Psyren

Psyren
Volume 1 cover (U.S)
-サイレン- (Sairen)
Genre	Action, Supernatural, Romance
Manga
Written by	Toshiaki Iwashiro
Published by	Shueisha
English publisher	NA Viz Media
Demographic	Shōnen
Imprint	Jump Comics
Magazine	Weekly Shōnen Jump
English magazine	NA Shonen Jump
Original run	December 3, 2007 – November 29, 2010
Volumes	16 (List of volumes)

Psyren (-サイレン-, Sairen^?), literally meaning Siren and stylized as PSYЯEN, is a Japanese shōnen manga series by Toshiaki Iwashiro. Psyren follows Ageha Yoshina, a high school student who is chosen by Nemesis Q as a participant in the Psyren games. The games take place in a world known initially as Psyren, which is revealed to be the real world a decade in the future. Ageha and his friends attempt to alter the future and save the world from becoming Psyren.

Psyren had been continuously serialized in the Japanese manga anthology Weekly Shōnen Jump since December 3, 2007 (issue 2008-01) till November 29, 2010, and has been collected in sixteen tankōbon volumes. The series began publication in America starting with the January 2011 issue of Shonen Jump.

After Ageha Yoshina beats up a bully for 10,000 yen, he heads home anticipating a scolding from his sister for breaking curfew. On his way there, a pay phone nearby starts ringing, and he picks it up only to hear his own echo. Shrugging it off, he places the receiver back only to find a mysterious calling card with the word "Psyren" written on it. Curious about the sudden appearance of the card, he goes to his school's Occult Club and asks about it. It turns about Psyren was an urban myth, and whoever found out what it really was would get a reward of 500 million yen. The same day, he find his classmate's (Sakurako Amamiya's) wallet, which some other girls hid, and notices she has the same card. After he returns it to her, she runs off and disappears. The last thing he hears is "Save me". The next day she isn't at school and soon she is declared missing. Ageha calls the number on the card in hopes of finding her. After answering a long and detailed quiz on a pay phone, he is asked if he wants to go to Psyren. The next day, while he is being chased by two mysterious people pretending to be police officers; ironically his phone rings. In a panic, he picks up and is suddenly drawn into the world of Psyren, which is a wasteland inhabited by monsters called Taboo. It is later revealed that the Taboo were once humans that were turned into Taboo by an organization known as the W.I.S.E. The voice from the phone, dubbed Nemesis Q, assigns missions which people must complete if they wish to return home. While in Psyren for the first time newcomers are informed of the rules, which basically state that if you tell anyone about Psyren you die; when the number on your card hits zero you beat the game and can't come back; never lose your card, you can't go home if you do; and don't go near the towers. The Psyren Drifters (as they come to be called) breathe in the polluted air from this world of Psyren and it alters their brains, allowing them to surpass human limits and use all their brain cells, at the cost of serious damage. This lets them use a power called PSI, which usually lies dormant, and is usually never awakened. PSI consists of three categories, Enhance (use of PSI to enhance their physical abilities), Blast (external usage of PSI to create power blasts or creatures), and Trance (the ability to affect someone's mental state).