i admit the story is addictive and art is good. i hope no one is readin this too seriously, their ideas for a better country r wacked and their treatment of women is degrading at best, appalling at worst. all the lead men r suffering from extreme megalomania and no one shows one shred of anything resembling human emotion. all the women r either used sexually(often raped) or as pawns. the lead female is supposed to be a hot shot detective but she has one guy do all her work(and she still gets nothing done, she solves no crimes!) and she has a high school crush on the yakuza after a really stupid first meeting (involving psuedo rape)

... Last updated on October 6th, 2007, 9:19am

Deserves 10/10!

Like the title says this is a very interesting piece but with plenty of flaws.
First of let me tell you about the art: simply hideous. That would be the way to describe the pages filled with faces. It's no lie, there are close ups in almost every single page, almost as if to fill spaces and to postpone the end of the manga. The old style drawings, reminding me of hardboiled series also do not look as good as they should be., the faces look weird and Asami's glasses top the charts in ridiculousness.
Then there's the matter of the sistematic abuse of women and how they are protrayed in the macho society in the manga. It just doesn't feel right, and most of all it serves no purpose because the story doesn't advance and it really does not develop any of the characters. The deputy chief is a prime example of this. She was simply there for fanservice, nothing more.
As for their grand design... it's also very flawed. I understand that nothing will ever be perfect, but they gamble so much, so so much, that it amazes me how they always get the upper hand. Their planning should have been better done. But hey, that won't affect the story that much.
This is a thriller, something rather rare in manga, so i enjoyed the story.
The intricate webs of conspiracy and connections are very interesting to see, and their ideas are fairly interesting. Asami and Hojo indeed move the plot and are amazing characters, some of the best i've seen, they are smart and cunning and rather complex.
The story is also good, but the plot starts wavering near the end. It's such a race that the story kinda loses track of itself. It begins to turn into quite a mess that somehow manages to clean itself up.
If you like politics and manga about the mob then this is for you. It's a very serious manga and one for mature readers, not because it's shocking but it takes a bit to understand.
Also it would be advisable to be a little tolerant towards the patriotic and nationalistic views displayed in the story and how the japanese duo seem to get the upper hand in several situations.
Again, this is a good piece, but one that could have been much better if it didn't have so many faces and much more plot.

For newcomers:
Just read it, do it now. All comments and reviews you've read about this manga is correct. Hell i suggest go buy it right now it's worth every penny I wouldn't want to have missed this i could have paid $50 grand for it. It's THAT good, life changing if you just believe in it.

ARGE! One thing I must mention first above everything else! This thing reads left to right for some damn stupid reason! Gotta say, annoyed the hell out of me.

Also, the art... I don't really like it. Although most the times I do like older drawing styles, but in this case, I don't. One chapter in and I realized, they can talk with their mouth closed and the seem to be able to jerk the edges of that tiny winy mouth up ridiculously high. Simply put, I don't feel like I'm reading a manga, much more like a mix between manga and those ancient chinese and japanese art which I have to admit I think is ugly. There's also some other parts that are simply too old styled and only look cheeky now... such as, the eyes = =;;
Another thing, the expressions look horrible to me. Doesn't come through. No emotion whatsoever. Well... maybe someone from the 40s or something might understand it? Certainly doesn't look like 90s art.

As for story, I gotta say, paired up with the reading direction and art, I didn't really get to enjoy it much other then thinking it as old and cheesy. *shrug* Might be good, might be bad, but the art was so bad it got me biased. Correction, modern bad, it's out of style, and I do believe even in the 90s if you compare this to other mangas around that time.

I feel like a person when I read storyes like these. Yep, superheros. Yep, wild dreams. But when I finish reading I get this urge to do something. You know, when you hear a really good song you can;t help but sing, or write lyrics... etc.

Well I don't quite except everything about this manga - a powerful policewoman without any power, or establishment of some realtionsships, for example.

ps but these kind of manga are still needed, at least it makes you think...