Zankoku na Kami ga Shihai Suru - A Cruel God Reigns by Hagio Moto

Starting this blog withthe review of quite the bold manga; A Cruel God Reigns by Hagio Moto. (1992)

Genres: Drama, Josei, Tragedy, Psychological, Slice of Life, Mature, Yaoi.
Japanese manga is finished. Online translation is ongoing.

Summary of parts of chapter 1.

Greg Lowland and Jeremy.

Jeremy, a teenaged boy, is living in Boston with his mother, Sandra, who works in an antique's store. His father died when he was a boy, but he's currently living a good life with his mother. One day, a stylish old man comes into the store where Sandra works and asks about a cherryblossom tsuba (A Japanese hilt-collar often used for decoration, but also for protecting the hands.) that was displayed in the windows of the store. He becomes angry when he's told it's not for sale, and exits the store in fury when Jeremy enters.

Jeremy goes outside to talk to the old man, and he then finds out it's part of a set - and the man has the other tsuba. Neither are willing to part with their own for personal reasons; Sandra's reason being it reminds her of Jeremy's late father. The old man gives Jeremy his name - Greg Lowland, and says that he's not leaving without the tsuba.

The next day, possibly a few days later, Greg returns to the antique's store. He takes Sandra on a walk, and apologizes for his behaviour and explains that the second tsuba that is his is a memento from his late wife. Sandra and Greg bond over this strange coincidence, and end up getting engaged. Jeremy is happy for his sensitive mother, who has been lonely ever since his dad died.

From the manga; Jeremy and Sandra.

Meeting Greg in his car by coincidence later, he's told they're going for a ride. They're going to Salem, the town of witches. During a conversation about why Jeremy calls his mother Sandra by her name, Greg begins touching Jeremy and kisses him. Jeremy flees the car, asking why Greg did such a thing when he loved his mother - and is told it's because Greg loves them both. When Jeremy returns back to his mother, she is sitting by the couch, crying. Greg had called her and told her their engagement was called off; and Jeremy tells her that she shouldn't have married such a bastard anyway. Sandra then blames Jeremy for making Greg angry and asks him to apologize to Greg.

During the night, Jeremy can hear his mother crying and drinking. But then there is silence, and he goes down to check on her. She is laying by the stove, gas on and fainted. She's quickly brought to the hospital, and Jeremy is feeling guilty for her almost dying. He finds out she's asking for Greg. Jeremy believes that he is making life difficult for her by just existing.

Jeremy calls Greg to tell him she tried to commit suicide, and asks Greg to come to see her. Jeremy says he can let "last time" slide if he could marry Sandra and make her happy, and could even grow to like Greg as a father.

Then Greg asks Jeremy to come to Salem with him again.

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MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD
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Even if it's an ongoing translation, I feel like a temporary review of what has been released so far (70 chapters) is worthy of a review or at least some sort of summary.

Hagio Moto is a woman who was among the first female mangaka founders of the BL genre; and the BL from these years are all tragedy, psychological and dramatic series. A Cruel God Reigns was released in Japan in 1992, but has stayed a classic and must-read when it comes to BL or even the yaoi-genre.

Don't let the genres betray you; this series is not heart-warming, and I almost feel as if this shouldn't be laid under the yaoi-genre at all. (Since this manga doesn't really yet have a  This simply isn't some Junjou Romantica-esque lovestory where everything goes right, I'd say it's not happy at all. A Cruel God Reigns portrays the cruel abuse of a kind child in a relationship based on blackmailing in a most horrifying way. No prisoners are held; we are given front seats to the theater performance where Greg is the puppeteer and Jeremy is the puppet. This manga isn't about love as much as it's about not being able to love or not being able to trust yourself with love after being in an abusive relationship. (In the online translations, Greg and Jeremy is referred to as lovers, and Jeremy also describes himself as Greg's lover. Though this might not neccesarily mean that they are lovers, but rather that after a while, Jeremy is unable to differentiate what kind of relationship they have - or even what the word "lovers" means.)

Jeremy is falling apart.

This manga is for mature readers with good reason. There are some elements that are very reminiscent of BDSM; the whips and ropes, the elements used to create a dangerous arousal that in this manga are definitely crossing over to the dangerous part. Greg wears a mask during him and Jeremy's unwilling "sessions"; a mask that he later wears for fun in under a family dinner. Greg is a sadist through a through; manipulative and abusive, his past relationships are described as being similar to his and Jeremy's. To Jeremy's despair, his mother does not discover Greg's abuse, nobody is there to help him. (Though it is later found, when reading his mother's diary, that she knew about it all along. She was also desperately jealous of Natasha - Greg's former housemaid who is also the mother of Matt, a son Greg does not wish to openly say is his own. Natasha and Greg had a similar relationship as Greg has with Jeremy.)

From the manga; Jeremy sees the same bundle of clothes' line Greg used to abuse prostitutes he bought, and killed his wife with. Shh. Only one of many elements from BDSM.

In fact, that's what makes this series so heartbreaking to read. There is simply noone willing to help Jeremy escape from his steph-father's tight grasp. After moving to Greg's mansion in England, the abuse escalates with such intensity it's difficult to grasp what you're actually reading - if you stay long enough for those scenes to appear. What's even worse, is that many of the household members know about the abuse, but won't take action. Why, you might ask? That's what the manga asks you as well. In fact, it's scary how much this hits home in such an uncomfortable way in just the sheer criticism of not helping someone when they're not able to help themselves. I connect this to the common scenario of someone being beat up on the street. You might think you'd stop the fight, but would that really be the case?

 Jeremy ends up comparing himself to a boy that was rumoured in his school for selling his body for drugs. (Cass) This manga is moving because it's not just about abuse in a relationship between two males, but the exploitation of a teenage boy for a grown-up's sadistical gain. And if that wasn't enough, it also shows the problems that arise with his girlfriend, Vivi. He is unable to be intimate with her in a healthy way, and when he's told that his kisses are different, he realizes he changed from the sexual abuse he was recieving from Greg.

The difficulty Jeremy is experiencing is further enhanced through the drawings; which I admit I adore very much. I love the old, detailed style that focuses on emotions being expressed through the eyes rather than words. And Hagio Moto's illustrations are absolutely stunning. 

Jeremy being devastated over the loss of his mother.

 Hagio Moto uses creative ways to express the claustrophoby and destruction of himself that Jeremy feels; fragmentation, falling out of a plastered wall, laying in a fridge, trapped by plants, strangling himself, hair being morphed into plants and whatnot. There are so many examples of creepy yet beautiful ways to express his loneliness and sorrow. If you pair this with the way the story is told purely through text; you have a hit. (No pun intended.)

This cover shows Jeremy, and Ian in the back wiht the blond hair.

I can talk for forever about this manga. I read a good deal of yaoi, and I had heard of this before I actually read it. But I didn't expect a full-blown tale about a poor teenager's crumbling beneath sexual abuse tough enough to turn your skin white. This is not just a story, but something that happens every day in real life. It deals with many important matters; how do you treat someone who has undergone such abuse? Do you report such abuse; or why don't you? Would killing someone be justified if you were abused by this person? How is a teenaged boy dealing with the stress of coming home to a monster? How is blackmailing keeping relationships "going"? Drugs? Prostitution? Self-harm? Depression?

This series is cruel and uncomfortable; but I don't think a story about abuse should be taken light-heartedly. It's genius in the way it's told and not to mentioned drawn, and I would recommend this for anyone who likes manga with a bit of substance. It draws you into its world, and leave you feeling quite depressed and miserable, actually. I admit that I cried several times reading through the chapters that are released as of now. It as many important lessons if you're willing to think enough about it, but the most important thing I've learned?

Birds lay eggs and shit from the same hole.



This review was written in the middle of the night. There might be serious inconsistencies to this text, so if it's not understandable I suggest you try read the manga instead. There was a lot of information about other characters I didn't include, such as Ian, Matt, Majorie, Nadia and Greg's late wife.
I purposely didn't include a lot of the plot-details.