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REVIEW DOES NOT CONTAIN SPOILERS
Holyland is a battle driven seinen that mainly focuses on martial arts, the story isn't particularly complex making it an easy and enjoyabe read filled with action. The principal point of this manga lands in the characters' development and psychological growth as they all try to find, protect and maintain their so-called "holyland".
Our story follows Yuu, a seemingly frail teenager who is constantly harassed by his peers, resulting in him spending his time pitiably and temporarily quitting school. In order to escape from his depressing reality, our protagonist wanders through the night streets seeking a place where he truly belongs. Within ... the simplicity of the "if I am strong enough to shield myself they will leave me alone at the end" mentality, the legend of the "thug hunter" started from an infirm teenage boy throwing a couple of punches. By utilizing various moves adopted from the people he met to defend himself, Yuu is timidly introduced to street fighting, eventually becoming a skilled MMA fighter with remarkable potential. His development thorough the manga is outstanding, we watch him grow as he persistently faces extreme brutality and dispair, steadily trying to conquer the murkiness in his soul that will prompt his self-fulfillment.

It's no major issue since the mangaka has done a great job in terms of pragmatism and practicality, but the story can come off as a bit unrealistic at times. Some of the side characters are completely one-dimensional (we often see the stereotype of the high school girls who are solely interested in how hot the guys are, remaining vexingly indifferent to all the violence that occurs right before their eyes and the common street hooligans who usually lack depth in character) and in some cases the author's clarifications on certain techniques are slightly unfeasible for unfeigned combat with real life standards.

The only kind of negative thing I would like to call attention to about the story is that it can be quite dreary now and again. The "startingly determined protagonist manages to defeat a strong opponent without proper technique - following day he loses to an essentially weaker one due to his emotional incapacities" pattern, albeit somewhat necessary for his character development, seems to be repeating itself at the point of becoming a little tiring and predictable.

Another thing that I found rather interesting about this manga is the mangaka's outlook with the storyteller acting naturally and expressing his genuine thoughts or associating the events that take place with his own life experiences and personal growth. This causes his creation to feel nearer to the readers, allowing us to step into his world and recognize how his work impacted him as an individual.