Title: Boy’s Abyss Vol. 6
Author: Ryo Minenami
Publisher: Viz Media
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 201
Genre: Slice-of-Life, Drama
Publication Date: July 23, 2024
The Story
We open up with Esemori’s backstory. We learn how he was a transfer student from Tokyo who got bullied for the way he talked. That is until a girl decided to be nice to him and erase the hateful messages off his desk; however, she wasn’t the only one who decided to take a chance on him. There was another girl behind a bar by the name of Yuko Kurose (sound familiar?) She wasn’t scared of his Tokyo dialect and even wanted to know more about the city. Together, they grew fond of each other until the day when he asked Yuko to go to Tokyo with him.
We are taken back to the present where Ms. Shiba receives a call from her grandfather claiming that Reiji stopped by and is waiting for her. She rushes there only to be deceived! Meanwhile, Reiji and Chako pay a visit to Esemori’s place but he’s not home. Reiji realizes something after he receives a text message from his mother after returning from her reunion with Esemori at the café. Reijirushes home due to the ominous message and finds himself in a rather dire situation!
Meanwhile, Esemori returns to find Chako. When she reaches out to Reiji to let him know he’s there, Reiji tells her that he’s not running away with her anymore and she’s on his own. Something triggers in her head and as she’s taking care of something, she hears a loud “whump.” Things are about to change drastically!
Characters
Wow… so much happened and to dance around everything without spoiling things is going to be rough but I’ll do my college best.
First off, Esemori… the fact that he met with Yuko in the last volume already sealed the deal that they knew each other from high school. His backstory didn’t exactly shed any new light on them knowing each other but HOW they came to know each other and the possible implications of their time together were made very clear. I won’t go any further because, well, I hate giving spoilers.
Ms. Shiba is still very difficult to get an accurate read on. What’s certain is that she’s lonely… and horny… and wants Reiji all to herself but she also wants to protect him and set him free. There is no doubt that she is obsessed with him for a reason still unknown but offering him money, a chance to escape, and to do well in his studies contradicts her obsession. It’s pretty odd, for sure, but things are about to change in the next volume, so we’ll see if some of her true intentions come to light… if there are any. She’s crazy so, who knows?
Chako was starting to go off the deep end but now that Reiji told her that she was on her own, I think we just saw the final straw snap. This ought to be fun!
Yuko is such a mess as a mother… that’s all I can say because, again, spoilers. Without giving too much away, there is another moment here during Ms. Shiba’s visit with “Reiji” that could get interesting, too, which also involves Yuko. Again, this is just a twisted mess!
Final Thoughts
Absolutely insane (in more ways than one.)
That’s the best way I can sum up this volume because until now, we’ve had all of these stories that were related to one another running parallel with some crossover. This book was about the traffic jam at a multi-directional rotary where everything is coming together and intersecting all at once! The only story that hasn’t played a role here is one with Nagi because she’s back in Tokyo doing whatever is that Nagi does. Meanwhile, we’re about to have Higurashi levels of insanity in a small, quiet, backwater town… again.
Ryo Minenami is giving Inio Asano a run for his money in the dark and gritty slice-of-life genre. Just when you think things couldn’t get darker or more messed up, they do. There are a lot of messed up moments in this volume and, not to sound like a psychopath, they all kept me entertained and wanting more. That’s when you know that you have exceptional storytelling and are executing it in such a way that your readers feel drawn into the world and are invested in these characters.
Not a lot of manga series out there make me beg for the next volume but Boy’s Abyss is one of those series. Can’t wait for Volume 7!
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This item was provided for review by Viz Media
