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alethya 's review for:
MPD-Psycho Volume 1
by Eiji Otsuka
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This could have been the review of a 3-star or higher manga story where a skilled serial killer assists the police in unraveling heinous crimes. Unfortunately, what I found instead was a poorly executed setup with a promising premise buried under weak storytelling. The dissociative identity disorder (misleadingly portrayed as "multiple personality disorder") is handled clumsily, and the supporting characters lack any depth or engagement.
On its own, the lackluster narrative and mediocre execution might have warranted 2 or 3 stars as a forgettable read. However, after reflecting further, I feel compelled to lower my rating to one star. The reason is simple: I'm utterly exhausted by stories that rely on exploitative shock value at the expense of women.
Across these first chapters 200 pages, every victim from various serial killers shares the same disturbing pattern: they are naked, heavily sexualized, mutilated, and inevitably raped women. Their lifeless bodies are depicted with blank, objectified gazes, reducing them to little more than props for gore and titillation. This relentless and gratuitous focus on violence against women isn't just lazy storytelling it's a choice for a certain audience that needs to leave the basement. I'm tired of media that leans on shocking gore and sexual violence on the back of women as its sole selling point. It's not bold, it's not groundbreaking it's just boring. I have no issue with gore, just with feeding into a larger issue that way.
This chapter squanders its potential in favor of exploitation, and I can't recommend it to anyone.
On its own, the lackluster narrative and mediocre execution might have warranted 2 or 3 stars as a forgettable read. However, after reflecting further, I feel compelled to lower my rating to one star. The reason is simple: I'm utterly exhausted by stories that rely on exploitative shock value at the expense of women.
This chapter squanders its potential in favor of exploitation, and I can't recommend it to anyone.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail
Don't read it