This manga is a fine piece work, and i could not say better than Communist_Rob on his review.

I only want to add something : I can only imagine that the ones that reviewed this manga and said that it bears almost no resemblance to Crime and Punishment must not have read the original work.

The motivations are astonishingly similar, the complex relationship between the MC and his sister is presented with the same subplot concerning marriage and guilty towards oneself for causing it, the detective has similar personality with Porfiry and the journey goes to the same locations; even some core ideas of the original are represented with another character on the manga.

I can understand why this manga has received so many low scores: from a reading entertainment perspective, Tsumi to Batsu is a dark, convoluted, inconceivable and abstract work of art that only caters to a niche range of readers.

However, from a literary perspective, this manga is a goldmine. Though not up to the level of Oyasumi Punpun, Tsumi to Batsu is nonetheless a masterpiece that follows true to the original theme of Dostoyvsky's novel, Crime and Punishment.

Using the same foundation of the novel but in a wholly different setting, Ochiai Naoyuki does an excellent job recreating the chain of events that transpire as well as providing the readers an omniscient glimpse into the psyche of the main individuals.

With that said, if you're looking for a quick and easy read, look elsewhere; this is something deeper and more profound that's meant to be shocking and thought provoking, portraying a realistic view of the depravity of society. Definitely not something for the faint of heart.

However, works of this caliber are definitely exemplary material for comparison essays or term papers.

I've yet to finish reading this, but unlike how most commenters said, this manga is real rage material, it's about the person's deepest psych, his uncensored judgement of others, his own world view, a very good one, maybe can't compare to novels, but manga-wise, you'll find few like this, so why the hate? rage!!

Holy. The MC is one of most awful human being in fiction. I can't even comprehend his decision and action. But somehow, I kinda felt the MC is an author avatar. His hidden id. And that scares me.

Damn.

Reading this left a very bad taste in my mouth.

The manga started out bad, extremely bad. It was like torture to get through the first ~20 chapters just to see something done. The main character was such a pathetic loser that even 30 chapters in the mangaka couldn't manage to make him likable. His drive, his situation and events surround him were all illogical, incomprehensible.

I wanted to like this. I really wanted, but it needed much more to deserve the "psychological" tag.

... Last updated on October 8th, 2014, 9:02am

Not a bad manga per se but it started of kinda bland. The characterisations of the teen prostitutes for example are absurd but after that story was over it got better and kind of interesting.
This manga though has NOTHING to do with the Novel "Crime and Punishment" so false advertisement there. Still it is kinda alright and the art is good. So try it it if you are interested.

Update: I take everything back. Volume 5 and onwards are horrible and illogical. No way can publicly known gangrape be pushed under the carpet that easily and the porn buisness doesn´t work this way. I give up on this manga after looking at the rest of the raws. Not worth it at all. From a 7 down to a 3.

... Last updated on November 22nd, 2014, 2:40pm

It gets worse and worse with extravagant situations that the author pulls out from ehem let's say pocket so as to push forward the story.I would remove (if able) the "based on a classic tag" from the description since the similarities are miniscule.The only good thing i can tell is that it has exceptional art.

... Last updated on August 3rd, 2011, 1:01pm

I like the plot so far, and it shows signs of good development. The art is rather interesting, and definitely fits with the subject matter. A hesitant 10 that could change as the story goes on.