One of the best manga I've ever read!!! Tsutomu-sensei really knows how to dig into the darkest places of human mind. The plot is painfully beautiful, thouhg most of the stories have a tragic end. The "blanc et noir" artstyle rocks; it goes well with the main theme of the manga. Iida Kyoya and Eriko Aizawa are among my favorite manga characters! Especially Iida - his idiosyncrasy makes me shiver with excitement!!!

I like the protagonist. He's cold, hard, and pragmatic---all nice and good things a cold-blooded detective should have and all that.

I like the other characters somewhat. They're interesting and realistic(as realistic as characters can be, i suppose, in cop dramas like these).

But I think the telling of the story lacks something. Sure, it gets somewhat violent, and sure, everyone has something horrible to show, but I'm not feeling moved. Some moments are just over dramatized; at some points, I just want to burst out laughing.

I'm not feeling slightly horrified, as I did MPD Psycho, or even feeling surprised or shocked. I think ALIVE! did a much better job shocking me than this one, though I can't say that I liked that one much better than Jiraishin.

And there was the art. Normally, I don't care too much about the art, as long as the storyline is great, but the art just repels me. Maybe it's supposed to look off-center and deformed-ish, maybe it's to fit the plot line, but whatever it is, as a reader, it repels me.

All in all, I have to say I'm not too interested in continuing this manga. Maybe I might pick it up again and give it a chance(maybe when the Diablo part comes out), but I think I'm going to give this manga a pass for now.


Note: This is my opinion only. Don't take it too seriously.

I don't have much to say, even though this is my favourite manga.
The art is really great, and it only gets better.
The cases are very interesting. Main protagonist is very cold and that's what makes him so great. He always gets his job done even if he have to kill many people, and he will do it without hesitation.
I finished it two years ago, but still read it again a couple of times...

The idea behind this manga is great, but the presentation needs improvement. There's no background and Ilda's behavior is inconsistent to the point of being whimsical. Why doesn't he offer a single word of comfort to the women that loves him in the first case, but then chase a women he doesn't know to another country to rescue her?

Although Ilda's suppose to use unorthodox methods, I don't find them to be all that controversial. He's not doing everything by the book, but it's not like he's torturing criminals, planting fake evidence, using his partner as bait or doing anything morally questionable. Also, the quality of the cases changes too much - some are realistic and others are too melodramatic.

Overall, this manga is good but not great. A long series like this one needs better story telling. It's so episodic, that it feels like it's a really a bunch of different short stories that just happens to involve Ilda.

... Last updated on December 27th, 2008, 10:57am

I really liked this manga as it did give good insight into human emotion and there was lots of action and stuff: however I hated how Kyoya's character was never explained and he wasn't really given much background. His view on the world was interesting though. Furthermore the art is fantastic and realistic. Overall it's a gripping read. I finished it in only a few days!

Dont expect a real story line, each volume just covers a case. But the cases are good and the serie ends with a interesting philosophical question ^^

There is a big differnence in the quality of the several cases. Some are ingenious others quite unrealistic and even dumb. Half of them have a great storyline and interesting characters but the rest is only so-so, especially when Jiraishin is in foreign countries the quality drops drastically. But, the protagonist is very interesting, cold and untouchable, in the whole manga you can't figure out his feelings and thoughts. After a while this is a litte bit tiring because you don't learn anything about Jiraishin or his motives, the whole series he remains a mystery. What I really like is that there are many film noir elements in this manga and they are used quite well for the atmosphere.

Good enough for a solid 8. Intense story telling techniques make this manga more memorable than it might have been otherwise.

This seinen is great, but it takes a while to reach its best form. Although there are several cases in the first volumes that are incredibly good. Kioya Iida is one of my favourite manga characters. He really is an interesting character: cold as ice but with a very interesting point of view.

This manga has very few text, so it gets really fast to read. I'd reccomend it to everyone, really.

Story: 4/5
Art: 4.5/5

Series started out slow for me until the 7th volume... from then on, each volume consists of expertly crafted standalone crime stories filled with suspense. It's film noir in manga form. Highly recommended.

... Last updated on November 13th, 2006, 3:00pm