#罪と罰のスピカ

[lagomortis]

Spica of Sin and Punishment | 罪と罰のスピカ | Tsumi to Batsu no Spica

Story Summary: A homeroom teacher notices a student of his getting bullied. He tries to reach out to her, but soon realizes there are more mysteries to this girl than meet the eye.

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Supernatural, Drama

Review with spoilers below!

There are only 12 chapters out right now, but so far I'm really enjoying it!

I don't feel too bad using the panel above even though it's technically a spoiler because it's in chapter 1 and there are still a lot more mysteries. Also it's just an iconic panel and I wanted to try coloring it.

The story pulls a similar protagonist bait and switch as Talentless Nana, but it has some key differences in the way the audience is tricked. I won't go too into it but it's fascinating.

The art is really good and the character expressions are wonderful.

The first arc was definitely the strongest so far, but that doesn't mean the second wasn't engaging. Also, since there's so few chapters right now, it's hard to even judge yet.

Of course, there are flaws. The story does explicitly sexualize Spica, a high schooler, and have some death scenes that lean more toward torture porn than a retelling of events. Whether this is a dealbreaker is up to you, but I don't feel that it is especially gratuitous.

Also, while I think it is possible to guess the culprits, I think it relies a bit more on understanding narrative tropes than actually puzzling it out, which can be a bit disappointing. That said, I like the emotional core of the mysteries a lot so I didn't mind it.

All in all, I can't wait to see where the story goes!