kurayami dance is probably one of the intensely complicated mangas ive read and is honestly a mustread for anyone who loves goichi sudas kill the past series. oh yeah and be sure to actually play the kill the past series before you read this as well as read up on goichi sudas life before game design otherwise a majority of the references character cameos and thematic motifs will not make any sense. theres also a few concepts explored in those games that are reused in this such as the silver eyes so be aware of that as well. i recommend going for this order: the silver case flower sun and rain the 25th ward killer7 no more heroes you can now read kurayami dance i know its a lot but it wont make a lot of sense otherwise note therell also be some wrestling and references to mobile suit gundam throughout id argue mobile suit gundams is slightly more important with some of the ideas spent here? actually fun fact grasshopper manufacture goichi sudas game studio actually has their employees watch mobile suit gundam: chars counterattack monthly. i thought thatd be a cool fact to share here. the art is probably one of the most wonderful things about this manga. takeya syuji has worked with suda in prior mangas whether for red blue green as well as the prelunatics manga oneshot made for the silver case but this is probably his art at its highest. the character silhouettes are incredibly distinct and his usage of warped perspective is lovely. theres also a sense of cinematic direction when it comes to panel sequencing which is also a treat in tandem with wonderful page layouts that feel like visual candy for me to look at. the characters in kurayami dance as usual with sudas work are often vague and unexplored at least with the side cast. the star of the show really would be challia and wataru who are probably one of the most fun protagonists ive read. they have excellent character dynamics with one another and not to mention represent some genuinely very interesting thematic ideas with some weird freudian id and superego shit. the thematic storytelling in kurayami dance is also excellently explored across the manga. you can tell its a very personal piece of work with how suda himself worked as an undertaker prior to doing game design and how his feelings towards life and death are explored in this manga. of course these are especially amplified playing his videogames where this is also readily apparent but you can tell that this particular manga is where it absolutely resonates with him clearly. the actual meat and potatoes of the writing are pretty nice too but i do think the dialogue tends to be incredibly long and monologuey. while characters interact very naturally from one another bouncing back and forth in a somewhat meandering fashion similar to the silver case and sudas other games/visual novels it never feels like a dull moment at least to me. to me there was absolutely a level of charisma to it that kept the flow going. this manga may seem imperfect to many with its wacky pace surreal imagery and unconventional storytelling but for those willing to push the boundaries of the stories manga can tell and the methods they do so with id recommend it. goichi suda fans should also absolutely read this. its a love letter to all of kill the past. god is in the cables. believe in the net. kill the life. kill the past. good night wataru.