I'm not sure how much I like the premise of this manga. When I think about myself in that situation my guess is I would either a) don't care about Ikigami at all since it only affects 1 in 1000 people. b) be pissed off and felt dismotivated to do anything since my country can kill me off even if I try hard to be a good productive person, yet it spares jerks, bullies and criminals. Either way I can't see the whole thing affecting my behaviour in any positive way.

Ignoring that, Ikigami is a very enjoyable read. Loved seeing how various people act in their last 24 hours, their trauma and how they deal with it. A few stories made me cry.

At first the manga feels like a bunch of one-shots but the story develops around the main character eventually.

Well, i like this comic because each story have the "feelings".
But fuck up with the end. Just like that?
That's not conclution. not solve anything.

It's a neat idea. Too bad good stories are not made up of ideas.

Execution, sorry, barely there. Characters, you know characters are not dependent on their circumstances right?

And Hello, how about the philosophy, the one about greater good I mean. Just please touch upon that. And I get that you're exploring different facets of how such an absurd thing is accepted so easily, and it's really kind of cool. How about a little more dimension though? Depth would be nice, since you are very blatantly telling worn out stories, add something else to it, you know? Otherwise you've got these various societal problems approached in the same iterative mile-wide-inch-deep manner.

Stories are great, emotional and vivid, If you don't mind those political miscalculations.. It really does not make sense to kill 1 in 1000 people, since even heart disease is more possible (well you can die from car crush, cancer or whatever and it is purely random). And what is the point of making such law, if you can't actually control the deaths? I think in the end there will be some bosses from the government that actually know the odds. Or else, everyone (!) receive those nanobots and government can choose who to kill.
On the other side, it is pretty much close to WW2 events with government ridiculously killing people and "corruption thinkers punishment".
And why killing 19-25 years old? They can't even start living, and of cause they don't know yet "the meaning of life". For the knowledge that you can die anytime? Wtf? I know this already, better GIVE THEM EDUCATION for all those tax money going to maintain the process of vaccination.
There have to be someone above, that benefits from it greatly.

I recommend to read, just for the idea of 24 death notice. It is amusing to see how people struggle in their last moments and what their dreams were. And to think for yourself, too..

(sorry for bad English)

(Armchair boring rant goes here...)



But if you CAN not be too nitpicking and accept the total lack of democracy (while the people knowingly suffer) in this fictional japan, what you have is your standard death-related human drama. (Insert inquiry into the meanings of life and insane character growth and revelations). It's actually not boring at all, seeing how other seinen series usually do much worse. Even if we can already see death tropes from 50 miles away, we can still get moved by it every time, because it's the story of a person's life.

This is a 'what if?' scenario. Dumb premise? Bogus backplot? Only because you lack the flexibility to view things from a different perspective. "The UN would never allow a democracy to do this". If you feel like you really have to rationalise it, then simply think "the UN does not exist" or "the UN has no power" in this particular scenario. It's a dystopian setting. It's an alternate reality, but somehow you think that it's exactly the same as our reality, just with a different Japanese government. I wonder how you'd react to Akumetsu... Use your brain, it does more than take up the space in your head. This manga has justified its plot on the simple fact that it is fiction. The author doesn't need to merely take liberties with reality, "reality" is at his liberty. I have so far seen no internal inconsistencies, so that satisfies me as a reader.

As for the manga itself... No matter how far-fetched the premise is (but again, who cares?), the premise is brilliantly executed. It's like a philosophical experiment in manga form. What would you do if you had only 24 hours left to live? What would different people do, living under different circumstances? Strangely (for me, at least), you actually feel for many of the characters. You sympathise, you empathise, and indeed, you hate. But it doesn't stop there, the wheels are turning in the background, society is slowly changing, people are rebelling, and the rebellions are being put down. You just know, shit is gonna hit the fan.

... Last updated on April 7th, 2010, 7:37am

a nice read... pretty realistic about what you gonna do with that 24hrs left... touching with some, cruel with others... though the setting is a bit stupid, theres no way this system will happen but in a fantasy world only... wish the main character was more involved with the "victims" story... well now that the new counselor has a hidden agenda, things got a bit more interesting and i hope they move into that part soon... interested how the story gonna end...

The premise is really stupid. The execution is really stupid as well. The U.N wouldn't let a democracy do this. A democracy wouldn't be able to do this period. They don't explain why crime would go down when people might be killed by their own government or why the people would allow it. Except for the partially unrelated, intrusive police that kills you for speaking out anyway. I have to imagine that something like this would simply cause a mass vacation of Japan.

they should have used an alternate universe with an alternate government. Maybe even a fictional country, for it to make any sense.

All the lessons learned could have been learned without this. In fact, random death is already a part of life. But this stupidity blankets these dramas. Also it would make japan's bad immigration even worst.

Update: What I said about the premise is true but I realize I didn't really talk about the quality of the manga and didn't even rate it. Like I mentioned, you can't do this(premise) except under a well hidden dictatorship, where people take what's best for the nation over its citizens. Then again, this wouldn't be good for a nation unless its overcrowded which Japan isn't...

It's nice to see growing dissent over it. I'll just quickly say that the stories are generally okay. I basically felt the same emotion throughout them with some slight variation usually in the first half of a story. That it's a messed up situation. I feel that this manga gets better as it goes on, it might end up being quite good.

* Update - Like I told someone over a message, I felt that the manga agreed with me. It turns out it's a 1984 style world but much more hidden. So you are suppose to feel that it wouldn't happen in a democracy because it doesn't, it is a hidden oppressive government. This actually makes the story more interesting and sets up the over arching storyline.

... Last updated on May 26th, 2012, 12:31am

Omg, this series is not for everyone. One story is gorry and the next is heartwarning. It reminds me of deathnote at the begining when light says that he will kill criminals to control the world but this is the government controling japan.

If u think the world is a little screwed up this is for u.

I don't know what to say..It's really good in a werid way..I first didn't like the first two chapters but.. after that it just blew me away. I am still speechless.. after you read it it gives you this feeling and a vibe (maybe it's just me..)..most of the stories are really touching..it's dark and depressing/gloomly but really good. I can't describe the feeling after I read it. I guess it impacted me in some measures/way...this manga is a really good read. It's on my top 15 list out of thousands and thousands of manga I read so far..It was a meaningful plot and the art is quite good..it's definatly a good read but its not for every one..it's is not your everyday manga, thats for sure.

... Last updated on December 2nd, 2009, 6:16pm