Title: Boy’s Abyss Vol. 10
Author: Ryo Minenami
Publisher: Viz Media
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 216
Genre: Slice-of-Life, Drama
Publication Date: July 22, 2025
The Story
We pick up with Reiji in Tokyo, having a conversation with Esemori; however, it’s not at his home, but rather, the hospital. Esemori revealed that he was diagnosed with cancer two years ago, and now he’s living what may be his final weeks in Tokyo. Reiji wants to head out to find Chako; however, Esemori asks him to stay, as this might be the last time they get a chance to talk.
From here, the entirety of the volume focuses on Esemori, how he met Reiji’s mother, Yuko, back in high school, and why even back then, the town carried with it a curse that felt impossible to escape. The backstory mentioned that Yuko often hung out with a group of kids, one of whom, Uryu, was their leader, who had ties to the Minegishi company. In short, they were delinquents (how surprising). Esemori ended up getting into a secret relationship with Yuko when she turned fourteen; however, a school gang rivalry caused her to sway in Uryu’s direction forcefully.
From there, event after event happened that made Esemori feel completely powerless. Through it all, there was a girl named Shinooka, who had a crush on him, but always played the role of the cheerleader. Her life wasn’t as glamorous either. Our volume ends with a “to be continued” moment as there is more to Esemori’s story that he hasn’t covered just yet.
Characters
Obviously, the biggest development in this book belongs to Esemori. As mentioned in the section above, we get nearly an entire volume dedicated to his childhood, what things were like for him at home, at school, how he met Reiji’s mother Yuko, and through that, we got to see Gen’s father alongside Uryu as part of a delinquent gang, and how Esemori dealt with all of that. Needless to say, it was truly an in-depth look into the past that had some ties to Reiji as well.
On the flip side, we also learned about Yujo, Reiji’s mother. How she was always hanging around Uryu, how she “worked” above her mother’s bar to pay off her father’s debt, and how she just casually accepted it. In fact, when Esemori confronted her about it, she actually took offense to it, thinking that he didn’t care about her. It just goes to show that the people in this town have been twisted for some time!
Then, we have Shinooka, who is the Chako at this point in time. She’s Esemori’s little cheerleader, much like Chako is to Reiji. Just like Chako, Shinooka had a crush on Esemori that would go unrequited. Her home wasn’t perfect either, as her father was always away on business, cheating on her mother in the process. Even though her mother tried to hide it, Shinooka and her sister knew what was going on. Still, she tried to get close to Esemori for simplistic reasons… like when Esemori came over for Christmas dinner. Shinooka was finally given an opportunity to have a holiday meal with someone other than her mother. She’s the kind of character you couldn’t help but feel sympathetic for.
Final Thoughts
This was quite the eye-opening volume. A lot of questions were answered here with Esemori’s backstory, save for one… but it’s a question that I’m sure we are going to revisit in the next volume. For now, just seeing how he grew up in the town, how he tried his best to like the town, and then, just like Reiji, came to hate the town, wishing he could leave, was impactful enough. It truly paints a picture that this town engulfs everyone within it, making their lives as miserable as possible, and the culture of the town has no choice but to conform to it.
If one thing this volume proved is that no matter what time period, people are miserable, families are suffering, and everyone and everything have their own set of problems to deal with. It’s as if nobody is capable of leading a normal life there, and that’s what makes this series compelling. Every time you meet a new character, you have to ask yourself what’s wrong with them. With Shinooka, I honestly believed that we were going to get our first normal character. Even Esemori remarked that she seemed to have come from a normal family, but that’s when she drops the news that her father is cheating on her mother while he’s away on his business trips.
I find it funny that Esemori called Reiji and abyss… a dark chasm that everything gets drawn into, but then he goes on a full-volume rant about his life, which clearly shows that Reiji is not an abyss… It’s the town itself. Maybe he wants to focus the blame on someone else rather than admitting it? I’m not sure, to be honest, but I thought it was a bit odd that he would label Reiji in such a way and then contradict himself with his life story.
In any event, another fantastic volume! Hopefully, we’ll get one of the reveals in this volume answered in the next, as Esemori’s story didn’t quite cover how it happened just yet!
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This item was provided for review by Viz Media
