On the surface, the island nation of Ilegenes is the world-renowned capital of genetic engineering research, specializing in technology used for the creation of genetically modified crops. In reality, however, it is plagued by rampant amounts of illegal cloning, its many denizens capitalizing on the sales of illegal clones to the Black Market. For this reason, it has earned the nickname the Genetic Sodom.
Enter Fon Fortinbras Littenber, the incredibly talented but distant student representative to the incoming class at Ilegenes Military Academy. Revered by many for his uncanny intelligence, which led him to graduate high school two years early, and reviled by others for his position as the adopted son of the famous genetics researcher Dr. Littenber, Fon has entered the academy for reasons entirely distinct from those of his peers: His goal is the utter destruction of the Black Market, the organization responsible for the brutal murder of his parents when he was a child. He soon finds that school life comes with more distractions than he expected, however, including his new roommate, the free-spirited and fun-loving Jacques; the poisonous and resentful prime minister's son, Andrew Kristofferson; the criminal underground and its unsavory cloning industry; and the reemerging secrets of his own dark past.
Ilegenes - Kokuyou no Kiseki is a sci-fi shoujo manga that ran in Comic Avarus and Comic Blade Avarus from 2008 to 2010. It is written by Mizuna Kuwabara (Mirage of Blaze) and illustrated by Kachiru Ishizue, spanning five volumes. In 2010, a sequel entitled Ilegenes - Giyoku no Koukyoukyoku began serialization in Comic Avarus and is complete at three volumes.
Ilegenes - Kokuyou no Kiseki contains examples of:
- The Ace: Fon, who is naturally talented at virtually anything he tries. Because he was designed that way.
- Broken Ace: He becomes one when it's revealed that he was created to be perfect at everything, realizing that nothing he's ever done was the result of hard work and dedication but rather the genes he's made up of.
- Alpha Bitch: Andrew certainly has many of the characteristics of one, including his own Boy Posse.
- Ambiguously Brown: Janis.
- Artificial Human: Fon himself is revealed to be one, causing him to go into a massive Heroic BSoD and then to attempt suicide twice.
- Artificial Limbs: Janis has prosthetic legs and one prosthetic arm as a result of an accident he was involved in when he was a child. Unfortunately, prosthetics are expensive and difficult to maintain. It's later revealed that he's going to take the limbs of his clone Es to replace the ones he lost.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Fon, considering his parents were murdered when he was only a child.
- Designer Babies: Fon was created from the best genes available because the scientists involved in his production were aiming to make a perfect hero who would eliminate corruption in Ilegenes.
- Driven to Suicide: Fon, after realizing that nothing he feels or experiences is truly his own. Thankfully, he's interrupted both times he tries this by Jacques.
- Expendable Clone:
- Clones are created and sold illegally for spare body parts with no regard to their lives.
- This is averted by Janis, who intends to keep his clone Es alive even after taking his legs.
- Fake Memories: Fon's memories of his parents up to the day of their murder were all fabricated. In reality, he was raised artificially in a lab until he was developed enough to be placed in the foster parents' care.
- Heroic BSoD: Fon goes into one after his parents' deaths and again after he kills the man who murdered them.
- Interrupted Suicide: Twice, in the same chapter, no less. In the first case, Fon is alone in his room and attempts to strangle himself with his necktie while lying on his bed. Jacques walks by the room and hears him gasping for air and goes in to see what's wrong. Fon quickly removes the tie and makes it seem like he went into one of his coughing fits, but Jacques sees the marks on his neck and becomes suspicious. Later that day, Jacques finishes his chores early out of worry and eventually finds Fon on the roof, preparing to jump. He quickly catches him before he falls and proceeds to talk him out of it.
- Jerkass: Andrew and his posse (excepting Janis) are this, especially toward Fon, of whom Andrew is insanely jealous.
- Military Academy: Ilegenes Military Academy. Allegedly, it's more for decoration than for actual defense, and those who do not go to work in genetic engineering often go here instead, as they can get jobs easier.
- My God, What Have I Done?:
- Fon's reaction after he murders the man who killed his parents.
- Es reacts this way to having deliberately led Fon to his parents' murderer, blaming himself for facilitating Fon's actions.
- The Reveal: In chapter 23, it's revealed that Fon is an entirely artificial human being created by a team of genetics scientists. He does not take this news well at all.
- Revenge Before Reason: When Fon finally encounters the man who had his parents killed, he ends up going totally berserk, brutally murdering him despite Jacques's warnings that revenge won't make him feel better. As a result, Fon has a Heroic BSoD after realizing what he's done.
- Talking Down the Suicidal: What Jacques does to Fon in chapter 26.
- Tall, Dark, and Handsome: Fon, though he has light eyes. Janis (and by extension, Es) is a more pronounced example.
- Technicolor Eyes: On the island of Ilegenes, it is not uncommon for individuals to have odd-colored eyes through requested genes. Fon's peacock blue eyes, however, are considered impossible, thus making him a rarity.
- What Beautiful Eyes!: Jacques's reaction to seeing Fon's unique peacock eyes for the first time.
