Yamikin Ushijima-kun

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It seems like I'm the only one here who has read the whole thing, so let's write a review.

I remember dropping this after reading a few chapters thinking "WTF IS THIS? 46 volumes NOOOO bye" but that wasn't fair so a few days later, i came back and gave it another shot ..... i ended up reading everything in 2 weeks.

**STORY/CHARACTERS 10/10 **

_Ushijima's story structure is quite unique. the first part is an incredible piece of story-telling its mostly about short (3 volumes for the longest) independent arcs where we follow one of those debt slaves who are linked in one way or another ... to ushijima business. the main character won't be the main focus here, he is more of a background character mostly here at the begining and the end of every arcs. There is also a huge block of storyline where ushijima will be the main protagonist in various complication due to his growing empire, this storyline is intertwined and it keep growing as we progress through the story.

Each arcs have their own protagonist, theme and conclusion. It's a facinating ode to explore something that modern society has to offer, everything is linked to money. if someone can't get any loans from the banking system their only alternative is to look up for a "yamikin" the japanese term for a loan shark. The thing about yamikin is that their interest are really high, their chances of getting screwed are also high its a risky illegal business.

We follows those said "victims" who need to pay ushijima no matter what. There is a total absence of Manichaeism in this story no villains no heroes just humans with their flaws. on one side we have our main character Ushijima who is ruthlessly making gigantic profit out of miserable peoples, someone who won't hesitate to use any means at his disposal to get his money + interest back. the yakuza who uses their power to get a piece of the cake from everyone, we also have the rivals yamikins and other gangs who are ready to kill for more power.

On the other side, we have the so-called victims, most of whom are unlikable twisted individuals. Their flaws and vices have led them to the situation they are struggling with, most of them could just move on with their lives but are still attracted to certains desire, dreams and tentation that only money can afford.

those characters are the real highlight of ushijima i said they were unlikable but its not entirely true they are just deeply human full of flaws and vices, and dreams like everyone, despite ushijima display of such vile individual i never once felt any disgust or frustration following them it was just totaly fascinating.

I've never seen anything like ushijima first part its full of incredible arc/character full of moment where you'll think about your own life after hearing a conversation, full of moment where you'll relate to someone after following him/her for only 2 or 3 volumes. its also full of nonsensical characters and weird stuff, you'll never think that something like this will ever work. The fact that shohei manabe managed to write 30+ volumes of this concept while giving himself a limit of 3 volumes to tell something meaningful is simply marvelous.

The second part was incredible, but i won't talk about it.

Ushijima is a manga that fully assumes its identity, its brutal, dark, personal while being extremely relatable at the same time it's clearly not made for everyone. ushijima never try to shock the reader its just here to tell something. If you are too fragile or immature ushijima won't be for you. From the start to the very end there is no intention to please anyone.

** ART 10/10 **

Ushiima art is quite ugly at the begining but it ended up growing on me quite a lot the evolution is phenomenal.

one of my favorite aspect is the city of tokyo and its suburb where the majority of the story will take place. Everything is ridiculously detailed and accurate ushijima main and sub environnement representation is incredible tokyo is extremely oppressive this feeling never leaves you its always here tokyo is more of an entity than anything else. the work on tokyo urbanism here is remarkable From a simple room, to a landfill to a highway this is by far my favorite city representation in a manga.

Ushijima put a huge emphasis on contemplation with tons of gorgeous textless panels. the artist never feels the need to add text just to tell you something that is already here, ushijima is visually stuning with spectacular scenery and insane visual present in EVERY chapter ,Visual storytelling is fully embraced in the second part, where it reaches its peak with a brillant visual shift.

As a testament to how good the paneling is for a manga that has so much dialogues, I never skipped a single buble of text. Everything flows so naturally the actions scenes are perfectly structured but more importantly this manga read itself surprisingly fast this is the prefect mix between dialogue and contemplative storytelling its an absolute joy to read.


**CONCLUSION**

Let's get straight to the point, this super obscure manga is one of the most ambitious, unique, and well crafted manga i had the pleasure to read.

Ushijima is one of the most ambitious manga ever made a project that took 15 years to complete the fact that its totally unknown outside of japan is simply put an ABSURDITY THAT DOESNT MAKE ANY SENSE. when i finished ushijima i was disbelief to know that something that good was so well hidden and so unknown to the west.

Going blind into something of this caliber has been incredible it's the kind of manga that you'll only read once in a decade. I don't think I'll be able to experience something like this any time soon.

**BONUSSSS**

you won't find any content that goes in depth about ushijima online. You'll only find two (french) reviews on yt none in english. and the only reason why I had the chance to read it is because i was lucky enough to stumble upon one of those reviews.

You're probably wondering why something that good is not known outside of Japan? I did some research it has sold 22 millions copies had a tvshows a drama youtube jap fan-dubbed chapters are getting millions of views on yt and the author new manga is already selling like hotcakes!

To be honest, I don't have any answer I've seen plenty of shitty, good or obscure manga get a full English tl so seeing something like this getting under the radar... is just unreal! really i have no words never seen a case like this in any medium.

The fact that it never got any English translation may be the reason why . it seems like someone decided to translate since 2021 114 chapters were translated into English but it stopped. i highly recommend to read everything in one burst so it would be a shame to stop after 114 chapters.... that why i think its better to wait maybe one days this will get a full english tl and this time in good quality to enjoy the art.

So at the end of the day there is only 2 options, either you know Japanese or french (like me lol =D) because, yes as crazy as it sounds the manga was fully licensed in France i wouldn't be here if it wasn't for that =-(.

Warning: Nudity, Sex scenes, Coarse language, etc


Story
If you managed to get past nudity and sex scenes without going straight to the Manga… then thumbs up to you and here’s the guts of the story, “Yamikin” the Japanese equivalent of the bottom feeding “loan shark” and everything that comes with it. Legality problems, shady backers, gang pressure, con artists, the sex industry, though most of all trying to get their money back from the people who take loans. And I’m not gonna pretend to be an expert on the Japanese loan shark system, but the story has an element of realism to me because, it’s ... pretty close to the same shit I see in my neck of the woods and most likely most of you have seen it too “lending money to desperate people, idiots or just fucken losers with bad credit at ridiculously high interest rates”. This at least, for the first few chapters, is the story.

Think of pathetic people getting themselves into debt and being forced to pay it back by any means and I mean “by any means possible”. Let your imagination go there and it probably still won’t come close... Expect to be challenged, repulsed even, expect to see the scum of society, expect to think, to judge, to feel, though also expect the stories to grip you by the throat without a hope of letting go, and why? The hook in these stories is, they can make you believe that these extreme situations could and probably do happen. This is mostly done with facts and dialogue aimed at the realist in you. Also Manabe Shohei “the author” plays on your faith in humanity, and for me at least, I found my faith in humanity “laughing” as it passed me by, waving its middle finger in the air. In saying that the only reason I could downgrade this story is because it might make you uncomfortable, and you have been warned so, that’s not a real reason, also at the moment the story overall is starting to take shape, the main character Ushijima-kun is looking to move up in the ranks of the underworld, which is adding depth and is just making this even better, so for the story, a big 10


Art
I’ve only read one other manga by “Manabe Shohei” though his art sort of reminded me of the mangaka “Hanazawa Kengo” author of “I am hero” and on some level, I thought of the Manga “Shamo” as well, just without the water colors. It has that uniqueness to it, maybe not as refined but it does have a gritty feel. Meaning it’s not the prettiest but in all honesty in relation to the story and characters “it fits the feel perfectly”, it had a down and dirty charm almost. Anyway the art holds up the story, it may not be for you anatomically correct nuts, but for the “connoisseur” it should be good, like is said, it has its own charm. Based on how well the art works with the story I’m going with a 9

Characters
There’s only really one main Character in this. He is the head of the Yamikin company, “Ushijima” .This guy is no protagonist, he is not likeable, he’s more like an antihero, he’s smart and emotionally detached; the guy is all business. Even though he goes through some development it’s not in the form of the “hero” it’s more like the reader gets a better understanding of his perspective and challenges as a Yamikin, so maybe you can respect his smarts. He is the most developed character at this time. It’s not that big a deal because only 22 chaps have been translated so far. So while there are a few other core characters, underlings, workers, rivals etc, being established now, only a couple of them have really been explored. In saying that the characters who have been moving the story so far “the slaves” aka the people owing money, more than make up for this. The “slaves” have been developed with simple and relatable faults and desires like addiction, greed, peer pressure, boredom etc. Very relatable at least in understanding how they got themselves in the shit and even if you do start to feel sorry for them, the author has a way of twisting your loyalties between the loan shark and the slave. The author just knows what he’s doing, so for characters it’s an easy 9

Enjoyment
It’s like that saying “it hurts so good” I don’t know if it says too much for my mental state, and I feel like, it's better not to like it as much as I do, but whatever, I suppose in some ways it’s like that feeling you get when looking down at pitiful people, in your head you’re like “YES” my life aint that shit! Well something like that, anyway I’m enjoying it and it’s a 9 for me

Overall
I’m giving it a solid 9, and to everyone who turns their head away when they pass an accident, or can’t watch a train wreck happen, this story is not for you, it’s no fucking fairy tale! But if you don’t mind a darker themed story line, exploring the human psyche and no fluff, this could become addictive. So definitely give it a shot and I better mention there is some humor in this so, as I sign out I’ll leave you with one of lighter quotes from one of the scums in this story…see you around.

“If I had the power like a Sayan, I’d gather up all this world’s suffering into a spirit bomb and shove it up their asses” - Aizawa

A series I marathoned in the course of one night to avoid coming back to it the next day, Yamikin Ushijima-kun reads like a heavy punch in the gut, especially the early chapters. You wanted some nice fluffy escapism? It’s definitely not here.

The end mark, 7, is a result of complex math in this case.

It’s a thought-provoking, decently written, dramatic seinen on an unusual, but very relevant topic – usury. I don’t know about the place where you live, but here there’re a lot of shady businesses that offer “money now, no documents needed”, and the reports about the results of such deals are ... scary. That’s basically what this manga is about, pachinko addiction, forced prostitution, beatings and greedy yakuza included. The unorthodox topic, the courage of introducing a completely unsympathetic cast and the hard, unyielding wall of misery, this manga meets you with, deserve some credit, right? So maybe 8?

On the other hand, reading this is unpleasant, horrifying even, if you’re, perhaps, not financially secure. The topics of forced prostitution, violence, extensive humiliation and illegal activities are highly uncomfortable, and what’s worse these actions are performed by none others than by the characters that we follow! You shrink away in horror, so utterly people are destoyed and beaten in the mud. Normally, I give the rating of 6 to the series, that can be recommended only with a warning.

And as the plot goes by, the story shifts towards the other dealings in the world of the yamikin, i.e. moneylenders, besides their relationships with the “clients”, it becomes slightly easier to read… and you start to feel vindictive after the heavy initial scarring – you start to notice flaws. You see that this manga is less realistic and more sensationalist, than it wants to seem, there is the lack of direction, and the moral system is seriously weak (which is bad for a story exclusively about wrong). You’re forced to follow and sympathize with the main character, but his harsh mindset is not properly explained or condoned (yet we know he likes rabbits and has them as pets, that’s kinda endearing… but towards a wrong person), and the actions of moneylender Ushijima go way beyond what can be ever forgiven or atoned for. In the later arc the main cast commits what can be described only as a sadistic murder and that feels as too much even for them and sort of out of character.

The misery is everpresent and directionless, it’s like a journey through hell (with ethnographic info and numbers), but not only sinners suffer. I don’t understand where this is going. I hope the workers of the usury firm will reach their tragedy in the end or the matter of the evil unpunished will be addressed better. At the beginning we saw some snippets, that indicated that Ushijima’s psyche is also dying (I am not sure about soul with him), but currently there is too much admiration – he is special, he is strong-willed, imposing, can it all. It’s not even consistent with his place in the criminal hierarchy… And the few acts of kindness he does are a drop in the ocean. Maybe it's remedied later, but then it's kind of slow, in my opinion. But no, there is no glory in the lives of the criminals either, thankfully.

So, yeah, among the cast we have the titular Ushijima and his workers – two thuggish older guys, each with his own quirks, a younger former host, a female receptionist and, later, the boy Ushijima saves and employs, the other complex character with his distinct goal. Other than that there is the endless line of victim-clients.

Each arc has its own group of miserable, weak, mostly stupid people getting in Ushijima's net and losing their everything in the end. Yeah, the people are despicable, but their fates are heart-breakingly sad.

As a matter of fact - one relatively safer and softer arc is dedicated to a gay group, the depiction is very progressive for manga.

The art at the beginning is a bit shaky, but lately it develops. The end result is your good, big-form, detailed seinen art with some edited photo elements. The highlight are the memorable and unique designs of the main characters with their ghetto baggy clothes and ugly features (an overkill realism-wise, imo, the clothes, I mean). Some of the secondary characters are a bit difficult to distinguish though. And yeah, there is little pretty, the author went for a different feel, understandably.

Well, I ended up arguing morals, which is useless, but morals is what you’ll think while reading this, I guarantee. I also guarantee thinking, which, I guess, is good for seinen. Maybe that’s what solidifies my 7...

All in all, this is an interesting manga to explore, a fine cautionary tale, perhaps, but it’s hardly a good entertainment material. It’s powerful, especially at the initial stages, very bleak, very scary, very close to the real horror around us. It strikes true, yeah. But, and here I can speak only for myself, it strikes so hard that it causes animosity, and further reading makes you think that it doesn’t know what to do with its plot and characters, their development is slow and not very well displayed.

Frankly, it would be easier if I didn't know about the existence of this manga. In Japan there are already 36 volumes of Yamikin Ushijima-kun… I want to say that I don’t want to stick, cause I value my mental state, but I also feel the tug of morbid curiosity, and turning away from this manga seems cowardly. Decide for yourself, what is stronger for you, but in any case it is a pain, probably intended pain.

Story: The story follows a group of dept-collections/loam-sharks running what seems to be a legit payday loan business while conducting illicit operations for themselves and the yakuza under the surface.

The story is equally about these characters led by the titular Ushijima-kun (who is possibly the best gangster/criminal ever put to manga-ink) and the 'victims' of the group - from a rich debutante forced into prostitution to pay off her debt, to a young businessman left for dead after being 1,000,000's of yen in the hole and unable to pay.

10/10 gritty, dark, not everyone has a happy ending, but some do. This is everything you want ... from a 'no country for old men' style of story telling.


Art: The art is very realist as far as manga goes. Properly proportioned bodies and faces gives the manga a dark overtone that when coupled with the fantastic and detailed backgrounds and set-pieces brings a lot of life to Tokyo's underbelly.

8/10 gets the job done but the art is still rough in some places - gets much better over the run of the manga.

Character: Side characters are introduced, developed, and dropped in the span of ~10 chapters each. Despite this I never thought it would be possible to empathize of hate such a new character as much as I did with people like gay-kun and the kids from arc 1.

Our MC, Ushijima-kun is a hardened criminal with no remorse for the 'slaves' who he milks for money. Despite his cold demeanor he isn't made out to be some sort of super genius always one step ahead of everyone and has moments when he's taken advantage of. A man motivated purely by money, Ushijima never wants to resort to violence or murder and seems to be respected by most rather than feared.

9/10

Enjoyment: I didn't enjoy it. But I was enthralled by it. It's like listening to a 'Daughters' album ie, a horror movie in music form. Yamikin Ushijima-kun had me staring at my screen from chapter 1 to 52, I simply couldn't put it down!

10/10


Overall: While my scores might not indicate it I am going to give this manga a 10/10 (pretty rare from me if you look through my rankings). This isn't the best manga every written, but I think that for what it is, Yamikin Ushijima-kun is the best at what it does. That is give a realistically bleak portrayal of a crime that isn't usually covered by hollywood or popular-fiction, but is non-the less still prevalent and harmful.

These characters are not meant to be heroes, or even anti-heroes. They're villains motivated by greed and looking to take advantage of addicts and people caught in bad situations - and they play the role perfectly.

10/10

There's a problem with this manga. The problem is it depicts the bottom of society, people that fell far, made mistakes and are in general, in really bad situations... there's not a single spark of hope in there. All will end badly. There will be no help. And you, the reader, will watch how another character slowly spirals into oblivion, trying, in vain, to claw at what's left of their life, only for it to crumble into dust.

And that's the issue. It depicts dirt, dregs and grime of society. However, such thing can be found in reality in significant amounts, and as such it is ... hard to enjoy this work. As even a tragedy can be made beautiful, but there's no beauty to be found here. Well, or maybe this is not my thing.

Details:

Story: 5/10:
The content is dark and disturbing, because it is close to everyday life. However, after a while it feels like the author is overdoing "diabolus ex machina"(when bad things happen suddenly "by the will of god") trope where more and more and more bad things start happening with the current focus character of the chapter, and that feels forced. Law enforcement and normal human that aren't the scum of the world are nowhere to be found, everybody is scum, a failure, or a broken person. This negatively affects suspension of disbelief.

Art: 7/10:
It is realistic style, without huge anime eyes. Actually the eyes are often purposedly made smaller than they are in reality. Realistic portrayal - visually - of everybody through and through.

Characters: 7/10
Looking at them you can see many examples of real life failures personified. People who dreamed big, don't know how to deal with money, can't control their life, people whose life is in shatters. They are believable. The motivations, however, not so much, for example, in case of "protagonist" it is absolutely impossible to understand why he is doing what he does. Perhaps it is simply madness.

Enjoyment: 2/10
I found it to be unenjoyable due to general feeling of hopelessness.

Overall: 5/10.
I don't recommend it. It might work well as a cautionary tale of sorts, but due to hopeless feeling is not enjoyable. Then maybe this is simply not my thing.