Ibitsu

This is a story about a twisted relationship between a high school girl and a twenty something Otaku man that is forced to live with her and basically obey all her eccentric whims in exchange for her being a live model for a doll he is making.
It is just as creepy as it sounds, but it also has plenty of heart and will make you care for both main leads.
I have only been able to find up to chapter 26 of this series, so the translation is incomplete, but if you liked Sundome and want something similar, then I would recommend Ibitsu to you.
~WiruSempai

After a few chapters in, I got the feeling that the story is kinda going in the same track as Nana to Kaoru, with the similar SM elements and also male lead inferior, female lead unravelled beauty plotline.

What lured me deeper into the story was how the author tackles Kakiguchi's elevating erotic desire for Madoka as conflicts within himself. Personally I enjoy Kakiguchi's character as the weak man with a strong sense of morality.

Pacing was good for the first 40 plus chapters, but have absolutely no clue why the ending was such. Never saw THAT ending coming in a million years, and will leave you wondering why you invested 62 chapters worth of time to read THAT.

First of, this is my first MAL review so please, bear with me a little :).
If you're not familiar with the works of Okada-sensei and don't know what to expect from this title, I recommend reading his previous work, Sundome, which is very similar in tone, themes and of course art. If you've read it, do know that the level of perversion shown in Ibitsu is even greater :p.

**Art**
Starting out with art, I think it's a major step-up from Sundome in both character designs and the use of illumination to accentuate mood. All characters are very nicely drawn and each is distinct. Okada-sensei has a very unusual style, especially prevalent among the female cast. He's also very apt at drawing out the subtleties of facial expressions. You may not like the art style, though, as it's fairly bleak, full of contrasts and white space, but that of course adds to the overall mood of the manga.

**Characters**
The cast is fairly small, but because of this each character is convincingly unique with their own humanly real goals and motivations. Interestingly, Okada-sensei doesn't deal in stereotypes so it's difficult to make references to works other than his own. Madoka resembles Kurumi from Sundome in guise, but their dispositions differ slightly. Kakiguchi is in a way similar to Aiba, but his motivations are completely different. Madoka's school friend, Meg is the slightly jealous BFF who admires the main female protagonist, at the same time feels inferior to her. As in to match the tone of the manga, each character is psychologically broken. Kakiguchi is unable to form an intimate relationship with people due to supposed past trauma and prefers onaholes instead of real women, Madoka is a sadist who enjoys and gets aroused by tormenting Kakiguchi, while Tou sensei is perhaps one of the most despicable characters in the series.

**Story (SLIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD!)**
Ibitsu is mostly about the strange relationship between Moritaka Madoka, a 16-year-old high school girl whose parents divorced and are fighting over her custody and a young-looking 22-year-old sex shop clerk, Kakiguchi Keigo. Madoka is disillusioned and has no faith in people other than her best friend, Meg. Meanwhile, Keigo lives a day-to-day non-existence of little importance, but has a dream to make high quality sex dolls. The story picks up when Madoka moves in with Keigo to find sadistic entertainment at his cost, mocking him for not having any sex drive, but their relationship steadily develops into something more meaningful as the story progresses.

**Finale (MASSIVE SPOILERS AHEAD!)**
I know the general rule is to avoid spoilers, but I think my reflections might be valuable to people who read the story and are struggling to understand it fully.

The reason why my score for Ibitsu oscillates between 8 and 9, is because in my opinion the story is not finished. The way the relationship between Madoka and Keigo was developing throughout the manga suggested that it can go either way and the mangaka is not sure himself. There were clear indications that their relationship can finally become mutually romantic as Keigo slowly started opening up to Madoka and she already sacrificed a lot, including her dignity to protect him, demonstrating that she does in fact love him. Honestly, that would've been beautiful and would've made for a truly satisfying conclusion. But there were also moments like their quarrel about the color of the doll's nipples and the time when Madoka noticed that Keigo is fascinated by her not as a mate, but as a model for his doll. In the end, nothing is finished. Keigo doesn't complete his doll (the eyes, among other things are missing) and Madoka dies in a train accident shortly before meeting him. It's a real shame, because the story could've been so much more.

From chapter 1 I loved this series, however no matter how much I enjoyed this series the translators dropped this series. so all you have is chapters 1 - 20 and the rest except the final chapter which is 36 in raw. The story is amazing and great taking you into the minds of a masochist guy and a sadist girl; with pretty twisted story that occurs later on (from what I hear). I would love someone to translate chapters 21 to 59, cause this manga needs to be known.

When I accidentally stumbled upon this manga, my first thought was that it resembles Sundome a lot. The unmistakable art, it must really be from the same mangaka. True enough, my suspicion was right. Going in this manga, I already had expectations from it. But damn, the twisted perversion on this one puts Sundome to shame. Is it better than Sundome? Well not really, but it still manages to hold well against it.

All you need to know about this manga is that it is very crude and perverted. Heck, this is considered borderline hentai. However, I’d rather pick this than most hentai doujins I’ve read. Why? Because it’s more engaging in terms of both story and style. The chemistry between Kakiguchi and Madoka is beautiful, though using that term is quite strange in the context of the manga. Let us say they complement each other really well. We have Kakiguchi who is really a hopeless virgin seen as scum working in a sex shop. Then we have Madoka, a high school girl with a bossy yet seductive attitude, who started to live under the same roof as Kakiguchi. Most of the material of the manga mainly consists of these two individuals engaging in very sexual acts that appeal to bizarre fetishes. They can get really disgusting, but eventually you get kind of used to it if you manage to stomach the initial shock.

While it isn’t very apparent, there is character development. As the story progresses, one can observe how Madoka starts acting more natural. Normally, she would act all devilish but there are times when she would actually get flustered which can be surprising yet delighting. Both Madoka and Kakiguchi start to display concern and affection for each other, although it’s very subtle. You can pick it up during internal monologues, or when you observe how they seem to have a different reaction from a situation that is considered normal to their lifestyle. I don’t believe it has to do with romance though. It’s more like forming a trust between them, like they accept and embrace each other’s filth that they don’t want any other person to see.

Now, my main complaint with the manga is the story’s direction in the second half. While it is necessary for a story to have some kind of conflict, I think the manga did a disappointing job with it. “Oho, we have this two people enjoying each other’s company and what do we do? Of course, insert some two-faced villain that will ruin everything. Oh wait! How about we also add a jealous best friend? That would be better right?”

No.

The conclusion, it was just terrible. It kind of depresses me how half-assed the ending was. I was expecting some sort of catharsis, but what I’ve got in return was a trainwreck. I was slowly getting emotionally invested with the two lead characters and they don’t deserve a finale like that. There were so many things the manga could have gone for like explaining why is Madoka such a troubled individual? The manga didn’t shed any light on that part and many other things.

But maybe, what the manga is trying to say is that not everyone gets a happy ending. I know that sounds cliché, but it’s the right setup for a depressing story between two depraved individuals. I’m still feeling conflicted with my overall opinion, but I still think it’s worth checking out especially if you’re a fan of the author’s other works such as Sundome. Nevertheless, dive in to the dark world of Ibitsu, where the darkness might just swallow you and taint your mind and body. Hope is optional, and expecting the greatest from it will just make your ruin greater.

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS

I think it displays a perfect, umm.. Sado-mazo or, I don't really know what kind of a relationship that is exactly, but whatever it is, it's a perfect example of it. What I mean to say with that is that.. When I see this kind of stuff wherever, I could only appreciate it if I were an individual who has grown up and developed with/into such a mindset.
Here in this story, I've for the first time ever(even still somewhat) managed to enjoy the fetishism in it.
The things that would normally be "get this out of my face", or even "*blurgh* that is disgusting", were okay to me, and in one(out of only a few instances), THE LATTER was an amazingly beautiful moment.
Perhaps I'll whenever I encounter this stuff wherever from now on always remember this story, and the end of it. I hope that it will be so.

I dislike that the character insight is low, in the sense that there is basically zero of the characters' pasts told about.
It probably makes it very hard to accept this story, to take it with full seriousness/sincerity. A friend for who I'd concluded that this manga would suit their preference, dropped it almost immediately because of exactly this issue. She thought that Madoka is the devil and couldn't take the manga seriously, she wanted to read something realistic and not niche horror stories.
The low rating is here because it's not my perfect cup of tea.
The low rating is also an act of spite for never being revealed more about the characters' pasts.

There are beautiful moments. Those moments take time to witness because to me it was hard to get a firm assesment of the characters(the thing crucial for me in order to love a story), and those moments have for me been based on growing to understand the characters more. Growing to understand how they express themself. With that said, those moments did't start ocurring within me until about early half-way through the story because the understanding has had to have developed first.

The ending vastly rose this story for me.
Up until the ending, I going to give it a 4/10.
But after the very end, it was kinda perfect.
The way this ended hurt, and I love that.
When a story makes me feel, well.. That's why I'm reading stories to begin with.
The end of this story is amazing and excruciatingly affecting.
It made for the story to be a piece that I've read, and that I'm very glad to have done so.

Oh, now that I think of this particular something, I'm getting goosebumps.
I love the "leaf-jumping".
Those two love and enjoy doing that.
It's so.. Beautiful..
Makes me recall a thing from the movie "American Beauty"(apart from that blonde actress's half-naked beauty), and I've seen the movie more than 10 years ago.
A couple in that movie recorded a plastic bag being swirled around by the wind, and then later watched that recording. It is beautiful to them.
Jumping on fallen autumn leaves.
A thing I don't really understand and I don't think I can understand so I take it for granted and see it for what it's to me presented as, something that is to another beautiful.
With the niche fetishes, perhaps, but when walking through the streets brim with autumn leaves, from now on I'll often recall the two of this story.

Spoiler:
The two of them never hugged.
That is horrible to me. That is the worst, the saddest part of this story to me.
They never hugged.
I get the feeling of suffocation upon thoroughly remembering that fact.
It is absolutely horrible to me.
Furthermore, seeing how the story ended, the possibility for the two of them to hug each other no longer existing..... Bloody hell.
(Naturally, this is all based singulary on how much of a significant thing a hug is for me. To hug the one you love and adore..)

I had mixed feelings starting this manga after reading some of the other reviews, but in the first half the main characters really grew on me. Yes, they are bizarre, weird, but there is an underlying charm to them nevertheless. I must say I really enjoyed the drawing of this manga.
As other reviews were quite negative about the end, just past the halfway mark I decided to see the last chapter. To say I was shocked is an understatement. I was also incredibly saddened by the whole thing. Now, even though I knew the end, I went back to where I had left off and finished it properly.
I'm glad I did, because there were several good bits of character development I would have missed out on, little bits of tenderness that make you actually like the characters even more, even though they are so totally perverted!

Reading the end again, I just wish it could have had a happier ending..... but as someone else said, not all stories have a happy ending.

Is it worth the read? If you enjoy fetishes and perverted acts, Yes; if you enjoy subtle char development, Yes; if you like this art style, definitely yes.... if you want a weird, perverted, fetish-filled story with a good ending, stay away.

Story: Very similar to Nana to Kaoru, which wasn't bad of a read. Ended up going towards a lot of BDSM, I'm into but did not expect. At the beginning, I wasn't really interested but as I kept reading, it kept piquing my interest however, as the other reviews say, the ending was lacking. It wasn't as terrible as others are making it out to be though. It just felt rushed and incomplete, but I guess you can say it's unexpected (which is personally better than the cliche)

Art: Also similar to Nana to Kaoru, The males are drawing cartoonish while the females are usually prettier. Not the best art in the world but as you read I got used to the style. It's similar to old anime art style but I guess its better than extremely disproportionate limbs (like in other shojou mangas)

Character: Again, characters were not very appealing at all but as I read on, you grow attached to the two main characters. Forget about being attached to the side characters.

Enjoyment: I personally read this one because it was completed and for a completed manga (and I've read many) this one was great for its length. I also enjoy the development of the characters as they both changed through the story but I could also see how others might not like it.

Overall: If you have the time and you've read most of the completed mangas other there (like me), give this one a try. :)

(This review contains a few minor spoilers)

You may have come across something so vile and twisted that you feel a bit
of your sanity slipping away as you indulge in something truly grotesque and
disturbing. Ibitsu happens to be a perfect example of this as it draws you in
with it's truly messed up story.
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Story
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Ibitsu tells the story of a girl called Madoka being groped on a train by
the main character Keigo who happens to have a fascination with creating
lifelike dolls. From this incident the story spirals into a dark psychological standoff between dignity ,lust and companionship.

Madoka blackmails Keigo into living with him and they end up sharing a
symbiotic relationship where Keigo is allowed to use Madoka as a model for his doll making while frequently Madoka forces him into some very questionable and messed up SM(Sadism and Masochism) situations with Keigo being forced into the masochistic role.

Despite nudity being prevalent and being portrayed erotically the dark and foreboding atmosphere keeps you on your toes and makes you weary rather than aroused.
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Characters
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The main characters from Ibitsu all suffer from deep psychological wounds
that form who they are as people and only begins to touch upon how messed up and deep the relationship between them truly stretches turning into something akin to a convoluted mess.

The side characters only aim to add fuel to the fire and don't bring any
form of relief to any of the main characters and only adds more to their misery.
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Art
------------
The art itself is dark and this greatly adds to the overall atmosphere of Ibitsu.

The characters themselves often have their faces shaded darker than other manga while the backgrounds are usually drawn quite dark and simply without much detail unless specific objects are meant to be emphasized. This adds to the foreboding feeling that something is just waiting to happen.
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Enjoyment
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To say that reading Ibitsu brings more displeasure than enjoyment is an understatement. Ibitsu is just not the type of Manga most people can enjoy , yet you still find yourself captivated by the sliver of beauty that it shows every so often.
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Overall impressions
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Ibitsu is not for everyone and not without it's flaws and if you cannot handle things like urine drinking , public humiliation, BDSM (Bondage and Submission) , nudity , sex and overall depressing events befalling main characters then I advise you to stay away to maintain your sanity.

However if you can accept if for what it is I would recommend this one to the more messed up crowd.

Story: 10
before i started reading this i thought it was just going to be a really low quality gore fest and little to no story would be present. then i started reading it and i was so wrong. i figured out that the story was actually really interesting and made me fear for the characters. the story did its job in freaking me out.

Art: 10
well in order for the story to be as scary as possible the art would have to back it up right? well Ibitsu frikken nailed it the art is really really good and really really messed up where it needs to be.

Characters: 10
For the first time ever the lead of a horror manga isn't a firkin idiot. nuf said

Overall: 10
It actually scared me and not many manga or anime can do that.

I have to give this mange a 8/10 because I loved the story but i didn't like the art that much.This was my first time reading horror manga I usually don't read horror because I am mostly into romance ,but I decided to give it a try.Well while I was reading this it was dark at night quiet ... big mistake.As I read deeper into the book I realized how messed up and twisted it is and I started to get extremely scared o.o.Anyway the legend which the story is surrounding around is about a creepy girl dressed in lollita clothing who comes out at night and asks the question to ( male only) 'Do you need a little sister' , and it doesn't matter if you answer honestly or dishonestly you will have a twisted death in the end,so basically you shouldn't answer in the first place.I find this legend incredibly interesting because of how messed up the end would be for you if you answer the lollita girl.Remember when I said I was scared? That made me like this manga even more because of how much it freaked me out it actually had my heart beating fast.Lastly I would really recommend this manga to anyone who enjoys twisted endings , a creepy character , to be scared , and urban legends ;D.

While I'm not exactly a big horror fan, when it does come down to experiencing one, I prefer more psychological horror or the creepy kind. More the spookiness and less the "hey guys, look, severed heads!" kind so getting into manga, Ibitsu is technically my first "horror" manga and while it had promise, the story is ultimately what weighed it down.

Story: General premise is a guy throwing out the trash runs into a lolita-like girl who asks him a question. Guy chalks it up to weirdness and continues on and the story takes it from there. Problem is is that if you have even the slightest knowledge of horror stories, you know where it's going. While it was an interesting read and the story just flows, it was also for me insanely predictable.

Art: There's kind of a creepy and evocative approach to the art where the freaky nature these types of series get into is a bit tamer with things hidden in shadow or silhouette and the image of the girl does have its twisted moments so I think this is where the book shines.

Overall: Ibitsu is a fairly quick read and while it does have its pluses such as the art and pacing, a story with more unexpected turns or characters that don't feel like story vessels would've made it a more satisfying read.

Story:
Hated the first chapter, thought the third was pretty provocative, enjoyed the manga as a whole. It's not a very complex narrative and certain things happen just to be spooky but a few other scenes are actually quite petrifying. The whole thing feels like a classic slasher film where the villain is mysterious and far more than anyone in the narrative can expect.

I only had some issues with exploitation. Now, granted, I'm a fan of horror so I've seen my fair share of gore exploitation where things are done far more than needed for the sake of exciting the audience. To me, I don't enjoy watching people suffer, but I do enjoy mystery and metaphors. Horror can do those both real well, and this one does a pretty good mystery but doesn't pursue metaphor all that much. So, to balance out the lack of metaphor, we're embraced with a lot of showy horrors. I didn't mind it too much, and that wasn't all that bothersome to me. The real problem comes into some of the exploitative artwork.

I'll get into more detail when I discuss the artwork but, basically, there are panels that don't exactly respect the women in the narrative. I'm not getting all SJW here, but comparing this to the genre that it is. The horror that puts emphasis on placing panels where we can see panties for no reason, or change the size of female breasts makes me wonder just how intelligent the horror is that I'm reading. And, the further you read, the less intelligent it seems since certain things happen just to be spooky, as mentioned before.

All of this means that the horror isn't really anything other than exploiting the horror of death without bringing anything to the table. It's not asking anything of you as a viewer, it's just putting you on the edge of your seat as a character runs and hides from certain death. Is this bad? Not necessarily, but it makes the narrative 'less healthy' in a sense. I'm left wondering whether I gained anything from watching someone die. Horror doesn't need heroes, but it needs satisfaction, and I don't find joy or satisfaction in seeing people terrified.

So, why the 7/10 for the story rating and not, say, a 5 or 6? Because the horror elements are quite good. There are scenes that are really quite terrifying and you can't help but root for the hero to escape before it's too late. Then there are points where laws are set about how to potentially combat the villain, or deter it, and you get the see how that works. Also, the mystery is a little boring and unoriginal at first but then you get to the end and the twist is quite satisfying. It all comes together quite nicely.

But, part of the reason everything fits is cause this is filled with the usual tropes. The villain is a girl, but also she's dressed in loli clothes. She looks so innocent, doesn't she? Wow, how could she be evil? Well, she is! Watch out! And, the fact certain characters are so stupid or that a certain venue in the second volume is so stereotypical for this kind of horror, it's not unbelievable to think this "Just works!" (Todd Howard voice.) However, it doesn't mean there isn't room for some improvement, but that's neither here nor there.


Art:
The art here is pretty bad. Some artists think horror means drawing everything like it's a sketch, defying the understood boundaries of the 2-dimensional world, but in reality, it just means it's even harder to tell what the hell is going on. Couldn't stand the artwork half the time, and I felt the protagonist's design was very weak.

I mentioned briefly the compromising female treatment in the story and there really is no reason for it. Some might say it's the artist's 'style,' others might call me out for being prudish, but none of that changes how stupid it all is. I mean, seriously, I'm supposed to be terrified by what's going on and you throw an ass in front of me? That's so stupid. It just means when a character loses their shirt because the villain tears it off, I can't help but wonder if that's supposed to be part of the horror in that the character is now losing the most basic form of physical defence (clothing) or you just wanted to show me a nipple. I don't get it. It just doesn't make sense.


Character:
Another poor rating, this time due to weak characterization. It doesn't really matter who the horror is affecting. All that matters is that it's happening. I can't even get into detail here or say who was what. Their names aren't even used enough to mean anything, and everyone looks the same except one wears glasses? Anyways, just bad character design paired with weak characters to begin with. Just a mess.


Enjoyment:
I don't know, it was hard to start but since it was 2 volumes I figured I'd commit. It was worth it in the end, and I found myself praising certain qualities when I talked about it to my fiancee on Discord. I've even recommended it to my friend who loves horror solely because it has such a classic feel to it. I think that's what kept this so enjoyable, the aesthetic of it all felt so 70's horror where a bunch of nobody teenagers just get screwed by circumstance. Things could have been better, no doubt, like stronger characters and less exploitation, but I'm not asking for the world when I look for horror, I'm really just lookin' for some spookin'.


((If you liked this review, check out my other reviews by going to my profile and clicking the 'reviews' tab. I review virtually all anime and manga I find!))

Although I can't handle the horror genre, I still read this manga because the story itself was addictive in a way. How do I know? Because even though it literally gave me chills, I couldn't stop myself from continuing to read more of it. I genuinely didn't want to read anymore because it was that scary, but it was too late, I was already hooked. Not only was the plot very good (I found no plot holes whatsoever), but the characters were also portrayed very well. I felt as if I was watching the story unfold rather than reading an actual manga. This was definitely high-quality horror. I gave this an overall 8 because, I'm still not good with horror, but even so this manga deserved a high score for its quality gold. I'm actually tempted to give it a 9.

NO SPOILARS :
in the beginning I was very excited to read it , I'm ok with reading horror , but this one made me feel colic a lot , and some times grosses me , the art was good , and the story was good too , but the END was such a waste for all that , I didn't like the way thee things end up with , it can end with a better way actually .
after finish reading it I felt a little bit disappointing , cuz it end with such an unsatisfying way .
the Lolita girl really pissed me off , and the way things was going into made me want to kill her for real .
at the end , it will take me a while before start reading another horror manga .

Ibitsu is one of the rare exceptions in manga where the genre of horror means something. It creates a dark atmosphere that lures the reader in.

Story: 7
One cannot expect much in terms of story for any horror manga. As such, many questions were unexplained. Despite this, the mysteries created assisted in making Ibitsu true to its genre.

Art: 6
The art style did not fit the manga well for the most part. Characters other than the main villain looked more suitable to feature in a shounen manga.

Character: 8
The main character portrayed realistic emotions and feelings given those circumstances. The villain was about as twisted and evil as they come. Would of helped to have added more supporting characters (not fodder/ already dead characters), but given it was only two volumes this would be a difficult ask.

Enjoyment: 9
Ibitsu is a manga that actually does justice to the horror genre. Its mysterious, dark and twisted nature separates it from other manga of the same genre.

Story - I didn't know what to expect originally. I've read most of the Higurashi mangas and I've read Elfen Lied (and seen both the animes). I didn't think that anything I read would be much worse than these two... How naiive of me... When I started reading this I was alone in my room, in the dark and I had to sit downstairs in the company of others to finish reading it. I almost expect to see the lolita standing outside my door right now...
Anyway, the story was very well done with a couple of interesting twist. Creepy too!

Art - As others have said, the art fit the manga perfectly. Especially the drawing of the creepy lolita with her empty eyes, bruised skin and her dirty clothing. All the horror sections were drawn very well.

Character - And I thought Rena and Lucy were insane, the development of the lolita is amazing. She is creepy and obsessive to no end. You really feel for the other characters that have to come across her.

Enjoyment - Enjoyment... Well, I read it in a couple of hours. I couldn't put it down and it creeped the hell out of me!

Overall - If you love horror manga, you will love this!

Wow, if Ibitsu’s goal was to be the most generic, uninspired horror schlock you can imagine, then it really succeeded.

I didn’t expect any better. I go into nearly everything with cosmically low expectations anyway, because when you find something really worthwhile it’s quite an adventure to be uplifted from that. Ibitsu was recommended by many-a-manga collector and I decided to give it a go because I was running low on reads and wanted to get some more horror under my belt.

But I really feel like I came away not even having read an actual story. Ibitsu has nothing that hasn’t been done better elsewhere. Conceptually, all it is is fetishy Bloody Mary. And visually, it’s downright awful. Everything you think will happen will. It is every teen horror movie ever. It’s every overused, unscary trope that’s pervaded the genre and given it a bad reputation for decades. I really think these ideas can be done justice in better ways; with more creative panel flow and much better art — but Ibitsu is not where you’ll find it.

But I’m glad this exists. Because without the bad, we’d never know the good. Thank you, Ibitsu, for reminding me just how good other manga truly are.

I liked this manga very much, however, its not for everyone. If your not a particular fan of gore and sad stories and stay clear, but you should try new things once in a while. Anyway it is a short manga being around 13 chapters long, that's including the 2 extra story chapters they put int. (didn't bother reading those was too into the story).

The story itself was explained in the end not leaving any gaping plot wholes. Personally it made me want to keep on reading and reading, but it finished, however i liked the way it ended and i think it's great the way it is. the art was very nice as well, overall it was very enjoyable.

If your looking for a nice short scary/gory manga than you should add this to your list.

In short, utterly terrible. A thankfully short, z-grade foray into old and tired horror movie cliches that almost look laughably bad with the shonen style art. I would say I really enjoy horror and thriller themed seinen stuff, but more in the vein of episodic, large, almost adventurous tales: bio-meat, cage of eden, kamisama no iutoori and higanjima are all great example of horror seinen done right for me (to varying degrees.) With Ibitsu, all I got was a blah little serial killer story full of dumb plot holes and a twist that I saw coming miles away. The way they kill off characters is so predictable- part of the appeal of many gritty seinen manga to me is the unexpectedness or abruptness with which people meet their ends, even if you know its probably coming. None of that was here. There is no serious resolution here and it simply leaves you where it began, making invalid and useless everything that built up to it- this is true of so many slasher films nowadays. Whats even worse is how derivative of these slashers its truly is as every famous cliche is present: shadows darting forward and friends disappearing, a wacked out backstory involving psychiatric treatment, the old "hold the main character hostage and punish him out of love" routine, and body-switching themes. The characters themselves were the final nails in the coffin - vapid character archetypes with no depth at all. The serial killer and the main character was so typical, so boring,and so unlikable it was just lame. I did not find myself rooting for the hero to escape or on the edge of my seat for what would happen, because it became so tepidly clear what was going to happen. Skip it and watch a classic horror movie instead, same thing but way more entertaining.