Manga
The manga that were hits in Japan in the 2010s.
2010S HITS
About
Gabimaru the Hollow is one of the most vicious assassins ever to come out of the ninja village of Iwagakure. He’s ruthlessly efficient, but a betrayal results in him being handed a death sentence. He has only one hope—in order to earn his freedom, he must travel to a long-hidden island and recover an elixir that will make the shogun immortal. Failure is not an option. On this island, heaven and hell are just a hair’s breadth away.
Character analysis
Gabimaru is known as one of the deadliest assassins to come out of his village, in part because he feels almost nothing while doing it, which makes his quiet, genuine devotion to his wife stand out as the one thing that actually moves him. Sentenced to death, he takes on a near-impossible mission purely for the chance to see her again.
Sagiri is sent to oversee Gabimaru on his mission and, if needed, to kill him herself, which puts her in an uneasy position as both his guard and the person most likely to understand what he's actually fighting for. Her own rigid sense of duty is tested by watching him fight for something as human as going home.
Yuzuriha is one of several death-row convicts sent to the same island in search of an elixir, and her own skills and backstory add another angle on what drives someone to risk an impossible mission for a second chance at life.
Touma is part of the wider cast of condemned fighters and executioners drawn into the island's dangers, their specific role becoming clearer as the story's conspiracy expands beyond Gabimaru's personal mission.
Nurugai has survived on the island longer than most of the convicts and executioners sent to find the elixir, and that practical survival knowledge makes her useful to Gabimaru's group in ways their combat skills alone can't match.
Status evaluation
Detailed character and creature designs give the art a striking, often grotesque atmosphere fitting the setting.
Condemned criminals fighting for a second chance on a mysterious island gives the series a strong survival-adventure hook.
The tone stays tense and serious throughout, with very little comic relief.
Gabimaru's devotion to his wife and the backstories of fellow convicts add real emotional stakes to the survival plot.
The island's creatures and body horror elements create consistent, often disturbing tension.
Violence is frequent and shown in graphic, visceral detail.
A large cast of convicts, executioners, and island factions takes some tracking.
This figure has not been verified against a current source and should be treated as approximate.
“A feared assassin who feels nothing except for his wife is a surprisingly tender hook for a story this brutal.”