I love this really, the plot is amazing and complex, the chara development also very good and this somehow makes me thingking hard what will happen next etc.. and ofc as a Fujo the fanservice is really good heheheheh.. its very good i ship Kazuki and Haruki (͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

I have no idea what the people who claim the ending was confusing are talking about, since it actually made more sense than what you see in most "game of death" manga. That being said, if you don't read the whole series in one go, the subtle hints scattered throughout the story will probably go unnoticed: Di(e)ce isn't the kind of plot that's meant to be consumed in small doses.

The characters were likeable despite being tried-and-true archetypes, the plot had plenty of twists without becoming too convoluted for its own good, and the art - especially in the fighting sequences - was a lot clearer and neater than what you see in most josei or shounen action manga. It's no masterpiece, but it's both entertaining and clever, which puts it head and shoulders above the majority of survival game manga.


And on a parting note: Really? The 2nd "most useful" comment here is from someone who decided to give the entire series a bad review based on a single phrase very early on in the story, without realising that is basically the clue to unravelling the entire plot? *Sigh*

... Last updated on June 9th, 2015, 6:42am

I've read the series on and off over the years so bear with me. The reason I gave it a low rating because it doesn't make any sense from the beginning and then later with the ending either. OK I can accept game-like situations but the ending just gave me a headache as it ends abruptly with no resolution.

Art looks nice 80% of the time but even then I got confused with certain characters in each chapter.

I've just finished to read the six volumes.
I quite liked it even if I find the plot a bit confused.
The art is really good and even if a main point of the whole "game" is that the chess pieces resemble one eachother in pair s(tower resembles tower, bishop resembles bishop) they are not so annoyngly alike as often happens.
You can fully understand the plot develpoment and the reasons behind the charatcters actions only in the last chapters( or so it's for me).
However there are some parts of the plot left unexplained

In my opinion there is a sad hint in the ending. I mean people struggle to save/help their kings and then.
Anyway I suggest it if you like survival game based stories or quite complex stories with good art ( actually i'm not a game based manga fan).
About the shounen-ai thing...well It's not too explicit and neither subtext. Not more that many other shounen. But if you're really against a story without a female (co)protagonist well this manga maybe it's not for you.

... Last updated on October 27th, 2012, 6:43am

got diece-chapter-42-end-game-over. from endlessmagic.blogspot
i loved this manga
1)great art and cool, bishie characters
2)great, exciting story and has lots of twists in the story(unexpected turn of events)
3)addicting
4)great potential of a future anime (cant wait)

the only problem is that it was hard to find a place to get the ending at least

it has a pretty interesting premise, and while the characters start off really flat they're growing on me, especially after the introduction of the knights, personally i think haruki is much cooler than kazuki so i hope he gets more screen time as it goes on. The art is amazing, and the flow of the action and plot are nice. The beginning is a little weird, but its gets better, its not the best manga ever, but it had a pretty original plot and is worth the read.

NB there are alot of scenes that seem shounen-ai especially without a complete back story so if that bothers you, skip it

I agree with the post below me. I find it disturbing too,causing me unable to stand reading it.
I am bothered with the malexmale atmosphere all around, well yaoi fan will like it,but not me, It makes my skin crawl.

I've never really been into the "play or die situation" types of fiction, so I may have a biased opinion from the start. In all honesty, what really caught my eye in this manga was the artwork. It's really nice, so I wasn't disappointed there. However, as I suspected, the plot didn't exactly do it for me. I read the first eight chapters and had to quit. The "play or die" plotline, as expected, was too contrived for me to believe. Clearly, there are supernatural forces at work here, and apparently, they have their own reasons for acting out this death game fantasy, but realistically, it seems like an awful hassle to set up a whole mass-murdering, highly flashy, police-magnet game for... well, for any reason at all, really. I'm a fairly rational person, so I tend to think that these types of convoluted deathtraps are a waste of time and money, not to mention highly risky on multiple levels. If you want to kill someone, why not just pull out a gun and peg him one? Quick and easy.

What bothered me a lot with regards to the characters was that Kazuki has no problem whatsoever with taking out his classmates so brutally as if he were, as he seems to believe, in a video game. Haruki calls him out on this, but the message doesn't sink in at all, and honestly, I'm fed up with characters whose thinking patterns are so two-dimensional that they can't comprehend such a basic concept as what Haruki is trying to explain. The reveal that is really typical of manga, and frankly, their relationship isn't so interesting as to make me want to continue reading it just to see how this plays out.

Finally, a minor point but one that really irks me:

Anyway, I'm giving this series a five for the art and the story (which, though it's cliched and implausible, I'm sure some people would enjoy). The manga seems more shounen than josei. I would have liked to have seen more of the mixing of shounen and shoujo elements that josei (especially Zero-Sum) tends to do quite well. Overall, this manga wasn't really my cup of tea, but if you don't mind fairly unrealistic, suspense-oriented action stories, you'd probably enjoy this.

... Last updated on January 6th, 2012, 8:57pm

I'm loving this manga more and more!!
The art is BEAUTIFUL~
The plot is complex and mysterious.

I'm really looking forward to seeing how this pans out.


I almost wish this is a shonen-ai. But it isn't (so far). It just that the relational context is soooo perfect for a BL. Almost if not all of the main cast is comprised of males... yep. That's a perfect setting for a male-harem. lol.
EDIT: I checked out the authors SAKI Otoh &YAMAMOTO Kana, as well as the artist YAMAMOTO Kana's list of works; all of them are either shonen-ai or yaoi. Hah. Figured. So my anticipation for a shonen-ai scene (plural, hopefully) might be realized later on...

I'm enjoying it a lot, so I highly recommend it for anyone who's looking for...
-all males cast
-handsome males (ALL, not just the main casts)
-childhood (platonic) relationship
-lots of cool fightings (hand combat and weaponry)
-well paced. action is not too slow, nor too fast-paced.
-loyal followers
-complex and unusual plot: "game" setting (controlled by unknown and seemingly omnipotent power)
-hinting towards a BL subplot
-beautiful art (like a shojo manga... more than a shonen, though this seems to be a shonen.. hmm?), clean cut. Well drawn. (Dying for a colored page)

... Last updated on November 23rd, 2011, 2:04am

Well, I'm picky with art and when I first saw the cover, I went like... ok wow. and then of course, I ended up reading it ^ _ ^ fast.

I really like this manga, better than switch I guess. It's not shounen ai... although it has plenty of bromance... @_@ Just the idea of the bishop being the only one who can heal the king. *___* and what's up with the queen character. :S

I want to know what would happen with the other characters soon. What made me find this really awesome is the almost cliche plot where you have to fight your bestfriend that you love mosssst.

at some points it gets confusing because the shifts in POV is fast... or maybe it's just me. It went pretty smooth though and I can't wait for more chapters to come out.