Around sixty people who failed at suicide and agreed to an assisted suicide from the hospital, wake up on an Island known as Suicide Island. The islanders divide into two main camps; one camp (Sei's) trying to coexist in harmony while the other under a tyrannical cannibalistic despot (Sawada). The number of people being sent to the island isn't much, considering the amount of attempted suicide is in the hundreds of thousands. Also the ratio of male to female on the island is skewed towards males; one would have expected a more balanced equal ratio. Mind you, the whole storyline is very unrealistic to begin with, but that what's fun about manga.
Initially, Sei's group spend much of their time trying to survive within the Islands ecosystem and making a home for themselves. Sei (MC) became the groups main hunter. It starts well for them but eventually they clash with the other camp. The two camps end up being hostile to each other because of Sawada psychopathic nature and XXX's nature. It's a little more complex than that, but that's the jest of the story.
I agree with those who commented that the survival aspect of the story is what got me hooked, and initially I would have preferred to avoid conflict. But that can only take you so far.
Two things really annoyed me more than anything else besides their procrastination:
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Why in gods name after months on the island, they still didn't know all the names of their comrades. They live, work, eat and sleep together, yet after over six months there still people who kept their names hidden. How can a group function without using name, nicknames or even numbers? It was obvious it was going to be used for nonsensical drama.
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They have a hospital that is opposite the main camp (a school). Even though, one time their patient and companion got cornered in the hospital, they still use it for patients. The fact that is secluded from the main camp and easy to attack, does not stop them from using it.
The rest is a kind of my view on actions of the survivors. It may contain some semi-spoilers
Destroying the other camp is nothing to do with rape but with survival. If someone is not willing to risk their lives to kill a psychopathic murderer, not sure why anyone would think they would for the lesser crime and threat of rape. If Sawada camp just stuck to his side of the Island, no one would bother attacking them. But they do not and that's why, what they are doing is delaying the inevitable. Had they acted early, all they needed was one arrow in Sawada's head and the battle would have been half won. But the more they procrastinate the more violent the final clash would be. They are doing what got them on this island in the first place, and that is not facing and then challenging their current reality, but instead choosing a way out.
Ryou is the second most insipid guy in the manga. Making excuses for rapist and murderers. He would put everyone at risk for a murderers. In first is that disgusting MC character Sei. You hunt to live, is what he said at first. I am sure those two would kill if they are fighting to death or for someone they really loved. Sei does not think ahead and not only avoids killing but also tries to avoid injuring others. It seems the damage he deals others haunt him. He has no problem though forgetting the fact that his negligence has led to death of few of his comrades and more suffering. The hypocrisy of it all is the fact, when the newcomers did not help in the defence because they were new to this and afraid, they did not give them food from which the new comers helped gather, they also shunned them, knowing that a few more suicides would be the outcome. Not just shrinking their rations, but complete shunning and depriving them of food; at a time when these (failed suicide) attemptees are at their most vulnerable. Just as long they do not pull the trigger directly they lack any sympathy or guilt, for indirect deaths. But for murderers from another camp, they try and make excuses for their behaviour and even think they can rehabilitate them. This can be applied to the majority of Sei's group. That just does not sit well with me at all. Sei is really detestable and to a lesser extent Ryou. It is not because he avoids killing and fighting, it is because he tries stop others with false hope from doing so without providing a real alternative.
Issues with other people's comments
Kai's personality
Kai was suicidal in a world with laws and lived by it. But maybe he was always a psychopath, but stuck to the norms of the society he was in. He certainly lacks empathy. On the island, his personality was set free.
-- "the mangaka is that women are strong, and stories without interesting women are half as good as those with them in it."
False on both accounts. Physically they are not. And these particular women (and men) happen to be also weak mentally to begin with. They are suicidal outcasts. If you have doubt, go to a country were America has brought democracy or any society with chaos, see how "equal" it becomes when law and order collapses. A story does not need both genders to be interesting. There are also a number of female characters that get a lot of attention. But most of the attention is on the Sei (MC) then maybe Ryou and then Liv (female).
-- "The author did a good job in glossing over the rapes, making it seem like it's no big deal, since it seems few people pick up on it."
People are being killed left, right and centre as well as acts of suicide. Yet for each death we get a panel or two. There's also cannibalism but its hardly shown. There's a reason for that, its not a story about cannibalism or rape. Does rape trump murder and suicide? All of them are non-issues to the story. Also its a false statement, had he paid attention to what the characters were saying or actually just continued to read, without getting to emotional about the fictional daily non-existent "rape" (and not the mass suicide and killing), he would had a different and correct understanding of what actually is going on. What we know about the women in the other camp is they are not worth dying for. If they are going to fight and die it should be to live. And that would go double for people who have found a reason to live after living so long without one.
The fact the people on the other side seems to accept their lifestyle and behave like a cult, why would anyone want to go and risk their lives to rescue them when they do not want to be rescued in the first place. What may have started as a rape is now willing servitude. Not only do the female not resist, they go one about their duties unhampered and unwatched. They are willing to die for Sawada. That was pretty obvious early on from what Nao and others were saying. It's not easy to risk your life for people whom you do not know but its worse, they are willing to kill you. Apart from Tomo and Kai, everyone appears to worship Sawada as a cult leader. Unlike the cowards in Sei's camp, Sawada's people actually had a leader that motivate them to risk their own lives to survive.
It's ironic that in both camps, they accepted a false reality to carry out their action/inaction. And in both camps it is the most prominent individuals (Ryuu, Sei, Sawada) that gave them this false reality.
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