Doubt

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Doubt
The cover of the first Japanese manga volume release featuring the cast wearing the rabbit masks.
ダウト (Dauto)
Genre	Mystery, Horror, Psychological thriller
Manga
Author	Yoshiki Tonogai
Publisher	Square Enix
Other publishers: Ki-oon Sharp Point Publishing
Demographic	Shōnen
Magazine	Monthly Shōnen Gangan
Original run	December 27, 2007 – February 12, 2009
Volumes	4
Anime and Manga Portal

Doubt (-ダウト-, Dauto^?), also known as Rabbit Doubt (ラビット·ダウト, Rabitto Dauto^?), is a shōnen horror manga written and illustrated by Yoshiki Tonogai. In a premise similar to the mafia game, the series focuses on the "Rabbit Doubt" cell phone game, in which the players must find the wolf, or killer, amongst their group of rabbits as they are picked off one-by-one. Six players of this game find themselves trapped in a building with one of the group already dead; to avoid the same fate, the remaining five must play a real-life game of "Rabbit Doubt" and find the wolf hiding among them.

The manga was first serialized in Square Enix's Monthly Shōnen Gangan on July 12, 2007 and ended its run on February 12, 2009. Square Enix also released the first volume on December 22, 2007. As of May 22, 2009, three volumes have been released.

Plot

Doubt revolves around a fictional cell phone game called "Rabbit Doubt". The players are rabbits in a colony; one of these players is randomly chosen to act as a wolf infiltrating the group. Each round, the rabbits guess which is the wolf as the rabbits are eaten one-by-one until none are left.

Four players of the "Rabbit Doubt" game Yū Aikawa, Eiji Hoshi, Haruka Akechi, Rei Hazama and a non player Mitsuki Hōyama meet to relax together. During the day, the group is rendered unconscious. They awaken in an abandoned psychiatric hospital to meet Hajime Komaba, a player who did not appear at the meeting and find Rei crucified. The group finds Rei's cell phone and realizes they are playing a real-life game of "Rabbit Doubt". To survive, the wolf, the liar, must die.

Using bar codes found imprinted on their bodies, the groups tries to find an exit and Rei's killer. However, their chances are limited as the bar codes will only open one door. In addition, Yū is secretly the only one without a bar code. The group accuses one another of being the wolf. Mitsuki is suspected because her photo appears in a list of "Rabbit Doubt" players when her being there was "unlucky". Because of this and because he lied, Yū is also suspected. After Eiji is hanged, the group suspects Haruka. When Yū finds Haruka's head in a mask, he believes Hajime is the wolf. When looking for Hajime, Yū finds that Mitsuki has also been hanged. Yū and Hajime accuse one another of being the wolf. Hajime realizes the wolf's true identity and is stabbed by the wolf soon after. When Yū unmasks the wolf, he finds it is Mitsuki.

Mitsuki explains she wants to punish all liars to achieve her comatose father's revenge. She did not want to kill Yū after his first lie. However, he lied again and must be killed with Hajime. Mitsuki has already killed the others for their lies. When Mitsuki leaves, Hajime tells Yū the truth about himself and hands him a scalpel as a weapon.

Mitsuki returns to find Yū and Hajime have escaped. Yū attacks her from behind. Mitsuki reminds him that he told Mitsuki that he had no time to talk, but was seen with a girl named Kei afterward. Mitsuki later killed Kei. Yū tells Mitsuki that he and Kei were buying her a gift. Mitsuki believes he is still lying and tries to kill him. She falls onto the scalpel, cutting her neck. Yū tries to take Mitsuki to a hospital, but her bar code does not open the exit. Rei enters the room and reveals she is also a wolf. Rei is looking for revenge and manipulated Mitsuki through hypnosis. After the media called her a liar, she was severely harassed and her parents committed suicide. She then sent a hypnotic message through her show to those who have lost a loved one. Those hypnotized assisted her in previous games. Due to the love Mitsuki has for Yū, Rei's hypnosis is sometimes overpowered, causing Rei to not give Yū a bar code like the others in the hopes of ostracizing him from the rest of the group. Rei releases the surviving players and calls the police to the psychiatric hospital, so that they find them.

Yū, a comatose Mitsuki, and Hajime are in a hospital. The police decide that the death of Mitsuki's father pushed Mitsuki over the edge, causing her to commit the murders. No evidence of Rei's involvement is found. Hajime returns to the psychiatric hospital. Yū receives a call from Rei, who tells him a member of the forensics team is hypnotized, covering all the evidence of Rei's involvement in the murders. Yū warns Hajime too late and Hajime is attacked. Rei then tricks Yū into saying a phrase in conjunction with a cellphone ringing causes Mitsuki to go into her hypnotic state. Rei says goodbye to Yū as Mitsuki approaches him with a knife.

Media

Written and drawn by Yoshiki Tonogai, the chapters of Doubt have been published in Square Enix's Monthly Shōnen Gangan since its premiere on July 12, 2007.^[1] The series ended its run on February 12, 2009 with a total of twenty chapters. One chapter was also serialized in the magazine in May 2009 to commemorate the release of a Drama CD adaptation.^[2] The individual chapters are published in tankōbon by Square Enix. The first volume was released on December 22, 2007. The second volume was released on May 22, 2008 and the third was published on October 22, 2008. The fourth and final volume was released on May 22, 2009.^[3]

Reception

This section requires expansion.

The fourth volume placed fourteenth of thirty in manga in Japan for the week of May 18 to May 22 selling 45,770 copies that week.^[4] The next week, from May 25 to May 30, the volume rose to tenth place selling an additional 47,323 copies.^[5]

References

External links

• Doubt (manga) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia