Line #72 Manga/AcidTown


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/acid_town_546811_0.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:How much can you possibly do for your loved ones?]]
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4	Acid Town is manga created by Kyuugou and published by Gentosha, which began serialization in 2008. The manga has not been licensed in English, but it has been licensed in French by Taifu Comics, and in German by Carlsen Manga.
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6	Yuki would do anything for his little brother, even steal from the Yakuza. Yuki and his friend Tsudo are caught trying to steal from the Seidoukai headquarters by Hyodo, who offers to let them go, and even pay for Yuki's little brother's hospital bills, if they can strike a deal. The deal is that Yuki must visit Hyodo weekly. It's not long before Yuki gets embroiled in a turf war by shady characters from his past who want to use him as a pawn against Hyodo.
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8	Quite unusual for a BoysLove title, the series takes a rather serious tone and focuses more on the story-telling than on the feelings of the protagonists or the sex, scenes of which being few and far-between.
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11	!!This manga contains the following tropes
12	* AbusiveParents: Ashiei, while he's only Jun's dad, Yuki was under his care after his mom died, and Ashiei did some pretty horrible things to him; [[spoiler: like raping him and selling him into prostitution. Yuki's grandparents also qualify since they sold their daughter, Tsubaki, into prostitution.]]
13	* TheAlcoholic: Ashiei, notably. He even has the typical behaviour of a long-time alcoholic.
14	* AmbiguouslyGay: Ryouji.
15	* BigBrotherInstinct: You could say that Ryouji has this.
16	* BigDamnHeroes / TheCavalry: Combined with RoaringRampageOfRevenge, seems to be what Hyodo and Tetsu are planning at this point in the story.
17	* BlackAndGrayMorality: There are ''very'' few people who would qualify as "good" (Jun, Hisako, and ''possibly'' Tetsu and Yuki if you overlook some of their activities) Hyodo is a "honorable yakuza," refusing to be involved with sex slavery, his JailBaitWait and waiting for/trying to get Yuki to develop genuine feelings for him instead of raping him or buying him, and his joining with Tetsu in a RoaringRampageOfRevenge against Wang, that seems to be setting up for future chapters. Most of the characters are varying from "venal, petty violent criminals" to pure evil.
18	* BreakTheCutie: [[spoiler: Everyone. I'm not even kidding. Pretty much every single fucking one of these characters.]]
19	* {{Boys Love}}: It's yaoi, and the extreme violence and dark themes and constant angst mean it's definitely not for minors, but if you're coming here for lots of graphic sex, you ''will'' be disappointed. The sex is pretty much kept at "cable TV show" level, with no explicit penetration, and no visible genitalia, and is (aside from Reiji and Masatsugu) mostly angsty FanDisservice.
20	* ContrivedCoincidence: [[spoiler: Hyodo has been looking for Yuki since Tsubaki died, and he finally finds Yuki when the boys try to rob his headquarters. We later find out that Hyodo is actually Ryouji's benefactor, who has been Yuki's landlord for about two years. Another somewhat contrived coincidence is Reiji meeting Jun in the hospital.]]
21	* CrapsackWorld: The {{Yakuza}}, full stop. Where nearly everyone's involved in violence in some way, where people are sold into being [[SexSlave "prostitutes"]], and where there is always a MobWar brewing. In a more general sense of the outside world, Japan seems to be JustBeforeTheEnd or AfterTheEnd in the story. Much of the city the story is set in is in a dilapidated, poor condition, and there's several references by the characters to the military seeking to begin another war.
22	* CruelTwistEnding: Not the ending, yet, but Ashiei's [[spoiler: death]]. Finally, someone [[spoiler: shot]] the bastard! But... wait, now [[spoiler: HE'S A CUSTOMER WHO WANTS YUKI FOR HIMSELF?]]
23	* DeceasedParentsAreTheBest: Yuki seemed to have had the best parents in the series. Unfortunately, both died, and Ashiei stepped in...
24	* DefensiveFailure: Yuki to Ashiei, both times, paired with WhyDontYouJustShootHim, literally in the second time around.
25	* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: What is hinted to have happened to Hisako]]
26	* EvenEvilHasStandards: Hyodo is a yakuza, with all that entails. Nevertheless, despite having ''plenty'' of opportunities, he doesn't rape Yuki or buy his services, and apparently seems to avoid sex with him in his weekly visits. True, he's engaging in the man on man version of WifeHusbandry, but he doesn't seem to plan on rape, and rapists seem to be a BerserkButton for him.
27	* EyeScream: How Reiji lost his eye.
28	** GlassEye: The result of this trauma, instead of the typical EyepatchOfPower.
29	* FanDisservice: [[spoiler: Yuki being treated as a whore.]]. Seems to be intentional FanDisservice at that - these scenes are about as "sexy" as an episode of ''Series/LawAndOrderSVU''. For very, very good reason.
30	* TheFarmerAndTheViper: When dealing with some people (specifically those who make a life of exploiting others and yourself), offering kindness or mercy can be the worst mistake possible, as they will see it as a weakness.
31	* FreudianExcuse: Reiji has one.
32	* JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope: Ashiei and Wang both, as they [[spoiler: rape]] their way past the MoralEventHorizon.
33	* JustEatGilligan: ''Both'' times Yuki tried to [[spoiler: kill Ashiei, even if caught by legitimate authorities and even in the context of the yakuza, he would have been ''more'' than justified. Instead, he refuses out of Stockholm syndrome and being a TechnicalPacifist,]] causing himself and his friends far more problems than if he'd just gone through with it.
34	* KillItWithFire: Unfortunately, it didn't work.
35	** [[spoiler: Yuki attempted to kill Ashiei when he first ran away by this method. It didn't work, presumably because he kind of held back at the last minute. He is later mocked by both Ashiei and Wang about this.]]
36	* LikeAGodToMe: Stated verbatim by Masatsugu after the events that occured 10 years ago.
37	* LockedOutOfTheLoop: Yuki's little brother Jun, which is justified since he's only six years old. So has been Hiko, both about what is happening and about her brother's past.
38	* LoveMakesYouEvil: Ashiei was already pretty bad, but he seemed to have gotten worse after Yuki's mom refused to love him. [[spoiler: This is also probably why Masatsugu is helping Reiji in his revenge, even though it means destroying his organization and betraying people who depend and trust him.]]
39	* HarmfulToMinors: Yuki is an orphan, is sold into being a SexSlave at ''12 years old,'' attempts homicide for the first time to escape his captor, and ends up living on the streets as a gang member once he escapes. Jun is also orphaned at a young age, develops a severe illness that may or may not be terminal, and has been being raised by Yuki.
40	* HookerWithAHeartOfGold: Yuki's mom, [[spoiler: and technically Yuki himself.]]
41	** SonOfAWhore: Yuki.
42	* MayDecemberRomance: If it turns out that Yuki and Hyodo are the official couple then they will have this. In a more straight example, [[spoiler: there's a least a 10 year difference between Reiji and Masatsugu]]
43	* TheManBehindTheMan: Lots and lots of people, and one reason for the...
44	* MobWar: A Mob UsefulNotes/ColdWar between several {{Yakuza}} clans and a [[TheTriadsAndTheTongs Chinese Triad syndicate]], that's about to break out into a very, very hot MobWar.
45	* TheMole: [[spoiler: Wang forces Yuki into doing this to Hyodo, in "payment" for "claiming" him and shooting Ashiei]].
46	* OneDegreeOfSeparation: Oh, so much. Let's begin, shall we?
47	** [[spoiler: Tsubaki and Ryuuji are Yuki's parents. They and Hyodo were a trio of friends in the past.]]
48	** [[spoiler: Tsubaki had a child with Ashiei named Jun, Yuki's stepbrother]]
49	** [[spoiler: Ashiei is Tsubaki's childhood friend, Jun's father, Yuki's stepfather, and the bastard brother of Wang. He sold Yuki into prostitution to Wang.]]
50	** [[spoiler: Wang is a former customer of Yuki and new head of the Triad family that opposes Masatsugu and Hyodo.]]
51	** [[spoiler: Hyodo is Yuki's godfather and the benefactor/friend of Ryouji, Yuki and Tetsu's landlord.]]
52	** [[spoiler: Tetsu, Ryouji, and Riko came from the same orphanage.]]
53	** [[spoiler: Reiji, surrogate brother to Masatsugu, is working with Wang and is being tracked down by Hyodo, Masatsugu's second-in-command.]]
54	** [[spoiler: Hisako and Jun are in the same hospital.]]
55	** [[spoiler: Masatsugu is Hyodo's boss, Ryuuji's friend, Reiji's lover, and surrogate brother to Reiji and Hisako.]]
56	** [[spoiler: Ryuuji (Yuki's dad) is childhood friends with Reiji. Reiji later learns he's Ryuuji's half-brother, making him Yuki's uncle.]]
57	** [[spoiler: Masatsugu's dad killed Reiji and Hisako's dad (also Ryuuji's dad; Ryuuji was the child of a foreign woman) in a turf war and adopted the two out of respect for his old friendship with their father.]]
58	* OrphansOrdeal: Both Tetsu and Yuki are orphans who went through hell.
59	* OrphanageOfFear: Referenced by Tetsu.
60	* PetTheDog: Hidetsugu was known to be a very merciless man, but he had a couple of PetTheDog moments, [[spoiler: like picking up Hyodo from the street, and taking care of Reiji and Hisoko after their parents died. Reiji also has a moment like this when he meets Jun in the hospital.]]
61	* PlotWithPorn: Averted. As explained aboved, the story is rather scarce on the sex and prefers to focus on the storytelling, developing rather dark and serious themes, which makes for an unusual number in the BoysLove genre.
62	* PromotionToParent: Yuki for Jun.
63	* RapeAsBackstory: This is actually used for a few characters, but it mostly focuses on [[spoiler:Yuki]]
64	* RapeAsDrama: One thing that makes the criminal gangs such a CrapsackWorld ''is'' their willingness to participate in sex slavery.
65	* RapeAndRevenge: Yuki, when realizing Ashiei is seeking him again, decides on {{revenge}} as his course of action instead of running any more. This is not a good idea.
66	* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: What makes Ashiei and Wang the worst of a very bad place.
67	* {{Revenge}}: [[spoiler:Reiji plans revenge against Masatsugu's father because he killed his dad, but the destroying his eye thing probably didn't do much to help the situation.]]
68	* ReunionKiss: [[spoiler: Reiji and Masatsugu]] share this when they meet up [[spoiler: for (presumably) the first time in ten years.]]
69	* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: What Hyodo and Tetsu seem to be planning as of the last time we see them in the story - an assault on Wang and his allies with the objective of saving Yuki and putting an end to Wang and his syndicate. [[spoiler: What appears to be Reiji's motivation, he wants to destroy the world that took his loved ones away.]]
70	* SexSlave: Yuki as a ''child prostitute.'' Presumably there's others.
71	* SingleTear: Rei cries a single tear when he goes to visit his sister at the end of volume one.
72	* SliceOfLife: The story oscillates between this and outright CrapsackWorld since it goes for a rather realistic and unsweetened tone.
73	* TheSmurfettePrinciple: Riko and Hisako. [[spoiler: However, Hisako is in a coma and has only been slightly developed through flashbacks.]]
74	* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Due to translations varying and due to variance in the story itself.
75	** Yuki or Yukio?
76	** Ashiei or Ashiel?
77	** Tsudo or Tetsu?
78	* StartOfDarkness: Made clear with Reiji's backstory. The reason he's so set on destroying the Seidoukai is because [[spoiler: Masatsugu's dad killed his father, molestest his sister, impregnated her, and presumably lead to her suicide attempt.]]
79	* TechnicalPacifist: Yuki - he's threatening enough, he has no qualms with stealing or with beating/stabbing/shooting someone within an inch of their life, but he is afraid to stain his hands with being an actual killer. It's actually a deconstruction of it that shows exactly ''why'' pacifism can become a weakness exploited by those willing to do so.
80	* UnholyMatrimony: [[spoiler: Reiji and Masatsugu secretly have this]]
81	* UnrequitedLove:
82	** Ashiei had it bad for Yuki's late mom, Tsubaki. [[spoiler: He attacks Yuki and tells him that he's nothing but a sign of his mom's betrayal to him. His final words are her name.]]
83	** Tetsu for Yuki, so far, unsurprisingly given Yuki's sexual trauma.
84	* WifeHusbandry: Hyodo for Yuki, possibly. Wang for Yuki, ''definitely'' and creepily so.
85	* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Paired with DefensiveFailure, IdiotBall, ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption, and a deconstruction of TechnicalPacifist. When Wang rescues Yuki from Ashiei, [[spoiler: he hands Yuki the gun he fired a nonfatal shot with after reloading it, telling Yuki to finish him off. Had Yuki done so, then turned the gun on Wang and shot ''him,'' he would have escaped ''both,'' and ended the budding MobWar by killing the head of one of the warring parties.]]
86	* {{Yakuza}}: Almost everyone is related to the Yakuza.

Context Manga / AcidTown