Recently I've read this revenge-themed manga that goes by the title Juujika no Rokunin. I got to say this for myself... it's really grotesque and brutal...
Don't get me wrong, we've seen sh*t tons of manga like that. You name it: Redo of Healer, Mai-chan's Daily Life, and Boku no Pi- Oh second thought, let's ignore that third one.
Yes, Juujika no Rokunin is basically a story revolving the protagonist named Uruma who has been endlessly bullied, tormented, and abused by a group of five irredeemable bullies, one of them led by a influential leader named Kyou Shigoku, who is responsible for causing the deaths of Uruma's parents and putting his little brother into a coma.
Because of this, Uruma decides to take revenge on them while confirming if they're capable of redemption. Which *Spoilers* does not happen at all.
Also, the series has torture scenes that are incredibly brutal... yet very unique since it demonstrates the karma almost all five of the bullies truly gotten what they deserve and it's played rightfully at that sake.
Unlike Redo of Healer, the story shares the same elements as Berserk and Akame Ga Kill! except it's still brutal yet it does have proper writing here.
Also, unlike the villains from RoH, the villains here in the series, about two of them do actually have redeeming qualities despite being rather slight. For example, this person named Ushiro Yuuga was the second bully to be killed and before he died, he showed genuine remorse for enslaving and raping his girlfriend after realizing how much he loved her but denied it due to his evil and corrupt nature until it was too late to realize his comeuppance as he tries to apologize to Uruma for everything. But like I said, too late.
Even though the series is actually better than usual, like Berserk and AGK!, it's already a f**king high heinous standards! I'm not joking, murder and rape here aren't a bit rare and it's likely to be common unless the crimes of them are unique through other crimes to the measurement of it or based on resources.
For example:
Kyou Shigoku, the antagonist above, sets the standards. He is responsible for killing Uruma's parents, putting his brother into a coma, and because of corrupting the other four bullies, Kyou is indirectly responsible for all of their actions. He also started a cult to spread his influence and created a twisted game of "Rock, Paper, Scissors" for Uruma and his other accomplice, Jun (whom he betrayed) where they each have to win or their loved ones die via mutilation. Kyou's recent kill was Kaname, Uruma's girlfriend, and he did this for the sake of making Uruma commit suicide! Srsly! Who the f**k is this guy? Johan Liebert!? Johan is a saint compared to Kyou!
Oh ho ho! That's not all! Three out of the five bullies also committed rape! But who is the worse among them?
Daichi Kuga, a brute specialized in Judo techniques, is known for having full control and oppression under his Judo Club. He normally and regularly beats up his fellow Judo members brutally to the point they were sent to the hospital, even playing sadistic games with them as he would break their limbs brutally just for laughs. He even raped any female students lured by his fellow members, even their girlfriends. He even had one of his fellow members commit arson on Uruma's house to kill his grandpa by force (though said grandpa escaped in a badass way). The worse? He raped and killed his girlfriend, Anna, when he thought of her under the vision of Kyou. Moral Agency issues? No, unlike the three bullies excluding Kyou, Kuga is perfectly aware and doesn't shed a tear for Anna's death, despite the fact she saved him from being further tortured by Uruma.
So tell me? Is Juujikan no Rokunin exploitation? Yes, is it played for shock value too much? The torture scenes seemed disturbing, but it only focused on the four bullies except for Kyou whose comeuppance is overdue. So in a way, the readers enjoyed their comeuppances through the tortures Uruma placed them through and their deaths don't excuse their actions in the slightest despite some of them having redeeming qualities near the end since it was too late for them.
Heck, even the admirable value is still standing since Uruma may be an anti-heroic/villainous protagonist, he still saved his classmate Azuma from being raped twice.
I don't know what's going to happen when the series ends and I still hope that the admirable value still continues to fight against the heinous value in the story. Because at best description, Juujikan no Rokunin can at least be somewhat more of a saint version of Redo for all the facts mentioned above.
So what is my opinion on this?
Juujuika no Rokunin, is a shockingly grotesque series, yet it has such a sad and tragic premise that felt very, very promising to the least. Regardless of the story's setting, it does show more color and personality for the protagonist's development on his own morality and the side characters in general, mostly his girlfriend, so that is a bonus.
In the end, most of the bullies, the antagonistic faction, are just a group of heartless and pathetic scumbags minus their leader who is possible somewhat of a supposedly complex character who is meant to resemble Johan Liebert. Too bad, it's still badly written and there's no other character capable of replacing Johan, especially when they're written to be as unlikable due to how sadistic they are unless it's done right. But that's the point or beside it, the villains here are done right by hate sink materialism and slight redeem quality equation, just not through any sort of criteria related to RoH.
So overall, I think it's decent due to the positive Pros than its negative cons. Plus, I think Kyou and Kuga might as well be potential PE Candidates I'll do in the future. Any thoughts people?
Before we end this:
Here's what the Bullies look like. From Left to right:
Kyou Shigoku, Daichi Kuga, Ushiro Yuga, Katsumi Senkoji, and Madoka Hiro (Wow, what a ironic way to rank them from Most to Least Evil, even though Senkoji is the least evil for generic villainy).