Taizan 5’s The Ichinose Family’s Deadly Sins first caught my eye when the first chapter dropped on Shueisha’s Manga PLUS service in November. Although the premise was quite interesting, a family that has collective amnesia and tries to remember who they are, for some reason I only read that first chapter and forgot about it. But, recently I came across the title again on Twitter and decided to catch up. And let me tell you, The Ichinose Family’s Deadly Sins is a must-read, and here is why.
The Ichinose Family’s Deadly Sins – Plot
First off – the premise. Tsubasa wakes up in the hospital, surrounded by people who claim they are his family. He does not remember them and they don’t remember him, as they were all in a car crash that resulted in this mysterious case of collective amnesia. The mom/wife, Minako, was driving, according to a news report; however, in the next panel, the father apologizes stating that he was driving. Nobody really pays attention to this interaction (Minako even tells Kakeru not to worry) and as they are all physically well so they are soon allowed to go home. When Tsubasa first enters his room he finds it in an awful state, words “DIE” are written on the wall over and over again and a family photo has faces scratched out. He doesn’t feel comfortable sharing this with the rest but it seems like all of them found similar things in their rooms. And each door has a lock… What is this family hiding and who are they really?
Now we’re entering the spoiler territory. Tsubasa goes to school, finds out a lot more about himself through a bullying situation, and learns some disturbing things about his sister, Shiori. Through all this, he manages to reconnect with a friend (while seemingly remembering the bits of their relationship from the past without realizing it), help Shiori, and become closer to his father. Things are looking up for the Ichinose family and they even create new memories together. Then everything changes when Kakeru gets an invite to a company outing and decides to bring the whole family. Tsubasa falls asleep in the car and wakes up to Kakeru telling him that he didn’t even try to learn more about himself or the family members. According to Kakeru, between them all and their home, there were enough clues but they failed “again.” And then he drives their car off road.
This is where things get weird(er), as Tsubasa wakes up in the hospital once again. He is greeted by his family, and his father makes the introductions. There is one small thing though: Kakeru Ichinose is now someone else and Tsubasa is very, very confused.
Why You Should Read The Ichinose Family’s Deadly Sins
The mystery, the characters, and the bizarre events that seemingly keep occurring around Tsubasa are what I look forward to in every new chapter of The Ichinose Family’s Deadly Sins every week. The writing keeps you on your toes: each little detail has some kind of breadcrumb that points toward the bigger picture but they are so easy to miss. If you take the time to pay attention to them, the payout is great and each big reveal only adds more layers to the already intriguing situation.
The first 10 chapters mainly revolved around Tsubasa and Shiori, but I find myself eagerly waiting to see what is up with other family members. Who are they, what is in their rooms? And the whole Kakeru-switch situation came out of nowhere, yet the old Kakeru still seemingly exists in the universe and Tsubasa definitely remembers him.
Where Is the Story Headed?
One thing is easy to conclude: the mystery behind the Ichinose family is captivating. The fan theories are all over the place at the moment; it is still pretty early to figure out what is up (they do range from simulation to purgatory and everywhere in between). Taizan 5 is best known for Takopi’s Original Sin series, where the story focused on (messed-up) human relationships through the eyes of an alien who knows nothing about human concepts. I have not read this, but the fans have been praising it and trying to guess how similar the story of the Ichinose family is. We already got to see the darker side of Tsubasa’s life: how easily he went from being bullied to bullying. Shiori is dating a man much older than her, and the father drives his family off the road because they “failed again.”
Personally, I think the secret is in the title. The Ichinose Family’s “Deadly Sins” – meaning each family member represents one family sin. Yes, there are only six of them but at the end of the first chapter, we see an empty chair at their dining table. They never acknowledge it and it’s difficult to say which family member is guilty of which sin. Tsubasa’s behavior might fall in line with wrath and Shiori might be lust, but at this point, we don’t have enough information. The Kakeru-switch also poses some interesting questions: will the new Kakeru share personality traits with the old one? And as we saw in the latest (11th) chapter, the old Kakeru is still around.
All in all, you should definitely give The Ichinose Family’s Deadly Sins a go. One other aspect I’d like to mention is the reader community which is growing by the day. Everyone seems very dedicated to following the Ichinoses as they try to solve the mystery of what happened to them; you definitely won’t be alone in trying to figure things out. It is quite difficult to come up with a mystery that has a unique premise and that could go in either direction, all while finding a dedicated readership and Taizan 5 seems to be succeeding in it.
The manga is available both on the English version of Shonen Jump and the Manga PLUS platform, with a simulpub. In Japan, it is being serialized in the Weekly Shonen Jump.
ICHINOSEKE NO TAIZAI © 2022 by Taizan5/SHUEISHA Inc.
