This manga is fun and full of violence!!!. There is a pretty neat little plot, some subplots for the lesser characters and an 2 over-arcing stories among the main one(shou's friend and the actual creation of the akumetsu).
+Great Art
+Nice story
+++++Violence is always a plus+++++++
-A few repetitive kills
-Could have had a better ending but it was still ok by most standards.
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Now people have said(here) parts of the manga are unrealistic, the philosophy is ridiculous, etc. Its not. Its basically one guy taking justice into his own hands and being as shocking and violent as he can be.(which is pretty entertaining with this style of art). People try to analyze this series with implications to reality. Listen, we can sit here all day and discuss how this may or may not be the correct thing to do, but the ENTIRE point of the manga is that Akumetsu doesn't care. He's there to kill the corrupt(all of them) and be done. That was noticeable part of the manga, that people's ethics got in the way and that Akumetsu would bypass that with his own "justice".(this was pretty much the entire point of the policeman's plot).
-Please, don't pass this awesome manga up because someone misunderstood it, that would be a shame.

Hmm... Although this manga was published a long time ago, and I've read this manga a long time ago too, I feel myself am enforced to write some reviews, especially after I read some comments regarding this manga.

My opinion? Nearly masterpiece, just because some repetitive kills which is lack of twist and become quite boring in a certain point. If not because of that, I will say this manga series is one of "masterpiece" that I've ever read... Why?

First... the plot is amazing (well, the opinions may differ). It's a story of a hero who wants to change "the world" accordingly with the "true law", that is, "an eye for an eye". He questions blind Democracy and blind ethics, with just one statements, "Is anyone here ready to become a martyr under democracy flag?" and "I verdict him guilty solely based on his actions"... Very Simple, but indeed Very Deep... I like it very much because the authors can bring a "understandable" argument with many facts along with it. And it's very rare in the world of manga...

Second... The art is awesome and epic. It matches with the style of story telling... well, you can look it for a moment if you doubt it.

Third... The ending... Well, I weighted my appreciation process heavily in ending. Ending is simply a conclusion, means that the ending will determine the long last impression of a manga (if the reader read it until the end). Good start with bad ending, will bring long last bad impression (bad after-taste), and viceversa. And How about Akumetsu? As for me, Akumetsu can bring me the most realistic of ending of an antihero story... I wont say the details, but well, it's epic and heart-warming... one of the best ending I may say.

Hmm... I guess that's all... Long live to Akumetsu...

One of the best ones I've read in awhile, sure it was a little confusing at the begining, and it also got a little repetitive later on, but it kept me reading through the night.(seriously, stayed up till 4:00!)
One other thing I didn't like about this manga is that it ended a little to early, I finished it in three days, I usually only read manga that take at least 3 weeks for me to finish, but oh well.
The ending was beautifuly done, although I was a little pissed at the same time.(I'm still trying to get over it.)
Shou is one muthafusucking Bad-Ass, everyone should be more like him.........Excluding the one-man-one kill policy, or not, whatever you feel is right, haha.
So what I'm trying to get across your minds is just read it, It'll change your life forever.

Warning: Don't read "Akumetsu" if you have a bad internet connection(like mine), 'cause you may punch random objects out of frustration when the next page doesn't load fast enough.

a great manga, especially for intelectual readears because it raises many question about how people cold fix socities that have gone downhill. and he doesnt go killing randomly, since he let those three bankers alive so they could speed up the change of that society.

... Last updated on June 30th, 2008, 3:12pm

I don't understand how anyone can not like it, claiming things like killing doesn't solve the issue or what not. It wasn't about the killing, SPOILERS
Akumetsu knew that killing evil wouldn't resolve anything, the main point of it was rehabilitation if people had actually read it... He had admitted himself that killing evil wasn't going to work, how are there still those dumb asf people reading this but not getting a single thing. They're the ones who are laughable really. Anyways, I thought that there were many different types of antagonists and not all were the same, like the cops, they were antagonists but they had helped Akumetsu in the end. And if you say there is no character development take the prime minister who grew out of his shell, or Kitsuragi who became more and more human. There is character development in this, so those who say that it doesn't have any character development, better take a look at it again. And to those who read this story for the gore and are sick of the politics, the main point of this manga is the politics and that's what drives the plot. If the plot was just gore it wouldn't be a plot at all, get your head out of the gutter please. Anyways, great manga, give it a try.

... Last updated on March 27th, 2016, 11:12pm

This is a gem, one of those very few manga which has a capacity to pull you in and incorporate your own experiences into the story. To be honest, I was astounded that this was considered shounen. The complexity of the plot, the depth of the characters, the stark realism when describing governmental dealings, it makes the manga seem to be far too mature to be grouped with other shounen. If you want a manga rife with secret techniques, martial arts tournaments, or the other cliches which has recently defined popular manga, this is not the one for you. If, on the other hand, you want something more akin to a novel, something that can make you stop and apply the concepts to your world, then I strongly suggest you start reading this. I can guarantee you, you won't stop.

I love this manga. It is being released a bit slow that's my only complaint. I just hope there's a good reason for why he has his power (the mask? I have no clue)? I hope it doesn't come up with some lame reason. But it's so cool, I like the underdogs fighting.

... Last updated on May 18th, 2007, 2:34pm

I started off really liking this manga and as it progressed, it became a little stagnant. It can become a little boring towards the middle as some of the mini-stories can be repetitious. But, I always feel the ending can either make or break something and in this case, it DEFINITELY made the manga.. Those who have not stuck to the end don't deserve to rate the manga. The final chapters leading up to the end were so dramatic and tense. Although the end was rather abrupt, I felt it was satisfactory as a conclusion that left little loose strings and was impactful. That being said, the story is far from perfect and there are some characters that were introduced then shoved aside without much development (eg. the girl that shou may have liked in the beginning chapters). Now for he actual breakdown of each of the categories:

art: 9/10
The art style is stylized and expressive. It conveys the emotions of the characters quite well and is quite good at causing moments of extreme epicness. The artist did a good job in expressing the ugliness of the "evil" through his drawings. I felt a true sense of disgust every time I looked at them. While the literal interpretation that evil is ugly might be over powering in other manga, it works well in this story where evil is shown to be so oppressive and overwhelming. While, the art isn't especially impressive and detailed, it is well drawn and creative in how showing how the story is told.

story: 8/10
The story was rather simple and straightforward but had depth at the same time. It did not try to convince the reader that what the "hero" was doing was undeniably right. The actions of Akumetsu are questionable at best and downright immoral at worst. Though there was a "good" side and "bad" side, the story gave the reader room to ponder the actions of the akumetsu. It allowed us to understand nothing is inherently evil, but will undoubtedly become corrupted with time. There some flaws and issues that I could pick out throughout manga but non that are big enough that would ruin the manga. As I mentioned before, the ending though abrupt was good enough to give a feeling of completion. The story understands that there is no end all solution for "evil" and I'm glad that they didn't pull out some bullshit method to end all evil (I'm looking at you Code Geass R2).

character(s): 7/10
I felt this was the weakest part of the manga. Aside from the main character, the side characters get little if any development. They felt quite two-dimensional and they all lacked personality. An exception might be Katsuragi. Although he character wasn't even alive during the timeline of the manga, the chapters dedicated to him really fleshed out his character as well as the reason for Akumetsu's actions. I actually felt sorry that he had to die. Putting secondary characters aside, the main character was quite delightful and unique to learn about in the story. The reason I'm still giving this section a good rating is because the manga is supposed to be focused on the point of view of Akumetsu as a man that tries to take on evil by himself. The problem is when he begins relying on the power of the side characters in the end. Without much development of the secondary characters, their collaboration felt somewhat hollow. That being said, the finale was still nothing short of gratifying.

... Last updated on October 2nd, 2014, 10:16pm

This...my friend ......is truly a work of art..........Kudos to the author, for such amount thrill, complexity, amusement, depth, simplicity, and value.

Very very well done, questions one's conscience, yet implores to fury. Tragic it maybe, I am surprised this isnt categorized as seinen. While there might be plot holes here and there...as expected of all shounen.....the author truly does a good job onto providing compensation for our minds. EXTREMELY original, and one of the few super-hero stories that have such realism and consideration for plot and logic weaknesses, even with all the scifi.

Seriously...just read it

Very intresting manga, with great ideas and awesome art !!!