Do you like series mixing drama, mystery, romance and manipulation? Aren't you afraid to immerse yourself in a story that is more complex than it seems? Well look no further and discover without further delay For the Worst, a manga mixing all the genres mentioned above. This article will discuss the first 4 volumes of the series.
For the Worse
Pour le Pire is a manga by Nogizaka Taro currently with 8 volumes in Japan and 6 in France. The series is published by Glénat Édition.
We follow Arata Natsume, a social worker. The latter will help a young boy to find his father's head. Indeed, the latter was killed by "The Clown of Shinagawa", a famous serial killer who cut up and hid the bodies of her victims. Arata goes to prison to confront the murderess, much more frail and fragile than he had imagined. In order to extract a confession, Arata will pretend to be in love with her… But at what cost?
A complex scenario…
At first glance, the story seems simple… A serial killer, a monster, awaits her sentence, the death penalty. However, the families of the victims are struggling to grieve as the bodies have been dismembered and not all the pieces have been found. A young boy asks Arata, a social worker, to meet with the killer in order to find out where she hid her father's head. Until then, we say that things are simple. On the one hand, we have a bloodthirsty killer, compared to a clown (related to her appearance), and on the other, a young man who wants to help a victim's son move on. But not at all… The story is much more complex. From the start, a marriage proposal will be formulated. Although Arata uses this method to extract information from Shinju, a big part of the story will be played on it. Indeed, manipulation will enter the scene. But again, nothing is simple. Full of certainties, Arata will quickly realize that Shinju is much more difficult to pin down than it seems. As the pages go by, a question comes to mind… Who is manipulating whom? And we will have this question in mind for a long time. Let's face it, at the end of volume 4, we still do not have our answer, even if the elements seem to be gradually falling into place, like a puzzle. And on the trial side, it's pretty much the same thing. Indeed, although the accused had been sentenced to death, her lawyer, convinced that his client was innocent, appealed. We are therefore witnessing many twists and turns in a trial that has already received more media coverage. Did Shinju really kill all these men? As we read, the scales tip to one side, then to the other. The suspense is present throughout these first 4 volumes. Difficult to differentiate the true from the false… And the more the boxes scroll, the more doubt settles. We will not say more so as not to spoil the pleasure of discovery but we can tell you that once launched into this story, you will not be able to stop.
Intriguing characters.
As you can imagine, two characters are highlighted in this story, Arata and Shinju, as an unlikely couple. Arata is a young man in his thirties, a social worker, with a complicated past. Indeed, he himself was followed by social workers in his youth. Arata is a young bachelor, not wishing to settle with a woman, having a taste for risk and hating injustices related to children. We discover a character with character, not hesitating to assert himself and use various tricks to achieve his ends. However, the meeting with Shinju will upset everything he thought he knew… Indeed, Shinju is a young woman in her twenties. We learn very quickly that our killer had a complicated childhood. Abandoned by her mother, suffers pain at school, learning difficulties, malnutrition, violence,… And so on… However, how can a young girl come to dismember the corpses of 3 men? This is what we will try to discover over the pages. And discoveries, you will make, we guarantee you. The character of Shinju is extremely interesting. Under these features of a model girl, hides a woman who is both terrified and terrifying. The author knew how to exploit this character to perfection. Shinju seems to have many facets and it is not always easy for us to differentiate them. Fortunately, Arata gradually recognizes them and guides us through the story. This complexity is very pleasant to discover and adds additional suspense. It's hard to detect the true from the false when you already don't know if the person is acting… 
And this is Arata's big problem, is Shinju really guilty? Although he seems to be convinced, we realize after several volumes that slight doubts take place in his mind… and feelings in his heart. We cannot tell you that Arata loves Shizu, as a husband is supposed to love his wife but the indifference he showed in the first pages is no longer relevant, it is a certainty. It is very likely that at this point, Arata himself does not know how he feels about Shinju, who, we remind you, is accused of being a serial killer… Other characters are added to the story as the volumes progress. Colleagues, victims' families, serial killer collector,… Everyone has a point of view on this case and it is very interesting to confront them. Indeed, although Arata seems to be convinced of Shinju's guilt, his lawyer, master ***, seems to be convinced that the latter is innocent. Everyone tries to do research, to collect testimonies supporting their version of the truth. But the more research progresses, the more the certainties are weakened… Did Shinju plan everything in advance or is she sincere? Again, this is a difficult question to answer.
Quality graphics
Finally, it seems important to us to talk to you about graphics. Indeed, to make a good manga, you need a good scenario, well-constructed characters, and quality graphics. And for the series Pour Le Pire, it is! Indeed, the author has bet everything on the characters, especially during the more important scenes. Meetings with Shinju, court hearings,… All these crucial moments for the progress of history are represented with great care. The other scenes are also pleasant to discover but they do not have as much detail. When we introduced you to Shinju, we touched on the fact that this character has many facets. Although it is not always easy to see it, the author also transcribes it in these drawings. Indeed, the expression on Shinju's face changes depending on the person she is talking to, the tone of the conversation or her interest in it. It is very interesting to pay attention to all these details. This adds even more interest to an already very surprising work. In short, For the Worse is a series that we can only advise you too much. It brings together everything a good manga should have, a complex scenario, interesting characters and worked graphics. What more could you ask for? If you want to discover even more new series, we invite you to read our top 10 short manga for the summer!
