I'm an old man who reads manga, and I've been doing it for 5 years. I used to find lots of manga that were of interest to people who have been through a substantial portion of their allotted span, but now they're becoming few and far between. I can't complain. I knew going in that manga was pop fiction mostly aimed at very young people, and I learned pretty quickly that it was also very formulaic.

THIS, on the other hand, has none of these drawbacks. Its about learning to survive in primitive surroundings, and, as an extra added attraction, learning to WANT to survive. Over and above that, there's almost NOTHING DUMB in it. The struggles these characters have to go through to keep from starving on the island are all believable, and some are harrowing. The characters themselves are all very distinct, and some of them also actually think about stuff a lot. What I've seen so far of their equally difficult struggle to WANT to survive makes sense, and involves a lot of very interesting thinking and talking.

In short, these drawn characters seem amazingly like real people. This mangaka has created a brand new concept for a story, told it in a fascinating way so far, and elicited a great deal of sympathy in this reader for his conflicted, and conflict-ridden, characters.

It's a real winner. I recommend it to everyone.

... Last updated on July 6th, 2015, 5:28pm

Kouji Mori is always a quality act and both a friend to Miura and a consultant on Berserk. I bring this up as Jisatsutou is also for hardcore seinen dogs only as this nihilistic tour de force takes no prisoners and will turn off the average reader like barely anything else right now even if the quality is of the highest order.
The very Japanese narrative about their touchiest subject besides WW2 builds slowly and it is a bit hard to figure out at first what the series true intent is but that is part of the appeal in retrospect. Most won´t survive the first onset of carnage, death, rape and obviously suicide but the braver among us will. The broken beyond the repair characters are all very well defined and believable and most get times to shine and extended flashbacks of their own.
None of these are obviously crowd-pleaser but what would you expect with the title "Suicide Island"?
Sai´s journey from suicide patient to menacing but still vastly incomplete manhunter is the highlight if the story and his newfound persona is anything but your average (anti-)"hero". Even his interactions with his dog are hardly cute and cuddly and his troubled romance is another fascinating aspect of the tale. Liv and all the other leading female characters are as good as the men too and I only point this out as women tend to be a bit in the background or are (quality) love interests only in his other 2 series. I also have to applaud the author on the way he uses sexual violence in this manga as such scenes are deeply disturbing with no room for though what they actually mean or if I am secretly reading porn. The broken puppet imagery especially is well used even if it is admittedly old hat at this point. The art overall is great and realistic but I would have liked more beards as everyone gets one in the Walking Dead (10/10) comic after all. It is also my most important recommendation for further reading as that tale of survival is another character study that only uses it´s setting to reflect on humanity and societal rebuilding and pure nihilism that only a Miura would grasp for or maybe a really angry Tezuka. This series is so good that even the prostitution subplot makes sense and how rarely do these work out? The same goes for the frequent scenes of gang rape and gender identity themes. All forms of violence on display here is truly hardcore and one instance of human burning really surprised me in the portrait of suffering as this tale doesn´t mess around with its death toll as characters can leave the stage nearly as soon as they show up. Shippers should hate the manga too I guess?
The later agricultural and all the hunting aspects are very well researched. The animal training, the improvisational aspect, the tracking and so on are fascinating and the manga has a lot of intriguing author notes regarding a variety of topics to show how much of Kouji´s heart is in this tale. A perfect score is very much possible as this is all I want from a seinen publication but it all depends on the ending. All the characters could not live in the wild jungles of the city and now all can´t live without the island! Everyone transforms or dies but society neither wanted them nor will it take them back so what is the endgame? I believe that this is the author´s magnum opus though so I have no fear.

His Destroy and Revolution derails halfway though (7/10) but the overlong Holyland (7,5/10) is worth it. Watch the satirical Battle Royale instead which is a more juvenile take on a similar theme. Its manga is something else too but stay away unless you are interested in its laugh out loud and greatly changed American translation that wisely turned it into a black comedy to make it more readable. Give I Am a Hero (7,5/10) a go too as it is another modern psychological manga that goes in directions one wouldn´t expect and why not finish off with the also reviewed classic Ode to Kirihito (9/10) which may be even darker.

Edit: The manga´s ongoing semi-prequel is a solid read but I don´t get why going back in time was the direction the author followed. The ending of the series is more ripe for exploration.

... Last updated on October 16th, 2020, 2:04am

I don't know if this is a good or bad thing, but reading this manga gets me really pumped up... and I have an urge to scream or shout to relieve the angst building in me. I think it's because I get so excited I start anticipating the next chapter before I've even finished the previous chapter.

Anyhow, this manga really caught my attention, and I love how they go into detail about the survival techniques and necessities! The brilliant suicidal leader and the main character are portrayed pretty realistically---and they are so badass! I love the character relationships and jobs in this manga!

Now that i'm waiting for the next chapter to be scanlated, i'm searching for other survival island manga stuff.

... Last updated on November 7th, 2014, 6:24pm

Although the author often does excessive info dumps in the narration, I found them acceptable since most of the info has to do with survival wilderness basics and was pretty interesting to a suburb citizen like me who wants to eventually do some serious outdoor hunting/hiking eventually.

This being a suicide manga and with me having little thought of suicide myself, I was somewhat disconnected with the characters a bit. The main lead had issues that he kept repeating to himself quite often. BUT I felt the main character does progress through his hurdles at an enjoyable pace as well as many of the supporting cast being given time to develop as well.

The themes of the story, although some very serious in topic, are presented in an enjoyable format that let me keep reading all the way until the I reached the last available chapter (60). The supporting cast and their back stories also interesting enough to keep me reading.

I've gotten through volume 4 and at first i was a little skeptical about this. The main character and the rest get dropped off (how nobody knows) on a random island and watch while people die, then freaking out. They all tried to kill themselves before and know they're afraid of dead bodies, wimps. Anyway i like how Sei goes from being kind of in the back, he doesn't really think he's all that good at anything. To taking down a deer, and getting a hunting dog. He's pretty realistic as a character so i love that, and it depicts what a lot of suicdes are like. I mean he just doesn't know what the heck he's there for but on the island he figures it out. Ryou was a little odd to me at first, he was all into surviving and for a suicidal person that's a bit strange but then you figure it out and it makes sense. Kei still confuses me but hopefully we'll get to know why soon. The one thing that irkes me about this is what they hell that girls name is, four volumes and nothing, come on she has to have a name, sense she in the romantic intrest to the main character. We can't have him falling for some nameless chick.

All in all i have to rate this a 9, hoping it gets way better.

Great plot. The protagonist's growth is believable and interesting. There is also an exploration on society building and justice. There's a few disturbing scenes but all in all people are good to each other. The only problem I'd add is that the art is not as good as it can be, but it's still good. One of the best survival manga out there.

i thought it would be a depressing manga, given the title. But its not, and ever since i read "my side of the mountain" ive been in love wit living close to nature types of stories. It really makes me thing y im alive and be thankful for it. I'm sure that everyone has once thought of killing themselves, and so yea....really good manga. The art kept me away from it for awhile tho

Once again, Mouri Kouji teaches while he entertains! A story driven educational guide to survival is one thing Jisatsutou conveys to its readers other than the deep psychological aspect. Who has the will to live? Who has no will to die? Such thematic questions sprout more questions along this excellent read!

I really like all of Mori Kouji's work but this one stand at the top it even surpassed holyland
it's one of the most realistic survival manga.
in other survival mangas, authors forget about basic survival (gatheric and hunting for food) and focus solely on fighting other humans
and lets not forgot about the most essential fight for survival. "The inner struggle"

... Last updated on March 19th, 2012, 2:40pm

Quite frankly... the art sucks. The face is wayyy too damn large. The anatomy is weird. The faces aren't all that good either, or rather, they're bad. The art's a huge drawback to this manga, and honestly a waste.

The story in comparison isn't that bad at all! As expected for a seinen, it's nothing of those cliche shonens. May not be the only one, but still original enough.

The one thing though, although this might not be a negative point, it still bothered me alot to the point I was close to dropping this. I don't like the fact that they show the animals getting cut up. Of course, this isn't necessary bad, he needs it to live so not animal torture either... it's just... I don't like seeing cut off deer heads and intestines and all those meat details ><. I'm born vegetarian, partially cause of family religion but mostly because I'd sooner eat a human than kill an animal. I squint whenever he cuts that deer's belly open ><|||.

All in all, it's a huge waste that the art isn't even to an average point. The art is near unbearable... But otherwise a great series and definitely worth the read.