Part 1: The Curtain Rises on Hell
The year is 1955. The season is spring, but there is no warmth in the air for the six teenagers standing before the imposing iron gates of the Shounan Special Reform School. The sakura blossoms are blooming outside, indifferent to the fate of the boys about to enter.
They are criminals, or so society has labeled them. They are strangers to one another, united only by the heavy shackles around their wrists and the crimes that brought them here.
First, there is Sakuragi Rokurouta, a boy with the eyes of a hawk and a body built for boxing. Next is Mario Minakami, a hot-blooded youth locked up for violence. There is Matsunaga Tōru, who covered for a crime he didn't commit; Maeda Tadayoshi, a quiet boy with a brilliant mind for mechanics; Nomoto Ryuunosuke, the stoic realist; and Yokoyama Jō, known as "Cabbage," whose simple, gentle demeanor seems out of place in a detention center.
As they are processed, the guards strip them of their humanity. They are forced to strip, hosed down with freezing water, and given rough uniforms. The message is clear: You are no longer people. You are inmates.
Their destination is Cell 204. A dark, cramped space that smells of mildew and despair. It is here that the six strangers are locked inside, left to stew in their own anxiety.
Part 2: The Sixth Man
The atmosphere in Cell 204 is thick with tension. The boys size each other up, suspicious and defensive. But they quickly realize something is off.
"Hey," one of them mutters. "There are six beds."
The guards had mentioned seven inmates for this cell. The boys look around the dim room. That is when they see him. In the far corner, a figure sits cross-legged on the cold concrete floor, eyes closed, silently performing a breathing exercise. He is shirtless, his muscles taut and defined.
This is Sakuragi Rokurouta. Unlike the others, he doesn't radiate fear or bravado. He radiates a strange, intense calm.
The tension breaks when one of the younger boys, unable to handle the silence, snaps. He kicks the bucket that serves as their toilet, splashing filth across the floor. The smell is unbearable. The boy breaks down crying, terrified of the environment and the shame.
Sakuragi stands up. He doesn't say a word. He walks over to the mess, grabs a rag, and begins to clean it up.
The others stare. "Why are you doing that?" Mario asks, incredulous. rainbow nisha rokubou no shichinin chapter 1
Sakuragi looks up, his expression unreadable. "Because it stinks. We live here now. If we don't clean it, we are the ones who suffer."
He turns to the crying boy. "Stop crying. Tears won't wash away the smell, and they won't open the door."
There is a weight to his words that silences the room. Slowly, one by one, the others join him. They scrub the floor until it is spotless. In that moment, a silent bond is forged. They are not friends yet, but they are comrades in survival.
Part 3: The Demon
The door to Cell 204 slides open with a crash. The warden stands there, a man with a face like stone. But the true horror stands behind him.
A guard steps forward. He is tall, with a twisted smile that doesn't reach his eyes. This is Ishihara, a man who has made it his life's purpose to break the spirits of the young inmates.
Ishihara’s eyes scan the room, landing on Sakuragi. He recognizes him. Sakuragi is known for his violent outbursts against corrupt authority.
"So, we have a hero among us," Ishihara sneers. He strikes Sakuragi across the face with a baton. The sound is sickening.
Sakuragi doesn't flinch. He takes the blow, his feet rooted to the ground. He stares Ishihara directly in the eyes. It is a look of pure, unadulterated defiance.
This angers Ishihara further. He raises the baton to strike again, but a voice cuts through the air.
"Stop!"
It is Mario. He steps forward, shielding Sakuragi. "If you hit him again, I'll report you for brutality!"
Ishihara laughs. It is a dry, rasping sound. "Report me? To who? In here, I am the law. You are nothing but trash." Part 1: The Curtain Rises on Hell The year is 1955
Ishihara leaves them with a final threat, locking the door. The boys are left bruised but unbroken.
Part 4: The Promise Under the Moon
Night falls. The reform school is quiet, save for the snores of guards and the distant sound of the ocean. The boys sit in the dark, unable to sleep. The reality of their sentences hangs over them like a guillotine. Some of them are here for years. Some may never leave.
Sakuragi breaks the silence. He speaks of the outside world, of the sun, and of the freedom they have lost. He talks about his dream—to become a professional boxer.
"We can't give up," Sakuragi says, his voice low but fierce. "If we give up, they win. We have to survive. We have to get out of here and live. We have to live so hard that it makes up for this hell."
He holds out his fist.
One by one, the others place their fists against his. Mario, Tōru, Tadayoshi, Ryuunosuke, and Cabbage. Seven fists stacked together in the dark.
"We will get out," Mario whispers. "All of us."
Outside the barred window, the rain has stopped. A break in the clouds reveals the moon. But in their hearts, a different phenomenon occurs—a promise of a rainbow after the storm.
Thus begins the story of seven boys, stripped of everything but their lives, fighting to reclaim their humanity in a world that sees them as monsters.
End of Chapter 1.
The chapter opens in Shio, Japan, in 1955. The country is still rebuilding from the ashes of World War II. Poverty is rampant, and the social safety net is weak. We are introduced to the Sukoya Reform School—a hellish institution masquerading as a place of correction.
The protagonist is Mario Minakami, a 17-year-old former boxer. He is escorted into Cell Six (Rokubou) alongside six other boys: Noboru “An-chan” Yamaguchi, Tetsuya “Tetsuji” Hirono, Ryouichi “Joe” Ishimatsu, Intetsu “Sakigake” Komuro, Saburou “Heitai” Koyama, and Soukichi “Barefoot” Banba. They are all there for various crimes born of desperation. Chapter 1 presents a stark contrast
Immediately, Chapter 1 establishes the prison’s sadistic hierarchy. The guards are not rehabilitators; they are tyrants. The chief antagonist, Ishihara (a corrupt doctor), and the brutal guard, Sasaki (nicknamed "The Devil"), rule through fear, starvation, and torture.
The new boys are stripped, beaten, and thrown into their cell. That night, something unexpected happens. An-chan, the oldest and most enigmatic of the group, begins to hum a melody. He asks Mario if he knows the song. Mario recognizes it as “Tsubasa o Kudasai” (Give Me Wings)—a popular post-war folk song about freedom and flying away from sorrow.
One by one, the other boys join in. In the darkness of Cell Six, bleeding, hungry, and terrified, seven strangers harmonize. The guards pound on the walls, but they don’t stop. This moment—the first chapter’s climax—is pure magic. It is a declaration of defiance. They are not animals. They are still human. They will not have their spirits broken.
The chapter ends with An-chan declaring, “From now on, we are brothers.”
The singing of “Tsubasa o Kudasai” is one of manga’s most powerful silent (or rather, audible) rebellions. Music becomes a weapon. The guards can take their food, their warmth, their freedom, but they cannot take their voices. This scene becomes the emotional anchor for the next 200+ chapters.
The year 1955 is specific. These boys are the orphans of WWII. Their crimes—theft, violence, survival—are symptoms of a broken nation. Chapter 1 doesn’t spell this out; it shows it through their scars and silent stares.
If you want, I can expand this into: a scene-by-scene breakdown of Chapter 1, a character map for the seven protagonists, or a thematic essay comparing the chapter's depiction of institutions to historical records — tell me which.
The first chapter of Rainbow: Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin , titled "Crime 1," serves as a visceral introduction to the harsh realities of post-World War II Japan. It establishes a tone of bleak desperation while immediately planting the seeds of its central theme: unwavering brotherhood in the face of systemic cruelty. Plot Overview & Atmosphere
, the chapter opens with six junior delinquents being transported to the Shōnan Special Reform School
. The atmosphere is heavy with the "stain" of post-war poverty and societal shame. Upon arrival, the boys are subjected to humiliating medical inspections by the lecherous Dr. Sasaki and physical abuse from the sadistic guard They are thrown into , where they meet a seventh inmate, Sakuragi Rokurouta
(whom they eventually call "Bro"). The chapter concludes with a brutal introductory brawl between the newcomers and Sakuragi, which serves as a test of spirit and the beginning of their life-altering bond. Critical Review: Strengths & Weaknesses
Chapter 1 presents a stark contrast. On one side, you have Sasaki and Ishihara—men who have weaponized authority. They dehumanize the boys, calling them “worms” and “scum.” On the other side, you have the seven strangers who, within 24 hours, choose to sing together. The chapter asks: When stripped of society, are you a monster or a brother?
