I've read all the chapters there are and i like this manga, it's good.
But there are a few negatives that just bother me.
First of all: Ryo was supposed to be a genius or a great student right? I can understand what he needed to do to survive while he was in prison, but why the hell did he need to go toward the path he did? He was intelligent but seems obsessed with fights to the point he seems like a sociopath to me.
Secondly: the sugawara arc. I thought this was great, but let's be real about this, he belonged to a different weight class and still kept bouncing back? it seemed so shounen-like... plus are there no drug tests in these kinds of tourneys?
Third: there is no reason yet why he killed his folks and, maybe the mangaka chose it to be this way, but i would imagine if someone killed his parents he would be thinking a lot more about it and grow more tormented by the days.
And there are more i think, but it's late and i lack sleep.
Do you agree with these inconsistencies?

C===3

hey bro

ever watch the movie? it might gives a slight different point of view but a great one.. it might explain all your question... i think.. though it may not what you expected

@ mu2020 never saw the movie, but i might soon.

@brown pillow: actually he chose the path he did because of the need to survive, that's why he kept training in prison. I agree he's a psycho, but tell me something: wouldn't it make much more sense becoming say a criminal mastermind than being a male prostitute and a debt collector? Why did he ever put up with his boss in the first place? There wasn't anybody trying to kill him as he left prison, they did what they did to his junkie girlfriend, but was there anything else? And sure he's depicted as completely crazy, but he's also extremely intelligent.
He actually showed several times a more human side, not only towards his sister, but also towards the guy he caused partial blindness and the girl in the monkey arc. I'm not making him as a well adjusted dude, but someone who could have a better life, but simply doesn't because of his obsession with fights.
And as far as the sugawara arc goes, it was the best, but let's face it, with the blows that sugawara dealt ryo, the injuries he had, there's no way he could have been fit to land blows, pose a threat and still try to stand up. I understand how it is for ryo, it's a matter of survival and instinct, the need to overcome obstacles that arise in front of him, but it seemed like a stretch for me.

it's a chinese movie though..
more info:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1029238/
and imho it's worth to watch (especially if u read the manga)

i feel like the reason he killed his parents was to get rid of all of his weaknesses
everyone who was considered stronger or a superior
and so he started off with the biggest superior to any teenager

i dont remember its been on hiatus for so long
but i think in the manga he mentions something like this but in different words

why because i am the president of the student council of course

[img]http://i707.photobucket.com/albums/ww73/chewy_bubble2004/2d360793.gif[/img]

It's been a long time since I've read it, but I think it was a more simple. I think it had to do with the pressure he was given by his parents and society. That's why he killed his parents. The rest seems more or less the prison mentality that was kind of beat into him.

[img]http://www.nodiatis.com/pub/19.jpg[/img]

Actually i think he got his folks cuz his stress finally reach its end and explode.
Study stress and the extra stress he got from being forced to abandon his dominant hand

Furthermore, i think he got problems in the brain regarding the part where people use to restrain stress and anger.

this might be out of topic, but recently the mangaka back, he has released ch 61, but from WFP latest release (chap 57) seems there're some missing chapters, anybody have the raw (chapter 58-60)?

I read the manga more as a commentary on the failure of the social system w/ this kid.

Ryo and his sister obviously had deep-rooted issues, and their parents made it worse. In the juvenile facility instead of receiving counseling and help, he was viciously bullied. Instead of solving the issue they just taught him how to fight back. Having spent half his life in prison up until that point, he was released w/ no knowledge on how to get by in the free world. So he started living w/ this girl who eventually OD'd on drugs. After that, everyone starts to exploit his past and use it for money.

It's a really messed up story.

LOOK AT MY WITTY SIG!!11!!!!11

being a good student has absouloutly nothing to do with being smart or being able to cope in a new enviorment like prison
not in japan
nor anywere else in this world
so him becoming a criminal mastermind is kind of impossible for him

him being pressured by his parents into being this A-Student/A-human made him snap and kill them
they forced him to become something he could not be
and his sister also say that if he had not done it she would
his parents where not even close to loving/caring parents...they failed him
all they wanted was him to succed so they would look good as parents

the sugawara arc...if you read it... it explains why that happened
sugawara made the fight just as he wanted it
he let Narushima attack in the first round...letting him feel confident...he almost broke his leg in the second round to break his spirit...almost broke his arm...then he knocked him down just in time so that the gong would ring and he would get back up again
he was trying to humuiliate Narushima and the old man and his plan was to kill Narushima or atleast cripple him for life in the last round
then shit happened but that could kind of happen in a real situation too
but the only dammage Sugawara did get was a fracture on his hand...narushima lost...and almost died from his wounds

sugawara being KOed in the later fight well...no rules means that weight class kind of goes out the door...atleast when its that close
and Sugawara thought Narushima had died
so he was relaxed and not prepared at all when he was praying/talking to the bodhisattva for forgivness...and got hit right in the back of his head
narushima was afterall 76kg maybe even more when that fight was taking place and sugawara was 100kg
so not that huge diffrence
atleast not when there is no rules involved

something i never understood
why do narushima constantly learn new martial arts
i mean wtf
he know strange mystical kungfu that can make grown men fly 50meter and crush their inner organs by just touching them
why not go back into the mountains,wherever and focus on that martial art instead of learnining some shitty MMA stuff
or for that matter
why not try to actually copy the moves kurokawa did on him in the sugawara arc

why is kurokawa trying to "stop the monster he created" ?
that sounds so weird
why would he say that
why is he against narushima now allofasudden
and since when did he become a monster in kurokawas eyes
he has not done anything[atleast that they know of] since the official fight with sugawara
i guess he is not best of friends with the guys narushima works for atm but narushima never reallydid anything but accept one fight against a total nobody in their name

Quote from TaoPaiPai

something i never understood
why do narushima constantly learn new martial arts
i mean wtf
he know strange mystical kungfu that can make grown men fly 50meter and crush their inner organs by just touching them
why not go back into the mountains,wherever and focus on that martial art instead of learnining some shitty MMA stuff
or for that matter
why not try to actually copy the moves kurokawa did on him in the sugawara arc

why is kurokawa trying to "stop the monster he created" ?
that sounds so weird
why would he say that
why is he against narushima now allofasudden
and since when did he become a monster in kurokawas eyes
he has not done anything[atleast that they know of] since the official fight with sugawara
i guess he is not best of friends with the guys narushima works for atm but narushima never reallydid anything but accept one fight against a total nobody in their name

You know what, as much as I'd like to dispute it, I can't think of a reason for any of those. Hopefully it's just because it's been so long since I've last read it, and suddenly they're resuming it like they never even took a break (which makes sense in the long run, but still). Here's hoping someone can answer those.

hey bro

I'm guessing the reason they suddenly dropped the mystical chi stuff has something to do with what's mentioned on the series page.

Extra Note: At volume 20, the series changed publishers, which created a restart of the chapter numbers.

Starting from chapter 61 in volume 26, the first chapter from when the series returned from a long hiatus, the series has been completely written & drawn by Tanaka Akio. While Hashimoto Izou did write the series in the beginning, he had been doing less and less work starting from volume 4. Tanaka & Hashimoto reached a settlement and Shamo continued.

Quote from Sagaris

I'm guessing the reason they suddenly dropped the mystical chi stuff has something to do with what's mentioned on the series page.

Extra Note: At volume 20, the series changed publishers, which created a restart of the chapter numbers.

Starting from chapter 61 in volume 26, the first chapter from when the series returned from a long hiatus, the series has been completely written & drawn by Tanaka Akio. While Hashimoto Izou did write the series in the beginning, he had been doing less and less work starting from volume 4. Tanaka & Hashimoto reached a settlement and Shamo continued.

Right, but they dropped the chi stuff a couple of volumes before the hiatus happened. Who knows, maybe he'll "remember" in his upcoming fight.

hey bro