Some high school students create a class popularity poll that somehow takes a life of its own. Each student in the class must play a life of death game by voting for certain students in the selected poll. The student with the lowest votes is killed in a disastrous accident.
Tohyo Game's plot puts the reader in my mind of two other series combine together. One being the mega popular american horror films titled Final Destination. Then the other being the Japanese manga/anime series called Another. Both series have story elements that are very present here. Of course, nothing in this manga remotely gives off the idea that the creators copied these other works but you can see the influences big as day. There's two to three main characters that you kind of have to care about. Things happen around them as they try to find ways to stay alive. Boy Girl main character couples are always attached at the hip in these sorts of disaster stories. So a romantic aspect lingers around as you flip the pages. It just feels kind of like the purity of this relationship is stained red by all the other shocking events that go on. I honestly didn't care for any of the characters. They get knocked off so fast that you don't have time to care. Same thing with the other emotions like jealousy and deceit. You're in a game of life and death based on who votes for you. I would think all your crushes you had before the game started would fly out the window. Not in this game. In fact, These emotions make for different interesting conflicts to the point that the reader has more to worry about than just the game itself. The best part of Tohyo Game's plot are the actual deaths. They range from cringe worthy to down right brutal. Can't help but to see why this manga earned that mature rating. Well, besides the nude scene that seems very random in volume one.(Most Japanese nude scenes with girls in showers are random... Why they always have to be in the shower too?) Other showcasing of the shedding of clothes flows with the story in volumes two and three. The plot twists are also good enough to keep you reading if you actually care about the characters. I was pretty satisfied with the way everything was tied up by the third volume. Some shocking events defiantly unfold.
Tatsuhiko's art was doable but not as good as other manga artists out there. Lots of people like to mention how bad Attack on Titan's art was when the series first started. I think Tohyo Game's art might be a little better but its not winning by much. Whats really sad about this whole situation is that the covers are beautifully done. Then you open the manga and its like the biggest April fools prank ever. You can't look at the art before you buy each volume either because of the mature rating. Mature rated manga means it comes wrapped in plastic in my country. A select few bookstores even separate the mature manga from the regular manga section so young kids won't stumble upon any. I forced myself to get use to the rough sketch like art style since the story was good. Still one thing kept getting on my nerves. How similar some the characters looked to each other. It got so confusing when you know a character died but there's a character that was drawn looking like that character. The male lead was drawn with a long face that makes him look more mature. A few little different physical traits are there to help readers distinguish who is who in the main cast of lead characters. Just don't expect to not see double. Overtime as I see the panels of art in Tohyo Game, I think of an amateur artist who was trying to draw Persona's characters but didn't have the ability. Got to work with what you're given at times in life though.
Tohyo Game is a good read for people who like gruesome games of death involving high school students. Japan had loads of stories based on this concept. It never gets old either. Tohyo Game could come out with a sequel with the way the manga ended. I'll wait for this to happen. An anime would be nice too.
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