Rainbow: Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin is not what you would call a coming-of-age manga. It is a ponderous, heart-wrenching and human tale that does not only challenge you to observe the plight of its protagonists, it immerses you in their world and forces you to experience each and every bit of their pain, disappointment, and temporary contentment. The series is set in post-war Japan in which seven boys are placed in a reformatory, due to various reasons. It is not a delinquent drama that idealizes rebellion or glorifies crime as a game but rather de-romanticizes and instead reveals the devastating truth behind systematic wickedness, the human frailties, and the struggle to hang onto a thread of dignity.

The manga is cleanly divided into two arcs. The first part locks you behind the frozen walls of the reformatory with the boys. They are here used to sadistic guards, predatory adults and the suffocating hopelessness of the trap and confinement. The reality beyond those walls is a remote fantasy and the day to day existence is a struggle to survive with any vestige of their humanity intact. As the second half sets in, the audience is placed where their lives lead after they have been released, yet the tone does not miraculously improve. The more so, the outside world turns out to be not less ruthless, full of new forms of dangers, betrayals, and injustices that are about to break them once more.

It is characters in which the heart of Rainbow resides. These are not the seven boys which solve the common equation of interchangeability: they all are different as personalities, as backgrounds, as psychological wounds than mark how they acquire the world. The eldest, Sakuragi, is also a born leader with his calm yet vigorous power and undeterred notions of right and wrong ensure the group some stability undersea. Mario is a hot-blooded, impulsive person, yet his loyalty cannot be broken. Each of these characters, Joe, Suppon, Heitai, Kyabetsu, and Baremoto, comes with their peculiarities, weaknesses, and foibles. They are not united because of mere friendship, they are brothers who have been tested on the crucible of the living hell of suffering.

In spite of its darker surface, at its core, Rainbow is the story of hope, resilience, and the connection people establish when the world leaves them with none of that. It is full of dark themes: the futility of institutions that are supposed to shelter individuals, the compromises an individual has to make to live, the scars the war has left, and the desire to find a family in the people who support you. This is a tale where much is demanded of you to accept the monstrosity of man but where much is also earned in a few brief instances of sweetness and success that punctuate the ugliness so much more brightly as a result of being so difficult to achieve.

The art of Masasumi Kakizaki embodies this balance in the best way. His characters resemble real people have led tough lives with every wrinkle, bead of sweat, and weary eye saying story told before they open their mouths. The action is realistic and dirty and never over the top and the quiet contemplative moments are allowed to breathe. Things as small as the paneling seem intentional, even holding the reader back in times of tension and reflection to keep you in the moment a little longer.

The pace may be tortuous with a heaviness. It might take an emotional toll on some of the readers, and the series does not do its characters or the reader much of a favour in terms of reprieve. This is part of its strength, though, the part that is intended to make you feel exhausted, just as the boys do. When the occasional victories come, they are quite shocking in their intimations of heartedness and can be long remembered.

Rainbow is one of those few pieces that not only entertain but also sticks around the mind. It is brutal, tragic and even at times surprisingly uplifting, a compendium of brotherhood, survival, and of resisting the world to crush the human spirit. It is not something you should read without a strong stomach and is probably going to leave you feeling raw emotionally but should you allow it, then it is something that you will remember long after you have turned the last page.