The Good the Bad and the Ugly Manshuu embraces decadence as unfiltered and pure as the opium cooked up by the protagonist. Accounting the tragic tale of a povertystricken Isamu turning to opium production to support his siblings after their mother dies similar in the vein of a certain Walter White. Manshuu plays out simultaneously as a game of catandmouse and buildadrugempire making for arousing plot development as more characters are introduced either an ally or formidable enemy. Not all characters are created with the same memorability and presence but it doesnt come across as a surprise since Li Hua renders everyone below her. Disclaimer: Im extremely partial to femme fetales. Moral and ethics arent very conscious between Isamus sympathetic motivation and immoral cause. Between the timid empathetic Isamu and the strong apathetic Li Hua exists no remorse guilt or hesitance in their vile venture to expand their opium operations across China. Where its easy to label their group as the bad youll come up short turning your head looking for the DEA or whatever party in good moral standing. Rather youd only find other drugtrafficking groups one a part of the national army battling it out to see who can plague innocent citizens with opium addictions. As a result nothing but decadence and injustice crowds the story rendering moral conflict and discussion without place. Perhaps decadence is a prettier word to dress up edgy but Manshuu feels too polished to attach the former to. Primarily all the barbarity and inhumanity work in the context of 1930s Machuriahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JapaneseinvasionofManchuria and the consequential events. Basic highschool history class recollection may ring the Opium Warshttps://www.britannica.com/topic/OpiumWars as familiar and perhaps the fact that opium continued to be an alarming national plague for decades to come. Not to stifle yawns with history analyses but Manshuu does seem to keep a tight grip on accuracy referencing the Kwantung Armyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KwantungArmy Germanys revolutionary sulfa drughttps://www.sciencehistory.org/distillations/soldiersulfa among other things. Of course there will be creative liberties taken in part of this as with Golden Kamuyhttps://anilist.co/manga/86559/GoldenKamuy/ and other historicalfictional series. Nevertheless Manshuu utilizes the context of the Japanese invasion of Manchuria the consequences of the Opium Wars the looming 2nd SinoJapanese Warhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SecondSinoJapaneseWar and other illrooted events at the time justifying the omnipresent binges of vice without excess ... most of the time. 620https://i.ur.com/IcNZ7Gb.png Vice City Historical context justifies Manshuus decadence but the art is surely the driving force behind it. And Tooru Hakoishihttps://anilist.co/staff/120913/TooruHakoishi does damn good with it. He didnt demonstrate it with Full Drumhttps://anilist.co/manga/98019/FullDrum/ but Hakoishi is perhaps among the best in depicting femininity and a whiplash range of facial expressions. Theres a bit of a rough sketched air to the art but Hakoishis strength lies in how he conveys the oft heavy scenic tones the depravity of the underground world and brief glimpses of the characters hidden faces. Hidden intentions and/or hedonism define a fair share of the characters appealing to Hakoishis skill in facial shading and excessively repulsive to the point of comedic facial expressions. My favorite part of Hakoishis artistic palette has to be his female character designs. As aforementioned Hakoishi draws with superb femininity and soft sensualityhttps://ur.com/a/iCeAuvi on par with Makoto Ojirohttps://anilist.co/staff/101178/MakotoOjiro and Akihito Yoshitomihttps://anilist.co/staff/97054/AkihitoYoshitomi. Though really this is just in the case of Li Hua. Other female characters tend to have softer designs but Hakoishi dedicates a befittingly sharp air to her with playful cold eyes akin to a snake and an allknowing smile. A small detail but its a shame that Hakoishi can boast his coloring prowesshttps://ur.com/a/a1QJq6L with only the volume covers. 620https://i.ur.com/y6r5FUy.jpg 620https://i.ur.com/7JKdt0I.jpg Conclusion Manshuu Ahen Squad indulges in vice and decadence defining Chinas opium crisis. The presence of a singular villainous and heroic entity is absent making for an engrossing crime story devoid of morals and ethics. With multiple factions scrambling for their solidification as the de facto opium empire the game of catandmouse plot relevant to the crime genre grows increasingly enthralling with the introduction of new characters. In bearing its heart of decadence the art acts as its blood. Inhumanity and hedonism plague the series and Tooru Hakoishi conveys them with skillful character shading and comedically superfluous expressions befitting the dark airs of many scenes. Although somewhat still taking its preadolescent steps Manshuu is developing to be an enrapturing crime and historical series that other seinen fans will be bound to have a peek at.