To start: human babies, unlike any other animal or being, at the first few months of their entire lives, are incapable of walking or lifting their bodies on it's own, without any support. Human babies need help more than any other living being. Having that said, this manga perfectly utilized the psyche of a child ánd mother. Which hereby, in my opinion, cannot be surpassed by any other of Shuuzou Oshimi’s work, ‘’Happiness’’ / ‘’Aku no Hana’’.
The worthy mentioning genres are psychology – family life – tragedy – thriller – mental health.
*~~~ MINOR not very important SPOILER ahead
Story:
Proclaiming that this is not your casual dark psychological story. This goes deeper than just a shock of stunning face expression which blows the reader away. A story about most children’s warm reflection of one’s deeply caring mother, in a tightly household. The silently and cautious interactions of an only child with mommy and daddy, will hit you like a snow storm when you found out the striking truth of it’s silly and very welcoming of beginning.
The bulk of Chi no Wadachi (Blood on the Track) lays at the very first pages, where the manga consists of just a bunch of interactive moments, with the consecutively views of mommy, daddy, and the family outside of the ring. The characters of the manga are beautifully established and developed throughout the series. The emphasis worthy of main objects in the story are: mother (seiko), son (seiichi), girlfriend (fukiishi), seiichi’s cousin (shigeru). Reminder, what they are talking about, doesn’t matter at all, it is the main plot that is received by the reading at the near beginning, which will be the decisive reason as to, why the first ‘’few interactive moments with consecutively views’’ are highly important to mention. The unnatural but deserved plot twists that leaves you with shaky fingers, and the urge of reading forward through the pages of the zoomed in, sweetness of smiles given by the ‘’overprotective’’ mother; that wants you to find out a bit more than a caring and beloved mamma. Which, will also especially make a great impact on the far progress of reading through the wonderfully drawn characters, and just like it did for me; it will feel like a gust of wind when you find out what’s really happening in this exciting story. However, the art and chosen theme on it’s own is a masterpiece that makes you feel pity for the both the mother and son. These details of pages are the very relevant flashback moments that you need to fall back on when you hold onto the reading of this impressively manga series.
Out of so many psychological, thriller manga series out here, there is not a single one, that may captivate the reading style, like how Chi no Wadachi is drawn and written, by one single author. The answer to how good and compassionate the author has build this story together, is not explainable by just one reader, reading the amazingly deal of this still ongoing psychological ride of a manga. (chapter 93 right now, writing this)
Character:
My favorite character would be the father (ichiro osabe), although he’s apparently just a side character, he is the closest person between the mother and son. Not forgetting the fact that he has seen things that are absolutely not being questioned about in the story, at all. For example, the way the mother has shown her intimacy to her beloving son, and not allowing any one else except for His Mother to come close to him. At this day of age, you wouldn’t think about it, but the author surely took this psychiatric theme until this far to the reader. And unfortunately, you can’t escape this realization of thought until communicating with his beloved wife is the very solution. That’s just the kind of way of how the father is dealing with it.
My rating (enjoyment) is 10/10 if Chi no Wadachi would be ending in a sensible and brillant way... For now a solid 9.5/10. (Edit: it ended perfectly solid.)