Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book
Rate this book
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 teacher Ms. Shiba and best friend Gen are both determined to prevent him from killing himself, but their motives aren’t pure, and their methods are dubious. Meanwhile, Chako obsessively pursues the writer she hero-worships, while pop idol Nagi schemes to keep her hooks in Reiji.

192 pages, Paperback

First published September 18, 2020

9 people are currently reading
176 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

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
236 (25%)
4 stars
384 (42%)
3 stars
216 (23%)
2 stars
60 (6%)
1 star
16 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
Profile Image for Urbon Adamsson.
1,993 reviews102 followers
June 24, 2025
EN I couldn't resist and jumped straight into the continuation of this series shortly after finishing the first volume.

I'm completely hooked. This work feels like it's somewhere between "Goodnight Punpun" and "The Flowers of Evil". It delves, in a raw and sensitive way, into themes like the search for identity and the struggle to find one’s place in a hostile society — where even family doesn’t always offer a safe haven.

Reiji hates the life he’s living, but he’s resigned to it. Between taking care of his incapacitated grandmother, supporting his mother, and dealing with a mentally troubled brother, he’s also bullied by a classmate who takes advantage of his good nature. The only anchor he has is Chako, a childhood friend he instinctively protects.

But Reiji’s life is about to be turned upside down. As he meets new people, his journey takes an unexpected turn — and it’s precisely that transformation that makes this such a captivating read!

--

PT Não consegui resistir e atirei-me de imediato à continuação desta série, pouco depois de terminar o primeiro volume.

Estou completamente rendido. Esta obra parece situar-se algures entre "Boa Noite, Punpun" e "The Flowers of Evil". Explora, de forma crua e sensível, temas como a busca de identidade e a luta por encontrar um lugar numa sociedade hostil — onde, por vezes, nem a própria família representa um porto seguro.

Reiji odeia a vida que leva, mas vive resignado. Entre cuidar da avó incapacitada, apoiar a mãe e lidar com o irmão com problemas mentais, ainda é alvo de abusos por parte de um colega de escola que se aproveita da sua bondade. A única âncora que lhe resta é Chako, amiga de infância a quem ele dedica uma protecção quase instintiva.

Mas a vida de Reiji está prestes a ser virada do avesso. Ao cruzar-se com novas pessoas, a sua jornada toma um rumo inesperado — e é precisamente essa transformação que torna esta leitura tão fascinante!
Profile Image for James DeSantis.
Author 17 books1,203 followers
May 12, 2024
AYO what is this shit?

It's a trainwreck. A plane crash.

I can't stop reading.

So our main character Reiji is ready to die. In the last book he met a mysterious girl who said he should die with her. So this opens up with Ms. Shiba, Reiji teacher, finding him on the road before he kills himself. She goes to save him, take him in, and try to convince him that dying is not the way. Any reasonable adult would try to save their student and of cour---

YO WHAT THE FUCK Ms. SHIBA WHY YOU TAKING OFF YOUR CLOTHES! Reiji BE YOUR STUDENT DON'T DO---

Anyway not to spoil this but there's a ton of sex, heavy heavy themes about self worth, killing yourself, finding yourself, and making peace with a world that doesn't give a shit about you.

Will read more.
Profile Image for Stefanie.
55 reviews2 followers
November 21, 2021
Eine sehr authentische Story und weit weg von leicht und fluffig. Ich finde Reiji als Charakter interessant und all die Dinge, die ihn beschäftigen sehr nachvollziehbar.
Nach Band 1 hatte ich mir erhofft mehr über Reijis Familie zu erfahren. Leider ist das nicht passiert. Dafür erfahren wir mehr über sein Umfeld: Die Lehrerin seiner Klasse und seine Freundin aus Kindertagen. Diese hat Pläne nach der Schule die Stadt zu verlassen. Es scheint als wissen sie wohin ihr Leben gehen soll. Auch Frau Shiba, die Lehrerin, scheint fest mit beiden Beinen im Leben zu stehen. Aber: Nichts ist wie es scheint. Wir bekommen einen Einblick in die Personen und was sie beschäftigt. Ich mag die Aussage dahinter, dass jeder Mensch seine Themen hat – Dinge mit denen er unzufrieden ist.
Auf der anderen Seite wurde mir die Situation mit Frau Shiba ein bisschen viel. Ich habe Sorge, dass es darauf hinaus läuft, dass dieses Dorf im Drama endet. Natürlich, ist es wie bereits erwähnt, dass niemand ein perfektes Leben hat. Jeder Mensch hat seine Unzulänglichkeiten und genau das bringt dieser Manga sehr gut rüber. Ich finde das ist ein wichtiges Thema - gerade in Japan.

Ich werde die Reihe auf jeden Fall erst mal weiter verfolgen und hoffe auf einen Punkt, wo ich nicht einfach nur im Dunkeln gelassen werde sondern mehr Klarheit bekomme. Wobei das dunkle und mystische auch etwas spannendes hat. Ein Manga mit zwei Seiten.
Profile Image for Chalemaow.
94 reviews4 followers
January 22, 2023
J’aime bien les histoires sordides, les personnages pleins de zones d’ombres, tous un peu dérangés.

En revanche, je ne vois pas trop où on va après ce second tome. On verra avec le troisième.

Par contre c’est vraiment vraiment sordide, y’a du sexe pas forcément consenti, de l’autodestruction, du harcèlement, pour le TW.
Profile Image for ✮ osanna aoki ✮.
191 reviews127 followers
December 16, 2025
”Dying would solve my problems. So please stay out of this. Or do you want to die with me?”

Have you ever witnessed something so appalling, but you still can’t look away?

What in the actual fuck is happening in this town?

This place is beyond the trenches.

And so are the people.

It’s no mystery nor spoiler that the second volume of the series would open with Reiji and Nagi attempting to commit their ultimate act in the middle of a typhoon— technically between volume one and two, it’s only been one day since they met.

There’s no taking your time in Boy’s Abyss, clearly.

Reiji’s high school teacher, Ms. Shiba, goes on ‘search duty’ or whatever she calls it in the middle of the night to see if anyone is outside and in danger during the typhoon. As she’s driving, she spots a student’s backpack in a grassy patch next to the water.

This is where she finds her student and Nagi readying themselves for their unified demise.

And then everything hits the fan and goes to shit for the entirety of the volume.

Ms. Shiba is not only delusional and manipulative— she’s sick.

We know that Chako has dreams of attending college in Tokyo and becoming a successful publisher. She’s a bookish girl. When the man of her dreams, who is also her favorite author, casually walks into her family tea shop— she is clearly star struck and excited to speak to him. Well, that situation seems to be veering left incredibly fast, too.

Weird energy.

Strange and predatory adults.

Then there’s poor Reiji— consistently exploited by everyone around him. While he is being used and abused at his lowest, I wonder if he even notices.

Clearly, those around him are willing to go to incredible lengths to feed their own twisted pleasures. Even if that means ushering Reiji further down the dark path along with them.

Anything to reach salvation, huh?

I don’t even want to say this volume was necessarily good, because nothing in the form of goodness sits between the pages of this manga.

But it’s edgy, intriguing, and illicit. Once you begin reading, it’s so damn hard to stop yourself.

I CAN UNDERSTAND WHY THEY WRAP THIS MANGA IN PLASTIC WHEN YOU GO TO BUY IT FROM THE BOOKSTORE.

With that said, I’m running to see what happens in the third volume.
Profile Image for Dai de labibliotecadedai.
286 reviews
August 24, 2024
Cada uno de estos personajes lucha con sus propios demonios internos, lo que hace que el lector se sienta profundamente conectado con sus dilemas. La narrativa tiene un ritmo que mantiene el interés en todo momento, y el dibujo refleja a la perfección las emociones de los personajes, desde la ansiedad hasta la esperanza. La profesora me super llamó la atención, está media trastornada pero bueno, no esperaba menos JAJA

Este manga no es solo una historia sobre la vida en un pequeño pueblo; es una reflexión sobre las elecciones que hacemos y cómo esas decisiones nos moldean.
Profile Image for MargReadsManga.
565 reviews82 followers
March 26, 2024
I’m not sure what to really rate this volume… I hate what’s happening to the main character but I need to know what’s wrong with the town and the awful people in it!! It’s such a dumpster fire that I can’t not look. 👀
Profile Image for Tesutamento.
805 reviews3 followers
December 17, 2024
İlk ciltten sonra daha farklı bir gidişat beklemiştim. Reiji'nin ruh halinin biraz hızlı değişmiş olması hoşuma gitmese de hikaye çok akıcı ilerliyor. Kasaba mı lanetli yoksa tüm sorunlu kişiler bir araya mı gelmiş anlayamadım henüz. Keşke bazı klişelere düşülmeseymiş.
Profile Image for Nina.
437 reviews47 followers
June 8, 2024
Whats happening??! Frau Shiba, wie unzüchtig *lol* love it.
werd ich auf jeden Fall weiter lesen!

Profile Image for Chené.
23 reviews
July 27, 2024
I.....
Can't.....
Stop.....

Too... gooooood 🥰
Profile Image for Laura.
21 reviews1 follower
August 22, 2024
Only rating this 2 stars because this volume featured the worst trope ever. Story and art is good though.
Profile Image for Faeryn.
89 reviews3 followers
November 16, 2024
This manga is so messy and I'm loving it!
Profile Image for Gaïa.
161 reviews4 followers
June 1, 2023
Deux tomes lus de ce manga et pour l'instant j'aime beaucoup ; les illustrations sont incroyables et l'histoire me plaît.
Profile Image for Sam Quixote.
4,809 reviews13.4k followers
September 17, 2023
Reiji’s teacher, Ms Shiba, stops him and former idol Nagi from making a big mistake in the middle of a typhoon. But Reiji’s choice makes her reassess her own life and its shortcomings - and leads to her making her own, potentially dangerous, mistake.

Most manga that has a strong first volume usually drops off quite dramatically with the second. Maybe it’s because the first volume was middling that that didn’t happen here but Boy’s Abyss remains an intriguing series with Volume 2 as it expands its dark theme of modern despair with a new character in Ms Shiba.

It’s a good choice to grow the cast and develop the story at the same time, particularly as Shiba is an interesting character. The focus in the first book was on Reiji and Nagi, who are 17 and 20, while Shiba is an older character at 29, and feeling a whole different set of pressures that comes with age and its attendant milestones.

Shiba’s sympathetic and you get a sense of her own frustrations that comes with living the life she is in the same small town as Reiji. Ryo Minenami is showing the different forms of desperation and sadness that can exist in the same place with people of different ages and situations in a way that’s fitting, entertaining and clever.

It is odd how sex has played such a big part in both books considering the subject matter of suicide. While suicide is obviously an important issue to address, I hope the series doesn’t end up becoming basically softcore porn with emo overtones. The way Gen handled Nagi at the end of this book was plain weird (maybe hinting at Gen’s hidden sexuality - more small town, conservative mentality coming out) and the subplot of Chako and the mysterious author might end up in the same place as Reiji and Shiba.

It’s a very easy-to-read series and that’s a credit to Ryo Minenami’s skill as a writer and illustrator. Because it’s such a quick read though, it does feel insubstantial and too light. This is definitely one of those manga titles where you could easily pile up half a dozen books and get through them in no time, but mostly so that you get to read a complete arc that way rather than one book at a time. I don’t have a choice as I’m reading these as they come out but, future readers, if you’re interested in checking out this series, I’d recommend grabbing a bunch of these (or an omnibus edition) and reading it that way instead.

Minenami definitely has the pieces of a great story here but I haven’t seen him create anything especially brilliant with them - yet. I’m still on board for the series and hope it manages to get to the next elusive level of quality with future books. As it is, Boy’s Abyss, Volume 2 is a fine continuation of the story but so far it still feels like table-setting for something better.
Profile Image for Blake Hefer.
5 reviews
February 16, 2024
I like how the drama of the series characters is now coming into full swing, and two characters are developed fairly well which makes me excited to continue on this course of suffering. However, I feel like this volume doubles down on the worst aspects of volume one (see my review on volume 1 for more details), and thus the aspect I liked about volume 1 suffered due to that, but the saving grace of this volume is in the beautiful artwork, and also the now developing *happy* plotlines that I will enjoy seeing. Though the ending of this volume makes me hopeful that the series can steer itself back on course, I remain skeptical that it can capture that "fading meaning" feeling that the original volume had in its beginning, in favor of a reliance on drama and over fantasized (and somewhat creepy) romance.
Profile Image for Paige Johnson.
Author 53 books75 followers
June 2, 2024
More perverted in an unrealistic way. What are the chances two women fall for the high school virgin the same week? I don’t like following the young, lonely teacher in general, and less when she’s immediately so clingy in a dicey situation. I kind of get it, but how are he and his mom so unalarmed by all the suspiciousness. No one cares about cheating, huh?

Glad the kawaii panda girl is wading the main story back in, wondering about the mysterious author and where her friend is… Why does she assume every normal interaction is creepy but not her and her friend seeking out actually sketchy adults? Still good art and I like how easy transitions are. Hope we see more of this bizarre floral theme. The intersecting of characters and double meanings are good towards the end.
Profile Image for Kristian Dobson.
411 reviews11 followers
May 21, 2023
I was on the fence with this after reading volume one, but I'm glad that I decided to read volume two online instead of waiting for the official release because the story is as shallow and dumb as I suspected it would be. I'll read some more out of sheer curiosity, but I'm glad I don't have to waste any more money on this. Anyone who thinks this is well written is insane. Read Asano or Oshimi instead.
Profile Image for Printia_books.
174 reviews
December 29, 2022
El dibujo de esta obra es una preciosidad, es detallista pero no llega a ser desagradable en las escenas más fuertes de esta. Juega mucho con los sentimientos más oscuros y profundos de sus personajes, volviendo la obra más realista y oscura a la vez.

Es cierto que hay cosas de este volumen que me han perturbado un poco. Veremos como se desarrollan los siguientes tomos.
Profile Image for Hikaoru.
953 reviews25 followers
March 29, 2024
With every new character the mangaka introduced, the more I am losing hope of any happy ending and also the moral is hanging by a thread

I was already appalled with the relationship with the idol and the author.
The author is like 50+
And now he prepositioned to a high schooler?

Not only an adulterer but a pedo?

The teacher is also a pedo. Aaaaaaaa
Profile Image for nicoletta ♡.
42 reviews19 followers
March 22, 2022
ok, me ha dejado con las interrogantes que el primero y ¡¿lo del capítulo 11?! vale, no me lo esperaba pero lo apruebo jajaja sinceramente amo este manga, está muy bien dibujado y algunas escenas te ponen la carne de gallina *o*
Profile Image for Blake Herondale.
329 reviews3 followers
September 5, 2023
En este tomo nos centramos más en la vida de Reiji y es que cada vez que conozco algo más de él me da penita por lo que está pasando. Siento que lo están manipulando todo el rato.

Me gusto mucho como el autor conectó los personajes de esa forma, estoy deseando ver como lo va a desarrollar
Profile Image for Noiiya.
226 reviews1 follower
Read
April 19, 2023
THERE ARE CONSEQUENCES TO GROOMING MINORS WHAT THE HELL IS THIS BOOK???? ITS SO BAD AND MESSED UP THIS POOR BOY
Profile Image for プラメンちゃん (PSI).
24 reviews
July 29, 2023
Terrible things keep happening but this story has got me hooked. It gets messier with each chapter but I really want to know what happens next.
Profile Image for abby.
316 reviews38 followers
August 20, 2023
obsessed with fucked up seinen that has no real plot beyond everyone traumatising each other in deeply fucked up ways
Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.