How much can you possibly do for your loved ones?
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.
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.
Quite unusual for a Boys' Love 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.
This manga contains the following tropes
- Abusive Parents: 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; like raping him and selling him into prostitution. Yuki's grandparents also qualify since they sold their daughter, Tsubaki, into prostitution.
- The Alcoholic: Ashiei, notably. He even has the typical behaviour of a long-time alcoholic.
- Ambiguously Gay: Ryouji.
- Big Brother Instinct: You could say that Ryouji has this.
- Big Damn Heroes / The Cavalry: Combined with Roaring Rampage of Revenge, seems to be what Hyodo and Tetsu are planning at this point in the story.
- Black-and-Gray Morality: 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 Jail Bait Wait 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 Roaring Rampage of Revenge 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.
- Break the Cutie: Everyone. I'm not even kidding. Pretty much every single fucking one of these characters.
- 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 Fan Disservice.
- Contrived Coincidence: 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.
- Crapsack World: The Yakuza, full stop. Where nearly everyone's involved in violence in some way, where people are sold into being "prostitutes", and where there is always a Mob War brewing. In a more general sense of the outside world, Japan seems to be Just Before the End or After the End 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.
- Cruel Twist Ending: Not the ending, yet, but Ashiei's death. Finally, someone shot the bastard! But... wait, now HE'S A CUSTOMER WHO WANTS YUKI FOR HIMSELF?
- Deceased Parents Are the Best: Yuki seemed to have had the best parents in the series. Unfortunately, both died, and Ashiei stepped in...
- Defensive Failure: Yuki to Ashiei, both times, paired with Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?, literally in the second time around.
- Driven to Suicide: What is hinted to have happened to Hisako
- Even Evil Has Standards: 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 Wife Husbandry, but he doesn't seem to plan on rape, and rapists seem to be a Berserk Button for him.
- Eye Scream: How Reiji lost his eye.
- Glass Eye: The result of this trauma, instead of the typical Eyepatch of Power.
- Fan Disservice: Yuki being treated as a whore.. Seems to be intentional Fan Disservice at that - these scenes are about as "sexy" as an episode of Law & Order: SVU. For very, very good reason.
- The Farmer and the Viper: 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.
- Freudian Excuse: Reiji has one.
- Jumping Off the Slippery Slope: Ashiei and Wang both, as they rape their way past the
Moral Event Horizon. - Just Eat Gilligan: Both times Yuki tried to 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 Technical Pacifist, causing himself and his friends far more problems than if he'd just gone through with it.
- Kill It with Fire: Unfortunately, it didn't work.
- 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.
- Like a God to Me: Stated verbatim by Masatsugu after the events that occured 10 years ago.
- Locked Out of the Loop: 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.
- Love Makes You Evil: Ashiei was already pretty bad, but he seemed to have gotten worse after Yuki's mom refused to love him. 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.
- Harmful to Minors: Yuki is an orphan, is sold into being a Sex Slave 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.
- Hooker with a Heart of Gold: Yuki's mom, and technically Yuki himself.
- Son of a Whore: Yuki.
- May–December Romance: If it turns out that Yuki and Hyodo are the official couple then they will have this. In a more straight example, there's a least a 10 year difference between Reiji and Masatsugu
- The Man Behind the Man: Lots and lots of people, and one reason for the...
- Mob War: A Mob Cold War between several Yakuza clans and a Chinese Triad syndicate, that's about to break out into a very, very hot Mob War.
- The Mole: Wang forces Yuki into doing this to Hyodo, in "payment" for "claiming" him and shooting Ashiei.
- One Degree of Separation: Oh, so much. Let's begin, shall we?
- Tsubaki and Ryuuji are Yuki's parents. They and Hyodo were a trio of friends in the past.
- Tsubaki had a child with Ashiei named Jun, Yuki's stepbrother
- 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.
- Wang is a former customer of Yuki and new head of the Triad family that opposes Masatsugu and Hyodo.
- Hyodo is Yuki's godfather and the benefactor/friend of Ryouji, Yuki and Tetsu's landlord.
- Tetsu, Ryouji, and Riko came from the same orphanage.
- Reiji, surrogate brother to Masatsugu, is working with Wang and is being tracked down by Hyodo, Masatsugu's second-in-command.
- Hisako and Jun are in the same hospital.
- Masatsugu is Hyodo's boss, Ryuuji's friend, Reiji's lover, and surrogate brother to Reiji and Hisako.
- Ryuuji (Yuki's dad) is childhood friends with Reiji. Reiji later learns he's Ryuuji's half-brother, making him Yuki's uncle.
- 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.
- Orphan's Ordeal: Both Tetsu and Yuki are orphans who went through hell.
- Orphanage of Fear: Referenced by Tetsu.
- Pet the Dog: Hidetsugu was known to be a very merciless man, but he had a couple of Pet the Dog moments, 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.
- Plot With Porn: 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 Boys' Love genre.
- Promotion to Parent: Yuki for Jun.
- Rape as Backstory: This is actually used for a few characters, but it mostly focuses on Yuki
- Rape as Drama: One thing that makes the criminal gangs such a Crapsack World is their willingness to participate in sex slavery.
- Rape and Revenge: 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.
- Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: What makes Ashiei and Wang the worst of a very bad place.
- Revenge: 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.
- Reunion Kiss: Reiji and Masatsugu share this when they meet up for (presumably) the first time in ten years.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: 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. What appears to be Reiji's motivation, he wants to destroy the world that took his loved ones away.
- Sex Slave: Yuki as a child prostitute. Presumably there's others.
- Single Tear: Rei cries a single tear when he goes to visit his sister at the end of volume one.
- Slice of Life: The story oscillates between this and outright Crapsack World since it goes for a rather realistic and unsweetened tone.
- The Smurfette Principle: Riko and Hisako. However, Hisako is in a coma and has only been slightly developed through flashbacks.
- Spell My Name With An S: Due to translations varying and due to variance in the story itself.
- Yuki or Yukio?
- Ashiei or Ashiel?
- Tsudo or Tetsu?
- Start of Darkness: Made clear with Reiji's backstory. The reason he's so set on destroying the Seidoukai is because Masatsugu's dad killed his father, molestest his sister, impregnated her, and presumably lead to her suicide attempt.
- Technical Pacifist: 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.
- Unholy Matrimony: Reiji and Masatsugu secretly have this
- Unrequited Love:
- Ashiei had it bad for Yuki's late mom, Tsubaki. 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.
- Tetsu for Yuki, so far, unsurprisingly given Yuki's sexual trauma.
- Wife Husbandry: Hyodo for Yuki, possibly. Wang for Yuki, definitely and creepily so.
- Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?: Paired with Defensive Failure, Idiot Ball, Violence is the Only Option, and a deconstruction of Technical Pacifist. When Wang rescues Yuki from Ashiei, 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 Mob War by killing the head of one of the warring parties.
- Yakuza: Almost everyone is related to the Yakuza.
