Zankoku na Kami ga Shihai suru

A Cruel God Reigns portrays the tale of two step-brothers – Jeremy and Ian – as they strive to discover their separate paths towards redemption. Jeremy, a sensitive but outgoing 17-year-old, is delighted to hear the news of his neurotic and excitable mother's remarriage to a wealthy British man. However, much to his horror, his sweet-talking new step-father, Greg, soon begins to exhibit a disturbing trait: he is a sadistic pedophile and loses no time in making Jeremy his target. Months of horrific, systematic abuse drives Jeremy to desperation; and he sabotages his step-father's car with the hope of eliminating him. The resulting accident, however, kills his mother along with Greg. Winner of the first Osamu Tezuka Cultural Prize Award for Excellence (1997).