orpheusx9

TL;DR - Really great read for those who love a good action/survival story.

The premise itself is a variation on a story you've all heard before - surviving on an island. But instead of being randomly kidnapped and dumped on the island, we actually have a bunch of criminals and their executioners who've been sent on a suicide mission to recover the "potion of life" for the emperor.

It could be broadly categorized under action, fighting, and shounen, but you're not inundated with cliche "courage conquers all" and "power of friendship" bullshit. It's actually refreshingly down-to-earth, and it actually gets a little dark and philosophical in some places. Unique twists and likeable characters keep you excited about what will happen next. It's not just an action manga, and the whole situation turns out to be way more complicated than you're initially led to believe.

There are slight hints of romance in here too - not enough to consider it romantic per se, but just enough to keep you curious. The character development is phenomenal. We witness material changes to many of the characters as they go through the journey, and it all happens both beautifully and believably.

The art style is also unique - it's both very pretty and very scrappy in its own way, which perfectly mirrors the story and the characters in it.

If we consider a spectrum where one end is feel-good, shounen-esque action and the other end is dark, gritty, and slow-burning drama, Jigokuraku fits nicely in-between. A perfect balance of exciting action and gritty drama.

Other mangas in a similar vein:

• Blue Exorcist
• Demon Slayer
• Bungou Stray Dogs
• Hunter x Hunter
• Attack on Titan
• Darwin's Game
• High-Rise Invasion
• Alice in Borderland
• Jujutsu Kaisen
• The Breaker
• Tokyo Ghoul
• Seraph of the End

If you like any of the above, then you'll definitely like Jigokuraku. Here's a graphic I made based on my opinions of where these fall on the scale: