is a Japanese '' shōnen''

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

series written by

Yoshiaki Tabata Yoshiaki is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Yoshiaki can be written using many different combinations of kanji characters. Here are some examples: *義明, "justice, bright" *義昭, "justice, bright" *義章, "justice, chapte ...

and illustrated by Yuki Yugo. ''Akumetsu'' was serialized in

Akita Shoten is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It was founded by Teio Akita on 10 August 1948. As of 2020, the company's president is Shigeru Higuchi. Magazines Male-oriented manga magazines ''Shōnen'' magazines * – Bimo ...

's ''

Weekly Shōnen Champion is a Japanese ''shōnen'' manga magazine published by Akita Shoten. History ''Shōnen Champion'' was first published on July 15, 1969. It has had numerous popular series by manga artists such as Osamu Tezuka, Go Nagai, Shinji Mizushima, Masa ...

'' from 2002 to 2006.

Plot

The setting for the story is a near-future

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

where politicians and businessmen pamper and lavish themselves amidst growing public unrest, while excessive corruption and speculation lead the country to a massive economic downfall, increasing the public deficit to an enormous seven hundred trillion yen and triggering an

economic recession In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction when there is a general decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be triggered by various ...

. When her father's company goes bankrupt, Shiina finds out and resolves to sell herself into

prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

by attending high-class parties through an

escort agency An escort agency is a company that provides escorts for clients, usually for sexual services. The agency typically arranges a meeting between one of its escorts and the client at the customer's house or hotel room (outcall), or at the escort's ...

, in order to help pay off her family's debt. It is during the first and only such party she attends, where the guests were mainly VIPs and high-profile officials of the Ministry of Finance, and what was set to become an orgy, is suddenly interrupted by a young man wearing an

Oni An is a kind of ''yōkai'', demon, orc, ogre, or troll in Japanese folklore. Oni are mostly known for their fierce and evil nature manifested in their propensity for murder and cannibalism. Notwithstanding their evil reputation, oni possess ...

mask, who after giving a speech on how savage and corrupt the upper class of Japan has become, shoots the attendants in order to state his point and then proceeds to brutally slaughter the most prominent guest using a

fire axe An axe ( sometimes ax in American English; see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, to harvest timber, as a weapon, and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has many ...

. Recognized by a frantic Shiina as Shou, the man simply waves the statement off as a misunderstanding, then grabs the mauled body of his victim and walks calmly to the front lobby, where he is gunned down by police and, before dying, has his head blown off by a device implanted into his own mask. Thus, the act introduces a long, exceptionally violent campaign of murders performed by such masked individuals, targeting those who are deemed as responsible for the massive economic crisis and, as such, labeled as ''evil'' by the masked men, who all goes by the common alias ''Akumetsu'' (literally ''destroyer of evil'').

Release

The series has been published in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

JPOP J-pop ( ja, ジェイポップ, ''jeipoppu''; often stylized as J-POP; an abbreviated form of "Japanese popular music"), natively also known simply as , is the name for a form of popular music that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1 ...

from to and in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Taifu comics ''Taifu'' (大夫) was a noble title in Japan, denoting a court rank between First Rank and Fifth Rank under the ''Ritsuryō'' system. It was also commonly used to refer to a holder of Fifth Rank, but also for holders of Fourth and Fifth Rank, t ...

Plot

Release

Reception

See also

References

Further reading

External links