A blind boy, Shinobu, lives a peaceful life with the support of his kind teacher and girlfriend, Mikoto, training daily to learn the ancient martial art of self-defense known as "Mibuchi Toshujutsu." Until one day, when all is stolen from him by a strange visitor who appears at the dojo. This man, defeating both Shinobu and his teacher, steals away Mikoto with him. Three years pass—In order to take back his girlfriend, Shinobu climbs up from the depths of despair, and finds himself at a remote island prison where only the most abominable kind of criminals are housed. There begins a battle royal, a free-for-all fight to the death with the villainous men within!!
Abyss Rage is a manga by Nariaki Narita and published in Shonen Jump+ from May 31, 2018 to Feb 4, 2021.
This manga provides examples of:
- The Ace: Torihide is talented at basically anything he puts his mind to. Unfortunately, it ended up alienating himself from those around him.
- Action Girl: Mikoto and Ayame.
- Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: Ayame.
- Amazon Chaser: Sasaki clearly finds Ayame quite attractive, despite the first time they ever interact being Ayame killing several people in front of him with a Japanese sword.
- Ambiguously Bi: While there's no question that chief Amagami is into men, what's less clear is whether he's attracted to women or not. While he did show some interest in the woman he was in an arranged marriage with him, it never exactly went beyond that stage. Likewise, while he does make some comments about Mikoto being cute, it's worth noting that at no point is it indicates that he forced himself onto her after defeating her, something which he explicitly did with several of his male opponents.
- Asshole Victim: The first opponent Amagami is shown fightingnote is a kendo master who gets beaten to a bloody pulp and is forced to perform fellatio on Amagami. We see in a flashback that he was a sexual predator who used his position as a kendo instructor to exploit and blackmail one of his students, and intended to kill one of his victims once he was released as revenge for her reporting him to the police. Obviously what Amagami did to him was terrible, but most people aren't gonna feel too bad about it.
- Audience Surrogate: Sasaki is the only major character who is physically a normal human being, not having any kind of background in martial arts.
- Big Bad: Chief Amagami, being the one who kidnapped Mikoto and runs the prison.
- Big Good: Torihide is Shinobu's most powerful ally and has a significant amount of sway over the politics in the prison.
- Blood Knight: Amagami real motive for running the prison is to find powerful opponents as a way to validate John's dying words beseeching him to remain the strongest in the world.
- Boring, but Practical: Endo practiced nothing but a forward punch during his entire career as a martial artist. It's not until his fight with Amagami that he tries an actual martial arts technique.
- Childhood Friend Romance: Shinobu and Mikoto.
- Damsel Outof Distress: Mikoto is a rare example where her resistance against Amagami actually makes things harder for Shinobu, as Amagami is able to learn how to counter techniques from the Mibuchi school due to his repeated fights with her. In any case, she's shown to be a capable fighter despite being held captive.
- Dating Catwoman: Torihide's and Amagami's relationship is shown to go way beyond Amagami's typical flirtations with his opponents, as the two of them have had sex in the past. Torihide admits that while it was physically satisfying, he didn't enjoy it due to his lack of compatibility with Amagami. Amagami saying John's name after the fact didn't exactly help.
- Depraved Bisexual: Amagami. Though in all fairness, the "depraved" part wasn't always the case.
- Disability Superpower: Zigzagged with Shinobu. He's blind, but he's able to use echolocation to discern his surroundings. In a fight, this is both an advantage and a disadvantage.
- On one hand, humans don't use echolocation on instinct, and as such Shinobu has to consciously use a significant amount of mental energy in order to know where his enemies are located. This is especially troublesome when fighting groups of enemies, putting him at a major disadvantage. Furthermore, since sound travels slower than light, if certain opponents, such as Endo, are able to attack fast enough then they're effectively able to hit Shinobu without him even being able to process their attacks. Finally, Shinobu is completely at his opponent's mercy should they find some way to obscure his hearing, such as by playing loud music.
- On the other hand, Shinobu's use of echolocation means that he's able to 'see' his surroundings in 360 degrees rather than only what's in front of him, allowing him to sense any kind of surprise attack from behind. Furthermore, Shinobu isn't dependent on the presence of light in order to discern his surroundings, giving him uncontested dominance if fighting in a dark area. Finally, it's easier for the human brain to process sound than it is to process sight, giving him reaction speeds that are just a hair ahead of his opponent's in one on one fights.
- Even the Loving Hero Has Hated Ones: Shinobu may be a Martial Pacifist, but he absolutely loathes Amagami.
- The Glomp: When Mikoto is finally able to be with Shinobu again, she dives into him with a tackling hug.
- Incompatible Orientation: Ayame has feelings for Torihide, but he's later shown to be a homosexual.
- Let's You and Him Fight: After convincing Shinobu that he killed Mikoto, Amagami has them fight each other, with the intent of Shinobu killing Mikoto. It doesn't work as Shinobu realizes Mikoto's identity partway through the fight.
- Lonely Rich Kid: Amagami, before his Start of Darkness.
- The Lost Lenore: John Doe was chief Amagami's deceased lover, and his death served as Amagami's Start of Darkness.
- Manly Gay: Torihide and John Doe. Possibly Amagami as well, though in his case it's up in the air if he's gay or bisexual.
- Martial Pacifist: Both Shinobu and Mikoto practice a form of martial arts that focuses on incapacitating oppoents rather than killing them. That said, both of them do attempt to take a life on at least one occassion, though the manga ends without either having blood on their hands.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: Oddly enough, Amagami. He mocks Shinobu for being a "sissy" at one point.
- Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: Amagami is known to force himself upon defeated enemies. This was a practiced he gained from his days with John, though in their case it was consensual.
- Rated M for Manly: Actually downplayed compared to most martial arts manga like Baki or Kengan Ashura. While most of Abyss Rage is spent on muscular men beating each other to a bloody pulp, there's also a lot of talk about love and whatnot. The main plot revolves around two childhood sweethearts, and the series repeatedly emphasizes romantic relationships, heterosexual and otherwise.
- Rivalry as Courtship: Shinobu and Mikoto were rivals as children, but they eventually became sweethearts.
- Sissy Villain: Chief Amagami is a mix of this and Rated M for Manly. He wears lipstick and acts in a stereotypically feminine manner, yet he's an extremely muscular fighter with a love for bloodshed. It's later shown that his feminine behavior is an active effort to distance himself from his former self, as per the advice of his crossdressing sister.
- Tears of Joy: Mikoto cries tears of happiness after finding out that Shinobu came into the prison for her.
- Thou Shall Not Kill: Shinobu refuses to take another life. Though he temporarily veers away from this during his Heroic BSoD.
