Caste Heaven

Description

Today’s top could be tomorrow’s bottom when playing the caste game! School is hard enough as it is, but when students are forced to play a cutthroat game to determine their social ranks—and subsequent treatment—all bets are off.

Official English Release: SuBLime

Type

Manga

Related Series

Kuzu (Side Story)

Mesuochi BL (Side Story)

Associated Names

Heaven of School Caste

Kaasuto Hevun

Каст Диваажин

กลรักเกมชนชั้น

カーストヘヴン

Groups Scanlating

Latest Release(s)

v.7 c.30 by April rose 4 years ago

v.6 c.29.5 by April rose 5 years ago

v.6 c.29 by April rose 5 years ago

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Status in Country of Origin

8 Volumes (Complete)

Completely Scanlated?

Yes

Anime Start/End Chapter

N/A

User Reviews

N/A

Forum

0 topics, 0 posts

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User Rating

Average: 7.7 / 10.0 (387 votes)

Bayesian Average: 7.6 / 10.0

35%

18%

16%

Last Updated

August 12th, 2024 12:20pm PDT - 9 months ago

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Genre

Drama Mature Psychological School Life Slice of Life Yaoi
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Categories

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Category Recommendations

Tsugaru Sangenka - Onryou Juusanya

Single Not Ready to Mingle

Usagi Yojimbo

Waisetsu Missile

Shingeki no Kyojin dj - Sekai-sen Bad End

Recommendations

N/A

Author(s)

OGAWA Chise

Artist(s)

OGAWA Chise

Year

2014

Original Publisher

Libre

Serialized In (magazine)

Magazine Be x Boy (Libre)

Licensed (in English)

Yes

English Publisher

Sublime (8 Vols - Complete)

Activity Stats (vs. other series)

Weekly Pos #764

(+35)

Monthly Pos #1090

(-234)

3 Month Pos #1969

(-82)

6 Month Pos #2447

(-184)

Year Pos #2679

(-204)

List Stats

On 1491 reading lists

On 420 wish lists

On 298 completed lists

On 86 unfinished lists

On 493 custom lists

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Forum Posts Click to view the forum

User Comments [ Order by usefulness ]

Ogawa in usual top form

by brrow
10 years ago

Rating: 10.0 / 10.0

This is not a rape-is-love manga. Rape-is-love is done with little effort to achieve believability because it's done for people who kink on that and they don't want pages and pages of justification before they get to the stuff that really gets them going, which is the shy, repressed uke being overwhelmed by the seme's passion before the inevitable happily ever after. That's a very common, perfectly harmless fantasy, but it's not what's going on in this manga.

Here, everything is grounded in perfect psychological realism. The characters are nearly all sick, flawed people and yet the reader can easily get in their shoes and feel sympathy for them. Their feelings are ambiguous and twisted and I suggest you don't listen to anyone who would reduce them to something so simple as "guy falls in love with his rapist", because anyone who would say that either wasn't paying attention or didn't understand the manga. No one here is in love, no one's feelings are pure, everyone uses and manipulates the object of their affection, obsession and lust to some degree. Even Atsumu, who is the most decent of them, would gladly play a role to keep Kuze's attention. It's a manga about the exchange of power, cruel tyranny and debasement by turns, and there's a subtle power play between Kirino and Asuza at every moment, underscoring or undermining the more visible reversal of power between them.

That said, because everything seems so believable and bleak, when Atsumu in particular shows bravery and incredible generosity of spirit it seems way more significant and moving than in a manga that's all sunshine, roses and knights in shining armor.

It's a great, dark tale, typical for Ogawa Chise, and well worth the read.

... Last updated 10 years ago

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Oh my, the beta couple is the best

by xelien
10 years ago

Rating: N/A

So chapters 1-4 is about Azusa/Karino, twisted and dark. It's also deals with rape scenes, so its a major turn off, but I love Ogawa Chise so I kept on reading.

Chapters 5-6 goes into secondary characters, Atsumu/Kuze. MUCH BETTER COUPLE!!!! Atsumu a target becomes a Jack, thanks to Kuze, who seems totally devoted to him. It also slightly twisted, because I do know how far of lengths Kuze will go to please Atsumu, but I love their dynamic much more than Azusa and Karino. I hope we get more chapters with them!!!

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UGGH GOD WHYYYY

by AsexualFujyoshi
10 years ago

Rating: 2.0 / 10.0

Edit in response to a reviewer whose own review was passive-aggressively addressed to me: I made no mention of kink in my comment because that is not the point I was trying to make. I am all about kink, which is why I read all this noncon crap to begin with. If one's kink is "badly written 'twisted love story'," then, by all means, read this rag. There is no shame in that, and I hold no judgement toward such individuals. Kink and fantasy have their places and can be fun to read for their own sake. That said, I will not recommend poorly written stories to those actually looking for story. Read it for fun if that's your thing, but to those actually looking for a manga that's well-written, I absolutely will not recommend garbage.

Original Review

Jesus. Can we never get a good ol'-fashioned rape story where the victim DOESN'T fall in love with the rapist? First chapter of this crap-hill had promise. Cocky school "king" and bully Azusa is dethroned in the most unexpected (for him, not us) and traumatic way possible – he’s shoved down the stairs, tied up, and violently raped – and that’s not even mentioning it's his former lackey who does it to him. Just when it looks like he's going to start plotting his sweet revenge, though, local rapist Karino is all, "You're-a be my toy," and Azusa's all, "I need you and only you inside me to achieve sexual gratification!" Which, you know, wouldn't be so bad if he was just all Stockholmy about it, but I read through FIVE CHAPTERS of this tripe, and I'm 90% certain that the author is going to make them the official OTP because all this rape and sexual exploitation is actually just Karino’s earnest expression of TRU WUB! <3 Aaaaaand the fangirls go wild, ladies and gentlemen!

Seriously, though. I love dark themes like rape and abuse in my yaoi. Problem is, almost every damn author has to try and "justify" it by slapping on the "twisted love story" label so that all the tweenies reading it can fawn over it and go, "It's okay because he really loooves him!" I didn't think it needed saying, but rape is not, and never will be, love, and you cannot possibly love somebody if you rape them, no matter how sugary and cute you are afterwards. That isn't love, that's lust, obsession, and/or psychosis. (Probably all three.)

So yeah, this manga has a decent smut scene or two and okay art, but it's not worth wading through the author's continuous, obnoxious, and asinine attempts at reconciling a couple whose first experience together is a malicious and unforgivable act of violence. 2/10 because ugh.

... Last updated 10 years ago

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Uniquely Good

by ladyknight1998
10 years ago

Rating: 10.0 / 10.0

This is one of my favorite yaoi mangas it's different in a twisted way and I love it. but it might be a trigger warning for people so look at the tags so you're prepared. the relationships are amazing also. I recommend this to anyone who isn't looking for cute fluffy yaoi.

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OMG

by sandymanga
10 years ago

Rating: 10.0 / 10.0

This one is so twisted LOL I'm likin it, the developement in Azusa and Karino's relationship is good, twsted but good hahaha And I loved the 5th chapter, can't wait for the next ones =)

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Good and yet I'm disappointed

by FeyPhantom
11 years ago

Rating: 6.0 / 10.0

Honestly, I don't know how to rate this one yet. There is a lot I like about it. The art is beautiful. The dark themes and twisted personality of the protagonist are right up my alley. The way the students function in a self-induced caste system is interesting and portrayed better than in some other manga with a similar hierarchy in the school. Even the rape theme is something I enjoy in a psychological story (and the bit of SM there's been is usually something I'd look for in a BL). But that's what's bothering me the most here.

It's obvious by chapter 4 Karino's the main love interest. But I kind of feel like Kuse and Kusakabe have been tossed by the wayside a little as characters. It's like the mangaka was developing them and then part way through the first chapter figured out who was going to turn on Azusa and then pushed them into the background.

As for the ending of the first chapter, it really impacted me. I have read a lot of manga that have had rape themes in them, but this one stood out to me, a LOT. I felt thoroughly empathetic with the main character and fully understood his shame and anger. But then the story started to go towards him having feelings for his rapist and honestly I'm incredibly disappointed. I am never the first to complain about rape=love in a BL, but here, I can't help but feel let down.

The mangaka had developed what I felt was a strong cast for the first chapter, very clear feelings from the protagonist, and a solid story I was really falling in love with. I wanted to see how the protagonist would grow and climb his way out from the bottom. But then having the mangaka make the story shallower by focusing solely on Azusa with

Karino I feel like I've been robbed of a very good and promising story.

I will still continue to read it, but I'm feeling really let down.

I'd say I'd still like to see Azusa not get with Karino, but I feel like his character's changed too much in the wrong direction to recapture the feelings I had in the first chapter.

/Edit:

I would just like to add a bit to my earlier comments. I think the reason I’m so perturbed by the rape=love theme here is because the mangaka does such an amazing job of characterization that it feels too realistic to work with these characters. Azusa was pushed down the stairs, bound, blindfolded, gagged, raped and his reaction upon finding out it was Karino was to repeat that he’ll kill him over and over. That works perfectly for his ego and stubbornness.
Even afterwards when the mangaka reveals he felt pleasure when he was originally raped works. Just because someone feels pleasure doesn’t mean they weren’t raped. Rape is violence, dominance and a pure power play. And that’s exactly how it comes across in this story in the beginning. Not love, but violence. Karino wanted to dominate Azusa and that's what he did - taking what he wanted and using violence to shove Azusa off his high horse and into the mud at his feet.
Karino might be obsessive over Azusa, but he doesn’t love him. He treats him like a toy and he’s still too immature and self-centred to even care about Azusa. He seeks fulfillment for himself (and that includes moments where he has seemingly been kind to Azusa – don’t forget he’s still holding all the cards and doesn’t actually care about Azusa as a person but more as a plaything to enhance his own personal life. Yeah, he’s kind to Azusa when he’s feeling down after getting punched, but Karino doesn’t want Azusa to be completely broken. He won’t be any fun that way).
Another reason I’m not fond of Karino as the main love interest is because I feel there’s a bit too much of a discrepancy in his character from the beginning of the first chapter to what we later on learn is his true character. Seriously, he’s the one who should get the Oscar for acting! The way he blushed ‘like a virgin’ in the beginning and some of his facial expressions don’t match at all to the point that when I reread the first chapter, it didn’t feel like the same character at all. If Karino had turned out to be obsessively crazy in the sense that he wouldn’t let anyone but himself have Azusa, I could believe the two sides to his personality. But that’s not his true character at all.
Karino is calculating and bored with his life (actually, he has a lot in common with Yagami Light from Death Note). He finds relief and entertainment in Azusa, not an obsessive love that puts Azusa at the centre of his life (he's the only one at the centre of his own life). If Azusa really did become like how he acted in the fourth chapter – all obedient and pitiful, Karino would lose interest. Because Karino wants to play with someone who acts prideful and domineering the way Azusa has – it doesn’t necessarily have to be Azusa. And that’s only at school. He doesn’t want Azusa in his life. What Azusa thought – about Karino wanting to eventually leave this behind at school when he steps out into society – is completely true (to this point in the story anyways). Karino isn’t expecting some kind of relationship with Azusa. He is just trying to get more excitement out of life for his own sake.
So, I’ll reiterate again and again, even if in the future the characters change, right now Azusa has been falling in love with his rapist for no real reason but plot development (at the expense of the great characterization that the mangaka did on his particular character) and Karino does not love Azusa but obsesses over him as a favourite toy. And rape=love here bothers me so much only because the story started out so well that I am holding it to a higher standard than most other BL. The mangaka did a great job and in turn, because she did a great job, I’m disappointed. It’s perplexing.

... Last updated 11 years ago

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messed up like the most of Ogawa Chise's stories

by kidoraku
11 years ago

Rating: 9.0 / 10.0

Let's say it's... a hard yaoi. Very cruel. Indecent. Plot line is messed up just like the main characters' heads. I like it. You're gonna feel plenty various emotions reading it. Anger, angst, pity, frustration and such. It's like a good piece of art that causes emotions in a spectators, this yaoi for sure will make you feel something. I'll allow myself to say that it's touching in it's weird way. If you can't see love, try to look deeper (although it's not romantic kind of love). The story gained much depth after showing the main characters' family situation. It's more entertaining with every new chapter.

Putting seme&uke "romance" aside, story shows how works a humans group life, in micro scale of one class. There's always someone who establish rules, a king, his friends, smarmy individuals, jesters, common people and of course pushovers. It shows universal truth that people are cruel creatures, they're are able to do anything if they got carte blanche also that a one can't win against the crowd. So cruel, so true.
Also the "game" thing - it's soooo Japanese. I can't bring to my mind any game that'd be more deep-rooted in Japanese culture, where everything's related to the laws of dependency, to the one's position in hierarchy. It's all about being older/powerfull - a master, a senpai, a top and younger/obedient - a subordinate, a kouhai, a bottom. Well... you can find some other, universal truth as well, but I don't want to destroy you all the fun, so I'm gonna stop here.

The Art is brilliant. I'm a huge fan of sensei's drawing style. Why not 10? cause there were parts when I wasn't able to find out whose words they were, Karino's or Azusa's, maybe it's the translation problem, I'm not sure, but even if, my fun gone bust.
I wonder what'll happen next, if they'll grow up, grow tired of this childish yet dangerous game and get courage to face their messed up feelings of love, jealousy, anger and fear. Can't wait for the next chapter.
So if you don't mind angst, abuse or graphic sex, you should be more than pleased by this yaoi. Enjoy!

... Last updated 10 years ago

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SERIOUSLLY???

by chichienu
11 years ago

Rating: N/A

This is why i gave myself a break from reading yaoi and went into reading gay novels.... i mean what the hell was that??..... how can a straight boy after being RAPED allows himself to be continually taken by the same person over and over and without any time wasted inbetween begins to enjoy and actually long for it..... bullshit!!!,especially when i look at the genre and see "psychological"... there is nothing that makes me feel it deserves to be there unless maybe as the manga progresses, the main character actually grows some balls and stop acting like a scorned ex girl friend.....
i want to believe that the manga will have something more to offer as it progresses, so ill continue reading it, hoping for that "thing" that is missing..

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OMG

by redsalt4
11 years ago

Rating: 10.0 / 10.0

i am a Yoai Otaku to the max and have read over a thousand stories so far. However this is a completely different, unique, and excitingly interesting story. i cant recall reading anything similar. i love it and can't wait for the next ch.

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bated breaths

by otakuness
11 years ago

Rating: 10.0 / 10.0

omigawd at first i thought that the plot was stupid but halfway in on the first chapter i started living in the story and now i see how different the characters are. they're dark, true, but refreshing. this has potential! i wanna read more! so, so, so badly!

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