Gakkyu Hotei: School Judgment, Vol. 1

Obata, artist of the controversial Death Note, teams up with a writer new to American markets in this decidedly adult courtroom drama series, featuring elementary school students, that brilliantly plays on genre tropes. In order to combat rising discipline and bullying problems in schools, Japan now has Classroom Arbitration: conducted by the children, for the children criminal courts. Abaku Inugami, a demonic defense attorney with a dark past, and high-strung prosecutor Pine Hanzuki (both sixth graders) battle each other in bombastic ace-attorney fashion (complete with decisive pointing and flouncy artwork) over the course of four episodic school cases, which take typical classroom problems to whole new levels. This manga knows exactly how ridiculous it is and meets the readers’ expectations, launching into absurdity so perfectly it’s hard to put down. Despite the fluffy case endings, it seems to be taking the story line of the video game Ace into a twisted, dark direction that’s a precursor to the prison world of the manga Deadman Wonderland. The book should leave readers eagerly awaiting future revelations. (Feb.)