BLOODY MONDAY + BLOODY MONDAY II

This is a manga series that first ran in 2007 and finished in 2009 in Weekly Shonen.  Written by Ryuumon Ryou and illustrated by Megumi Kouji, this manga series has great art and an awesome story.  The style reminds me of Prince of Tennis and the story’s drama and mystery with Death Note.

In one sentence, this is about a genius hacker against a terrorist organization.

Now to give you the longer summary, Bloody Monday is actually the secret and devastatingly sinister plot of an underground terrorist cult organization.  In comes a teenage boy, Fujimaru Takagi aka “Falcon,” who hacks and decodes for a Japanese anti-terrorist group.   Fujimaru becomes embroiled in the Bloody Monday scheme when he is given the task of decoding data extracted from the corpse of an ex-KGB spy.  After cleverly making his own “custom supercomputer,” he and his friends realize that it’s footage of what appears to be a viral outbreak in which people within seconds die after coughing out blood, bleeding from their eyes, and boiling of the skin.   Unknowingly after watching the gruesome scene, they all become targets of the cult organization.

I am extremely impressed with this series, especially since this series is smart.  It doesn’t give obvious clues to the story but the subtle hints are there.  Nicely researched, at least nothing that I could tell was an absolute lie and unrealistic.  Although I would have preferred it if the story had more references to history, especially since it centers around Russia’s secret projects during the Cold War.

I read this series within a day and it’s 11 volumes long.  This is a quick, witty, and high impact story wrapped in beautiful artwork.  You will not be disappointed with this series since there isn’t a slow moment in the story.  Bloody Monday delivers great surprises, wonderful story development, and satisfies that little devilish and childish wish of  being a hacker prodigy.

 

 

 

A Russian spy is found murdered in Japan, with the only clue to the reasons for his death being a memory chip he managed to hide from his murderer. The Third-I branch of the Public Security Intelligence Agency recruit Fujimaru Takagi, a brilliant hacker known as "Falcon", to decode the chip, which contains a video file documenting a viral outbreak in Russia where thousands are killed, known as the Christmas Massacre.

Things become further complicated when Fujimura's father, a high ranking official within Third-I, is falsely accused of murdering his superior when he receives further information related to the Christmas Massacre, and the code name "Bloody Monday".

The terrorist Maya Orihara, who was responsible for the incident in Russia, is now in Tokyo in order to recover the memory stick to stop Third-I from knowing the truth of a terrorist plot in Japan. She goes under cover as a teacher at Fujimaru Takagi's High School. From there it becomes difficult for Fujimaru to determine who he can trust as he uses his high-level hacking skills to try and save the country and unravel the mystery of Bloody Monday and the cult behind it.

Fujimaru Takagi  

A 3rd year student, President of the Newspaper Club, and very skilled archer, having placed 2nd at the national level. He is Fujimaru's childhood friend and "back up" - having been told about every exploit Fujimaru Takagi accomplishes as Falcon. He was the only one outside of Third-I that knew about Fujimaru's supreme hacking skills at the start of the series, and was the one that told the Newspaper Club (with Fujimaru's permission) about the Takagi's work. Throughout the first season, it was revealed that he likes Fujimaru's younger sister, Haruka. He is actually the grandson of the Minister of Justice, Masamune Kujō. It is later revealed that "J" is his half-brother, and in the end, gains a long-awaited opportunity to see his parents, whom he was taken away from by his grandfather. Otoyo returns in the second season, now a college student