It's rare to see artists who're prepared to face the cruelties of the world without flinching -- especially while using children as protagonists. Of course, the truth is that the world IS that dark, that terrible, and that heartless -- children DO get to witness (and, often, participate in) the kinds of horrors that are depicted in "Sidooh".
Perhaps because of the idealism and trivialization (often simultaneous) that the concept of childhood is treated with in modern society, we find it remarkably easy to overlook situations where children are forcibly stripped of innocence, and are made to survive only by passing the most cruel of tests. Takahashi Tsutomu, the mangaka of "Sidooh", refuses to look away from what his child protagonists are going through, and refuses to let us look away, too.
That said, one of the notable things about "Sidooh" is that the children aren't held up as infallible heroes or perfect angels against an indiscriminately evil world. While both brothers face terrible trials, they also do occasionally meet decent human beings -- and how the forces of destruction shape these young boys is just as important a part of the manga as is their love for each other, and for their deceased mother. Violence is neither glamorized nor condemned -- instead, it is simply accepted as a necessary part of life, and a prerequisite tool for survival.
Excellent and thought-provoking work. I can't wait for more scanslations!