Koji Mori's recommended manga, including "Holy Land" and "Suicide Island."

I'll give a brief recommendation and introduction to the works of manga artist Koji Mori.
These are all incredibly engaging works, and personally, I'd like more people to know about them.

Mori's manga are based on real-life experiences or meticulous and thorough research, resulting in works that feel incredibly realistic.
While the setting and plot certainly contain elements of manga-style creative writing, the depictions of battles in Holyland and the survival in nature in Suicide Island are particularly compelling.

Holy Land (Young Animal, 2000-2008, 18 volumes total)

To put it very simply, it's a story about a timid, reclusive high school student who gradually becomes stronger and takes on formidable opponents.
To combat my lack of exercise, I started practicing the one-two punch in boxing at home, and I developed a very high level of skill in that one movement alone.
And then, by chance, he ends up defeating some delinquents, and is inevitably drawn into a gang war in the town...that's the kind of story it is.
The protagonist faces opponents who use various martial arts, including boxing, and each time he struggles, he learns their techniques and becomes stronger.

The film realistically depicts no-holds-barred street fights, and the documentary-style narration, which describes the unique strategies and tactics used in street fights, further enhances its realism.
While the technical aspects of martial arts are important, the manga also delves deeply into the mental aspects, making it far more than just a simple fighting manga.
And yet, it also has a solid entertainment value as a manga, making it a very well-crafted work.

Holyland 1 (Jets Comics)(Amazon)

Suicide Island (Young Animal, 2008-2016, 17 volumes total)

This is a story about people who want to commit suicide being sent to a deserted island, where they find meaning in life while surviving.
The film depicts what it means to survive in extreme conditions, including securing food and water, dealing with illness, injury, and conflict between people.

Regarding the survival aspects, the author apparently conducted actual on-the-ground research, which gives it a very strong sense of credibility and realism.

Suicide Island Vol. 1 (Jets Comics)(Amazon)

Destroy and Revolution (Weekly Young Jump, 2010-2016, 9 volumes total)

What the main characters do is similar to what you'd find in Mohiro Kitoh's "Is Something Wrong?" or Takeshi Obata's "Death Note," but the content is much more serious and earnest.
"Is Something Wrong?" had a strange kind of humor in its juxtaposition of the ordinary and the extraordinary, and its somewhat comical attempts at social reform.
"Death Note" felt like a purely thrilling battle of wits.
However, this work also contains a scathing critique of modern society, and I feel it has a stronger message than just being a simple entertainment manga.

While this is probably not based on the author's personal experience, like their previous works, the detailed settings and descriptions gave it a strong sense of realism and persuasiveness.
As with previous works, the author's own answer or conclusion is depicted in the final episode.

However, even if you don't consider it a particularly profound work, it's still a manga that can be thoroughly enjoyed simply for its Hollywood-esque structure of battles between superhumans with superpowers, or police/military versus superhumans.

Destroy and Revolution 1 (Young Jump Comics DIGITAL)(Amazon)

Rakuten Market: Holyland／Suicide Island／Destroy and Revolution