male characters, and the pacing at certain points. Katie Skelly complimented the contemporary fashion depicted with the character's clothing. She felt that the manga was Tezuka's response to , but that the "cartoony" character design diminished some of its seriousness. Skelly could also identify with the start of the manga where Tomura's accomplishments are questioned by the public. Chris Kirby of the Fandom Post found Tomura to be an unsympathetic character, but called her compelling to observe in the manga's "dog-eat-dog world of the 60s and 70s". Kirby also complimented Tezuka's ability to pursue multiple ideas and commentary in the manga without losing focus. Lastly he noted the importance of Tezuka's art style, where he uses "experimentation and expression", and which represents a "personal metamorphosis of Tezuka himself." Melinda Beasi of Manga Bookshelf found herself surprisingly sympathetic towards Tomura, saying that Tezuka "treats her with more respect and even affection" compared to Ayako, and that, while the manga is scathing, an "exuberance to Tezuka's writing ... keeps it from sinking into real darkness." Tom Spurgeon said that Tomura's "awfulness" was "weirdly enjoyable" because of Tezuka's frank portrayal of her. He also felt that Tezuka's art kept the reader's interest with its variety, saying: "It's another sign of a great artist that they can seemingly do whatever they want and yet what they choose to do remains worthwhile." Steve Bennett of ICv2 described the manga as an "unbelievably bleak, unsentimental indictment of human life that makes no attempt to impart anything like a moral", concluding that it is a "compelling work, meant for a genuinely mature audience, skillfully told by [Tezuka]." David Brothers of Comics Alliance called Tezuka's art style "eminently readable", with a skillful use of panels and metaphors, and said of Tezuka: "his cartooning is wonderful, his writing relentlessly focused, and his plotting just that right balance of creepy and exciting." Lori Henderson of Manga Village compared Tomura's sociopathic nature to Yuki's from MW, but said that the former is an example of "survival of the fittest", while the latter is a product of his environment. She also calls Tomura inhuman in her ability to evolve and survive, with Mizuno serving as a foil to her and being the only one able to affect her. Henderson concludes that Tomura is a sympathetic character, that the story with Kamaishi was the highlight of the manga, and that the manga is