Black Paradox

It was serialized by Shogakukan in Big Comic Spirits Zōkan Casual (2007–2008) and YS Special (2008–2009); its chapters were collected in a single tankōbon volume.

The story follows four people who meet to attempt a group suicide, but before they can kill themselves, they discover a bizarre phenomenon that could change the course of the world.

However, he is resurrected shortly afterward, at which point, he throws up a mysterious spherical object and starts talking about an alternate world filled with a dazzling light.

Meanwhile, Marousou, who is a nurse, takes a break from work in a remote forest villa owned by Doctor Suka, her colleague.

During their stay at the villa, Dr. Suka reveals that he has cultivated the deceased Piitan's pylorus in an attempt to cross into the other world.

In the end, all the four members of the original suicide group are shown to be staying together in the same mansion, where they are used by Dr. Suka and the government to gather more Paradoxical Nights for study as a potential energy source.

Two unrelated short stories, titled The Licking Woman and Mystery Pavilion, are included after the final chapter of Black Paradox.

Tsuyoshi is walking to his fiancée Miku's house when a mysterious woman attacks him and licks his face and hand.

He falls ill and eventually dies, as does Miku's dog, which had licked the woman's saliva off of Tsuyoshi's skin.

Once she licks Miku's skin, she collapses because of the cyanide, but manages to physically rip out her own tongue before dying.

One day, when they kiss, they are attacked by the woman's giant tongue and are found dead, poisoned by the potassium cyanide.

However, the "cormorant" in question is an enormous, mutated abomination which promptly demonstrates its fish-catching technique by swallowing two spectators whole.

The staff member on-duty orders it to spit them back out, and it does so, but they begin to melt alive as they reach the ground.

[9] Christopher Farris of Anime News Network provided a slightly mixed review, praising the plot ideas and visuals while criticizing the horror elements.

[1] In 2022, American Library Association included Black Paradox in the official reading list for the 2022 Best Graphic Novels for Adults.