I align with the other critical commenters who mostly avoided engaging with the drug debate. Don't get me wrong, I think there's a LOT of correct political criticism to make about how the "drugs" in the oneshot are depicted, but, that isn't why I think the oneshot is bad. Manga can misrepresent real, heavy topics and still be good. I'm reading multiple series with child predator villains who are simply not like any real life child predator, and yet they are very well-written villains, for example. A good work of art uses realism as a tool like any other, and can make an unrealistic depiction work like a charm by leaning into its other narrative strengths.
The oneshot's just not good. Take out those drugs, replace them with something else. A shared hobby. A curse. It doesn't matter. There is no loss of realism, no necessary change to the mechanics of the plot, and crucially, the character and story arc is still mis-paced, full of flubbed emotional beats, and devoid of tension.
The drugs could have easily been alcohol. They could have easily been an evil book that makes you go crazy. You can tell that they're a poorly-integrated plot element in a poorly-written oneshot because there is nothing about them that makes them tie into the characters or themes in a compelling way. That's more or less why I think so many people interpreted this as a war on drugs PSA—the only message the drugs in the story seem to communicate is, "drugs bad," because, if they were ever meant to convey something more nuanced, the bluntness of the writing failed to.
That's my stance—whether the story was intended to be about how Drugs™️ make you have evil sex and die, or whether it was intended to be something more worthwhile, it ends up being the former, due to mundane artistic failure.
last edited at Aug 17, 2026 11:45PM
