I have never been that guy who reads tags and synopsis of a manga because I believe that reading or watching a piece of literature without context is the best way to experience it. So, I searched through my list of bookmarks, and then I found this. At first, I thought this was a romance manga but after reading a few chapters, boy was I wrong.
Synopsis
It starts with Reiji being born in the countryside. Living with his mother together with his demented grandmother and his shut-in brother and being bullied by his ex-friend Gen. Although this is happening to him, he keeps living his life in the countryside together with her childhood friend Sakuko, a.k.a. Chako. Chako told Reiji that she had a dream of living in Tokyo, and she invited Reiji to leave the town with her. Tied to the responsibilities of taking care of his family, he believed that he couldn't escape or leave his town. The only thing that finds comfort in his life is this idol group called "Acrylic," and the one he adores the most in that group is Nagi Aoe. One day as he went by to the convenience store he encountered Nagi and at this moment the start of all the incidents and scandalous events that would happen to him and the people surrounding him.
My thoughts
Man, this manga is messed up. How messed up it was? Well, I'm glad you ask, try to imagine repeatedly touching your eyes with the liquid substance of a ghost pepper on your hands. If I were to describe the manga itself, is like getting stuck in quicksand the more he struggles the more he gets devoured by the ground, you just wait and wait until someone helps you but you might accidentally drag that person into the dangers of quicksand. Maybe the theme of this would be "I did this because of you", once you know the backstories of each character you can hardly choose to empathize or not empathize with the person for what he did.(for example Gen). As Reiji keeps unveiling the truth he wishes that he couldn't turn back to the beginning where things are better(debatable) because he realizes that once he gazes long enough to the abyss, the abyss gazes back. The only thought that i had while reading this manga is this
Conclusion
Finishing this manga left me in this state of reflecting on my life. So if you like the genre of tragedy, drama, psychological trauma etc.I highly recommend this manga not only because the story is good, but also because the art style of it is amazing, and also because the twist in the plot is crazy. I might not be able to read manga or watch anime in a few months after reading this one. Gosh, this manga is depressing to read I hate it.
Thank you for this recommendation, I will gonna read it if I have time