After being knocked-out cold, kidnapped and locked in a private prison for ten years in a small room with no heating, Goto, our 'old boy', is finally set free. He decides that he'll find whoever did this to him, whatever it takes. Truly, it is a revenge served cold.

It's astonishing that some writers can't muster up suspense to cover a chapter, while Tsuchiya, Garon (the author of Old Boy) can arguably be credited with creating 79 pure, frustrating yet awesome, chapters of suspense. Lost following the perspective of the paranoid Goto, the reader guesses at every ally and even random people, as you endlessly try to guess who's watching Goto now.

The art was detailed, shaded and definitely added to the overall mood aka. the suspense. Was everyone pretty? No. But did the style of art only beneficially add to the manga? When it came down to the facial features, in my opinion, I didn't really see why the two main characters needed such bulbous noses; it didn't really add anything but eye-twitch-iness to see a face that was a third a huge nose. Which contrasts to the sexy figures of nearly all the women in the manga. Do only men deserve weird noses? Otherwise, the backgrounds, the clothes and even the signs, were consistantly drawn to an excellent quality and were a feast for the eyes.

Some character's, like the teacher, were excellent. They were realistic, some were unfathomable, cunning, but realistic all the same. Their attitudes were unflinchingly in-your-face; there's very little that's 2D about them.

But-

The sexualisation of almost all the women is disturbing, to say the least. If a women is talking, we get the panel focused on her lips, her ass or the space between her thighs. Is this depiction of women supposed to be attractive? Stimulating? I found it nothing but demeaning, especially when the character's personality made her awesome otherwise.

For a who-dun-it, it's ability to keep the reader guessing made this manga a really addicting read, but the sexualisation of the female gender was a definite con. Still, the details and efforts put into the smallest features within the panels definitely deserves a pat on the back to the illustrator and author.

If you're looking for a mind-whirling thriller with a sweaty, paranoid protagonist and a crazy psychopath, go for it.