EX: Young Castaways (original title: EX～少年漂流～, EX - Shounen Hyouryuu) is a Manga by Yoshinobu Yamada, the author of Cage of Eden. It was serialized in Magazine Special from July 1999 to August 2001 for 26 chapters, which were compiled into 5 volumes.
Satoshi is a Japanese middle school student who is with his fellow schoolmates on a voyage to the fictional island of Kijijimi, when the sun starts glowing red. Before they know it a massive tsunami engulfs the ship and strands Satoshi on the island.
Five days later, Satoshi finds the ship's wreckage at the shore, and a dying doctor hands him the keys for one of the ship's rooms. He finds his friend Mika Hiiragi inside, but are nearly killed when an axe-wielding sailor goes mad and nearly kills both of them. After setting out to the island to reestablish contact with civilization, they encounter astronomer Genzou Akatsuki and fellow schoolmate Shinichi.
They discover that not only has Japan likely been wiped out by a 500-metre tsunami, all the adults on Kijijima are suddenly starting to go mad....
Contains examples of:
- Alas, Poor Villain: Kazuma after he gets brutally squashed to death by Fatty.
- Asshole Victim: Fatty was bullied and beaten by the other sailors, but was also selfish and endangered everybody by consuming most of the food supplies. Also applies to Kazuma when he gets killed.
- The Big Guy: Shinichi is the taller member of Genzou group, and also the stronger. Fatty is the one of Kazuma group
- Consummate Liar: Kazuma's specialty. He lies several times for different purposes. for infected adults to create destruction for their amusement. to avoid getting caught, or to manipulate others.
- Eldritch Abomination: Fatty after his infection reaches its final form
- Face of an Angel, Mind of a Demon: Kazuma is quite pretty in face, that he almost looks like a girl. But he's a sociopath with a twisted taste for mayhem and chaos.
- For the Evulz: Kazuma manipulates and tricks the infected adults into causing mayhem for his own twisted entertainment
- Hate Sink: Fatty, Kazuma, and Mita are all absolutely irredeemable characters who cause other people to suffer in almost every scene they're in.
- Harmful to Minors: Mika witnesses her friend murdered along with several other passengers after Fatty goes on a rampage. Kiriko also saw her father get murdered by other refugees at the shrine.
- Manipulative Bastard: Akihiko Kazuma, who manipulates adults into having people killed. Since he's a child few adults think he would go so far as to cause all this chaos.
- Mind Virus: The reason all the adults are going insane is because of a virus that increases the desires of adult humans, driving many into a bloody rampage.
- Separated from the Adults: Most of the surviving children in the story keep clear of adults since most of them have been infected with the virus.
- The Sociopath: Akihiko Kazuma. He shows himself to be someone without any empathy. The suffering of others amuses him. Ge feels superior to others, since he sees others as his toys. And most importantly, be a compulsive liar.
- Taking You with Me: Genzou and Fatty both die after the former starts an explosion at the school grounds.
- Teens Are Monsters: Although it is the adults who are driven insane by the virus, Akihiko Kazuma, a teenager, is one of the most cruel characters in the manga. He manipulates those infected to cause chaos for his own amusement. What makes him worse is that his evil was already part of him, unlike the infected adults.
- Would Hurt a Child:Most of the adults infected by the virus.
- Younger Than They Look: Shinichi is quite tall and muscular, but he is the same age as Satoshi and Mika. Tomosaka too, because of his proportionate body.
- Your Head A-Splode: This happens to Kazuma.
