VOTE: Manga Review of The Month (MROTM) - March/April 2021
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Review #1
Manga Title:
A Cruel God Reigns in Heaven
(Zankoku na Kami ga Shihai Suru)
Manga Artist:
Hagio Moto
Manga cover picture:
Review:
I read this manga at around a difficult time, so it was something that stuck with me. The manga's theme is about child sexual abuse and recovery, and it focuses on high schooler Jeremy and his slightly older step-brother Ian. Jeremy used to live with his mother in America until they met a man called Greg. His mother fell in love with Greg and married and moved in with him to England. Greg then sexually abuses, hurts, and blackmails Jeremy for at least a year (forgot exact duration). When Jeremy's mother found out that Greg was sexually abusing Jeremy, she becomes upset at Jeremy instead, and she didn't have very good health to begin with, so it made her health worse. Jeremy loves his mother and that really hurt him. Jeremy then plans for Greg's death with an accident, but then both Greg and his mother dies, and his mother's death eats away at Jeremy. Ian is Greg's son from another marriage but he never realized how Greg had been abusing Jeremy all that time they lived together. He falls in love with Jeremy but then starts to piece together what happened with Jeremy. (There's a lot more stuff here, but I can't summarize it well.) Jeremy later runs away from home and struggled with addiction while living with some other people, and Ian seeks to get Jeremy to come back. The story ends on a hopeful tone without specifically getting the two characters together, but it is more about healing from abuse than it is about romance.
If you want some fantasy, like assian dramas with beautiful guys with long hair and are a fan of "The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation", then you have to pick this title an add it to your collection.
This is based on a chinese novel with the same title and the artwork is to die for... as for the plot, well it regards Gods and particularly one that ascended for the 3rd time in 800 years.
The main protagonist and the "God" in question is none other than the Crown Prince Xie Lan, who 800 years ago ascended as a Martial God and somehow managed to hit the bottom and now he's got no followers or any particular strong powers. But his character makes up for all that, as he's kind, clever, noble and pure of heart. Particularly because of these traits and because of (I assume) one incident from 800 years ago, he caught the attention of none other than the feared Ghost King, Hua Cheng.
Hua Chend on the other hand is powerful, cunning, clever and has a lot of knowledge regarding the other Gods. He appears before Xie Lan under another form and somehow manages to tag along and make himself present in Xie Lan's life.
The story relates around their faithful meeting and new incidents, building their relationship and making the read fall in love with them. The artwork is amazing and full colored, this is enough reason to pick this Manhwa up and read it.