One of the most satisfying survival game manga I’ve ever read.

As an avid fan of survival manga, I believe Kamisama no Iutoori stretches the potential of a survival game. The plot is predictable with level by level progression, but the character growth shows the true value of being constantly forced through life-death situations. Instead of being attached to the distant ultimate ending, you become close to the characters, get invested in their lives, and watch them get slaughtered. The character-focused story takes the importance away from the fallacy that the games themselves need to be interesting. Overwhelmingly complex rules and convoluted strategy are boring. I read survival manga to suffer, triumph, and love as though I'm a character in the story.

Friends die. Enemies die. Your beloved dies. Play stupid game after stupid game. A miscalculation, mistake, defeat means another friend dies. There’s no time to mourn. You’re welcome to breathe that sigh of relief when you survive, but it’s not over yet. It’s never over. When you find yourself out of friends, you have to open your heart again. Feel free to trust strangers because they will become your dear friends until death do you part.

There's no true divine protection that you can rely on. Strong or weak; lovable or detestable; beef or chicken. Ultimately death is unavoidable. You can’t always hope for a savior to gallop in at the last second. Eventually all you can do is wish for a beautiful death - too bad that may be asking for too much. Some are fortunate enough to shine like a star before being extinguished. Others are unceremoniously swept away like trash. But supposedly it's better to lived and lost than never to have lived at all.

Survival is an actual achievement. When you meet other survivors, you can understand what they went through. Players are forced to continue to play game after game while carrying the hopes and dreams of their fallen. In order to survive, you betray who you thought you were, fight against every human instinct, and grow closer to the true you. The journey to victory and godhood is paved with the sacrifice of those who believe in you the most.

Kamisama no Iutoori does a great job at avoiding the annoying compromises that other survival manga make to the idea of survival. Perhaps you can call me a sadist. I love watching well-written characters die. Unlike in other survival manga where writers become too attached to their favorite characters or fear backlash for killing off someone popular, there is no true mercy. Not everyone gets a hero's drawn out blaze of glory. There simply isn't enough time for that. Sometimes, a beloved character's death is a just few panels, just a momentary realization that they died. But it makes you appreciate them for how much they changed and far they came. Remembering the lives of characters who have died is what makes survival stories fun.

And let's just say I had a lot of fun. Enjoy the games :)

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Kamisama no Iutoori Ni is the second story in this series, which intertwines with the prequel, Kamisama no Iutoori.

"Oh, my god. My life... is boring. Today, this one day... Began just like any other. And this one day, which started like any other... Was about to end. It was supposed to happen... " -Takahata Shun, Kamisama no Iutoori

Imagine a seemingly normal day in high school: everyone's conversing about trivial matters, getting ready for class to start, and sitting at their desk patiently. Now, what exactly happened that ruined the usual day for every teenager that had attended class?

Sensei's head was blown up, followed by a Daruma doll sitting in front of the class, and the homicide of anyone who moved at the wrong time.

This gruesome tale puts you through a series of compound emotions: Bitter-sweet, exciting-anger, suspenseful-sorrow, and many more fusions of sentiments have had me captivated by this story from chapter 1.

I couldn't help but think, "the kids who didn't attend that day sure did get lucky..." NOT.

Kamisama no Iutoori Ni is a beautifully drawn sequel in modern day Japan that follows the adolescents who had been absent for the sick, horrendous, and unrelenting survival games. But, just because they hadn't made an appearance at school didn't mean that the absentees escaped the fate that awaited them.

The story follows Akashi, a simple-minded juvenile who possesses a credulous and naïve nature. He leads the readers and other characters into a series of games that force morality and life against each other. Knowing of the incident that his school experienced from media, Akashi couldn't help but be worried about his childhood friend, who he had gotten into a fight with that morning. The small conflict resulted in him storming off before class had started and avoiding that day's nightmare. Mind-boggling and idiotic for a few of the more complex personas, I can't say I always escape their resolve.

The story continues testing the characters with childrens' games, such as red-light-green-light. The art doesn't lack in exquisite scenery and changes appropriately with each game, of course having their twists in order to be gut wrenching thrillers. Diversity of setting goes from a haunted school classrooms to a realistic bird eye's view of Tokyo's ground. The realism of the art reminds you that all of these students are just, well, students. The variety doesn't stop there; characters' unique design styles are used wisely from personality to personality, even changing throughout the chronological timeline, and some characters are very effectively drawn with more of a cartoon-like edge.

Exploring the theme of friendship and trust is a consistent overall theme for this manga and one of the reasons I love it so much. But don't let that statement allow you to believe this is some happy ending fairy tale. The story has had me at the edge of my seat a number of times, wondering who and who won't live to the next chapter. Character after character is disposed of, some even being my favorites and well developed. (Avoiding painful flashbacks and spoilers.)

This series is amazing and a must read for anyone who enjoys a survival game. Don't take my word for it and explore into this traumatic tale.

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