This is not for the squeamish, the easily frightened, or those looking for a light manga to read. It is dark and often brutal. The complexity of the plot had me wondering if I should be taking notes, and I actually did end up writing down some details, like the protagonist's personalities, to keep track. That said - if you like both psychological horror and violence, this fits the bill well.

Something needs to be said about the nature of the crimes. These are not straightforward homicides. They are grotesque and morbidly fascinating. Oftentimes the victims are tortured in the most creative ways before being killed. There's something bordering on erotic about some of these killings, as well, and that can be even more disturbing to the reader. If you want to venture to the dark side, though....

The story has its bloodshed, but also its moments of slow building unease, and it's highly psychological. The personalities of detective Amamiya are locked somewhere inside his mind, triggered by unknown sights and sounds. It gives a lingering feeling that something bad could happen at any moment. The art balances the mood superbly. Amamiya's expressions are subtle but effective. You can see the horror on his face as he learns what exactly his alternate personalities have done, as he can feel one approaching. You can also learn to tell, just through expressions, when he's switched to a much more dangerous version of himself. The fear that builds then is palpable.

Besides the mastery of expressions, the art is notable for leaving the characters recognisably Japanese. It's certainly all professional and clean, with highly detailed backgrounds and excruciatingly rendered corpses. I'm not an expert on comic styles, but if I'm using the right terms, there's an abundance of high contrast noir influence to be found. I appreciate it for the depth it adds. At the same time, the number of pages that have no screentones, and are therefore simply high contrast black and white, are a bit harsh.

Character - definitely very complex. It takes a while for the personalities to become apparent, but that's a rather endearing quality for me, as I'm very tired of mangas that have such flat characters that you know them right away. This isn't one of those. It makes it all the more rewarding when you discover a new clue to the true character of someone. Also, the criminals are very interesting. I love seeing psychotic minds at work, and this gives me the perfect window to it. Expressions, dialog, actions and movement, they bring you face to face with the essence of insanity. Seeing it made my breath catch more than once, and I was left staring at a page pondering what I had seen too many times to count.

There are some traits, beyond the obvious violence, that would make this manga unenjoyable to some. Mainly, it's very dry. By that I mean - very minimal comedy, no comic relief characters or clueless sidekicks, mostly a dark and technical atmosphere. It's also an involved read, no mindless sitting by and watching things happen. You need to sit down and read it like you would a serious novel.

But if you do decide to go ahead and read it, despite the dryness, despite the crimes depicted... you are in for a treat.