Interest Stacks

This story portrays two people, who were hurt from this world. Despite having different mental scars and paths in life, they realize one thing - they feel that their existence is hollow, devoid of any warmth and meaning, but by sharing and discussing with each other about their most personal fears, resentments and their rotting guilt and self hatred, they manage to feel relieved, and understood for once in their lives.

The budding affection grows into a sincere love and care for the other, which is both heartwarming and tragic in the same time, and the raw emotions that this story provides is something that everyone could appreciate. Their embrace towards the parts of themselves that they hate and can't stand is something that we all should strive to do, and I believe this manga is one beautiful portrayal of that, as well as shedding light on many controversial and delicate themes.

Your Knife is a story of corruption. In it, our main protagonist leading his humble life, barely able to meet his needs on a monthly basis, while suddenly, he gets proposition - to gain a lot of cash, to be able to secure his living and to assist his family, deep into medical debts, but for that, to have to assassinate people who've clearly being menace to the society.

Albeit reluctantly, he accepts, and, bit by bit, time over time, his worldviews gets constantly tested and warped, and his ethos - sullied and trampled on. As his polar opposite, he is teamed up with police officer who doesn't care about the money of this deal, but rather seeks to satisfy his own selfish justice.

As we go into the story, the inherent questions of morality and sanity are gravitating, but never inherently answered, since that's up to us to decide. Would eradicating the society's filth is something praiseworthy, or the one who does it ends up being in the same place as his victims are?

Chikan Otoko is one experimental, and light hearted series about a guy, being accused of being a molester from a total stranger, for whom he realizes that he likes, after the mistake had been resolved. It is loosely based on a real long forum thread about a person, asking the audience for romantic advises, and receiving a lot of bad, hilarious and somewhat good advises along the way.

Despite it's raw and often comedic energy that the series has, the protagonist can feel extremely relatable to any reader, since his feelings and behavior are genuine - the nervous, but agitated thoughts about the person he has feelings for, the overconfident fantasies of expressing his feelings, and instantly being understood and accepted, contrasted by his clumsy and shy demeanor in reality.

It is one surprisingly grounded and in the same way, hyperbolized experience of feeling the flutters of love, yet struggling to express and convey that properly, of desperately wanting to connect to someone without presenting yourself as unreliable and frail.

The Horizon is work that explores the various states of the psyche in a state of grave danger and turmoil. The dialogue in it is scarce, but nor does it needs to be more - the bleak, rustic and gritty portrayal of the world, surrounding our main duo is one that speaks volumes of context and subliminally introduces us to all of it's horrors, all of them caused by humankind alone.


Along their journey of finding even remote safety and peace, the stumble upon various other survivors, all of them bearing the stigma of fragmented and fundamentally broken state of mind. Initially, they do look morbid and horrifying, but, in a sense, they all reached this miserable state by the circumstances and hardships they had to suffer, so one can't help but feel empathetic towards them.

This is one story, that is both provocative, spine-chilling and brutal. Amidst it's enveloping darkness, one can see a lot of truths about how frail and primitive humanity can get when pushed to the brink of it's survival, and how difficult is to make the moral choice amidst the hellscape of a reality we do live in, both literally and figuratively.

This manga is an interesting blend of mystery and psychology, on the backdrop of an episodic, slice of life setting. In it, Watanuki, our main protagonist, is a person who can see things that usually people couldn't and can sense paranormal entities. One day, in a vacant lot, he finds an extravagant shop, shrouded in mystery and occult energies. The owner of this shop mentions that she can teach him to how interact with the paranormal, but in return, he'll be her apprentice.

And this is how the story starts, sprawling from this point on a plethora of cases, involving human's misfortune, and the shop's inhabitants, trying to soothe it, for a price, which is often one with no monetary meaning, but rather sentimental one. Each of the supernatural manifestations and curses are born from the person's misdeed, or their unstable mental state.

Often in cases like these, just admitting what is their problem, or that it exists could prove to be the starting point in their recuperation, but then again we often didn't want to admit our fault and weaknesses, to which we fall victim to eventually.

Bokurano is a story that perfectly encapsulates the personal nihilism of it's cast. It's premise is basic, but due to it's deconstructive nature, any semblance of tropes falls apart bit by bit as the story goes, leaving us with nothing more than the eroding psychological states of a dozen children, having to bear the fate of their imminent death just so they could pilot a mechanical giant, and fight for the lives of their families, friends, and the whole world.

Each of the children has their own part of the story - we get to know them, how they feel about the reality in which they existed prior to this sudden twist of fate. In it, we can see their desires, needs, wishes, as well as their grief, pain and anxiety. Everyone would accept this somber fate differently, and we can see the same with our cast, which by itself is a somber but poignant character study, and how different, yet similar we all are.

This story is not about death, but about acceptance one's mortality , and whether one can do it or not. Amidst everyone from the cast we can see parts of ourselves, parts on which we agree, as well as strongly disagreeing on others.

Bartender is a story about one's abstract onlook on life, and how that can affect and shape them over the time. While not having that heavy psychological emphasis, it is a tale of perception, both interpersonal and internal.

The manga presents us one bartender, who is both masterful in his trade, as well as being empathetic and considerate towards his customers. For every person, there is a drink he can offer, one that considers their current emotional state and that complements their needs. Often time, one needs to grasp the full context of a drink, to appreciate it's value, to relish in it's sweetness or to seek comfort in the sourness. But then again, this is not something that holds truth for the beverages alone, but rather, about anything in our lives that surrounds us as well.

In this story slowly, but surely the themes of emotional and mental refinement are in place - the elegant, and soft spoken gentlemen of a bartender was once a person with rough, and troubled past, a person who could hardly understood himself and the others around him. But, bit by bit, by the helpful guidance of the people who do saw the raw virtue in him, he started to flourish yet again, and to become a better person than his prior self. So in a sense, while being diligent and meticulous mixer of drinks, he doesn't forget where he came from, how even a bit of help or understanding could prove substantial to someone, as it was for him, and that we all should try to perceive the true self of others, beneath the layers of cynicism and wounds from their harsh lifestyle.

City of Light is a title that cynically jokes with it's name in it's beginning, and yet proves to be right at the end of it's run. In it's 9 chapters, it presents us stories concerning different people from this city, which are inherently linked to one another. In their own way, everyone hardly sees any point in existing, but rather, is trying to survive in it. The works and deeds they had to do to get by are hardly admirable, but none of them had the luxury to strive and to seek for something more profitable, and socially accepted.

The image of the city is something that unifies and divides them - it is a place that provides shelter, but hardly a home, a place in which their whole lives revolves upon, and yet none feels attached to it. Everyone seeks to progress in it's own way, but none of them would like to ponder where that would take them to.

This is one story that by presenting the details of their lives as one abstract picture, which only we as viewers can combine and contemplate upon. We can say that one's existence hardly has any meaning, if we are being general about it, and yet the fine and intricate details of every single person could prove this to be right, or wrong.

The pursuit of finding yourself, your reason to exist and the search of a place in which you are appreciated for being yourself are universal, and quite relatable for everyone. But along these, this manga presents a dialogue which strings along the before mentioned topics, and adds even more details into them. Does your behavior and sexuality defines your real self, or that is something you do along your life, are the two genders the only way to define your place in society, and how does the people within the gender spectrum find way to express themselves and to open up towards the world despite their circumstances.

This is a story about a bar, which is welcome towards anyone and is a place of respite and solace, one that doesn't judges and condemns it's patrons. Within it, a lot of stories unfold - ones about the person's problems, feelings and yearnings. Almost as through looking with lens within the character's soul we can see their pain and struggle, and to realize how genuine the human heart is, in a sense that despite being so different we all desire affection, love and comfort in every possible form and way. The topics of sexuality are tackled in mature and compassionate sense, focusing on the realism and portraying scenarios that happens in our own lives. Also, this work is a proper way of introduction to the mentioned gender spectrum, presenting us various people within it. and how they perceive and are perceived by the world, as well as the specific nuances that each term defines.

The narrative of this manga is episodic and yet it's ending is resolute and defined, very well underlining it's thematic meaning and what it desires to express. It's a story about the human hearts, and how frail and delicate they are, despite the numerous way we try to conceal that, as well as how similar our needs and desires are, and how easy it is to lose the path to them within the countless small bits that life offers to us.

Everyone wants to be heard and understood, and to be accepted, but we can say that these are just wishes, which are often proved to be unrealistic.

The story of this work follows a girl with hearing problems, who just transfers to a new school, and a boy who always finds a reason to bully her. While she clearly has troubles expressing herself, due to her condition, she quickly becomes ostracized, for the sole reason of being different. On the others side, the boy doesn't think he's being wrong for mocking and ignoring all of her attempts to communicate, leading to a downward spiral of ignorance, violence and cruelty.

The main strength in this story is how these initial characters have their cathartic metamorphosis over the span of this manga - the time and the scars of the past shaped them into the people they are, but that also made them understand and value the small gestures and friendship and kindness from the others. Every selfless smile they receives feels priceless, and worth cherishing.

The premise of this story is simple, but interestingly executed, giving it space to explore the protagonist's mindset and mentality to the fullest. It presents us the world on the brink of annihilation, and humanity holding their last stand against unidentifiable alien entities.

Once the battle starts, our protagonist ends up being killed in the first moments of the encounter, but apparently that doesn't end his story. He awakens again, in his bed, day before the battle starts, and the cycle continues. During this traumatic process of anxiety, confusion and imminent death, we see the vast array of his thoughts and emotions, and we can easily empathize with his struggles. As he slowly releases his dread, and sense of mortality, he does manages to improve himself, and to be stronger, but then again, even more complex problems emerges, so the cycles starts to become like a puzzles within a puzzle, of looking for the right answer amidst thousands of wrong one, causing his death.

This biographic manga explains the circumstances in the life of the author herself, which in itself is very intriguing and introspective read.

With the author's typical comedic, but also tragic way of explaining herself, we do get her viewpoint in very engaging way - she's a person, who strives to find what she desires from life, but in the same way feels stressed enough from contemplations on this topic, feels the need and urge of human contact and relationship, and yet is afraid that she's way too inept in handling herself and the others beside her, as well as much, much more. It's a story, filled with thoughts that are thrown around chaotically, but makes perfect sense in a way, of one person who struggles to find reason in her existence, and yet being a bright and heartwarming image to all others who feels the same, but doesn't express it.

This manga is one lovely way to use the medium in expressive yourself artistically - her work is both a diary, as well as a means of self-therapy as well as a way to share her most private thoughts and emotions with everyone.

One of the simplest and yet, complex topic is one surrounding happiness, in general. There is no value, nor goal in it, it represents a state of mind and mentality, which is characterized in the moment, for the reason it is always fluctuating.

This manga, in it's surprisingly simple at first glance approach to this matter, manages to show a lot, through it's dialogues. Our protagonist is one very energetic, but perceptive girl, which after her school day end, goes to meet with one beautiful young lady, living alone, and one elderly woman, who is full of warmth, as well as slight melancholy. Once on her occasional trips around this destination, she meets one teenage girl, who feels misunderstood and full of anger, prone to self-harm. On some days, she meets and talks to them, on others she can't see them, as they're not there anymore.

The more she talks to them, she understands and empathizes with their mental states, but as well as that, she understands the turning points that had lead to their grief and distress. In a sense, this story presents us three separate stories, which are bound by one very creative and fantastic way. The story is both simple, yet enigmatic, uplifting, and yet, bitter.

In many situations, the human subconscious drive to hope for a better day tomorrow, for a better result next time are one of our innate coping abilities with the harshness of our lives. Considering the fact that we can work for and change our surrounding, bit by bit, is the thing that has led us to the evolution of our species, on a grand sociological scale.

But on a personal level, what does happen when we understand that there won't be no infinite tomorrows, and that the date that we will perish from this world is set in stone ? This manga explores exactly that, the simple everyday lives of two terminally ill people at young age.

Through this work, the many stages between the denial and acceptance of this fact are explored, in emotional and empathetic way. The detachment from the reality they've knew their whole lives, their reluctance to form new bonds with other people for the simple fact that they could never live on to the other's expectations, the fears of spending their time in loneliness, saying to themselves that this is for the best - their existential dread is portrayed with both nuance and sincerity.

And yet, despite everything, we can see through personal thoughts of contemplations of their fates, the lingering pain and the desire for attachment, despite the negativity surrounding them. A familiar soul, on which to cry out their pain, but as well as to enjoy their short moments of happiness, a heart that would beat in their own rhythm and in tact with their feelings and affections.

Despite the topic of this work, this work as a wake up call for us all - there are many shortcomings and negativity that one has to suffer and pull through in their lives, but the fact that we are offered the time and chance to struggle on with them, and find someone that is willing to be beside us and to share both our fortune and misfortune, is something worth living for.

One of the basic principles of humankind in our day and age is the fact that every life is priceless - the general moral stance dictates that is not something we can give or take on our own. But despite that, the topic of one's worth, as a person alone or considered within the big picture of one's surrounding society, is a topic that was, is and will be always relevant.

In this story, we're acquainted with our protagonist - a person in his 20's, who hasn't made much connections with other people in his life, and who works for the paycheck which barely covers his simple necessities. Upon hearing of a place in which he can sell his reminding lifespan for a sum of money, depending on his evaluated worth, he doesn't hesitates to visit it even for a moment - his current existence brings him nothing but prolonged despair and sadness, for the fact that he consider his current way of living as meaningless and pointless. Upon receiving a humble sum for his remaining 30 years of life, he also gets appointed an observer, a stern and quiet, but beautiful girl.

By following this person's story, we can see his growing despair, but driven by the fact that his end is close, a part that had been dormant from years awakens in him - to meet up with people from his past that he avoided for years, and to go to places he'd never thought he will be. During his journey, both in the physical and mental sense and by the help of his observer, he witnesses and contemplate on a lot of topics surrounding his life, as well getting in touch with his hobbies and past aspirations. Bit by bit, we are witnessing his elevation - from a hopeless, nihilist to one emotional, empathetic and radiant person. And despite the poignant metamorphosis in himself, the close end of his life is certain.

This work is one that serves as both exploration and discussion of many existential topics from our reality, as well as reminding us that despite our hesitance, time always flows forward and never waits for us. Our life will always wax and wane from our circumstances, but usually the path for self-improvement and finding some worth in our existence has to be walked by us alone, and the simple gestures of support and encouragement of others could mean the world to us.

Despite the provocative and crass title, this manga is one that presents the character's psychological portrait in surprising depth, showing us a character that feels human, in the sense that his reactions are very relatable, and understandable.

While in the beginning our protagonist is presented as nothing more than introverted boy who satisfies his twisted sense of justice with his perverted fantasies, he gradually matures along the way. The harshness and the betrayals he felt, but in the same time, the sincere display of goodwill and sympathy towards him does eventually molds him into a person with tact, understanding and perception.

Despite the clearly provocative title, this is a coming of age story that doesn't holds back on the rawness and the maturity of the depicted topics, It is a story that is both self-reflective for himself, and eventually for us. As well as that, this manga is also an interesting character study - one that uses unconventional methods to presents us in a very sincere way, the anxieties, struggles, and the mixtures of hatred and anger that we had coiled within ourselves, if we're unable to relax and look at our situation from a fresh and different perspective.

This manga, which does starts as a body horror, has interesting and well explored topics that it does revel in - what does makes us human, how do this concept fit into our current society, as well how we do shape and mold over the positive and negative situations that impacts us.

While the setting does show the grotesque and violent of the story with surprising graphic and grit, this is not the main goal of this story. Some beings do get consumed and use their human husks for pure concealment, though others are forced to co-exist in a symbiotic relation with their human companions, which leads to many different conversations between the two species, be it commentary on how evolutionary odd our society feels to them, and how much emphasis on the interpersonal relations we have. As the story goes on, many of the alien species, despite being deadly and violent killers, do manage to adapt and blend in the mundane human lifestyle, but as well as that, they do start to develop emotions and feelings close to the human's.

Lament of the Lambs is one very atmospheric read. The story is told in a somber way, mixing up the supernatural with the realistic. In it, the story is about one cursed family, in which bloodline everyone had either died younger, or took their lives in outbursts of insanity. There only way in which the symptoms could be eased is by consuming human blood, which is a nod to vampirism, but yet there's nothing more supernatural to that.

The manga does explores in its bleak and fatalistic tone the psychological burden one has with that kind of existence, to feel as there's nothing you can do but to perish in solitude, not being able to connect and form bonds with anyone due to your morbid heritage and gruesome craves. A major mood setter of this story is the beautiful, but dark art, that allures you with it's grace and sadness, and presents us the cast's despair in tangible and grounded way.

Our lives, even if enjoyed to the fullest and being fulfilling, eventually ends. While we do prefer to discuss the moments of happiness, we cannot eventually avoid our mortality and imminent death. While the topic is morbid, it is one of importance, despite not being among the living, everyone deserves a proper respect in it's final rest, and proper burial by one's customs.

In this story, we follow one embalmer in his line of work, both in the process, as well as the thoughts that crosses his mind while doing it. While being professional, he is also a person who has learned to conceal his emotions and expressions, which does make him look reserved. The motives by which he chose this field of work are simple - he desires to provide comfort for the diseased and their family, for the fact he had experienced the sympathy of the others in his hours of need.

The topic of death is a universal one - it is just one of the many parts of our existence's duality - when something is living, it should eventually die. And while we don't know when will that happen, there is nothing wrong to consider this fact, for as life is respected and cherished, so must be one's final hours as well.

In this work, one can see plethora of complex themes, interpreted by interesting ways - the socio/geopolitical expansion and deviation that our world will face in a crisis of outbreak of a deadly virus, the ethical and religious strife, born out of necessity for resources, and all this, traced by the view of the characters we follow. Despite them, being many and over the spans of generations, the characterization is spot on, providing us both insight into their traumatic past, as well providing us various psychological viewpoints, on how they see their existence within this fractured world.

The people in this world are harsh and violent, since every day of survival means to fight for the resources of the other, leaving them to their own misery, but extending your living for a bit more - and this can be said on interpersonal, as well as on a political level. So in a sense the state of mind of our cast is one amidst a constant struggle, in which sentimentality and empathy are not rational or worth considering, and slowly but steadily, their juvenile naivete is corroding, giving way to mercilessness and pragmatism.

This work is both case study of the eventual downfall of mankind, crafted with meticulous accuracy and having consistent details in it's worldbuilding, but in the same sense it is a story, exploring the psychological state of it's characters, as their thoughts and reasoning gives us even more reasons for us to consider our place within the world as an individual, as well as among the society.

This work presents us the story of a person, who is slowly and certainly descending into a downward spiral in his life, both mentally and physically. Once a wealthy person with successful career, there was nothing in his life that he wasn't satisfied with, but the pride and arrogance had plagued his luxurious, and bountiful lifestyle.

This work doesn't really looks at his life as a story, but rather, in his state of mind. Somewhat fragmented, haphazard and lamenting, we're facing his dilemmas. In this moment he is offered money into being a guinea pig for a operation, which he accepts, and this becomes the first step in his path towards his warped awakening.

After that, nothing feels the same for him - be it due to his imagination, or conclusion from the operation, he starts seeing everyone as macabre and grotesque figures, lumped together in ways that defies the logic and common sense. Within his muddled state, we can perceive this as mere hallucinations, or an abstract way for him to view into people's minds, and souls, in their darkest desires and their purest wishes. Despite his self-centered and repulsive character, over many encounters and interactions with people, he starts to grow and mature as person, but in the same way his manic actions and crippling paranoia are intensified, driving him to the brink of his sanity, and beyond that.

This is a story, that despite it's supernatural elements is one that is grounded in realism, and based on many sources about the human condition. For some the abstract symbolism may be considered an eccentricity, but in a sense, a major part of this story's depth is in the exploration of the human psyche, and whether we decide to delve on them is up to us. The world may have many hues and forms, and the way we see it does perceive how we live in it, and how we're treating the others.

Mikai no Hoshi is a story that likes to blend the metaphorical with the raw, mixing it into brutal reality. This is a story that in it's crude sexual scenery, abused and mistreated cast and their fickle dreams, manages to portray one picture of nihilism and corruption. Everything in this universe is exploited and cynically objectified, within the presented people we can only see the desire to consume, control and to survive.

In this repulsive reality, three childhood friends are trying to find a way to exist, by every means necessary. Through the manga's runtime, we are witnessing the logical, but even so realistic portrayal of their loss of innocence and the progressive defilement of their simple, but naive dreams.

The way in which the deterioration of our main character's psyche is portrayed is by a fictional story that he daydreams about. Within it's simple, and clichéd fantastical setting, we can see his childish and yet kind portrayal of his fabricated world, but as he gets more desperate, and sees nothing but greed, lust and pain in his life, the story within his mind alters too. There is no sympathy, positivity and love, all he sees from the world that surrounds him is grotesque behaviour of everyone, the lustful and fetishistic satisfaction through sex, and that reflects his worldviews and his psychology.

In a sense, this manga reflects how everything in this world, despite it's purity could be defiled by the environment and circumstances of one's living - if every kind of positivity is devoid from our current lives systematically, then we won't even dream about something better in the future.

Just as it's name suggest, Hallucinations from the Womb or the other interpretation being, Dreams from the Shell, is work which does rely on symbolism to convey it's meaning. In it we see the episodic stories of the inhabitans of Shell city, a place that both presents itself as utopia and dystopia.

Despite the insurmountable scientifical and technological progress of this city, the human vices and primitive emotional drives are something that it's inhabitants suffer from. Humanity's frail and vulnerable mentality, no matter the day and age, is the driving force for our despair and decline, but in the same way, it is a component that makes us human in the first place.

In the various short stories, touching on love, loneliness, emotional detachment and possessiveness we can see a lot of the problems of our current society, hyperbolized and presented to us, the onlooker. In every story, a new parable is presented, unclear in how it should be solved, and it's up to decide who is the right and the wrong side.

Oyasumi Punpun is probably one of the most famous and well renowned psychological manga for a reason - it's uncannily realistic portrayal of one's mental growth through adolescence through puberty and into young adulthood is a tale that could be introspective and relatable for any reader, though as most of Inio Asano's works, this one is definitely aimed at mature audience.

In this world, drawn as realistic as possible, we see our main character, drawn as a silly caricature of a bird, having the even more silly name Punpun. Upon his first day of the new school semester, he meets with the new transfer student of their class, Aiko, and as any generic coming of age love story would go, they instantly realize they got feelings for each other. And by this, the first flutters in the heart of our sweet main character starts, followed by his desire to just be together with the girl he has feelings for.

But just like that, any sense of comfort and sweetness suddenly ends, snapped by the reality of life.

Our young protagonist faces the problems in his family, as well many other external others, and nothing makes sense to him. He often asks "God", a being he refers to in his contemplations about the hardships in his life, but from whom he never receives answer. His love towards Aiko are sincere, and yet, there are too many equations and uncertainties about all that, does he likes her, loves her platonically or this is just a physical attraction ? As time goes on, many more questions piles up, but Punpun can't really find an answer for them all through his life, and yet that doesn't stop the world to move on, and the years to pass.

This is a story that serves as pedantically accurate journey through one's psyche and over their various mental states in a span of years. A lot of moments in Punpun's life feel cynical, raw and brutal, yet even so, are so realistic - this is the specific reason that this story is praised for - as one that transcends the usual boundaries of this medium, and the comfortable limits of what a work of this genre is allowed to have as contents in it. Of showing us both through abstract imagery and realistic portrayals, the depths to which one average person can succumb in terms of mental instability and depravity.

Can the human society learn the value that is given to them by by being continuously subjugated to witness murders ? This is the general topic, discussed in this work, and despite it's shocking and morbid premise, there are many nuances that one can catch on in this setting.

The main character of this story is a person who is assigned to deliver Ikigami to the person and it's family, after which the person has set time to be alive after his heart stops beating. Through his eyes, we see the many fates that gets destroyed by the government's plan, young people who had bright future ahead of them, or mentally broken people, by their living circumstances and environment, in both cases there is no mercy, everyone of the designated target perishes.

Despite the fact that this practice is being rationalized throughout the whole country, the protagonist's hesitance, reluctance and desperation in working as a person who acts as a messenger of death deeply affects him, and makes him question his faith and his devotion to this society. Even though something is commonly accepted as a societal norm, that doesn't mean that this action is humane, and the conflict between one's belief in the laws and the cold and dystopian reality they proclaim is the main philosophical and psychological torture that the main character suffers from.

Even though the law of taking life, to teach for it's importance sounds cynical and insane, it has it's serious narrative importance - it serves as a social commentary on how societies that are solely dedicated on peace and are not burdened by the negativity of wars, famine and starvation does take that as granted, and in a sense lose the grip of the real values one could attain in his life, and instead are delusionally living in their own fabricated realities. If we remove the concept that life in itself is struggle, we do warp the meaning in life as it is. As flawed as this logic is, it is addressing a lot of existential issues, who demands to be contemplated and considered through our own minds.

Necromancer is short, and mostly episodic tale about dark practitioner who can raise the dead for the price of someone's life span. In them, we get to meet the victims, their life before and after the death and their grief from losing a close person, but in the same time, the necromancer intervenes as he offers his services.

Despite the somber setting of this manga, the tone is surprisingly light and fast paced, with the occasional comedy bits, usually from the female detective, which is always doubtful of the necromancer's practices, despite noticing the positive and warm reception from his clientele.

There is some mystery bits in this story as well, who are gracefully resolved in the manga's short run, which makes it this easy to get into, sentimental at times fantasy story about how we shouldn't judge the book by it's cover.

Cocoon is a short story, inspired by the reality of World War 2 in it's dire moments, in which teenage girls were recruited to help tending for the many wounded soldiers on the frontlines. Many of these innocent middle and high schoolers didn't survived the war, and in their short life experience they had seen the real horror of people staying in the state between life and death, sanity and madness, as well as subjected to live in miserable conditions.

But despite of solely focusing on the horror and the sheer brutality of this setting, the manga presents us it's cast as vividly as possible - as young ladies with hopes, wishes and dreams, with sympathetic, natural quirks, and generally as people who are trying their best to stave off the negativity of the life that they're forced to live in. And there comes the genius of the manga title, which was pointed out with allegories in the work itself - that these girls are like cocoons, trying to survive as they could, in wishes that they someday they would become beautiful butterflies.

Spirit Circle is an interesting blend of styles, as far as art and the pace of the manga flows, it does feel quite close to a shounen, spirnkled with a bit of comedy and lightheartedness, while the plotline and the themes in it are well defined and mature.

It follows the story of our main character, and his many reincarnations through different timelines in history. Through every reincarnation, he meets a girl which does shares the same bond as him, and had been reincarnated as well. They are always confrontational against each other despite their similarities, and are always on the conflicting sides. To understand the truth about himself, and the relations he has with the girl, he has to relive all of it's reincarnations, through his birth and to his death.

With every shown life of his, he starts to realize the mistakes he'd made, but in the same way he also tries to find and think of a way to correct himself, and his ancestors. Despite the cheerful artstyle, this is a work that has a lot to talk about the personal catharsis as a concept, that we all can relate to. Often we do make mistake, or misjudge the situations we're at, but the only reasonable thing we can do about this is to reach out and seek understanding, and to mend out the wounds of the other side. Sticking to our ego and pride would often bring us even more misfortune and grief.

This manga is very peculiar, for the fact that initially, it has and doesn't provide any sense to the things that are happening within the pages. Chaotic, messy, and finished in open way stories, featuring brand new characters and settings. Within their hectic and vague conversations, we are being hinted of certain themes, emotions and introspections of the characters on their own existence.

Bit by bit, the messy, weird and chaotic stories seems to string up a story that starts to connect bit by bit, all while not leaving it's manic storytelling, of being funny, and also a bit nostalgic. While the topics could sometimes be serious or somber, the silly and cartonish design and style is always there.

In many of the stories the reader can find their own meaning of them, as long as they're perceptive and not fooled by the manga's art. It's a work has blatant sexual innuendos, treats harming and killing off it's cast as gag humor, but beneath all this crass entertainment, there are decent amount of character interactions and contemplations about their mental states that are worth experiencing.

The world presented in this manga is disturbing, brutal and thriving on violence, and while it's crass nature can be overwhelming for some, one can find a lot of parallels to our current society in it. In this world, the laws prohibit that revenge can be taken to those who've committed crimes, in this way allowing the citizens to fight and eventually kill each other, as a way to prove that they're right or wrong.

In this disturbing and chaotic reality, we do have a cast of characters that are mentally unstable, broken and clinically insane. Amidst his schizophrenia induced hallucinations, our main character is offered a job of being a proxy - a person who is hired to enact the revenge that someone is legally allowed to seek from someone. His personality is unstable at best, and through the various jobs that he takes, we are able to explore the human trauma of the whole cast, and the physical and psychic torment that is just a daily basis of this line of work.

The manga is full of cynicism and serves as a social commentary, as in exploration of one society that had been logically driven to systematic insanity, and how the human mind had adapted to this environment of justified death, and the so called "justice". Amidst the dirty, messy and nihilistic life that the main cast leads, there's nothing to look for or to hope, everyday is presented as one struggle with the filthy world that they are inhabiting, as well as the struggled within their broken sanity.

This manga is one of tension, and calmness. It's story is about a school for gifted children, isolated from the outside world and providing the perfect learning environment for it's students.

But this dynamic suddenly changes when a transfer student comes, and starts spreading rumors about the school, and it's sinister secrets. At first, no one believes her, but the sincere and unnaturaly rebelious behavior of her does gives a good reason for the others to reconsider their views.

And in a way, their safe haven of a place slowly starts to to crumble before their eyes, revealing the actual nature of this facility. Instead of feeling privileged, they start to realize they're in fact imprisoned and used by organisation of unknown origin and goals. For the most of the students,the days of blissful ignorance never ends, but the few who had realized the reality, desperately starts to think of escaping. The escapees' anxieties and worries for their future mixes up with the somber and dreadful atmosphere of oppression, provoking in us to put ourselves in their situation, and to ask ourselves what we would do.

Child of God is a manga, not suited for everyone. In fact, I think this manga is not suited for anyone, considering the violent and upsetting matters it discusses.

In it's abstract, disjointed art, we follow the live of a child, which from it's birth, feels detached and forsaken by the world. His parents doesn't love him, he couldn't find anyone worth having conversation with in school and can't find any motivation or self-worth within his existence.

The fact that he became witness of many morbid and atrocious acts molded his world's viewpoints over his life - instead of being disgusted and afraid, he used the chance to indulge into the depravities, by this way claiming his freedom, from his viewpoint.

Despite the blatant cruelty and repulsiveness that this manga exudes, it does has a lot to say about it's short chapters. Our main protagonist's behavior is one dictated and molded through the loopholes of the society - from his birth, he had never felt warmth from another human being, neither his parents nor someone else. Everyone feigns concerns about him, though it is never sincere and is more of an act, abiding to the social norms instead of empathy. Nothing that he sees within the human connections is genuine, or meaningful, they all serve as a means to satisfy their own lust, needs and comforts, and never to express something else.

Beneath the layers of social conformity, every person in this world is depraved. The main character of this work is a person, who is a product of this society, and one who sees and takes advantage of his understanding of that fact, and the ending itself underlines the bitter realization that there is no salvation from this cycle of malice.

How aware are we about the fact the reality in which we're living in is monotonous and cyclical, an experience that constantly repeats itself on a daily basis? This manga tells us a story, depicting just that, as well as providing us with a bizarre look at the world which surround us, in one fantastical and metaphorical sense.

At the start, our main protagonist unwillingly wakes up to head to work, but suddenly, he changes his direction and instead, goes on an adventure amidst the seas, jungles and deserts. In many of the things he had seen, the pragmatic and yet controversial nature of the humans was shown to him, and with each adventure, he learned something about himself, as well as life. Just because some actions are cruel, doesn't meant that they are unjustified, it is in the human nature to crave to survive, no matter the circumstances.

Despite their oddities, the depicted societies had logically reached to their point of their development, and in the same way so is our modern one. As he finally returns to his home town, he instantly became prosecuted for the crimes he'd made along the way, but their deductions were biased, stripped of any understanding and consideration on the context of his actions. Often times the pursuit for justice is devoid of the humanly principles, and we can see this in this story. Judgement is often based on one's own understanding in contrast to the many others that are part of this world, and yet we deem our own as superior, and right.

This abstract and surreal work of fiction manages to portray in many aspects the human nature, being both wise and close minded. Every person desires their own personal freedom, and even so, the social craves force us to live in societies, in order to feel both despaired and yet content by our lives.

This is a story in which our main characters are living in the current time, and yet are trapped by events in the past. In this mystery thriller, our main character is a girl who due to her anxieties can see the supernatural, and most often, a hallucination of a sheep. While the girl tries not to pay attention, the sheep is persistent, with it's ominous banter about her past, fate and resolve. Amidst the cryptic words, at one moment, she realizes something - despite this, being her own hallucination, there is another person that can perceive the sheep as well, a sharply dressed but threatening young man.

By the blend of psychological and metaphorical insights, we do learn and understand their story and motives, why those mirages matters and what do they mean, and how all this relates to their past, which is subconsciously affecting their current lives.

Alice in Hell is a story about the human alienation, as well as an exploration of the violence we're prone to cause to others in a world with no moral borders and in which the common sense is not evident.

Our story starts with our juvenile protagonist, who lives as a scavenger, using his trusty sniper to kill of marauders and bandits in the abandoned city, which is his current home. Due to the need of procuring more food and resources, he is forced to live in one of the bigger cities, a place in which the brutality is commonplace and in which the armed dispute is an everyday occurrence. Despite the cold and ruthless ways of living in the past, the boy manages to scrap down his preconceptions and to lower his anxieties, in turn trying to live with the others. There are different factions that tries to unify and bring some kind of peace to the whole settlement, and yet this sounds impossible in reality.

As a direct metaphor to our main protagonist, the places in which he lives reflect the state in which his mind are - in the beginning he is alone, amassing ammunition and manga, and using broken sex doll as a bait to lure his victims. But through his progression, he slowly realizes there is more to mere survival in this world, and that one's sanity depends on the human contacts that we have amidst each other.

This story presents us one perfect, pious society. Everyone is united under their unwavering faith towards the Virgin, and they all abide by her laws - everyone, except two people in this realm, one of them being the only back haired person in the whole realm, a stark contrast to the pale and golden hairs of the others.

For the fact that she's different, she is shunned from the society, deemed sub-human having zero to no rights. She is the only thing that could cause any distress to the people of this country, and they hate her for her difference.

The work does tackle the themes of religion, and how ,if taken literally, narrow minded it's preaching could be. Through the viewpoint of the ostracized black haired heroine, we can clearly see the flaws and the absurdity that the laws of this society are made of.

In it, the concept of expressing your feelings, affections and love is deemed harmful and inappropriate, which is in fact, a stark contrast to the emotions that they have locked within themselves. Their arrogance and hypocrisy are something they're blissfully unaware of, which just serves to show how degrading and emotionally stunted this world is.

While understanding all of this, our heroine tries to struggle alone in this world, hated for the fact that she's different, and is not afraid to express her feelings, even though she will eventually get hurt for doing so. She is repressed by the simple fact who she is, and despite her actions she'll never be validated. In a sense, this work explores the sorrow of existing in a world that is more prone to pretend being perfect and ideal, rather than be true to it's feelings, and emotions, be they of love, lust and affection. Everyone in this realm is living, donning their dogmatized masks, and are even unaware they're doing so, and the tragedy for our character is that she has to be a silent observer to thos whole charade.

Within a sacred city, there lies a secret, that one one knows, and had forgotten overtime. In this place, the constant raids of opposing factions are fended off by mostly youths in their teens, who had just passed their training and are drafted to the war front. Nothing in their training prepares them for the hardships they have to suffer through, and no kind of mental state can prepare them for the somber and nihilistic life style they have to endure.

The focus of the story is the psychological state of the said young soldiers, and the connections they do forge by one another in this harsh and cruel reality. Every day could be their last, every patrol duty could mean they'll never again see their friends and relatives, and the tragedy of this all is that they are paying with their lives for a cause they never personally considered as important.

In this story, the main theme is the existential nihilism that these soldiers have to deal with - every day consists of the same duties, and the same routines. In this barren wasteland that surrounds the city, nothing ever changes, and the nature doesn't stop it's motions. These people are struggling and fighting for a cause they neither are aware or are interested in, and there's nothing that they can see as a possible future for them. And amidst the transience of their lives, as a cynical pillar of hope, stands erect the holy city, which can only solemnly watch the countless fates that unfolds around it.

This is a multifaceted story, in which the nihilism and brutality of the reality that we live in is juxtaposed to the sincere innocense and sweetness of our main cast. Their physique might be modified and enhanced, but their hearts bear the adolescent purity that a normal child in their age would had.

This work depicts the fine line between goodwill and zealocy, and how easily it could be crossed over. Many of the character depicted in this work gravitate over the grey morality, having motives for their actions and in the same time the ways they are executed shows how inhumane and disconnected from the normal human values they are.

On the backdrop of all this are the girls, who are usually victims of violent tragedies, that were saved by advanced medical treatment, but not without a price on their bodies. But instead of rehabilitated and counseled to move on with their newly given lives, they're forced to work as concealed assassins or spies. In this sense, is the act of saving them one of mercy or cruelty? These girls are genuine, pure spirits, with diluted minds and confined in their modified bodies, and left up to find their own reason for happiness in their current miserable state of being.

Blame is a story with unconventional storytelling - in it, the ambiance and the backgrounds are one of the main point of exploration within the series. The dark, dystopian future looks as grotesque as possible, the biomechanical symbiosis of this environment and it's inhabitants is unnerving and inhuman. There is no sunlight, only metal and concrete lumps of structures is what these survivors know of.

Amidst this oppressive and dark world, a lonely person travels in search for something that is beyond us, and him. His meetings with other beings are few and treated coldly, there's hardly any empathy in this world left to be shared. And even so, these brisk meetings do show a glimpse of our characters and their motives.

Despite it's lack of general narrative, it is a story about exploring the depths of the human mind, even amidst the technological hell they live in. There is a sense of nonchalance, but in there you can see the will to exist even in this ruined and forlorn world.

This is an interesting manga, which does presents us a setting, almost simillar to any romcom you can find, but there's a twist - instead of the well known clichés, we do get slightly darker, fetishized, but well thought out relationship between the two leads.

Often times, the slice of life bits are simplified and comedic, which does serve as a backdrop of the plot, but the parts when this manga shines is in it's very relatable portrayal of the teen psyche in the moments of sexual frustration, and the carnal desire for lust that oftenly cloud one's perception. But instead of playing out it's erotic scenes for pure arousal of it's readers, the bits and moments of intimacy, and relief also serves to solidify and build up the character's personality. There is gradation and nuance in consideration to the main cast, there is solid and undeniable development in both at the end of this story.

This short manga is both psychological romance, as well as existential drama. It's story is about people, fighting against their mental instabilities and trying to cope with their life, and to find any reason to prolong it. The main cast comprises of social outcasts who are not fit for the society as it is, so they seek solace in their loneliness or in this case, in another wounded and traumatized person.

As well as that, the narrative does use the biological and germological terminology to present us a story about people, being infected by a certain parasite, and the way it tampers with their emotions, to the point that it starts influencing their behavior.

The manga does contemplates on the various ways that the human psyche works, and how often the border within love or hate, disinterest and affection can be very narrow. Sometimes, the moments we consider that we want to be alone usually is the moment we're desperately desiring for human contact, and how often the fact that we're too self critical can rob us of our chances to experience genuine feelings for another.