Depression is a horrific thing. One that many of the most prior and coming generations will experience in large. Always apart of the human condition, it's something that bites so fiercely with nary a way to really bite back. Shounen no Abyss is a manga that aims to summarise and encapture that darkness that so much of the youth struggles through these days. It is not alone in it's attempt, so much media comes from pain and so much media tries to understand it, despite how impossible it may be to capture a feeling shared by so many but unique in it's vices to everyone it affects. Much manga, anime and other media in the past have tried their hand at recreating it and only the most elite amongst them have ever belonged to that club of higher media. Our manga in question is by no means a member of that club, although it may just have a toe in the door.

Shounen no Abyss is a Coming of Age, Psychological Drama Manga by Minenami Ryou, most famous for Himegoto: Juukyuusai no Seifuku, a drama of similar genre but wildly different thematics. In Abyss, Ryou attempts his darkest story to date with our protagonist Reiji Kurose and his suicidal tendencies suffering from an overbearing life, dysfunctional family and uncertain future. If you have read other Manga of this genre then this tiny synopsis will probably familiarlize you due to an abundance in the medium that have also tackled the strife of youth indifference, most famously Oyasumi Punpun. Shounen no Abyss makes genuine waves to stand on the same wavelength of the classic by giving very legitimate structure and reason to the nature of the manga and Reiji Kurose's issues. There is legitimate thematic weight to not only Kurose but the abundance of supporting characters, each with their own unique pain and reasons to their own problems.

However, sadly this Manga seems to suffer from it's affiliation with Young Jump and thusly it's purpose as a Seinen. Now, my speculation here is not to be taken for verbatim. However, there is little else that could explain the bizarre sexualization and characterization inside the series. Minenami Ryou has dabbled in ecchi in the past but to place nudity within Shounen no Abyss to the point where it dabbles on the line of ecchi/fan-service is a bizarre choice to say the least. Now, sex and romance (or lack thereof) is most certainly apart of Coming of Age and a massive causation of depression worldwide and of course most importantly, within Japan. Though, in no good mind can I find the reason for the female characters to be one minute rendering their soul apart in double page spreads of pure outbursts of sorrow, anguish and rage to the next issue be throwing themselves on our main character as if he was lathered in aphrodisiac. In order to justify these rapid moodswings and sudden appearances of intense thirst, Minenami Ryou has to apply rather tired character archetypes in order to placate the Young Jump crowd and editorial staff. Particuarly of note is the disillussionment of the teacher character, one that as previously noted, has a legitimate reason to be involved with Reiji Kurose and has a genuine feeling of sadness about them but is then degraded to having a far too familiar trope seemingly forced onto them in order to remain prominent in the series and satisfy some weird neccessity that far too much Seinen seems determined to have.

As for the other aspects of the manga, the art retains the familiarlity of the rest of Minenami Ryou's work, not exceptional but acceptable, except for some occurrences where there are mild flexes that show impressive talent. It can also be said that the character designs are unique to the point of everyone being instantly identifiable whilst still maintaining utter believability. Not easy by any means. The pacing of the manga is generally quite good and leads to an overall easy read (darkly humorous considering the subject matter isn't meant to be digestable), this could be consumed in one afternoon quite comfortably and the little plot hooks laid towards the end of chapters are firm enough to drag "just one more issue" out of you.

Overall, Shounen no Abyss seems to definitely have the wherewithal to achieve more and be better than the sum of it's parts. However, it's holding back and falling into safe zones that means it will please the small crowd it gains and probably fall into obscurity in a few years or under the radar to be later discussed as a "hidden gem". Ironically a theme of the manga is causing yourself pain to endlessly please those who don't really care for you, settling for mediocrity as it's best for those that have expectations. Shounen no Abyss will never escape the abyss of other endless average to good Seinen Drama if it does not forget that it doesn't need to be like any of the rest. It just needs to be itself.