Lesson of the evil, manga review: a friend who wants you bad

The artistic journey of Lesson of the Evil deserves the qualification of success story. Indeed, in 2010, Yusuke Kishi published the light novel Lesson of the evil. A noir thriller set in the school world, the novel met with success and attracted the attention of publishing houses. Kodansha launches the manga adaptation. 9 volumes are published between 2012-2015 receiving a very good critical and commercial reception. In France, Kana Editions acquired the series in 2015. Finally, it is the cinema and the prolix Takashi Miike who buy the rights and offer a live adaptation of very high quality, unfortunately remained unpublished for a long time in France. Six years after the end of the series in Japan, let's look back at this major work of the school thriller genre

I saw the devil

He's young, he's handsome, he's charming. Seiji Hasumi has everything to please the students of his high school. As a young English teacher, he devoted himself totally to his students. In the name of a principle: fight injustices, hunt down bullies and clean up teachers. His method: blackmail, observation and use of human weaknesses. Unfortunately, behind the smile and the friendly face, lurks a tortured soul. Hasumi is indeed pursuing a personal and mysterious goal. In an escalation of manipulations, he does not hesitate to expel from school those who threaten him. But what will happen when he finds himself cornered by his lies? Will he know how to stop or will he give free rein to his true nature?

Lesson of the evil : a G.T.O inverted

In its storyline, Yusuke Kishi's series closely resembles the educational adventures of Eikichi Onizuka. An atypical, voluntary young teacher tackles head-on the shortcomings of the education system: violence, harassment, blackmail, family pressure, absence of parents. Adults or students, none escapes his acerbic gaze. The universe of the Japanese high school is thus portrayed by the author with exaggeration certainly but without concession to deliver a very acerbic vision. Culminating in two themes: the distance between the institution and the students, the physical attraction between students and adults. A barrier and an unspoken that disrupt high school life and allow Hasumin to infiltrate this hushed world. The difference between the two series is total. Onizuka displayed a façade perversion that masked his humanity, his righteousness and his willingness to repair education. He had a moral code at his heart that put his students above all else. Hasumin is quite the opposite. In appearance, he is the ideal son-in-law but in reality he is a perverse spirit who does not hesitate to cross the line. Onizuka attacked teachers who damaged students, Hasumin eliminated those who can see clearly in his game. Hasumin protects students from predators to better attract them to him.

The art of manipulation

From then on, Hasumin methodically carried out his dark project. His weapon: the dark secrets of his colleagues and high school students. With unparalleled cynicism, the author shows how a sick mind easily seizes souls and bodies simply by using the little lies of everyday life. Very quickly, adults and high school students find themselves locked in a game whose rules Hasumin writes. Discreet, he places himself in the center of the chessboard advancing his pawns. Jealousies, gossip feed his plans. The cult of secrecy leads its "partners" in a fatal spiral. The little monsters of the everyday world have thus spawned an Alpha Monster fed by human baseness Especially since Hasumin, soul tortured at night, is a real savior by day. It will attract to him the most fragile, the unloved, the neglected, the naïve. Adolescence, recalls the author, is a time of extreme fragility. And beware of the wolf who disguises himself as sheep.The pace of Lesson of the evil accelerates very quickly as the psychopathy of the protagonist is reinforced and takes precedence over his educational mission. Initially in search of power, Hasumin pushes his limits. The destruction of careers, of minds, is quickly no longer enough for him. Unless it was only a preparatory step before its grand finale.

Lesson of the evil, a bloody opera

The last volumes of Lesson of the Evil therefore make a drastic change of tone. The masks fall and Hasumin surrenders to his drive for annihilation and destruction. What fascinates is how the author by his line and his narration describes a double process. That of this cold-blooded "animal" that kills for pleasure. That of its victims frozen in front of the unthinkable mechanics. Few high school students try to regain control and see Hasumin for what he is: a devil dressed as Santa Claus. Yusuke Kishi's drawing greatly contributes to this immersion in this charismatic and unhealthy spirit. He interweaves on one side a light drawing, very shonen, perfect to describe high school life. Festivals, parties, romance, heartbreak punctuate the classic life of this community. On the other, he delivers much darker, anxiety-provoking boards where the darkness of thoughts damages the bodies. The high school becomes a real powder keg waiting for Hasumin's goodwill to explode. Black seinen, psychological thriller, Lesson of Evil is a manga that takes you to the guts. The reader according to the 9 volumes is animated by two contradictory desires. Whether Hasumin will see his plan through. The one to see if someone will manage to defeat him? A G.T.O gore not to put in all hands certainly but extremely pleasant to read.