Absolutely Beautiful. What starts out seeming like an overly edgy crude seinen turns into a story so human. So full of despair and suffering but also so existential and hopeful. A carnal world that begs the question what is it to live? Why choose to live in the face of suffering when its the harder option? Why keep pushing when you dont even know what for? The focus on regrets self identity and discovery really resonated with me and made me feel. Everyone in this world is full of discontent suffering and regret and you get an intimate feel for who these people are. Side characters often get treated like main characters which makes a lot of the cast feel as important as the lead. While the story starts off weaker in the earlier chapters it quickly develops into so much more then another killing game story. The mystery continually unravels only to fake you out time and time again. The story is very comfortable withholding key information from the audience which has you as confused as the cast and as devastated when you see how wrong your perceptions truly were. The climax had me engaged the entire way through and the final fight is something else. I love how the story doesnt care to explain the logistics of how things are possible which scifi often gets fixated on and even explores the thought a lot. Why does it matter how its possible? Do you really need to know everything? Will knowing help you find meaning? The logistics of this world arent important and Im glad the ending isnt concerned with spending a long time exploring the way this was all possible as its much more focused on its story characters feelings and themes of humanities own existentialism. I also love how the author often injects bits of real information and seems to love the opportunity to explain to his audience. I came out of this learning cheating techniques in blackjack as well as that the French invented parkour. When real life principles come into the games the audience learns alongside the characters the basis and how such techniques work. I went into this story completely blind and seeing what looked to be an interesting cover on my library shelf and I was glad I was able to go into the story with no expectations as I was absolutely stunned by what I got. Not to mention the art is beautiful and we get plenty of stunning panels and spreads. The author is able to convey emotions so powerfully with how he draws and shades his characters. We are able to feel the raw emotion of devastation through the page with his beautiful shading and expressive artistry. Not to mention the intense page turns.