Ajin
Ajin: Demi-Human

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A rather perfectly paced action series with a surprisingly bumpy relationship with many people, Ajin is pretty damn interesting for a lot of different reasons. Thrown into the life of Kei Nagai right when he finds out he's essentially immortal, you follow an underhandedly political plotline up until the secret antagonist rises up in full force very quickly. There aren't many series that flip-flop from politics to action like this, but Ajin feels like one of the better executed examples out of the validity of the moral questions it raises, along with it's spotlight-stealing showman antagonist. It plays both sides well when it chooses to ... do either or, and as long as you're invested in one or the other (or both), you'll probably enjoy the series.

Some critics like to point out that Ajin feels like torture porn without much substance in the violence itself, but I think these people either speedread, or didn't want to give the themes any respect in the first place. Calling this torture porn is *extremely* laughable to me, and I'm surprised so many people agree with that idea. Most of the developments, both character and story, happen as a result of a certain character's interest in violence as a whole concept, and this is not a secret matter whatsoever. It's quite literally stated multiple times, and it's completely fine if you don't like the idea, but to say that the violence is unjustified is objectively ridiculous. Justification for it all is a big point of the entire latter half.

Instead of criticizing the violence for being abundant (and rather innovative, I want to say), I would point out that the IBMs (the ghost creatures that are a part of Ajin's) themselves hold little to no importance in everything. All Ajins, the immortal humans that are the centerpiece of the story, could just be immortal with instant regeneration but no IBMs whatsoever, and almost nothing would change. Some have cool designs, and there are a few quaint moments involving them actively doing stuff, but they are really forgettable compared to the way the Ajins use their other abilities to handle situations. With every single volume cover being an IBM of some kind, I expected them to hold more value, but they surprisingly took a backseat in the end.

Also, I did not like Kaito as a character. I appreciate what he stands for coupled with Kei himself, and I understand why he was around, but he hardly does much for the importance the writing puts on him sometimes. Other characters, that are arguably deuteragonists, are held in less importance than somebody who is off screen the majority of the series. It just felt weird, but I don't hate him or anything.

9/10 for both casual and careful readers. There's a metric shit ton of fun and crazy things happening, especially after the first quarter, but there's also something deeper to appreciate in both Kei and the main antagonist, as well as the ethical queries thrown out here and there. Also, if you're curious, the true antagonist reveals themselves pretty quickly right around the 1/4th point, so you won't be waiting too long for all of the REALLY interesting stuff that happens. Admittedly, they are probably more than half the reason you should read Ajin in the first place.

It is a story about some people who can't truly die, they revive/heal after they die. The story starts out interesting until about mid way through where it seems to start becoming repetitive. I can't say this manga is boring, but I can't say it's completely interesting either. Only the first half is interesting, the rest is just is... I don't think I ever read a manga that revolves literally around the same enemy for 17 volumes straight. Should have been over at 10 volumes in my opinion and be done with it. I wish there was more of origin story about why "those ... people" can't die, in the end I can't be disappointed because I didn't come with expectations, but I'm sure glad it's over... So I can move on to the next manga, lol.

Story 5:
Characters:7
Art: 7
Overall:6

Ajin is pretty trash.

Actually, some themes and and some of the characters could have been good, or potentially great, but inevitably, the author wasn't able to balance anything properly and the result is generic "hero" BS when all things are said and done.

We have the themes of government entity vs the supernatural. Good vs evil. How do you quantify morality? If aliens only looked human, would you consider them human? If alien-looking humans had the same emotions as human, would you consider them human? While definitely not exactly unique, the story could have been good enough. Anything would have been insightful into an otherwise ... boring story. Our MC's personality profile seems to align with an apathetic psychopath sometimes, and at other times, more of a regular hero-type protagonist, trying to stop peoples' actions. He sometimes trusts people too much, yet at other times, doesn't trust them at all. Basically, he has no consistency and doesn't seem like a well-rounded character. Rather, it seems like his actions entirely depend on the what the story needs him to do at the current moment.

On one hand, we have the MC getting experimented and tortured by the government day in and day out without respite, and then on the other hand, we have MC linking hands against the "evil Ajin." He simultaneously massively distrusts the government, yet also willingly puts aside his hatred to fight against a common enemy, which just doesn't seem very realistic. Even the story is just complete BS. The MC just merely "hires a detective" to find out secretive information in order to propel the plot forward and make him take action. There's no meaningful moral conflict that the story tries to frame, but merely sorry attempts at doing so.