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"We are saturated with unneeded information to the point that it's painful. I refuse to let this interfere with my life. The religion of progress disgusts me."

The World Is Mine is a manga that I at first hated, but after a few grueling hours I more than came around to. A story that has gotten more relevant and more uncomfortable two decades later. To call it transgressive is putting it lightly, our main characters are indiscriminate murderers. Even to those most unphased by fictional violence (by far it's not the most gory or otherwise visceral manga) the context and realism of the actions depicted in ... this series will probably disturb them. If it seems like I'm hyping this up, just know that it contains scenes of realistic —not hentai-like— rape, and I didn't find that to be the most shocking subject matter on display.

That being said, TWIM has a surprising amount of humanity, though its view for our prospects are quite bleak. Even our most fargone characters (yes, Toshi & Mon) have their understandable if not sympathetic moments. Ijima and the journalist also have a great plot thread going on, even if it takes some time for theirs to pick up.

It goes without saying that TWIM is a challenging read with edgy themes. Nihilism, terrorism, mass murder, the failings and hypocrisies of contemporary society, and international politics. It doesn't wax poetic about these subjects, but rather gives us a great story of it. It no doubt touches nerves by portraying awful things, yet it never does so purely for shock value. Cruelty and suffering are a part of this world, and this manga is full of it.

I'd like to mention the art is fantastic as well. And as uncomfortable the violence often is, there are genuinely cool scenes such as the assault on the police station, in which Hideki Arai's attention to detail really shines through; I get the impression he has an interest in firearms and such. If it was just shootouts with cops and wasn't as introspective as it is, I would praise it as an enjoyably violent romp. Of course it's much more than that, but it doesn't hurt it to have those moments.