i don't know if you'll ever find another manga out there that can incoroporate politics, business, crime, terrorism, and morality while keeping a comedic tone throughout. did i mention the amount of gruesome, yet wholesome in a way, of murder-suicides in the name of vigilante justice? takes citizen's arrest to a whole new level!

Violence, extremely intricate story structure, and a great main character make this manga easily a 10. Definitely not for the faint of heart, but a thrill ride for those who have the guts. Story progressed quote fluidly and though the ending felt a bit wanting (but honestly who doesn't feel the same when finishing a series that they love so much) the thrill of the main life of the story more than makes up. Definitely put this at the top of your "wish list."

... Last updated on July 18th, 2011, 8:27pm

This is a gem, one of those very few manga which has a capacity to pull you in and incorporate your own experiences into the story. To be honest, I was astounded that this was considered shounen. The complexity of the plot, the depth of the characters, the stark realism when describing governmental dealings, it makes the manga seem to be far too mature to be grouped with other shounen. If you want a manga rife with secret techniques, martial arts tournaments, or the other cliches which has recently defined popular manga, this is not the one for you. If, on the other hand, you want something more akin to a novel, something that can make you stop and apply the concepts to your world, then I strongly suggest you start reading this. I can guarantee you, you won't stop.

This is a great manga in its own right. It contains nice artworks and a good story plot. You cannot compare the two because they are simply different. Besides Akumetsu was made even before Death note was made so they are two entirely different pieces of Art. Don't get me wrong but if you compare mangas is just an insult both to the manga's and their mangakas which are working hard in their own respective right.

I have not read a series as dull as this in a long time. Maybe if I gave the slightest shit about Japanese politics it would work - but even then I can't believe that it's anything more than a blunt caricature of the situation. Although for all I know it might be entirely intended as fiction rather than the messy rant against Japanese politics and economic situation, but if this is the case it's pointless.

I'm at volume 12 and so far there's nothing to make me give a damn about either side. Monologues and infodumps take up about half of each volume. There isn't a single character that has any development. All of the 'bad guys' are every evil-capitalist-bureaucrat stereotype rolled into one and are all basically interchangeable. Akumetsu has no character development and we know about as much about him as a person as we did at the beginning. The girl implied to be a protagonist in the description barely shows up.

The author tries hard to establish this whole thing as morally ambiguous - but ruins the entire thing by making the bureaucrats one-dimensionally horrible people. The side that the author disagrees with are even all drawn as snivelling ugly people to beat us around the head with how horrible they are. Real people are not like this. I'm no fan of bureaucracy or capitalism, but I know that bureaucrats and capitalists are not utterly disgusting creatures in every aspect.

I really can't understand the high ratings and reviews for this. There's hardly a story here. It's just a constantly repetitious drone that the strawman Japanese government is evilevilevil. Lecturing and infodumps are not acceptable storytelling techniques.

It's a shallow diatribe against the Japanese government, where the evils of the government have been exaggerated beyond the point where it's believable or interesting. If you want to read something with a similar concept, try V for Vendetta instead. That is how you do political criticism in a comic with terrorism, assassination and moral ambiguity. Akumetsu is an absolute failure at it.

... Last updated on March 18th, 2011, 10:24pm

You will enjoy this manga if you like:

Death Note, Code Geass, Green Day, Boondock Saints, 1000 Ways to Die.

This manga pleased me to no end. Half the time I was saying "Wait, seriously!?" and the other half I was either speechless of laughing my tail off. The concept itself isn't that new, but the way it is played out, and all the details were so original. It was very unpredictable, and I couldn't stop reading it because I had no idea what was going to happen next. Personally, I loved the ending and it wraped it up nicely. It could have had a cutscene where Shou (the main character, who totally looks like Vash from Trigun (another absolutely amazing manga that everyone HAS to read)) comes back, but it's all cool, the closure to the series was nice, and rather unexpected once again. Anyways, read this manga, it is wonderful.

... Last updated on January 19th, 2011, 8:00pm

^ saying that is how you end the series.. Tragic ending, couldn't have it any other way though.



All around, I'd say it was a 10 because hell, it was a thrill to read and it was a thinker, not as much as death note because death note was more based on strategy than this, but it made up with it's fast pace and thrill.

So far, I've only read through halfway of vol 7 because I had to get SOME sleep before work started, but this manga is AWESOME. I can't remember how many times I picked it up and then dropped it in the beginning... but I have the whole series, so thought I'd give it one more chance as I didn't want to search for more manga to read.

OMG... this is SOOOOOOO good. It's really entertaining that sometimes you cannot stop laughing. It had me in tears a bit sometimes. Besides that, I like how it attacks politics and sheds light on some major issues with the economy. The issues described are not solely for Japan, as the apply to the US. Though it's fictional, I can't help but cheer Sou on for what he's doing. There's so many corrupt people out there... it's DISGUSTING.

Anyway, the plot is awesome, Shou is one of the most entertaining leads ever, and it's just... awesome. The drawing style is beautiful too. Most definitely would recommend this one. One thing I could do without is the gruesome murder scenes... but considering that it's not horror and it shows very little without the gore, I'll let it slide.

This is easily my all time favorite manga, having read it twice so far, I feel a third time is also possible in the futur.
On a side not, many people are saying "it should not be compared, as that is an insult to DeathNote" This is laughable incorrect, the stories themselves are about two kids given differnt kinds of power to save their country, and go about it their own ways. Comparing this with DeathNot is the same as comparing any two shounen that both have a main character with some sort of power.

There is no reason to compare these, to do so would only show insecurities towards your liking of the favoured manga.
In my own oppinion, this was 100x better then Deathnote, which I was unable to finish reading because of the bordem it gave me. Shou's overall attitude towards everything made him a better character in my eyes, and the art was imppecable

... Last updated on September 7th, 2010, 4:13pm

This...my friend ......is truly a work of art..........Kudos to the author, for such amount thrill, complexity, amusement, depth, simplicity, and value.

Very very well done, questions one's conscience, yet implores to fury. Tragic it maybe, I am surprised this isnt categorized as seinen. While there might be plot holes here and there...as expected of all shounen.....the author truly does a good job onto providing compensation for our minds. EXTREMELY original, and one of the few super-hero stories that have such realism and consideration for plot and logic weaknesses, even with all the scifi.

Seriously...just read it