- Mangaka : Kensuke Koba, Natsuko Uruma
- Publisher : Yen Press
- Genre : Fantasy, Horror, School, Supernatural, Psychological
- Published : March 2021
Humans are quite unique animals. We possess higher intelligence than any other creature on the planet, and we basically are at the top of the food chain. Our intelligence, however, doesn’t always result in good things. For example, it has resulted in wars, the creation of weapons of mass destruction, and even vile criminal schemes. On a slightly lighter note, it also allows us to cope with a lot of negative emotions. By this, we mean cursing! A rude classmate goes out of his way to make our morning bad? Curse him! Your boss wakes up on the wrong side of the bed and takes it out on you? Curse him! Ironically, curses can even be seen as a blessing.
Contains Spoilers
Discussion Time
Set in a world wherein ominous beings try to contract twisted humans into committing murders called Curse-Kills, being a Curse-Breaker in Can’t Stop Cursing You means facing these killers and beating them in their own game. Saeyama has a unique skill that allows him to ask one yes or no question to a shadow-like entity for every person that has been Curse-Killed. Other than that, Saeyama is nothing more than an ordinary human trying to crack a series of supernatural murders.
1. Creepily Genius Main Character
Fighting murderers using a supernatural means to commit murders is already a tell-tale sign of how crazy the protagonist is. Unsurprisingly, he thoroughly enjoys solving these cases, and he’s great at it too. Saeyama is incredibly observant and great at deductive reasoning. In fact, he manages to narrow down his suspects through speculations alone. Working in the criminal division, it’s inevitable that he gets to butt heads with the police. However, he also knows how to get around them. He even maliciously complied with the police’s demands just to show them the gravity of the situation and make them leave all the thinking to him.
2. Wild Psychological Battles
Hopefully, we’ve already convinced you of how smart Saeyama is, but he isn’t the only smart one in the series. The first volume only shows one villain, but it’s already a great one. Mikiya has been trying to act like a prince since he’s a child, and he lives up to the moniker. Everyone around him even regards him as such. But behind his noble and chivalrous facade, Mikiya hides a sinister side. He likes doing heinous acts and likes it even more if he doesn’t get caught. Through years of pretending, Mikiya has honed his manipulation skills. Pitting Mikiya’s manipulation and acting with Saeyama’s smarts, we get one hell of a psychological battle.
3. Supernaturally Realistic
Even though Mikiya’s method of killing is through a curse, he doesn’t possess any supernatural power. He can only rely on his acting and wits. The same can be said to Saeyama. Other than his unique questioning skill, he can also only rely on his smarts. That means, they're basically humans with an extra ability.
To make it easier to understand, it has the same amount of supernatural aspects as Death Note. Other than the Death Note’s existence, everything else is as realistic as it can be.
Final Thoughts
Can’t Stop Cursing You is a must-have for fans of the psychological genre. With characters as smart as Saeyama and Mikiya, the series has top-notch psychological battles. If you’re a fan of series like Death Note, then you’ll surely enjoy reading Can’t Stop Cursing You as well. Even if you haven’t read Death Note yet, we still highly recommend giving this series a try. Yes, that’s just how good it is.
Author: Christian Markle