I found out about this manga after watching the 2001 Takashi Miike live action adaptation. I started out with some pretty high expectations due to the movie. Let me tell you, this exceeded all of them. Each character is methodically thought out, and even the minor characters get fleshed-out backstories and character arcs. From the mentally unstable killer Ichi, to the masochistic Anjo leader Kakihara, the mysterious manipulator Jiji, the traitorous hustler Karen, even the minor characters like the twins and Kakihara's bodyguard Kaneko get to have character, and are not just there to advance the plot or be fillers. The story is immaculate. Not only is it a well-crafted cat and mouse chase between the "ultimate" sadist and masochist, it also manages to have a decent yakuza war subplot. Both of those are interesting, and could stand on their own if they were two separate stories. The art is kind of jarring at times, and it's personally kind of ugly, but it works for the most part. The gore and torture scenes obviously had lots of time put into them, making them the standout of this series. It's definitely messed up, and i would say it unnecessarily goes too far at times, but when it's good it's good. If you're a fan of messed up, gory, or yakuza-centered manga, I'd highly recommend this to you.