With the exception of a few comedies, like Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, or Cromartie High School, manga and anime primarily set in high school absolutely suck.

The reason for this is simple enough; of all the exciting, interesting places to base a story, high school is just about the worst. Choosing this as a setting is simply pandering to one's audience, nothing more.

However, despite so much working against it, "Veritas" manages to pull this off. This is no ordinary school; it's a place for instructing exceptional fighters, set up by an organization called Reunion, which has mastered biotechnology and robotics at a level far beyond anything in the real world.

None of the main action occurs in the classroom either; instead, the manga is a series of tremendous fights interspersed with political intrigue and mystery.

At the center of all this is the hero, Gangryong, the typical, strong-willed, never give up, never back down street fighter. While at first just an ordinary juvenile delinquent, his life changes when he comes across Lightning Tiger, a tremendous warrior who begrudgingly takes Gangryong on as a pupil.

After Tiger's supposed death, Gangryong is recruited into the school as his late master's only student.

While this could easily turn into a non-stop fight manga, (not that there's anything wrong with those!) there is a great deal of exposition and mystery connected with Gangryong's sponsors, the struggle between traditional martial artists like Lightning Tiger and Reunion's own brand of synthesized, bio-engineered martial arts, and the battle for the title of the head of Heaven's Riches that includes the school's student council as well as its adult sponsors.

While the story is well done, and the fights are brutal, gorgeous, and exciting, the manga manages to include a number of funny, humorous moments as well. It never takes itself too seriously, which just makes it that much more fun to read.

The place where this work really stands out most is the style of the characters. They just look cool. Gold chains and pendants around their necks, bracelets all over their arms, beanies over their heads, (in one case) a tribal tattoo, and a generally cool, trendy vibe are a hallmark of every significant character.

The guys all have hard, chiseled facial features and a moderate, well-defined amount of muscle. The female characters have soft faces, slim bodies, disproportionately large breasts and ass, and a similar trendy, up-to-date sense of style.

All of this might seem besides the point, but it's not. Having the characters look interesting, appealing, and (gasp) like a bunch of trendy high school youths makes the illustration more entertaining and the story more palatable.

While it undoubtedly alienates a portion of its readers, who won't be able to identify strongly with most of its cast, it's a fine decision on the part of Veritas's creators.

In terms of weaknesses, Veritas suffers from some predictable fights and scenarios. They're done well, but on several occasions, the creators had a chance to change it up, but opted to go for the more familiar route.

2018 EDIT FOR THE 3/10 REVIEW BELOW MINE-

Yes, I read the entire manhwa. It continuously gets better and more interesting, and while the final ending is rushed due to being canceled, it's far from bad. For a series that is all about playing with and subverting the cliches of the high school shounen fight genre, such a plot twist isn't out of place. Moreover, it's sensible, given the story arc and nature of the character in question.

SLIGHTLY OFF-TOPIC RESPONSE BELOW, IGNORE IF YOU ONLY CARE ABOUT VERITAS-

Also, I don't mind anyone disagreeing with my review, but if you're going to specifically call out my score, how the hell do you then justify giving The Breaker 10/10? It's the same genre as Veritas except utterly generic, blindly adhering to the high school shounen fight conventions which Veritas was all about innovating upon.

Moreover, The Breaker ALSO had a rushed, last-second ending. Except in that case, it made zero sense, and was nothing more than a "reset" of the plot and main characters for the new series. In other words, none of the shit in The Breaker matters, and read The Breaker: New Waves to see how everything progresses from square one. Again.