Name: Perfect example of what a psychological thriller should be!
Item: Bastard
Rating: 100
Author: earthangel

Waifra

Perfect example of what a psychological thriller should be!

This is a perfect psychological thriller.

I’m a huge fan of everything horror, thriller, and psychological. But it’s so easy to get it wrong yet this story did everything right.

Bastard is about a bullied boy whose father is a serial killer. Despite the simplicity of the sentence I just wrote, this story is far more complex. We have a dysfunctional family that consists of a disabled boy, and a rich, manipulative father who has an obsessive desire to kill a specific type of girl. And it just so happens that his next victim is his son’s newest classmate— who is also his son’s first crush.

I severely underestimated this story, so much so that it’s been on my “to be read” list for years, and I even dropped it after the first few chapters at one point. But last night I decided to give it another chance, and lo and behold, I completed it in less than 4 hours.

Not only was the plot addicting, but it was well-written!! When it comes to a thriller story like this, oftentimes the plot falls flat or the story goes astray but everything in Bastard made perfect sense. Plot-wise, this was perfection.

When it came to the characters, I found myself attached to (almost) every single one. This story even succeeded in somehow making me feel sympathy for a bully. Each character had their flaws, motivations, and weaknesses. But it was these aspects of the characters that helped me as a reader form an attachment to them.

Despite the main character being a traumatized, disabled, recluse who doesn’t make the best choices, he maintains his innocence in a strange way that is refreshing to male protagonists in psychological manga. To me, main character likability plays a major role in me enjoying the story. This is why manga like Homunculus and Denjin N didn’t engage me as much.

Overall, there isn’t a single flaw that I can think of off the top of my head, likely because there isn’t any.

Spoilers ahead, tap at your own risk!

If I had to nitpick I’d say:

Spoiler, click to viewclick to hide

I wish there were a more in-depth reason/backstory for why the father kills and how he began, but even that is unnecessary for an already great story.

To sing even further praise,

Spoiler, click to viewclick to hide

the ending was perfect. I was very anxious to reach it because I’ve seen an almost perfect story get ruined by its ending one too many times. But this one was satisfying in more ways than one! The father’s well-deserved death, the TWIST of Jin being pushed off the roof by his mother and not his father, and the wonderful prologue with future college student Kyun and imprisoned Jin that leaves us with a sense of fulfillment whilst still leaving certain things to the imagination. Also, I’d like to add that Jin’s father was a master of manipulation and I genuinely think it’s so difficult to write a deceptive character, especially given the way he “framed” Jin in front of Kyun. To me, this is PEAK writing because how do you come up with that??

Literally wish I had read this over the course of a few days instead of a few hours solely because it was just that good. 10/10!