Chi no Wadachi

This is the single most unsettling manga I've ever read. All 75 chapters had me tense and bristling with raw anxiety. The characters are realistic but alien, the plot is a nightmare realized, and the art works wonders at imparting a feeling of subtle dread, and the impression that something is always just a bit off. To be frank, I'm not even sure I can say I enjoyed Chi no Wadachi, but what I can say is that for a work of art to elicit such a visceral response speaks to its quality. This manga will make you very afraid of the subtle, horrific emotional abuse that humans are capable of putting each other through.

This manga I'd recommend to anyone who likes more of a psychological, morbid approach. It's art on it's own self as it makes you feel the suspense and the insecurity of the main character with the pacing and the the thought out scenes.

Story: 8/10 The story itself is interesting and fairly original for a manga. It centers around an insecure boy and a psychotic mother who causes... hmm.. a lot of harm in a lot of different ways. To the boy and the family in general

Art 9/10 the art is pleasing to look at. Not the classic style yet very neat and to the point. The artists knows how to scene things and what moments to focus on to make the reader feel suspense and the lead characters inner turmoil

10/10 The characters and their portrayal are what makes this enjoyable. The way you can see Sei's suffering and reactions and totally emphasize with him. The way the psychotic mother is portrayed and all the deranged things she says...

I can say that my enjoyment of this is a 10/10. It's nice to see something original as this.

Now you see, Chi no Wadachi had a wonderful premise. The story was centered around a character study on a very disturbing milf and her son, and the art is what you'd expect from the man who made Flowers of Evil. I read through all 75 released chapters in one sitting, and I was never bored for a single moment.

But there were parts that ticked me off, and it has to do with the psychological characterization of the mother-son dynamic at times. And that's where things get tricky, because there are times where it works, and times where I feel very ambivalent with how the main character recovered from his trauma.

It's clear that the author had to have prior knowledge of certain psychological phenomena, and he tries to portray it with his wonderful art. For example: Falsified memories. Gaslighting. Amnesia. Grooming. But whether he really understands it or just copies and pastes these psychological phenomena like a TV trope?

I get that this is just manga, so hearing someone with a fucking Maki profile pic bring in contemporary lit might sound absolutely pretentious. Sue me, she was my bae back when I was in high school, I got that profile pic a long time ago, I'm 22 now, and I think mentioning this work is useful to my case. Back in the 50s, a guy named Vladimir Nabokov wrote a book about pedophilia called "Lolita". The psychology of Humbert is clearly unlike anything someone has ever scene. It's twisted and full of dark flavor. And Chi no Wadachi is like Lolita, in that they're both character studies in the psychologies of the characters they're studying. Here's the catch: I never realized how fucking complex pedophiles were until I read Lolita, because Humbert is a Subway sandwich LOADED with goodies. I never expected such complexity out of a pedophile, seriously. It defied my expectations, because in my head, I already had a clear cut-out of what pedophiles were like. Humbert was something else.

By contrast, after the 5th or 6th chapter, I already had an expectation of how the mother-son dynamic would unfold. There's something inauthentic about the scene where Osabe's memories are being falsified. It felt like the author went to a pop-psychology seminar and learned about the idea that memories could be falsified, thought, "Haha this might be a good concept to include," and tossed it in. The scene was beautifully drawn, but the content felt a little copy and paste. I was able to identify, "Oh his memories are being falsified", or "Oh, the mom is gaslighting the son," and it felt like I was eating vanilla ice cream because the flavor was something familiar that I've seen in other places. There just wasn't much variation outside my basic monkey-ass understanding of what I've seen in past psychological thrillers. Heck, the copy-and-paste aspect led to confusion on my part, and it might show a lack of understanding on my part. I refer to the most recent chapter at the time of this review, chapter 75. I was honestly shocked that Osabe recovered so quickly from his falsified memory state. Yeah, I get that his mom mentioned to him that he was free from her lies, but I question that Osabe, a young and impressionable 8th grade boy who is EXTREMELY attached to his mom could recover so quickly from a few simple words from the detective giving him a small talk-no-jutsu.

A lot of these scenes feel copy-and-paste and lacks novelty. You have the running away from home scene. You have the gaslighting. In fact, the most interesting part that fascinated me was the stuttering trauma, but the way he did away with his stuttering with the help of his crush was a little cheesy.

It had me, then it lost me. Then it had me again. Then it lost me again. And yet throughout all of this, my eyes never left the screen. I read through all 75 chapters in one sitting, and was VERY hooked. The mom is the obvious crown jewel of this series, largely because in spite of her actions, you can't really get a grip around her. Still, there is a logic and reason to her actions. Her manipulation, her anger, her twisted acting--it all has a reason that we'll likely never get to learn. And I don't think we should learn it, either. The mom is a mystery, and a really morbid, fascinating mystery at that.

Ultimately, 7/10 seems fitting. I can't help but feel that there's something inauthentic about the author's understanding of a toxic relationship, something that he must have grabbed from other television shows, books, and what not. But the ART. Oh man, the art is fantastic and draws you in. It's wonderful. I would definitely recommend. It's a morbid, fun read.

//I want to begin this review by saying this manga doesn't have enough reviews.
I've read 74 of the current chapters of manga. To be honest i'm actually a bit dissapointed overall. Now i enjoy thriller like manga/anime but this is a bit different.

Now i don't want to write much about the plot because there is synopsis, but if you like dark, psychological and a bit of a slow story this just might be for you. I'm not good at writing reviews but overall it's worth reading. The chapters are quick to read and the story will keep you interested. The manga has good suspense, good showing of emotions and artwork yet i feel something is holding it back. There aren't many characters and it mainly concentrates on the main family and main characters connections to siblings, love interest and classmates. Which at times is over the top.

At times manga is predictable and i find the whole turning point of the manga a bit out of touch. Doing something to worsen the situation that would've happened anyways makes no sense to me. Making some of the characters mental problems more apparent. End of the review//

Here's my take after reading the 16 chapters of Shuuzou Oshimi's Chi no Wadachi (A Trail of Blood).

The story centers around the mother Seiko Osabe's uncanny "Over Protectiveness" towards her son Seiichi Osabe which leads to Seiko slowly being broken and unhinged in the process.

This manga will swallow your perception of motherly love, make you experience conflicting emotions, and will shock you in the most unsettling ways.

The characterization of the characters and setup of the story is well established at the beginning of the story which makes getting to chapter 1 to the latest chapter surprisingly easy.

The art compliments the ambiance of the story, it is not the best, but it is perfect for what it is intended for which I like the most.

With that said, I would give Chi no Wadachi 9 Seiko Meat Buns out of 10.

If you're looking for a kind of story that features heavy themes of phycological horror and suspense then this would be a good read. I would say that this story portrays the aspects of emotionally / mentally abusive relationships well. Especially from the point of view of a younger person, like the main character, who might not fully understand. Combined with the feeling of being trapped. Making it the realist kind of horror out there that many can relate to.

I also think the art style compliments well to give the eeriness that this mother is portraying in certain scenes. As well as showing what the main character is feeling or thinking in situations. I personally love shows with dark themes so for me this was an awesome read. I've filled my brain with more messed up things, so I wasn't as emotionally impacted as others have stated after reading but it definitely left me thinking about it afterwards.

Before i started to read this manga i was kinda sceptical, because i prefer more ecchi manga and cute girls. But honestly since i read 2 first chapters i couldn't get my eyes off from it. The storyline together with masterpiece art (even not exactly what i prefer) was (still is, because manga is still releasing) breath-taking. Characters are perfectly described, mommy is lunatic, but hidden behind the wall of "mother-love, taking care of his son and love at all", but behind all of this, there something very worrying and her behave is so far beyond how true mother should behave to her son. For me definitely one of the best i ever read and can't wait for more... *clap* *clap* *clap*

SPOILER-FREE REVIEW!



Plot/Story: 8/10. The story is really interesting and it unravels by every chapter, we get to learn more and more details about the past of the main character and the plot of the story of why this and that happened. There are basically no filler chapters who have nothing to do with the story, the manga focuses on the story A LOT.

For someone who is a big fan of a Psychological genre mangas and read a lot of them in my time, this has to be one of the best out there. It's not some manga that you can pick up and read in your free time imo, this requires your full attention if you want to realize the small details which happen to a person post-trauma and how it affects their daily life because of it.

Characters: 8/10. The manga showcases basically only 3~ characters, at least the ones that are important to the plot itself. And all of the characters are very deep, we get snippets of flashbacks from all the characters to understand why they're in this situation in which they are right there and then. Can't say too much here without spoiling anything.

Art Style: 10/10. This manga is easily in my #3 Psychological genre mangas Art Style-wise. Think of this manga as Bastard, both Art Style-wise and story-wise. They're both really similar. The Art-Style is very realistic, representing the Japanese accurately unlike other mangas who don't really do that, a.k.a don't focus on realism and drawing actual Japanese faces but just focus on drawing and making the faces look well. The manga doesn't focus too much on the background and focus a lot more on the characters themselves, drawing every expression flawlessly and fluidly, so you best believe you won't get lost in a chapter wondering what going on.

Writing: 9/10. The dialogue between every character is really effective and it shows much more about their personality. Every dialogue in the series somehow leads to further uncowering the plot that's happening. And the dialogue shifts from Casual to Complex. Some dialogues you really have to delve into the manga to understand what they truly mean by saying those specific words.

The Verdict/Overall: 9/10. The story, art, characters, writing. Everything is really well done, chapters aren't too long. So if you've got a couple of hours of free time and don't know what to read - This manga is for you. I binge-read the 78 Chapters that it has out right now in a couple of hours and I had A LOT of different emotions during it. Sad/Confused/Angry/Surprised... You name it.

The suspense genre was always something I really had a hard time enjoying, but this manga manages to keep a steady pace that's incredibly enjoyable and actually suspenseful. It's not too slow or too fast and best of all unpredictable, which were issues I had with the suspense genre.

I really enjoyed the first chapters because right off the bat you knew something was wrong but couldn't figure out what it was or if you were just being paranoid. Once everything all goes wrong, it went wrong in ways I didn't even think would happen in a manga with a delicate art style as this.
The characters are wonderfully written in ways that make sense considering the events of the story. Not once did I find myself angrily yelling in my head that the characters were acting dumb, which I do a lot when I watch or read horror, because a lot of horror media likes to have the audience follow dumb characters who make the dumbest decisions for no reason.

The only thing I really disliked was how genuinely uncomfortable the mom would make me at times, to the point I'd have to take a little break in the middle of reading. There was only one instance (which I won't share because of spoilers) where I was really put off to the point of contemplating dropping the series because I was worried of the direction the story would go. Thankfully, this story is far from predictable, and I was able to keep reading and enjoying.

If it wasn't for the genuine suspense I'd feel while reading combined with the unpredictability of this story, I probably would've dropped it. I'm so glad I kept reading, it's definitely going to become one of my favorite manga by the time it's done.

Story: 9
Chi No Wadachi, or A Trail of Blood, is a harrowing psychological thriller about the twisted relationship between a mother and her son that will keep you binging one chapter after another. One of the main things that makes this manga so electrifying is how much thought the author put into the story. Everyday events act as signals for character development (pay attention to what Seiichi eats for breakfast each day) and the plot twists and turns are very carefully laid out and revealed in astonishing ways. And it's because of the ability of the mangaka to make each scene so scary that the story has a continuous atmosphere of tension. Home symbolizes a safe haven away from the dangers and unknowns of the outside world. But when your home is the lair for the very same monster that gave you birth- what can you possibly do to escape?

Adding on to the ambience of terror that makes A Trail of Blood such a spine-chilling drama is its central villain- the mother. Behind her sweet innocent smile hides a manipulative, repulsive predator oozing with evil. The way she gaslights and controls Seiichi, warping this naive middle-schooler kid beyond recognition with her toxic and insidious lies, is both heart-breaking and outrageous to watch. Reading this manga I wanted nothing more than to kick her off the cliffs she wants to throw herself off of so much. She is SUCH a hateable character. The mother is more horrifying than any horror movie monster, and the fact that the protagonist has to live with her- and is manipulated by her 24/7- is what makes A Trail of Blood so nerve-wracking.

Art: 8
The mangaka does an expert job of using art to tell the story. The way he draws certain scenes really adds to the tension, and he also depicts the psychological trauma that the MC goes through in the series in a truly unsettling way. Particularly, I like how the sky is constantly black even at day, making each outdoors scene feel so eerie. And that smile. That damn smile. The mom's killer psycho smile will haunt me in my dreams. While most of the mother's scariness comes from her actions, the way the mangaka draws her makes her even more terrifying.

Character: 9
Let's start off with the mom. And I'm just starting off with the mom because I want to make something absolutely clear: THERE IS NO INCEST IN THIS MANGA. I'm going to warn you in advance, when you get to "that scene" early on in the story, remember that the mom had just found out that Seiichi got asked out by a girl at school, and in her twisted maternal way, wanted to replace and consume the girl's role in Sei's life to "protect" him from harm. The fact that she does not in fact have any sexual feelings for her son is made absolutely clear by the author, since the mom has numerous opportunities to act on any desires throughout the story and never, ever does so. She just really, really, REALLY despises Seiichi's love interest and is afraid of anyone who could take her darling son away from her. Ma is just a murderous psycho, not a horny murderous psycho. If "that scene" turns you off from the manga, don't worry, there aren't any more scenes like it.
All that aside, the mother is a great character, a walking bomb, exploding at sudden moments and fracturing Sei's grasp on sanity and reality over and over again. Her mannerisms, her motives, her cunningly manipulative behavior- all of this contributes to her being one of the scariest antagonists I've ever seen in fiction.
The other important character in A Trail of Blood is the protagonist, Seiichi. An innocent middle school kid, his hopes and dreams are completely dashed to pieces by his insane mother as she tortures him with emotional blackmail, while the poor kid, confused by natural love for his parent, is too helpless to truly fight back. Sei's mental deterioration over the course of the series is heartbreaking to watch and you'll find yourself rooting for the few individuals who try to free him from the chains of "love" that bind him to his mother.
There's minor characters in A Trail of Blood who are important as well. There's the emotionally distant dad who is surprisingly blind to the fact that his wife is crazy. The horny teenage love interest who is abused at home herself. The conked-out vegetable cousin who ends up being the hero of the story (no, seriously.) The author does a great job of characterizing each person in the story overall.

Enjoyment: 7
The one main annoying part of the story is the weird inkling of sexual tension between the MC and his sociopathic killer mom. Yeah. There's a lot of emotional touchy-feely business that goes on between the two and as I was reading this manga I was continuously worried that the situation would escalate, but fortunately it never does. It really took me out of the horror of the story at some parts but as long as you can read without thinking too much about it you'll get through the story just fine. Other than that there's lots to enjoy about A Trail of Blood. The spooky mysteries and startling reveals will keep you on the edge of your seat, I guarantee it.

Overall: 9
As someone who usually sticks to shonen anime and manga, I surprisingly enjoyed this series. A true page-turner doesn't need magic or explosions or aliens to keep you glued, and A Trail of Blood is a convincing example of that. The protagonist has a torturous character arc you'll never forget and the mother is a terrifying villain the likes of which you won't see in any other piece of fiction. After binge-reading all 85 chapters in one sitting, I can't wait to read what happens next in the story. Give A Trail of Blood a try, I guarantee it will haunt you for a long time if you do.

So...

Do you want the steamed meat bun or the steamed red-bean bun for breakfast?

The choice is yours.

Just don't make the wrong one.

oh god this is my first time writing a review but oh boy this manga was hard to read so here we go. It was greatly disturbing and stressful to read. Though the psychology and the actions of the characters are somehow dull and expected, the art portrayal of every thought, every emotion of every character was beautifully delivered. I hated every single character in this manga yet I somehow continued reading it. The psychology is delivered by the art rather than dialogues which can make it sometimes hard to understand what the character is really thinking. After reading it, I think I have a better understanding of what psychological manipulation is and how psychological abuse can affect someone's life. None of the characters were likable and the plot seems to be progressing slowly so overall it is not the best thing to read but how the mangaka delivers such psychology through art could be worth reading.

Chapter 42 reporting in...

This review maybe biased due to alcohol intake

Story:10
Well what can i say usually people can write story's like that either by having very open and colorful imagination or they experienced it first hand. You may see here real trauma, drama and life if I may say so, if you think that this story is solely a fiction then please do continue to live in your safety bubble thinking about your friends and family members as sane members of society (like uniform society where everyone is good and cool).
Here you can see a story about a father workaholic (norm in Japan) or who is cheating, mother who is sliding to the crazy side it doesn't even matter what classification of disease and a boy who lives with it since he has no choice (Reference to a holes yes he has many choices, i know that but i'm talking about an average kid who doesn't have any trades and is of average intelligence (straight A's in school don't count )).
Every chapter is like thriller you wait for another chapter but you are afraid every chapter that something horrid will happen and you never know when it will happen.

Art:10
Art maybe not so great from the first look but then you realize, no this art for this manga is perfect it touches you and makes a great symbioses with story, chapter 1 you don't suspect anything ultra weird here but art tells you: This flight my boy will be tough one. Background due to the art style ain't fascinating but it is due to art style no because of lack of talent. Panels and dialogue bubbles are good (not the best), you can read it and you will most probably won't get confused.

Character:10
Character development....guys and gals don't get me started here...please just don't in short yes there is one and it feels alive. Character personality is..ALIVE, you can see messed up people here, normal life coercing with life behind the closed doors (when family acts normal but behind the closed doors we see real s&^t happen). This characters are declaration to all people don't be arrogant and don't oversimplify (note to me too) other family issues if you don't know squat. All in all this manga shows you that mangakas can make their mangas real, but simple real is boring so write a story about 1 in 1000 family's (drunks and drug addicts don't count this isn't internal problem more like external stimuli helping to destroy).
In short it's ALIVE!

Enjoyment:8
I enjoyed it and finished 42 chapters fast (some could say in a heartbeat), but something was off like MC is twisted alright (mother is something else twisted ain't a word for her) but he had few moments when he was in cohesive in his judgement be it as it may child, traumatized and etc. but something was off in my perspective in his behavior (it may as well be my inexperience talking to me, but still).
Partly i felt something was off and either cut off from original thought or wasn't thought through....

Overall:9
Can't call it master piece (it's not finished yet and something is off), all in all i like it and will continue to read it.
Caution to people who like fluffy story's it isn't one and it may very well have a bad ending this a life story not children's book story post 20th century where kiss:marriage:happy life sequence goes on, it has a grim undertone (Hypothesis:Grim->Brothers Grimm).
I liked it since i saw some messed things in life and this manga simply shows me the other side of the coin of our life, to me it is not solely a baseless fiction it is a story of a boy with overprotective and mentally ill mother and a boy with mother complex (You heard me right MOTHER COMPLEX, if not he wouldn't do things that he has done up until chapter 42).

Update here: S*%t got real brothers and sisters, mother complex scratch that we have some serious drama here it's hard to read it not because it's bad but how author decided to smash us with drama a natural drama that one would expect but would not believe even after reading it, it's one of those stories are too good to be fiction i have now even more confidence that author had experienced it or the very least found it in real life.

A Trail of Blood is a fantastic example of a thriller/horror manga that does not have to utilize extreme gore to get that 'shock' factor out from its reader. Instead, the true horror of this story emulates from the author's unique artwork. Oshimi uses lines, and scribbles, to reflect the character's state of mind. When Osabe is anxious, the art seems to deteriorate and the panels begin to mesh together to reflect our main character and the narrator's, point of view. Osabe's mother is the other main character of this series and she serves as an interesting antagonist to this story. When it comes to her character the reader can never truly understand what is going on in her mind. She seems to be a good person at one moment- as she shows tenderness towards her son, and is depicted of a victim of a cruel family and world. Other times, she is the epitome of evil. The reader, like Osabe himself, never really understands his mother. Is she a good person? Is she not a good person? It is yet to be clear, but when more is revealed of her past, my bet is these questions will still not be clear, as they are very subjective in nature. This confusion the reader has surrounding Osabe's mother is similar to what Osabe himself must be feeling, as the manga shows time and time again how conflicted he feels in his situation. This was an excellent thriller thus far, and I cannot wait to see what the author has in store for the ending!

Absolutely stunning, and quietly horrifying. The slow pacing and the intricate facial details really make this horror series seep under your skin and fast! Near the 40 chapter mark I was gasping audibly at every chapter's new twist and horrifying revelation.

The full page spreads leave you absolutely breathless. The drawing style is sparse at times and dense at others, which really hit home the mood the artist was going for in each panel.

This is top tier manga horror that I think you'll love if the subjects of manipulation and moral decay are in your wheelhouse.

I recommend reading this alongside your favorite horror movie soundtrack, as long as it's not from a chase scene.

Chi no Wadachi (Trail of blood) may be one of the best modern japanese horror stories, and for sure is one of the best artistic manga out there.
Story follows Seiichi Osabe, that on one day sees his overprotactive mother trying to murder his cousing. She denies that she had tried to kill him and boy falls into coma, leaving Seiichi wandering if what he saw was even true, and if it was - why would his kind mother do such a thing?
From this point on series focuses mostly on intricate reliation between son and his mother, filled with manipulation, lies, drama and.. terror. Shuuzou Oshimi focuses mostly on the faces, which in connection with detailed shadow, gives a chilling impression that each and every face panel bears emotions and weight to the story. Very often Mother is drawn in a way she resembles onryou.
I guess some may disagree on the fact that Chi no Wadachi is a horror story - there are no supernatural elements, no gore, no extreme violence, but the story being slow-paced and focused solely on characters' psychology is what makes it even more real, to the point it makes it almost uncomfortable to read.
You won't see jumpscares or disgusting panels here, most of it feels as it could actually happen in the real world. The biggest "scare" of the entire manga is definitely mother's relationship with her son. She's constantly lying and manipulating his son to the point where he is no longer able to act on his own and it negatively influences his life.
Art style of the manga is a sight to behold, filled with tiny details. Shuuzou masterfully operates with shadows, making them flood entire panels at times, making you feel the stress and danger of the situation. Other times all the panels become ridiculously bright and white, making the reader feel the comfort and peace the characters feel. Most of the panels could be framed and hung on the wall as if they were paintings.
As for the flaws, i have to admit that there are some moments (or strings of chapters) that fell a little bit too slow or meaningless. There's a middle portion of the manga, that consists mostly of main character going to school, getting back and experiencing more strange situations with his mother.

Other than that, Chi no Wadachi is near perfection. As of this moment story has 75 chapters collected into 8 volumes and i kinda hope it'll end sooner than later.
It's definitely a series that could break a man.

“My good fortune is not that I've recovered from mental illness. I have not, nor will I ever. My good fortune lies in having found my life.” -Elyn R. Saks.

Chi no Wadachi or a Trail of Blood is truly an unnerving experience. This manga is exceptional and dare I say masterful at setting an unsettling environment using everything from lighting and positioning to the expressions and body language of a character. Something that is also noteworthy is that many panels go without words and even where there are words there are few. A lot of the overall experience of the manga comes directly from the disturbing emotions the manga brings forward.

Story: 35% / 43%
The story in of itself is not as stressful as many people would lead you to believe. What makes the story distressing is it's use of impressively believable cast and impeccable use of disquieting art. However, the story is very, very original. Since it is not done I cannot completely write an accurate rating, but I am satisfied with the current chapters.

The use of ambient and characters makes this story unique and masterful. It has no qualms with addressing very strong topics such as a range of mental illnesses, murder, mental and physical abuse, child abuse, and heavy trauma.

Characters: 30% / 33%
The characters are simply superb. All of the developed characters are so believable, in fact, that one could think people like this could exist in real life. And make no mistake, it is probable that they do. Mental illness and trauma consume a great deal of people in the real world, far more than people would like to admit.

Each of the characters is uniquely written and to an extent could be interpreted as real people in the story. The actions the characters take at times might seem irrational to some, but remember that they are human and they are most likely affiliated with mental illness. Irrationality is the main theme of the manga and it will not shy away from exposing its characters to the most emasculate situations.

Art: 23% / 23%
I personally believe that this manga's greatness comes from its specialty in creating an anxious mood in every panel. Each new panel you are faced with an entirety of new agitating emotions. Everything from the background to the incredibly believable emotions and body language of the specific character are all used to bring forward your most distressful emotions. This is truly the strongest point on the manga and deserves full points.

Overall: 88% or 8.8/10 rounded to 9/10

Remembering suspense movies, Chi no Wadachi is an experience that makes you chew your nails through the next chapter. The story begins with a slow pace, making you wonder what's really going to happen, until the psychotic mother makes her first move, from there you'll clutter once in the story of the shy teenager with an insane mother, worry about what she can do with the other characters who get envolved with the protagonist and feel bad for his own life.

The art follows the pattern of the author, which fits very well with the genre. From the same creator of Aku in Hana and Happiness, if you like dark stories involving suffering and suspense, this manga is for you.

*~ MINOR not very important SPOILER ALERT*

To start: human babies, unlike any other animal or being, at the first few months of their entire lives, are incapable of walking or lifting their bodies on their own, without any support. Human babies need help more than any other living being. Having that said, this manga perfectly utilized the vital force of a child ánd mother. Which hereby, in my opinion, cannot be surpassed by any other of Shuuzou Oshimi’s work, ‘’Happiness’’ / ‘’Aku no Hana’’.

The worthy mentioning genres are psychology – family life – tragedy – thriller – mental health.

Story:
Proclaiming that this is not your casual dark psychological story. This goes deeper than just a shock of stunning face expression which blows the reader away. A story about most children’s warm reflection of one’s deeply caring mother, in a tightly household. The silently and cautious interactions of an only child with mommy and daddy, will hit you like a snow storm when you found out the striking truth of it’s silly and very welcoming of beginning.

The bulk of Chi no Wadachi (Blood on the Track) lays at the very first pages, where the manga consists of just a bunch of interactive moments, with the consecutively views of mommy, daddy, and the family outside of the ring. The characters of the manga are beautifully established and developed throughout the series. The emphasis worthy of main objects in the story are: mother (seiko), son (seiichi), girlfriend (fukiishi), seiichi’s cousin (shigeru). Reminder, what they are talking about, doesn’t matter at all, it is the main plot that is received by the reading at the near beginning, which will be the decisive reason as to, why the first ‘’few interactive moments with consecutively views’’ are highly important to mention. The unnatural but deserved plot twists that leaves you with shaky fingers, and the urge of reading forward through the pages of the zoomed in, sweetness of smiles given by the ‘’overprotective’’ mother; that wants you to find out a bit more than a caring and beloved mamma. Which, will also especially make a great impact on the far progress of reading through the wonderfully drawn characters, and just like it did for me; it will feel like a gust of wind when you find out what’s really happening in this exciting story. However, the art and chosen theme on it’s own is a masterpiece that makes you feel pity for the both the mother and son. These details of pages are the very relevant flashback moments that you need to fall back on when you hold onto the reading of this impressively manga series.

Out of a so many psychological, thriller manga series, there is not a single one, that may captivate the reading style, like how Chi no Wadachi is drawn and written, by one single author. The answer to how good and compassionate the author has build this story together, is not explainable by just one reader, reading the amazingly deal of this still ongoing psychological ride of a manga. (chapter 93 right now, writing this)

Character:
My favorite character would be the father (ichiro osabe), although he’s apparently just a side character, he is the closest person between the mother and son. Not forgetting the fact that he has seen things that are absolutely not being questioned about in the story, at all. For example, the way the mother has shown her intimacy to her beloving son, and not allowing any one else except for His Mother to come close to him. At this day of age, you wouldn’t think about it, but the author surely took this psychiatric theme until this far to the reader. And unfortunately, you can’t escape this realization of thought until communicating with his beloved wife is the very solution. That’s just the kind of way of how the father is dealing with it.

Animals, like newborn giraffe calves, are able to clamber upright and walk around on their own within hours of birth. Human babies, however, are a different story. For the first two months of life, they can't lift their heads without help.

Human babies are helpless more so than any other animal, and this series perfectly exploits the psyche of a child.

You know in horror movies where it's common sensical to "not go alone/in there" but the main characters keep making dumb decisions anyways?

In this series, despite the main character making "dumb decisions", we can sort of empathize with him. It puts us in the scenario of being torn between selling out our most loved person, or deluding ourselves into rationalizing their behavior because no matter what it is they've done, we cling on to some means of justification as to lighten the burden, like "victim of circumstance", stress, life, etc. As of writing this review, I'm still hoping that the mother has a "good" reason for her behavior, like maybe a tragic backstory or something, and this just goes to show the power of attachment. She is unpredictable, abusive, erratic, and controlling, someone that I as an adult would know to run the hell away from but as a child might come to defend and cling onto just like the main character. Nature has the many of us programmed to love our parents, but when that parent is abusive, its sending a weird message.

Art:
I don't know what it is about the art but its amazing. Something about being sort of notepad sketchy like makes it feel like a diary. Something I noticed about this authors style is that he captures the face in very intricate detail. The nose not being a half bottom part triangle approximation, the mouths often showing the teeth. It reminds me of Finding Nemo and that scene where the kid was at the dentist, where we get to see the lens of what she looks like in the eyes of a fish.
The author is on my list of being a master of framing and timing.

TL;DR
This series is a psychological thriller that keeps you on the edge(no pun intended), to the point where it measures up or even exceeds series classified as horror.

To all the unborn children out there, chose your parents wisely

Note;
Also I maybe biased because I can relate to this series on some personal level.

Short review

-the characters are weird In a bad way in the beginning through to the middle

-the pacing is awful and the plot is almost nonexistent the only real story was the beginning and after chapter 65

-the setting is basic, the storytelling and stylistic approach is extremely abstract

-I'm not sure but I think the story tries to portray mental illness, which if so, is done very poorly. You hear that this manga "breaks people" but I didn't feel any sad emotion from this or any like pity for any characters, basically I didn't feel anything except for pure confusion for bulk of the story and Im usually able to tell what something is trying to say/portray.

-If u dislike bitchy MC, that cry a lot akin to deku, your not gonna enjoy this guy, one of his main traits is that he is a momma's boy with a lot of incesty moments, his character doesn't change much until the chapters I've mentioned above.

-the art is fantastic

-the story gets muchhhhh better after about chapter 65 when we start getting answers into the characters perspectives and how they feel, everything until around chapter 65 feels like your reading something on shrooms. I felt like I wasting my time reading everything between like chapter 20-64 and that it could've been condense into 20 or so chapters.

All of this is my opinion btw. If you are reading this review your are most likely into dark, psychological manga so I would refer to shounen no abyss or oyasumi punpun which is far better at portraying characters and plot progression.