This manga series was adapted into an excellent anime in 2004--that's where I first learned of it.
The anime was never licensed here in America, but the manga was. The manga is hauntingly good.
It's a complex story spanning something like 4000 manga pages, with lots of different themes and motifs. At its base, it's the quest of a doctor to right the wrong his own righteousness created. It's full of mystery, the shadows of tyrannical dead governments, life on the run, and questions of morality and philosophy. There are segments of high tension and dread, and equally well-handled scenes of explosive action.
Urasawa keeps you guessing by focusing in on the two-facedness of humanity. Every new character is a new question. Dangerous situations create almost as many "saved in the nick of time" moments as "we were too late" moments. It keeps the reader truly guessing.
The art style is grounded, and Urasawa's depiction of faces is simple and subtle at the same time. With just a few lines, he creates extremely expressive faces. The backgrounds are detailed and beautiful.
The story is full of important characters and minor characters. We see everything from the best humanity has to offer, all the way down to the worst, and all along the spectrum in between.
This manhunt for a brilliant, devilish killer shows what happens when bad people try to project their goals onto a creature of pure darkness.
The story point of view moves around frequently, ensuring nothing gets stale and all of the main characters get a fair shake and some time in the limelight.
In short, it's probably the best manga I've ever read, and genuinely one of the best stories I've ever read. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
The manga can be found here and here. Note that it contains some salacious content, though not gratuitous. But even without the salacious content, it explores some very dark topics unsuitable for immature readers.
For more details, check out the embedded video, and watch out for the Spoiler Section between 11:15 and 20:24.
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