Caste Heaven

is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Chise Ogawa, the pseudonym of Shigeyoshi Takagi. It was serialized in the monthly manga magazine ''Magazine Be × Boy'' since March 2014. A mobile game based on the manga was released in 2019 in Japan.

Plot

Setting

Each class at school is involved in a game that determines each individual's position in the caste system through picking up trump cards scattered throughout the campus. The King and Queen cards select the King and Queen of each class respectively, the top of the caste. The high tier consists of the Jack (Jack), Yes-Man (10), and Wannabes (9), who serve the King. The middle tier consists of the Preppies (8), Gofers (7), and Slackers (6). The low tier consists of the Geeks (5), the Goths (4), and the Brainiacs (3). The outside tier consists of the Freaks (2) and Delinquents (Ace). Students who draw the Joker, refuse to participate in the game, or inform the teachers are immediately turned into Targets and bullied.

Synopsis

Azusa is the King of his class, but during the caste reassignment, Karino betrays him, taking the King card for himself while assigning him the role of the Target. Azusa is forced to submit to Karino to avoid being assaulted by the class, but despite facing constant harassment and bullying, he is undeterred and fights back to regain his position. As Azusa learns more about Karino's background, other students, overcome with envy from their social statuses, form relationships ranging from love to hate with each other throughout the caste game.

Characters

;
:
:Azusa is a student from class 2-1 who was initially a King but became a Target during the reshuffle. He lives with his single mother and is determined to take back his King position from Kohei. He hates being sympathized.
;
:
:Karino is a student from class 2-1 who was initially a Wannabe but became a King during the reshuffle. Initially obedient to Azusa, his true personality is sadistic and controlling, which he reveals upon betraying him to become the King. He is the prime minister's son with a future already decided for him, and he looks at his school life as a way to pass his boredom. He is entertained by Azusa's unbreakable spirit and wants nothing more than to see him humiliated and helpless.
;
:
:Atsumu is a student from class 2-1 who was initially a Target but became a Jack during the reshuffle. Quiet and shy, he was bullied at school since childhood and views Kuze as a prince. After realizing the extent of how much caste game has affected people's personalities, Atsumu opposes the game and tries to treat everyone equally outside of their rankings.
;
:
:Kuze is a student from class 2-1 who was initially a Jack but became a Preppy during the reshuffle. He is popular and comes from a rich family. Atsumu reminds him of a defenseless rabbit he cared for in elementary school that was later killed by other rabbits, and he becomes extremely protective of him as a result.
;
:
:Tatsumi is a student from class 3-2 who was initially a Preppy but became a Delinquent during the reshuffle. He is the illegitimate son between Karino's father and his mistress, and he maintains good behavior, grades, and responsibility towards Karino in order for his mother to receive financial support. Through Senzaki, Tatsumi discovers he wants to be free, but he realizes he is still unable to choose between his family's expectations and his personal freedom. After Senzaki disappears from his life, Tatsumi awaits his return.
;
:
:Senzaki is a student from class 3-2 who is a Delinquent before and after the reshuffle. He is feared by his classmates for having tattoos and a violent behavior, but he falls deeply in love with Tatsumi after the latter accepts him for who he is. He devotes all of himself to Tatsumi, but when he notices Tatsumi hesitates to reciprocate because of his family, he later stops attending school.
;
:
:Osuga is a student from class 2-1 who is a Wannabe before and after the reshuffle. He is concerned about his small body and wants to become stronger.
;
:
:Yatori is a student from class 2-1 who is a Gofer before and after the reshuffle. He is Osuga's childhood friend and is loyal to him.

Media

Manga

''Caste Heaven'' is written and illustrated by Chise Ogawa, the pseudonym of Shigeyoshi Takagi. It was serialized in monthly manga magazine ''Magazine Be × Boy'' from March 2014 to late 2021. The chapters were later released in 8 bound volumes by Libre under the BBC DX imprint.

A short story featuring Osuga and Yatori was published in the anthology ''Kuzu'', which was released on February 29, 2016. A short story featuring Omi and Akio was published in the anthology ''Mesuochi BL'', a part of Libre's ''X-BL'' anthology series, which was released on February 10, 2017. In addition, Ogawa sold an unofficial ''dōjinshi'' featuring Tamotsu Yoshinaga and Kento Megumi for Comiket 89 on December 29, 2015 and also posted it on her Pixiv account.

In August 2019, Viz Media licensed the series for North American distribution in English under their SuBLime imprint.

Drama CDs

A drama CD adapting the first volume was announced on July 7, 2016, starring Yuma Uchida as Azusa and Yūki Ono as Karino, and was released on October 26, 2016. The first volume also included an original drama track titled "In the Middle of the Game" and peaked at #58 on the Oricon Weekly Album Rankings. The second drama CD, adapting the second volume of the manga, was announced on April 11, 2017 with the release of volume 3 of the manga. The second volume starred Ayumu Murase as Atsumu and Takuya Satō as Kuze. It was released on July 19, 2017, peaking at #100 on the Oricon Weekly Album Ranking. The third drama CD, adapting the third volume of the manga, was announced on September 10, 2018 with the release of volume 4 of the manga. The third volume starred Junya Enoki as Tatsumi and Makoto Furukawa as Senzaki. It was released on July 30, 2019, peaking at #82 on the Oricon Weekly Album Ranking.

Game

In January 2019, a dating sim game for iOS and Android was announced and later released in Japan on April 23, 2019. The game is developed by 1080 Lab for Ameba featuring multiple endings for each pairing. Chise Ogawa is supervising the scenarios and also wrote an original scenario for the game. The cast from the drama CD reprised their roles. A pop-up collaboration cafe was held from May 10 to May 26, 2019 at Area-Q Annex in Tokyo to promote the game.

Reception

''Caste Heaven'' has sold a cumulative total of 700,000 physical copies in Japan by the release of the sixth volume on April 10, 2020. Volume 1 peaked at #40 on Oricon and sold 15,978 physical copies on its first week of sales. Volume 2 peaked at #24 on Oricon and sold 23,445 physical copies on its first week of sales. Volume 3 peaked at #37 on Oricon and sold 17,010 physical copies on its first week of sales. Volume 4 peaked at #29 on Oricon and sold 21,089 physical copies on its first week of sales.

''Anime News Network'' gave the first volume a low score, citing discomfort with conflating bullying and cruelty with sexiness, while stating Atsumu and Kuze's segments were more palatable.

References

External links

*

''Caste Heaven for Ameba''
*

{{Magazine Be x Boy

Japanese radio dramas
LGBTQ-related anime and manga
SuBLime manga
Yaoi anime and manga
2010s LGBTQ literature