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Reiji’s life is as miserable as the small town he can’t escape. The most interesting thing that’s ever happened there is a double suicide down by the river. Does Reiji have any power over his fate, or will he too fall into the abyss?

Reiji’s mother is checked out, he’s stuck caring for his grandmother with dementia, and his childhood friend treats him like a lackey. Then beautiful, big-city pop star Nagi miraculously shows up working the counter at the local convenience store. Reiji is starstruck. When she offers him the ultimate way out of his claustrophobic existence, will he succumb to temptation…?

208 pages, Paperback

First published July 17, 2020

46 people are currently reading
1272 people want to read

About the author

Ryo Minenami

59 books27 followers
MINENAMI Ryou
Name (in native language): 峰浪りょう
Associated Name:
MINENAMI Ryo
Ryô Minenami

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5 stars
361 (22%)
4 stars
609 (38%)
3 stars
403 (25%)
2 stars
141 (8%)
1 star
57 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 188 reviews
Profile Image for Urbon Adamsson.
1,978 reviews102 followers
June 23, 2025
EN I had come across this manga several times before, and each time I thought it wasn’t for me. But one day I decided to read the synopsis — and I was instantly hooked.

Now, after devouring the first volume, I’m left speechless.

It’s exactly the kind of mature reading I enjoy, and I couldn’t be happier for giving this series a chance. I read it all in one sitting.

Now, all I want is to keep reading the next volumes as soon as possible.

--

PT Já me tinha cruzado com este manga várias vezes e, em todas essas ocasiões, achei que não era para mim. Mas um dia decidi ler a sinopse — e fiquei imediatamente agarrado.

Agora, depois de devorar o primeiro volume, estou sem palavras.

É exatamente o tipo de leitura adulta que aprecio, e não podia estar mais satisfeito por ter dado uma oportunidade a esta série. Li-o de uma só vez.

Agora, só penso em continuar a ler os próximos volumes o mais rápido possível.
Profile Image for Rebecca.
4,333 reviews69 followers
April 1, 2023
CW: suicide ideation, statutory rape

There’s angst, and then there’s angst that wallows in its own misery. I’m inclined to call Boy’s Abyss the latter – it’s so full of horrors that they all blur together. It’s not enough that Reiji’s older brother is a shut-in, he’s an abusive shut-in; his grandmother’s senile, his former best friend’s a bully, and when his favorite pop idol shows up in his town, she’s keen to make a suicide pact with him. It’s simply too much, and the sting of any one of these things is dulled by the sheer weight of all of them thrown together.

There are some solid moments, with one striking visual during the sex scene (which could be construed as statutory rape), and the imagery of the town itself is so worn down and frayed at the edges that it both works and also exacerbates the issues with the story. The dedication, if it is that, and not text that’s part of the story, may indicate that the creator is writing this from a personal place, and I tried to keep that in mind while reading. But I was still relieved to put it behind me.

2.5
Profile Image for James DeSantis.
Author 17 books1,204 followers
September 19, 2023
Weird yet very intrigued.

Basically our main character, Reiji, has a pretty shitty life. He's depressed most of the time thanks to his living conditions. His mom relies on him for everything, his Grandma has dementia, his brother is a loser shut in who's violent, and he just feels like he'll be stuck in this shitty town because of his living situation.

Then he meets a girl. And girls change your life. Go from depressing to oooooh you're hot. But this girl is actually a Ex-Idol living in this shitty town and now they begin something special but the deeper we get into it, the darker the story gets, and the more fucked up this whole entire town truly is.

The thing is I'm not sure what is real and what isn't. It all feels like a fairy tale, a dark one, but also a intriguing one. I can't stop looking away from the disaster I know is coming. Be prepared to read about suicide, depression, abuse, ect before jumping into this though.
Profile Image for ✮ osanna aoki ✮.
190 reviews125 followers
December 16, 2025
Melancholic. Dark. Bizarre. Definitely kind of unhinged.

Boy’s Abyss is one brilliant title for this manga series.

An abyss is defined as: a deep or seemingly bottomless chasm … and that’s exactly what you get here. There is a continuous downward pull while turning each page— and our main character, Reiji, seems to be spiraling toward a pit of darker days.

Reiji is a high school boy living in a small, nameless, seaside town. Only known for the lore of a couple’s successful suicide pact upriver— the town has nothing else to go off of.

Poor Reiji is trapped there. He won’t be able to go off to the bustling city of Tokyo for college like his best friend, Chako. He’s just too busy having to help at home. Instead of college— he’s expected to get a job to help provide for the family home. Living with a stressed and overworked mother who seems to forget Reiji is just a kid, a grandmother suffering with an advanced stage of dementia, and a violent, reclusive brother— home life proves to be tough. Chasing dreams doesn’t exist for Reiji Kurose. Life is bleak and depression is heavy in the air.

The town becomes a little less glum when Reiji stumbles across Nagi Aoe, the beautiful pop idol from the girl group Acrylic. She mysteriously begins working in the town’s local convenience store.

Why has she come to such a small, unknown place?

The pair quickly become acquainted and a brewing, dark romance between two individuals struggling with mental health becomes more than apparent as Nagi proposes something destructive to Reiji on the first night they meet. Not only does Nagi seek refuge in the tiny town, but something more— to expose her altered psyche and mentally disturbed state, honing in on Reiji to release her traumas.

It’s one of the bleaker manga, trust me.

From suicidal ideation to bullying— the angsty lust from an innocent teenage boy succumbed to exploitation by an adult woman, continuous instances and reminders of faltering mental health, and sexual situations that can be quite uncomfortable— you can’t help but to feel the weight while reading Boy’s Abyss.

Yet inside of this pessimistic world, there are a couple of elevated moments— mostly coming from Rei’s caring and upbeat best friend, Chako. I adore her, simply because she’s the single character acting as some relief.

This particular manga is not for everyone. If you’re a fan of say, Shuzo Oshimi or Kyoko Okazaki, then this may be for you. If you’re about dread, tricky situations, and edgy undertones that reflect “slice of life” circumstances, then go for it.

There are a few random twists that end up making sense as you read on. I must say, while the panels are not as stunning as some other manga— they do a wonderful job at capturing the rural town feel and overall tone. It truly is atmospheric.

I felt things were a bit surface— flimsy. While the themes are dark, don't expect this volume to have much depth. Ryō Minenami does succeed at depicting teenage angst, confusion, and longing— but there is no deep dive, at least not yet. Volume one left me with plenty of curiosity and interest, and I will definitely continue with the rest of the series at some point.

Random thought: The entire time I was reading, I kept thinking of the song Feel Good by the Gorillaz, specifically the chorus. It gives such similar vibes to the book. If you know the feels I’m getting at, and you’re into that— you’d be into Boy’s Abyss for certain.
Profile Image for Jon Ureña.
Author 3 books121 followers
January 26, 2022


I've read virtually everything that the manga artist Shūzō Oshimi has released, which is unfortunate as he has become my favorite. I searched online for other series similar to what that author produces. Many recommended Inio Asano's stuff, but I've also gone through his. Then someone mentioned this series. Although I've only read the first volume so far, it has become my most intriguing find in a while.

Shortly after we meet the protagonist, a high schooler, he tells to his homeroom teacher that he won't go to college, as he needs to stay at his town to help his mom: the father isn't in the picture, his grandmother has dementia, and his older brother is a violent hikikomori. Our protagonist has resigned himself to a life of misery. He feels powerless to change his fate. The guy is, however, somewhat obsessed with an idol group, whose casual, carefree cuteness and cheerful songs provide a fast escape.

His only friend is a short, somewhat chunky (certainly for manga standards) girl he's known since childhood. However, she's leaving soon for college, and she's worried that the protagonist's mental health will only deteriorate once he's left behind. We learn about a prominent feature of their small town: a fabled spot on a bridge, where hundreds of years ago a couple of lovers jumped to their deaths. It ended up getting called "Lover's Abyss". It recently got featured in a popular novel, and some of its fans travel to this town in the boonies to visit the site.

As if his home life wasn't ruinous enough, the protagonist has to endure having turned into the de facto gofer of a local gang leader, who was also his childhood bully. Worse yet, the protagonist's mother, intending to relieve herself of her burden, has pleaded to the bully's father, who runs a construction company, to hire her son so he can contribute to the household income, which will likely end up turning her son into a sort of slave not only for this bully but for his entire crew. The protagonist suspects that his mother knows he's been bullied by that guy, and that she's sacrificing his well-being for her own benefit.

During one of the runs to buy cigarettes for the gang leader, our protagonist deals with a new clerk at the convenience store. She refuses to sell him the cigs because he's underage. Afterwards he witnesses this beautiful but aloof clerk handing some expired food to a homeless guy, who winks at the protagonist as he passes by. Then the protagonist realizes that the clerk is none other than his favorite member of the idol group with which he's obsessed. He's stunned. What the hell is this girl doing here? Why is she working as a clerk? How come she looks so despondent?

The protagonist reveals that he has recognized her. She makes him promise that he won't tell anyone, and asks him to please show her around town, because she's just moved there and is a bit lost. She ends up sitting on the back of his bicycle as he visits some local spots. The girl, who's a few years older than him, gets the sense of how miserable he feels. They talk about the famous local spot for suicides, and as they stand on a bridge looking down at the river below, she offers the protagonist to kill themselves together.

From then on, at least until the end of the first volume, the story has become a psychological roller coaster. Why does this beautiful twenty-year-old, who had it all in a big city, want to die? Is she romantically interested in our hapless protagonist? Was that guy she met at the back of the convenience store truly a random homeless person she was helping out? The protagonist can't understand this girl, but he doesn't want to stay away from her, and the notion of jumping off the local bridge and freeing himself from a life of misery is becoming increasingly alluring.

The drawings and compositions set up well the somber, gloomy mood of this story. Whoever is in charge of drawing the scenery does a particularly good job. However, the main artist uses classic exaggerated expressions to add levity in certain moments (just a few, thankfully), but for this story they feel as out of place as they would be in Oshimi's "Blood on the Tracks". However, regarding the story, he does a great job setting up dramatic questions, and I feel in good hands.

Unfortunately I had to stop reading it on the train yesterday, as it features nudity. In particular a really nice pair of perky tits. So you might dislike this series if you are against drawn tits, I guess.
Profile Image for Amber.
726 reviews29 followers
March 14, 2025
Honestly sketched out a bit by this one. I may end up reading more out of morbid curiosity but I haven’t decided yet. I am not a fan of the weird relationship happening here. It’s a dark story for sure, which I normally don’t mind but this didn’t feel right to me.

It would have been more like a 1.5 if it wasn’t for the beautiful art.
Profile Image for Violet ♡.
287 reviews142 followers
Read
July 16, 2023
This is indeed an abyss. 😨



The art style is shoujo-like, but it is not shoujo.

Its story is so dark and sorrowful. Everyone around that boy has their issues, and he is greatly impacted in a very wrong way. It is a difficult read. 🙅‍♀️
Profile Image for Melos Han-Tani.
231 reviews47 followers
January 9, 2022
Fairly grim portrayal of one of those small towns you pass by in trains whenever traveling in Japan. The characters suffer in different ways - one, from the 'generational pressure' to inherit a store (the idea of tying one's family legacy or ego to a restaurant or shop, while understandable, definitely feels unreasonable to me, a breeding ground for abuse). Another's trapped because there's not enough social support for a sick grandmother, there's an angry hikikomori brother, the mom has issues of her own... everyone has stuff to deal with, and it's clear there's no good social or mental health support in this town (or even a baseline awareness of these things.)

I've read up to the latest chapter (79 or so). The manga does portray some little moments of hope in between the rapid-fire hopelessness (characters confessing recent problems to each other, characters talking through past problems), and I like that. It's interesting to see the way in which "Tokyo" is a method of escape for some kids from these smaller Japanese towns, paralleling the same aspects of small towns in the USA and the big cities. But at the same time, a small town (or at least this one) has such a small social network that it's *more* painful or difficult to break away, compared to say, the isolated nuclear-family focus of some American suburbs. And as the older novelist character illustrates, even if you do get away, there's something about the experience living there that's hard to truly break away from.

It does have that popular-manga-serialization feel where the problems for the characters keep popping up or respawning...

I thought it was going to wrap up with the most recent arc (and it felt like it was for a while), but it's still going, but I think I'm good stopping here. I kind of feel that "it's a popular serialized manga so maybe the arcs are being padded out a bit". The characters do seem to be on some (slow) path to some kind of healing, so that's nice to see, although at times I feel like the roadblocks being thrown in their way feel a bit like... there for the sake of just making them suffer more for the drama. I guess it would be more interesting if there was some sense of exploration into how this town and everyone in it is so thoroughly fucked up and helpless.
Profile Image for Heather.
1,006 reviews72 followers
August 11, 2023
I liked this at first but it quickly went downhill. At first there's this teenage boy with a crappy life (his mother placing the entire family's burdens on him and ignoring what he wants for his own future) who meets an actual pop idol at his local, small town convenience store. It sounded like a fun setup to me. And I didn't even mind that she's morbidly depressed and almost immediately asks him to make a suicide pact with her, even though they're strangers. What I didn't like was that she had sex with him and he's a minor, even after he voiced concerns about it, and then when they go to a bridge to jump off it to complete their pact, she whips out her boobies to give him one for the road before dying. LOL!!! I mean, it was just nuts. I've lost interest in this series because of the bizarre sex stuff. Too bad.
Profile Image for Paige Johnson.
Author 53 books74 followers
June 1, 2024
Cinematic shots with video game shading. Suicide pact implications as an opening. Eyes pretty and bright. We flash back to the boy as a high school senior, who’s watching a flower-haired girl group on his phone his cutesy chubby friend introduced him to. Her family is as small town and paycheck-to-paycheck as his but she’s less grateful or reserved.

Guess who’s behind the convenience counter that his bullies goaded him toward to buy cigs and snacks? The pop star! She’s sweet but forward enough to get what she wants: him as a tour guide to her new city. They have nice realistic but meaningful chats, things get quickly erotic but not to the extent porn should be its genre. So many surprises super-packed into and after their act: the ages, her relationship background, his experience, how quickly things can fall apart.

Miss Nagi romanticizes the lake in town made famous by a book retelling Romeo & Juliet. Thus the water theme of the book, her name, the typhoons, and her pet betta. I do feel the end of this first volume was a tad rushed, like he should’ve been beat up or something like that to have such an emo blowup, especially since we don’t get many of his (sad) thoughts before then. I will def read the next vol. and can def see this being a movie.
Profile Image for Irene ➰.
972 reviews88 followers
September 24, 2023
3/5

Till last minute I didn't know if this book deserved a four or a three stars rating, so it stays at three.
It's definitely intriguing and the plot feels very mysterious.
It was an okay series opener and it has my curiosity for now.

There are some graphic scenes here and there, just for you to know.
Profile Image for Franzi_liebt_Buecher.
191 reviews4 followers
September 7, 2021
Ich weiß nicht so recht, was ich davon halten soll.
Das Cover sieht toll aus und auch der Zeichenstil ist nicht schlecht. Der Inhalt ist definitiv nichts für schwache Nerven und auch nichts für Leute mit instabiler Psyche. Der Manga benötigt definitiv Triggerwarnungen.
Vereinfacht gesagt geht es um zwei junge Menschen, mit einem schlechten Leben und suizidalen Gedanken, die sich finden und...naja so recht sagen kann ich das noch nicht, was genau sie einander geben. Ich hab auch keine Ahnung, in welche Richtung der Manga sich weiter entwickeln wird, weshalb ich mir auch unsicher bin, ob ich den zweiten Band überhaupt noch lesen werde oder nicht.
Profile Image for 火星の女.
22 reviews8 followers
January 29, 2022
El principio me estaba pareciendo muy interesante, pero luego tomó unos derroteros muy distintos y que no me han gustado nada. Me planto aquí, no tengo intención de continuar la serie.
Profile Image for nica.
55 reviews8 followers
July 12, 2022
la base c’è per essere un buon psicologico ma secondo me il “fanservice” poteva essere evitato (anche se le scene esplicite di sesso mi hanno abbastanza stupito per essere classificato seinen).
Il tutto è salvato dalla trama di mistero che c’è sia con il suo ex compagno di classe e sia tra la idol e il “barbone”… aspetto il prossimo volume per vedere se ne vale la pena o meno
Profile Image for Tesutamento.
805 reviews1 follower
December 16, 2024
Hakkında bir şey bilmeden, sırf kapağını beğendiğim için almıştım ve epey beğendim. İntihar düşüncesini ve depresyonu epey merkezine alan bir hikaye. İlk cilt olmasına karşın hızlı bir giriş yapıyor ve epey gizem barındırdığından kendini merak ettirip okutmayı başarıyor.
Profile Image for Schlomo.
36 reviews
November 4, 2023
Main credit goes to the boobies. Without them, the manga would be even more depressing than it already is. Still an interesting first volume.
Profile Image for Fer.
55 reviews
June 21, 2023
interesting ideas, but manga still isn’t a format that i’m compatible with.
Profile Image for diana.
1,188 reviews54 followers
May 19, 2023
well and truly, if you see that ive read a manga and given it a decent rating and that i plan to read the next one, do not take it as a recommendation lol.

and if you do go to pick it up, do yourself a solid and research content warnings.

4/5 stars
Profile Image for Mail.
36 reviews4 followers
June 23, 2024
ciekawa, Reiji reluje
Profile Image for Sonja Gieren.
975 reviews6 followers
October 11, 2021
⛈️🎭Rezensionsexemplar🎭⛈️
(unbezahlte Werbung)
-Altraverse GmbH-
-Manga / Comic Verlag-
ACHTUNG SPOILER GEFAHR

🎭⛈️🎭Boy's Abyss (1)🎭⛈️🎭

Autor: Ryo Minenami
Verlag: altraverse
Preis: 7€, Taschenbuch
Seiten: 208 Seiten
ISBN: 9783963587887
Alter: ab 16 Jahren
Erscheinungsdatum: 9783963587887
Genre: Slice of Life
𝗩𝗲𝗿𝘄𝗲𝗶𝘀𝘀 𝗟𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗲 ᵇⁱˡᵈᵉʳ ᶻᵘᵐ ᵗᵉⁱˡ ᵉⁿᵗⁿᵒᵐᵐᵉⁿ
https://online.fliphtml5.com/bosp/wns...

2 Von 5 Sternen ⭐⭐


⛈️🎭⛈️🎭⛈️🎭⛈️🎭⛈️🎭⛈️🎭⛈️🎭⛈️🎭⛈️🎭
Inhaltsangabe:
Entnommen von: altraverse.de
In einer tristen Stadt lebt der Oberschüler Reiji ein trostloses Leben. Während seine Schulkameraden darauf hoffen, irgendwann diesen Ort verlassen zu können, glaubt Reiji, dies nie zu können. Eines Tages jedoch begegnet er einer besonderen Frau, die seinem Leben zugleich Licht, aber auch mehr Dunkelheit schenkt.
⛈️🎭⛈���🎭⛈️🎭⛈️🎭⛈️🎭⛈️🎭⛈️🎭⛈️🎭⛈️🎭
Meine Meinung:
Hallo ihr Süßen 💕
zunächst Achtung spoiler Gefahr! Doch leider geht es bei dieser Rezension nicht anders, ich werde versuchen so wenig, wie mir möglich, zu verraten. Jedoch war und bin ich unglaublich enttäuscht und geschockt von diesem ersten Band einer neuen Reihe, das ich gerne darüber reden möchte.Ich muss gestehen, das ich nicht wuste was das Genre * Slice of Life* zu bedeuten hat, habe dann erste inmal gegoogelt und für mich festgelegt das es eine Art *Psychologische Handlung mitten aus dem Leben* darstellen soll. Gut , das war schon mal ein plus punkt, denn ich mag solche Handlungen wirkich unglaublich gerne. Doch hier hat die Autorin/ der Autor, den Bogen mehr als überspannt. Es geht um eine Junge Frau und einen Jungen Mann, beide sind absolut unglücklich, haben psychische Probleme und ein ungesundes umfeld. Es geht um Gewalt, Mobbing, Verwarrlosung, Burnout und vieles mehr. Beide beschließen einen Pakt, nämlich sich gemeinsam das Leben zu nehmen. Diese Hilflosigkeit und Melancholie war greifbar. Doch leider stand genau dies auch im Mittelpunkt. Wie kann man sich am besten gemeinsam umbringen? Möchte man dies? Warum wollen beide dies? Alles Fragen, die zum Teil beantwortet wurden und doch kann ich das Buch nicht empfehlen auf grund der hohen Trigger gefahr und des erdrückenden Suizid Themas. Für mich ein no go, wenn es im Manga oder BUch "NUR" darum geht. Ja verständlich ist es und doch möchte ich so etwas nicht lesen müssen. Also hier eine große TRIGGER WAHRNUNG! Lieben gruß Sonja/Shaaniel
Profile Image for Sunny.
280 reviews3 followers
February 25, 2023
The rating may be harsh but it’s really not what I was expecting when I picked it up to read it. It’s a very dark story that is definitely not for my liking. The setting of the story almost seem like some sort of fetishizes over idols and suicide since Reiji hook up with her and then she ask him if he wants to die with her (plus he’s a minor and she’s not so yeah this can be triggering too). I don’t recommend it for sensitive soul like me but maybe I missed the real message of the story who knows.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Kendra.
75 reviews1 follower
July 27, 2023
Bro idk. Just check the TW PLEASE

Update: the more I think about this, the more I don’t like it.
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