This manga is surprisingly well written and researched. The story was pretty good, along with the characters. It depicted the darkness and mental stresses that would occur during natural disasters very well. Overall, the story was good.

It's been months since I read this, but I still can't forget it. It has five things that have been staples of a certain kind of science fiction for many decades:

Disaster and a subsequent struggle to survive;
The Inevitable attendant suffering, some of it grotesquely impactful;
An everyday guy forced to become a hero;
Love in the ruins;
And, above all, relentless suspense.

Regarding the suspense, I remember that I had to force myself to put this down every few chapters so as not to end up reading it too fast and missing all the pleasure this great story had to give.

(For the reader who disliked this story because it had rape in it, be aware that human nature is such that just about every time social order thoroughly breaks down, and so some men feel they can get away with it, there will be rapes. It's sad but true. Anyone telling a story of such a breakdown has to put them in to be realistic.)

... Last updated on June 29th, 2016, 9:03am

This manga was very good. I liked the theme of humanity's simultaneous tenatiousness and insanity... and the part about the new mother really struck me right at the heart. That was beautifully done.

There was no random supernatural elements to this story, and everything was deeply rooted in the reality following a disaster in an urban city. Riots, deaths, hopelessness, hope, and desperate desire for survival---everything was depicted as realistically as possible.

Love this one a lot. I was expecting something more fantastical due to the main girl's get up, but it was all rooted in reality. <3

... Last updated on November 28th, 2014, 6:15pm

The manga was done really well, the story was above average and the art was excellent for the style used. Starts really good, then it gets a very dark and honestly I didn't look at all the tags and I did not expect for there to be rape in it which is my own fault but if your able to overcome that then it gets better. To summarize the manga starts at the day of the incident and goes a good distance into the future so no worries about it ending half-assed.
So again my real caution is read the tags so you are prepared what you are getting into. Overall a very good read and will inspire you to think closely about humanity in the face of disaster.

... Last updated on May 23rd, 2014, 7:52pm

But in page 1080 in the last chapter in the main room of the protagonist house, there is cameo of a painting by the great master Zdzislaw Beksinski,That! that alone gives this manga a rating waaaaay over 10!

... Last updated on October 7th, 2013, 6:53pm

the characters are pretty likable, have nice development and by the end they turn to better. the art is appropriate for the theme and the atmosphere. it is informative and quite realistic (though the real earthquake show japanese are relatively calm...). sometimes the pacing is slow but by the end it got exciting and it finish in a good way. a good read.

I can't say that this is one of my favorite manga series but its a good read all the same. This series seems like it has been researched heavily but in a situation like this, you can probably make up as much as you want. If I had to decide on a weakness, it would be that the main characters are not very interesting. Still good over-all though.

I only figured out how to work irc on my final try a few months ago so I didn't pick up this series until the day viscans released ch45-48 and I spent the many a hour that day reading from chapter 1 til 48. I can assure you that it is consistently great and had a very satisfying end.

Picked this up about a year ago. This is the very first survival manga that I have read, and it was quite informative. It has a nice touch of realism, and can get you thinking about what might happen if a disaster of this proportion takes place.
It's also scary that there's a massive earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan today. Got me into thinking about this manga again.

Usamaru must be a big Paul Simon fan; "51 Ways to Save Your Lover" is obviously a clever homage to Paul Simons famous song "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover".

Not a bad story, it's a little contrived and apocalyptic, but so are most disaster tales. I'm enjoying it.