Rainbow Nisha Rokubou No Shichinin Chapter 1 -

There are stories that grab you by the collar, and then there are stories that punch you in the gut, steal your shoes, and then offer you a hand up. Rainbow: Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin (Rainbow: The Seven from Cell No. 6) is very much the latter. After years of hearing about the cult classic anime, I finally decided to go back to the source material—the manga by George Abe (art by Masasumi Kakizaki). And let me tell you, Chapter 1 is a masterclass in brutal, heartbreaking setup.

We are introduced to our seven protagonists—teenage boys who have been “corrected” (read: tortured) into submission. There’s no shonen hero here. Just broken kids. But Chapter 1 doesn’t waste time on backstories yet. Instead, it focuses on one thing:

But the genius of Chapter 1 is the introduction of , our de facto protagonist. Mario is quiet. He doesn’t rage against the system immediately. Instead, he observes . When Ishihara picks on the weakest kid (the tiny, frightened Cabbage), Mario doesn’t charge in like a typical hothead. He calculates. rainbow nisha rokubou no shichinin chapter 1

Right away, the art strikes you. Kakizaki’s style is raw, sketchy, and hyper-detailed. The shadows are deep, the faces are gaunt, and every panel drips with sweat, grime, and desperation. You can smell this place through the page.

Then comes the twist:

We open in 1955, post-war Japan. This isn’t the Tokyo of bright lights and recovery. This is the underbelly. Our setting: The Special Reformatory School, a juvenile detention center that feels less like a school and more like a military prison run by sadists.

Rainbow is not light reading. The first chapter is heavy on despair, bullying, and the stench of hopelessness. If you dislike graphic depictions of abuse or strong language, this is your warning. There are stories that grab you by the

If Mario is the quiet heart, Sakuragi is the thunder. A tall, muscular figure who has been sleeping silently in the corner, Sakuragi finally speaks. He challenges Ishihara not with volume, but with sheer presence. The panel where Sakuragi stands up—towering over the tyrant—is iconic. He declares that Cell No. 6 will not be ruled by rats.