a depressed hot experience, right? Well this manga just took that and made it a manga without any interesting context neither being atmospheric and let just not talk about the dialogue... This abyss of writing haven't finished yet, but I've heard that it will finish in this year 2024, when the time comes I plan on expanding and talkies about the ending alongside with the series and themes as a whole... Just don't expect something good of it.
------Edit for the last 7 chapters!--------
So it seems when I first did this review like 2 weeks passed and the author confirmed that it would end soon, yeah, I should have waited for this thing to end but whatever, here we are now, with our precious manga having finally ended.
So these will be my final thought of the series added with my last review, enjoy!
Okay, so I have a little issue with the last chapters, something that was actually present within all this manga but make it even more obvious as the end was near: the having cluttered plot and not having any harmony at all. You see, when Reiji decides to call Nagi's uncle, Mao, with the idea of killing him and as with everything in this manga, Mao didn't even ended up dying, because Shōnen no Abyss always makes sure to throw you the bait for you to wait for next chapters just for them to not follow that plot line coherently. Is not just about how characters just appears when the story conveniently needs them to (how Nagi and the teacher stopped Reiji from killing Mao, how Nozoe appears with Mao) which I wouldn't usually mind too much, all stories have some type of coincidences just like in real life, my problem is that this series have abused from that for a whole running of 100+ chapters, as we don't really see the cohesive progression between characters and how they develop in a plausible way, I'm not even asking for realism at this point, just for it to follows the own themes and tone of this work, but even that is asking too much.
But I digress, my point is that Shōnen no Abyss always wants to throw the rock and hides the hand, they bait you into something that may be interesting just for it to get stretched or put it aside of the manga. In chapter 181 when the teacher and Nagi tells Reiji to not kill Mao I was almost laughing, the series made sure to make us too insensible and indifferent of the characters emotions that I was just like "Oh! Okay. Oh! Whatever..." for the whole discussion they had, because the dialogue feels so bad and so artificial, you know like when you see an interaction between characters there's always like a meaning behind it, right? Just like in real life, when you talk to someone is not unidirectional, is a bidirectional exchange between two characters, but that doesn't happen at all in Shōnen no Abyss, it was like just and attempt from the author side to make it sound deep and trying to show some development for his characters when the series itself isn't capable of showing it with actions, to it relies on those unidirectional and absurd dialogues like "Nagi, let's show this guy your life has been an error, and that you don't have any purpose for living" followed by the "I see... So I was born with the purpose of killing her..." and the epic "If you kill Nagi then I'll kill this guy! I'm faster" and those just felt so so so awkward I couldn't bring myself to take it serious, is the most pathetic and miserable attempt in this whole 183 chapters in this to make a type of meaningful interaction and exchange characters, and do that near the conclusion? That's almost inexcusable.
But despite all I've said, in the final chapters there was a moment that I really liked! In chapter 182 I liked how like the title and the character of Reiji mad that little sense when he stared at someone under the rain, then Reiji doesn't recognize if it is his mom, sakuko or Gen, when in reality it was just that no one was there... Yeah, the abyss looked back at him, after falling more and more in the depths of a pointless living and pursuing an excuse to end his existence, the abyss looked now back at him, it is actually kinda cool, right? Specially since the one who tell him that no one is in there is Nagi, the only one who brings more color yet plenty of despair in his life, the one who gives him a purpose (regardless of how poor and shitty was when looking back at it), so at the end it wants to tell us that type of melancholic metaphor about how deep he has fallen into it. He doesn't even care who will accompany him to end his life, he just wants it to end. Being fair, that's something I liked about how the series tried to convey it in an interesting way as the series was always too explicit, not in an edgy nor meaning it has a strong imagery and themes, but in that it had never ever been capable of making anything exciting happen without dialogue as a device to tell things to the lector instead of building up anything for that sort, so watching this little change in exposition and in narrative was a pleasurable surprise. You can count what I said as something good or bad, as the narrative for this type of series with "mature" themes has always been so simple and so boring that even a moment like that left an impact on me, but when something is good is just fair to say it.
But then the last chapter, 183, came out, and I think the overall consensus was that... It was underwhelming? I think that could be the right way of calling it, but for me, it doesn't even feel like a final. I understand how Shonen no Abyss want to portray how if two people who are lost get to know each other, they generate an abyss, a source of stress and pain for others that can just grasp onto anything it reaches and how that cycle could be broke (that is, just in theory), but the way in how that is done just make it look like a childish show that just wanted and tried to be deep for the sake of it. In the first 10 chapters we knew about all this lover's suicide, just for the end for it not to happen... Is that bad? I don't really think so, because it could be a clue about character development coming from Reiji and Nagi, but do we see this? I just don't know why the author bet all in for an "open ending" when the series was by its own narrative the most narrowed and obvious things ever, is like if it's trying to be something different right at the end just for it to feel unnatural. I'm not against open endings, but when a show was so blatantly shameless, edgy and just survived by cliffhangers with no purpose, then you can't defend an ending like that (or at least, I, can't) because it ends up being like the last spark before fucking burning down my house, it just won't work and also won't make it any better...
But then again, I digress.
What I wanted to talk about the last chapters was just everything felt so so so both rushed and inconclusive. Reiji's mother shits on Reiji after all this time, giving Reiji "permission" to leave the town and, indirectly, unlinking her from his life (because she was about to die, and her relationship with Nozoe), so then, what's the core of this? I don't really know, was just me or really all the drama between Yuko and Nozoe didn't had a huge on the lector? I think I couldn't care less about those two, because first, the series didn't even want us to empathize with them, their flashback wasn't just it because I, for real, couldn't understand their actions, and it felt just as if everything bad was throwing at them in such an artificial manner that I didn't even flinch about anything. So in the last chapter, what did we get? Yuko saying to Nozoe "I read your pitiful love letter" and.... That's it? I never thought of Yuki as a character, but just as a device for the story to make Reiji miserable... And now, on top of that, we have this plain, boring and underwhelming conclusion? To what we most could call the "antagonist" of this series? It felt as if the author was saying "Oh welp, yeah I forgot about her but whatever just take this" and called it a day. Is true I didn't care about those characters, but that doesn't mean I'll also be happy with such awful conclusion. And how did they meet at the end? That too just feels like the lack of that "harmony" I mentioned plenty of times before, moving characters conveniently to make the manga more appealing for the lector in such dishonest ways that is even infuriating.
And let's not even talk about all the mystery about Reiji's father, it was like a roundabout all this time where the author could use the safe card of "Oh, but he is your father!" to make new conflicts arise that I was just tired of it.
The conclusion of the teacher was kinda of a nonsense, I get she needs someone to get dependent on her (that's quite normal, actually) but make use of her primary problem and drama as a mark to conclude with her character, not interacting with the protagonist whatsoever, was really the right call? I don't think I need to say if it was, or it wasn't, because for me, it is obvious. Did she learn something even in all the chapters? Or even more beyond that, is there someone who really cares about her and find her interesting? Both on the story and for the lectors I think I would hear the same: Absolutely no. I know most of my argument are based on the fact that "why would we care about them?" and that could feel a little preposterous coming from me, even something unnecessary for others. But that's not my base, just my conclusion. The teacher was almost surely made as a character for us to not care about her, because she doesn't develop, she doesn't have meaningful nor interesting dialogue with others, she doesn't even have a slightly interesting deepening on her beliefs or catharsis. Why was this character even here? This is one I can really justify my feeling of "I don't really care about her" because how I'm supposed to care for a character that, in the last chapter, commits the same errors as she did on the very first? Is to make us feel like there are people who can "break the cycle" and some who can't? Because if that's the case, let me tell you that it doesn't change my attitude towards it at all, and actually makes me feel a little dumbfounded by the fact the author would almost entirely kill a character just to demonstrate it, not just a character, but one of the mos relevant ones.
At the end of the day Shibasawa-sensei is just a character that didn't grow up on the series. Didn't grow up as a character, didn't grow up on me as someone to empathize with, and didn't grow up on the author as it seems. That sudden change in between needing Reiji to after that change onto Nagi's uncle is something that, again, people usually do as a way for someone else feel attached to them, but this just feels wrong, we didn't get any of her thoughts on Reiji's conclusion and that just makes her feel like she lost one of her core motives as a character, immediately for me, that's like killing a character.
A character I didn't even liked.
But what can we get from our rest of beloved characters? About the intriguing yet toxic relationship between Nagi and Reiji? Well... We didn't really get anything from them, you know what bothers me? When in the very last character, even just that long onto the series, we (or at least I) still don't get what Reiji and Nagi wants "But hey! Isn't it normal for adolescents and people with mental illness! You jerk!" And that's true and even despite all this rambling, I still think I get the appeal of the series for other people. Nothing exists for no one to likes after all. But the mess of character that Shonen no Abyss presented to me was just like a fishing road, not just because of the bait, but because of how this show seems to throw its bait to a shark tank, it just won't do...
But why?
Because I really think that the author was scared of what to do with the characters, or maybe scared to lost public and lectors? I wouldn't know, and this doesn't go as far as from being just a silly thought of mine. But the author just needed to make the character intriguing and to, even if he needed to sacrifice all his bait, attracts the shark to his side. This is why, despite representing mental illness, the character feels unreal and overdramatized even to me, who has experience of treating with people with difficult conditions (if you're one like that or someone who felt identified with a character on this show, this obviously doesn't mean any harm nor ill words to you. I love you) so I just never stayed still and thought of them as character more than just an over saturated drama who doesn't need when to stop and when to be "normal", that's what makes me a little upset about this manga and how it deals with its characters, at the end of the day, they were never characters, just walking mental illness to bait those who are interested in it.
So when at last the character change so suddenly of personality and when they drop all those edgy and pretentious dialogue (all the ones I mentioned before) it makes me think of this manga as something that is even insecure about itself and its own worth. There's a need for it to be the popular and loved one, and this manga knows it, just think about everything in retrospective: Cliffhangers, dialogue, the art... Everything was moved for you to make yourself engaged to the next chapters, which is normal, but such a dishonest work can only get us reach just that far, the last like 60 chapters at least were proof of this, where we just got dragged around anything the author wanted to do to make this series be in more length and be more "deep"... So in all this is when what I said before makes sense, right? I couldn't feel anything from the main duo in the last chapter, because I even thought "are those really our main cast?" because it felt almost as if those two were no more than puppets from the author to make something so artificial engaging. You can't treat your puppets as piece of shit, you haven't seen The Muppets or 31 Minutos, author? That's not how it works, you can't hope for me to care about them when you treat them like that.
And that is just the preamble.
Because when we get into it, what does the last chapter imply? That at the end, and in a way to show how, even if two abyss itneract between each other, they can still live together "God makes them the Devil pairs them" as I said on the first parragraphs (don't know if that expression work for english speakers, but you get it) so even if the Devil pairs them... They're still allowed to live, right? That would be quite such a case, not because it would be bad, but because I think it would be an interesting tophic and interesting meaning behind an ending...
If only it wasn't in Shonen no Abyss.
Because Nagi finally gives her real name to Reiji. I love how the change occurs using the black and white in between panels when Nagi says "Reiji, we, together will..." right in front of a dark, even abysmal river... That river in which is said a couple died, and then just changes into some pure white panel accompanied with Sakura petals, don't know why, but that change right at the end of the series left me with a pleasure surprise, as if it's a metaphor of the ending itself where, despite being all dark and clouded, there was some light and spring rays of the sun coming for them...
But... What happened? Why leave us hanging like that? Huh? What the hell happened?
-My reaction
Okay, we didn't get anything really concise on what happened with Nagi and Reiji despite knowing the fact they're still alive (or at least Reiji), so we probably can guess they lived happily... Together? Isn't that... Kinda of, you know, boring? Not because of the fact they may end up living or trying to live a normal life together, but because after all the mess they were both as character and as a device for the plot, didn't clarify anything about it?
It feels lazy and so ungratifying after all the near 200 chapters of this manga, to not have something solid as an ending, not because open endings are bad, again, but because we don't have enough to get the idea of what will Reiji and Nagi want to do, precisely because of her personalities, characterization and dialogue we don't have anything to grab for them, I felt myself a little lost as to needing to make myself a sense of why they're still living together. With this I mean that the ending, ironically, is closed as to what happens, but not in why happens and what's the objective with that. Nagi and Reiji live together still on the little town... Why? And what do they plan to do? Is quite symbolic as, told us from the very first chapter, Reiji didn't leave his town, but he will manage to not get consumed by the town itself. It feels underwhelming because it is as if the happy ending happened because just happened, not because some plot points and character development making any sense. So at the end, despite managing to have a quite straightforward ending, the fact that the main duo was so volatile and so untestable doesn't hold up to make us reassured that "oh, they ended like that" and instead makes us wonder what went throughout their minds on the final sections of this incoherent thing in which even to the final day, couldn't handle its own character and makes us wonder, that's it? Anytime it tried to do something. Nagi and Reiji ended just as how they started, as a mess and amalgam of thought the author put on them, like some sponges that try to absorb everything until you can't use it anymore.
I reached it, you know? I reached it, the bottom of the abyss, that is. This manga made me travel to the bottom pit near the center of the earth, because I think I've found something that belongs to there, to that abyss that just can't see the rays of the sun... Shonen no Abyss was a strange experience in the wrong sense, I don't even think I find myself enjoyed something coming from it, was how I see everything it tried to convey turned out into some little cartoon for me to silly laugh at it? There are some manga, no, media that try to portray heavy things and be raw. I don't mind any of these as some of my favorite things aside from anime have some rough moments, but then why does this manga fails so bad at that? Because it almost feels inhuman in how it writing is done, is it making fun of mental illness? I'm not as dense as to think like that, but I won't blame someone who thinks like that. I just feel myself so desensitized from this piece of media that I just ended up reading it for compromise and because when I started it is was near the end, but aside from that this work is absolutely terrible and godawful to the point I just can't recommend this to anyone. The char that Shonen no Abyss could offer didn't reach me at all, instead I ended up with a manga that didn't have any identity and, above all else, overstayed its welcome, a welcome that I would not have even offered.
You've reached it too, you know? The Abyss... In literature, that is.
