Zankoku na Kami ga Shihaisuru

Zankoku na Kami ga Shihaisuru portrays the tale of two step-brothers - Jeremy and Ian, as they strive to discover their separate paths towards redemption. Jeremy, a sensitive but outgoing 17 year old, is delighted to hear the news of his neurotic and excitable mother's remarriage to a wealthy British man. However, much to his horror, his sweet-talking new step-father Greg, soon begins to exhibit a disturbing trait...he is a sadistic pedophile and loses no time in making Jeremy his target. Months of horrific, systematic abuse drives Jeremy to desperation; he sabotages his step-father's car with the hope of eliminating him. The resulting accident, however, kills his mother along with Greg. Jeremy's shocked and guilt-stricken behaviour arouses the suspicions of Greg's free-spirited son, Ian. He unearths enough evidence to tie his step-brother to the crime; but in doing so, also discovers the details of Greg's sexual abuse of Jeremy. Caught in a moral dilemma -- between punishing the criminal and atoning for his father's sins, Ian soon finds himself haunted by lust for Jeremy. Is it lust...or love? He wonders whether he shares his father's proclivities, but finds himself helpless to resist being drawn into a passionate and painful relationship with Jeremy. Note: Won the first Osamu Tezuka Culture Award Excellence prize in 1997.