▪	RELEASED BY:		TOKYOPOP
		▪	AUTHOR / ART:		PINK PSYCHO
		▪	FORMAT:		JAPANESE / BW
		▪	PAGES:		192
		▪	RATING:		OT
		▪	RELEASE DATE:		02/12/2007
		▪	REVIEW DATE:		02/11/2008
		▪	REVIEWED BY:		HOLLY ELLINGWOOD

A stand-alone bishonen love story, In the End is a drama that doesn’t take the easy way out when it comes to romance, but instead shows the harsher side of life and love in this all new Goth-punk manga

Akito is a teenager empty except for his growing sense of despair. Unloved, unwanted, he views the world through jaded eyes to protect his fragile spirit. But when the new teacher Ren at the school sees through him, it pierces Kaito’s carefully guarded heart. Could a forbidden romance leave to salvation? They say the road to hell can be paved with good intentions and one small misstep in Kaito’s life can see this timid foundation for hope come crashing down.

In the End is a gritty story about love and life on the skids. Kaito is a deeply troubled young man who keeps everyone at an emotional arms length while damaging himself with drugs and never seeking help for the abuse heaped upon him by his father, or the oppressive constraints forced upon him by his lovers. That is until Ren enters the picture and Kaito’s otherwise empty life. Ren finds himself fascinated by Kaito, unable to do nothing. He forces the younger man to face himself time and again, to find out what make’s Kaito tick and if there is any way Kaito can open his heart to him. However, a love between two men has enough obstacles, but between teacher and student is a taboo, and a crime, that neither can escape from. Their brief time of happiness together is violently interrupted by reality. Where there was hope, there may only be despair, where there was love…there is loss.

This manga doesn’t shy away from the most destructive aspects passion can play mercilessly in one’s life. Some people can be controlled by their emotions, not strong enough to defend against the bitterness of a life alone. Many of the characters, not just the main ones, display varying degrees of destructive behavior due to their passions, however misplaced or selfish. The story doesn’t offer answers except perhaps to suggest to the reader to not let the chance at love, true love, pass one by if you have the fortune of finding it – or love finding you.

There is a great deal of mature subject matter in this story. It is not for the faint of heart or those hoping for neat endings with pretty bows to tie things up nicely. Although the men in this manga are drawn exquisitely and with edge, that edge is a part of the story and the riveting illustrations. A look that is a cross between punk and Goth, the dark drawings have detailed designs that are uncommon in most manga and have a unique texture to them that is absorbing to look at.
 
IN SUMMARY:
In the End is a dark and involving drama about the need for love, the depths despair can reach, and the true weight of loss.