No. 6

In the computer-controlled city of No. 6, everything is clean, safe and planned. Shion, a gifted twelve-year-old, has an elite education and a comfortable future ahead of him. On the night of a typhoon, he shelters a wounded boy his own age who calls himself Rat, a fugitive from the city's authorities. That single act of kindness costs Shion his place in the city. Four years later, events force Shion outside the walls into the West Block, a poor district of people the city has abandoned, where Rat lives by his wits. There Shion meets characters such as the dog keeper Inukashi and starts to see how much of No. 6's perfection is built on secrets, and how little he really knew about the place he called home. Adapted from Atsuko Asano's novels with art by Hinoki Kino, No. 6 is a dystopian story about friendship, truth and the hidden price of a perfect city. The bond between gentle Shion and sharp, guarded Rat is its beating heart. The novels were also adapted into an anime.