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Jun 5, 2023
Unlike most of the reviews here, I'll try to cut it some slack and be thankful that we even got a remake in the first place. TL;DR at the bottom.
I've been a fan of Shaman King since the FoxBox days (almost twenty years now), and I've read the manga twice (three times if you want to count the original run of Shonen Jump volumes that stopped at 32--just before the final confrontation), so I'd say I'm a huge fan. Going by that, you think I would be critical of the remake, right? Well, after wishing for years to get a remake that followed the whole
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story, we finally did, and people immediately picked it apart. "The pacing is bad," "it's a slideshow," "what is this art style," "why are the pieces of music not the same..." You know, the usual when it comes to a remake. However, I can assure you it isn't as bad as people make it out to be.
---THE ART/ANIMATION---
The art is absolutely gorgeous, and tries to emulate Takei's art style for the manga. It does pretty well, though it did suffer at some moments. The colors they used and the faint glow given to the spirits isn't too overwhelming, and does the style justice. However, I do wish the comedic facial expressions weren't cut at some points, as they were amazing. As for the animation, it could've been done better, but I'm glad we didn't get Fairy Tail (2009) levels of slideshow (nothing against FT, as I really like it. However, you have to admit the first series was terrible when it came to animation). We actually had movement during the fights.
---THE OST---
While I definitely prefer the OG's OST better than the remake, it isn't terrible by any means. The openings, for instance. I always find myself going back to "Over Soul (which does make an appearance in the first Yoh VS Silva fight)" and "Northern Lights" more than the remake's openings, but I'll listen to them when the episode starts without a second thought. Even the ending themes managed to get me this time around. And don't get me started on "Osorezan Revoir" that was present during Yoh and Anna's backstory. I absolutely loved it, and it even managed to bring a tear to my eye.
---THE PACING---
Okay, this is where my complaints lie. While it did rush through the beginning segments of the story to get to the SF, it wasn't as horrible as people claimed. It was mostly comprehensive, even if you didn't know anything about the series beforehand. My friend that watched the remake but had no prior knowledge on the series was able to follow along no problem. Everything went well until we got to the Mu Continent towards the end, where it felt more like they were speed-running a video game than anything else. Officiants were taken down in only a few scenes, they would kill two/three officiants per episode, stuff like that. And I know it didn't last too long in the manga, but this was the chance to build up the battles to something even greater, especially Yoh VS Silva (final). All-in-all, though, I still enjoyed seeing these scenes animated after so long, but there's no denying they could've done better during this segment.
---TL;DR---
SHAMAN KING (2021) is a great series with great messages, and I'd recommend it to anyone. The art is gorgeous and the soundtrack is great, though I still prefer the 2001 series' openings. Finally getting to see the ending animated was absolutely amazing, though the pacing suffered quite a bit in the last three/four episodes, feeling more like a video game speedrun then an anime.
Now, if Netflix could just get their greed claws out of it so we could get a proper home release or TV premiere, I'd be happy. The fight never ends as a SK fan, lmao.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Sep 8, 2016
Okay, I will update this when the story gets into NEW content, whenever that will be. For now, however, I will simply give it a 5/6, because it's nothing but a recap of Boruto: Naruto the Movie, currently.
NEW REVIEW DETAILS BELOW (SPOILERS FOR AFTER THE CHUNIN EXAMS):
So, the series has come a long way since the start. The art is better, the story is great, and fans wait each month for it.
THE STORY:
The story now focuses on Ninja Tech, with the villains utilizing it in various ways. While this may sound blasphemous to the original Naruto, that is the point. It has basically become
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Past VS Future, with the shinobi of "old" stuck in their ways of ninjutsu, and the Akatsuki of the story, "Kara," using the tech which has been fused into their bodies. Many old characters return, some in good ways, and others in ways you would not imagine. The story is somewhat predictable, but also has an element of surprise that will keep you hanging on for another month, waiting to see what happens next. It is like that of social media. You don't want to miss anything, so you keep coming back for more, and more, and more, resulting in you being invested in it without noticing.
THE ART:
Mikio Ikemoto received backlash for his art at the beginning of the serialization, ranging from Sarada's... Uh... Sarada's outfit, to Snapesuke, to characters just looking as if they had been stung by bees before the manga began. Over the past few years, however, the manga has had a gradual shift in style, slowly coming to resemble Kishimoto's own artwork. It is easier on the eyes, and after a while, you won't even seem to notice it.
THE CHARACTERS:
The characters have undergone growth since the Chunin Exams at the start, some in noticeable ways. Take Boruto, the titular character himself. He has come to understand his father, and now trains with him from time-to-time. He has matured slightly, stopping to think things through, before doing something rash. Sasuke has also grown closer to Sarada, and the two occasionally train and have dinner with Sakura, whenever he is home. Seeing the old generation mature, and grow alongside the newer generation is heartwarming, especially to old fans of Naruto.
ENJOYMENT:
As stated before, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations has come a long way since the start, with each chapter released feeling like that of an appetizer, the time-skip being the main course. You keep devouring chapter after chapter, with each plate only making you more and more hungry as time goes on. Kodachi/Kishimoto continue to drop small hints, and teases, relating to things in the future, though not outright saying so (like the multiple instances where you think Boruto will lose his eye, only for something to intervene). I think the series will continue to grow even better, especially with the release of Ch. 35.
OVERALL:
B:NNG is a great continuation of the original series, despite the nostalgia-drowned comments from toxic OG Naruto fans, stating otherwise. If you enjoyed Naruto, and don't want the universe's story to end, check it out. You will not be disappointed.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Dec 22, 2015
What killed this series for me, is the early demise.
STORY: 6
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The story started off pretty well done. However, it did not have room to finish out it's planned story, due to the early demise of Jump X, the magazine it was serialized in. Therefore, it has tons of holes, and things are left unresolved.
ART: 7
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I've always loved Hiroyuki Takei's art, even in the beginning of Shaman King. However, sometimes the faces are a bit weird, and proportions are off.
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CHARACTERS: 8
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The characters, for the 29-chapter-span of the series, were pretty well done. You could tell that each had a decent backstory planned, but were not given enough time to explain them.
ENJOYMENT: 9
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I awaited each chapter, every month, with a watering mouth. The cliffhangers were amazing, and kept you on the edge of your seat throughout all 29. Plus, getting to see an important returning figure (not ruining who), was a major plus to that, as well.
OVERALL: 8
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As I said, everything about the series was good, but it's early death killed it's popularity, bad. All in all, despite the score I am giving it, I would not recommend it, since it is an incomplete work. If you're looking for a continuation of SK, I would read the Funbari Hotsprings side-story, that is centered around Ryu and Hana searching for the "legendary warriors," and end it there.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Oct 27, 2015
Not quite sure why Fairy Tail is getting such low review scores, but whatever.
Fairy Tail (2014), is the continuation of the anime after a one-year break. The anime took some time off, so that the manga could squeeze in a few more chapters of content. During this break, the anime's art-style changed into it's current "darker" tone (which seems to garner a lot of hate, for some reason. Personally, I think it fits the violent nature of the current arcs), and changed studios. It features new, or remixed music, and awesome graphical changes (Natsu's fire no longer looks like copy & paste flames).
2014
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picks up where the old anime left off, during the Grand Magic Games arc, with Gajeel discovering the Dragon Graveyard. The story continues the usual basis of "rinse and repeat," so to speak, but only for 1-2 arcs, and then the long awaited Tartaros arc began. This arc is where it kicks into high gear, with a ton of revelations, and fights, to keep you interested for a good while. And yes, the fan-service still exists, but it is censored compared to what the anime has to offer (Erza and Kyoka is an example of this. Dear Lord). Recently, though, more changes to the manga have been discovered. I won't spoil this, but you can find out for yourself.
The art is the best part about this new "season"/"series," whatever. The art strongly reflects that of the manga now (Gray and Erza having the obvious changes--for the better), and the graphics got a major update. As stated before, Natsu's flames now have a realistic-look to them, instead of being copy & paste, like in the first series. Also, the action sequences are more fluid than the original, with them actually moving around instead of having freeze-frame-type-battles. It still happens sometimes, but it is limited.
The sound is amazing. The OST actually gets you pumped during the battles, and offers a remix of old favorites (recently, on ep. 81, I heard a remixed version of Zeref's Melancholy). The opening themes are amazing as usual, with the only exception (in my opinion) being Op. 17. The ending themes are okay (I usually ignore the ending themes).
The characters, are...well... I'm not sure how to put this. Basically, you have the dimwitted fool (Natsu), sexy fan-service bait(Lucy), loli (Wendy), the male easily annoyed by girls (Gray, to an extent), and the one everyone fears (Erza). The one good thing about the characters, though, is the antagonist--Zeref. While being the usual "emo," he--at first--does not wish to destroy anyone. In fact, he even finishes off one of the main antagonists of a story arc, back in the original series, indirectly helping our heroes. However, after "being rejected by humanity" for so long, he soon resolves to destroy everything, in what he calls a "one-sided annihilation." So, basically, you have the traditional shonen line-up, with a few twists. Pretty well done, in a sense. Oh, and some of you will notice look-a-likes, like Gildarts, for example.
Enjoyment. Since I'm technically reviewing FT up until it's current episode (old series, and new), I will have to say that despite it's flaws, it IS a good show. It is the ONLY long-running shonen that I was pretty far behind on, that I caught up to, while not considering it a chore (well, I don't know about that; the Nirvana arc started feeling that way, until Jellal made his appearance). I easily caught up, and started reading the manga from where the old anime left off, resuming the show when it began airing again. Since then, I have watched every episode besides the shitty filler arcs, and I'm still watching it now (just finished 81, earlier).
Overall, it has plenty of flaws; enough so, that if you are a picky anime watcher, you might consider passing it up. However, on the bright side, it has a strong story at some points, and somehow manages to draw you in more, and more, until you've stayed up watching 10+ episodes in a row. I would recommend it to any anime-watcher, who likes long-running shows.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Oct 25, 2015
"The Isolator: Realization of Absolute Solitude," or "Zettai Naru Isolator," in Japanese, is the third published work, of Reki Kawahara. Like SAO before it, it was also a web-novel, that he decided to turn into a book.
This work is amazing. Even as an avid SAO and AW fan, I have to admit that it is thirty times better, than the previous works by Kawahara. It kept me interested from the moment I started reading, until the current point (I'm on page 119, as of right now), and--since it doesn't have an anime yet--was full of surprises. Truthfully, I believe that if it recieved an
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anime adaptation, it would surpass SAO and AW both, pretty easily. However, he seems to have his hands full with those two, and even the publisher was undecided whether he should work on a second volume, or not (he did, and it is titled "Zettai Naru Isolator: The Igniter").
The Illustrations are beautifully done by Shimeji (who got his "pen name" from a type of mushroom that was in his miso ramen, at the time), whose work in anime shines through with great radiance. Each colored illustration (as well as the cover art), resembles a scene from an anime, almost so much so, that it looks like they paused a video, and took a screenshot. The black and white illustrations throughout are cut down, to Japanese light novel size, with the rest of the page being filled in with black ink. While this bothered me quite a bit, I got used to it.
The story is well written, and thought out. While seemingly cliché' at first, it slowly develops into something very interesting, as it focuses not only on Minoru Utsugi, the main male protagonist, but Takaesu, the main protagonist. You get to see their views, and what leads up to their first meeting, respectively. If you're one of the people who like to skim over boring parts, you might end up going to far, and switching P.O.V., since there isn't really much of an indication of change, besides a simple "***" seperating the "parts."
All-in-all, The Isolator was very interesting, and I would reccomend it to fellow light novel readers. While the wait for "The Igniter" is sure to be grueling, I'm pretty confident that it will be worth it, in the end. With a fantastic story, great characters, and beautiful illustrations, I give The Isolator a ten-out-of-ten.
A few more novels of this a year couldn't hurt, right, Kawahara?
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Mar 17, 2015
Alright. First off, this review is only for the first novel. Back in December, I ordered the novel from Amazon, and decided to read it due to the fact it didn't have an anime yet, and I wouldn't know the story. It was a really good read, and I finished it within the month.
Story:
The story is a tad unusual, mixing real-life and game elements together. The characters are not in a video game, yet they "level up," and gain strength. Once they level up, they gain skills, etc., etc., like an RPG game. This concept confused me for most of the novel, due to the
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fact I thought they were in a video game for the longest. Other than this minor hiccup, the story was easy to digest and understand, and kept me interested throughout the complete novel.
Art:
Any art by Suzuhito Yasuda is amazing, in my opinion. The illustrations are seen throughout the novel, and are easy on the eyes. The art isn't too edgy, and sometimes, they're even hilarious. Beware, however, as there is a lot of fan-service illustrations in the novel.
Character:
The characters are cliche, however, they are also unique in their own way. The character growth, is strong even within the first novel. Bell, the main protagonist of the series, is a good example of this. At first, he is a spineless coward during the first few chapters, but after some goading by a few members of another's family, he starts to man up immensely.
Enjoyment:
I was nearly unable to put this book down, for the first few days. After that though, I was able to pace myself, since the next set of light novels by Yen Press wouldn't come out for a few months. I was excited to read the next chapter, day after day, that the novel pretty much flew by, truth be told. Seeing as it didn't have an anime, at the time, it was new material, which helped a lot in keeping me interested.
Overall, this is a good novel series, and I would recommend them to a friend. Like I said, though, beware of the fan-service. It's plentiful in these books. You can order the first novel from amazon, and pre-order the second novel now. I highly recommend this series, as you will be unable to put the book down for a good while.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Feb 26, 2015
Alright. To start off, I'm not that good at reviewing, and I haven't read this series in years. I did finish it, though, rest assured(I believe it was still when America was on Vol. 5).
Anyway, first, I'll talk about the story. Truthfully, I thought it was unique, but a little weird as well. At first, it seems like a survival game, but it quickly turns into something else. It changes gears, and when it does, you better buckle your seatbelt. All in all, the story was good enough to get me to rush through all the chapters, in a matter of months. The
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ending was rushed, though, because apparently the manga got the axe at the last minute(still a really enjoyable final arc, though).
The art. I LOVE the art in this series. It isn't at all bad, at any time, and it seems like Bleach, a little. The action scenes are drawn well, and the effects are applied nicely.
The characters. All of the main ones were really nice, and enjoyable. The side characters, however, were easily forgettable. Amamiya fights one person in the later half of the manga, and I've completely forgotten the dude's name.
Enjoyment. I finished the manga in a matter of months.
Overall, this is a good series, and I would HIGHLY recommend it. It's a great shonen story, about psychic powers(which is rare), and at times it will give you the feels.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Nov 6, 2014
*THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS*
Okay. To start off, I've been a fan of Naruto, since I was in 5th grade. I graduated in 2013(I graduated early. I was part of the Class of 2014 group). Therefore, I've been around for most of the story, and--I can honestly say--I'm happy for it to have been a part of my life. Naruto's determination to never give up, Sasuke's determination to make things right, and Sakura's determination for love, all turned me into who I am today. I know, it sounds cheesy, but it's true. It has helped me grow as a person, and I am truly thankful for
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Kishimoto, for drawing such a wonderful manga.
Okay, the story. It had it's ups and downs(mostly during the final Fourth Shinobi World War arc), but overall, it was enjoyable. Some plot holes exist, such as the Sage of Six Paths' brother, Hamura. The story never answered the question of what became of him, after they sealed their mother, which bothered me. Other than those, the other "plot-holes," were soon explained, and resolved. The story is also known for it's huge plot-twists, and wtf moments. Sasuke and Itachi are prime examples of that.
As for the art, it was...well...choppy at the beginning, but it slowly began to evolve, and began to look more like the anime. I love the art, and it always makes me a little jealous, since it is really hard for me to draw that well.
The characters are pretty good, though they can be annoying. Sakura(yes, I realize this will generate a lot of hate), is a prime example of that. She was useless during Part I, only being useful during the Chunin Exams' fights against the Sound ninja, and Ino. During Part II, however, she slowly began to bud into a great character, even becoming kick-ass when fighting against Sasori. She had seemingly shed her school-girl crush on Sasuke, and was able to become powerful. But, once they met Sasuke again, everything went back to normal. She was crushing on him once again, and went back to her heroine-support-role. Even after everything(I won't spoil), she still loves him. Hinata, with Naruto, as much as I like her, is another example of this.
Overall, it's pretty good. If you like long, shonen manga, I'd suggest checking it out. :) It also has a host of games for GameCube, Gameboy, DS, 3DS, PS2, PS3, PSP, and Wii, and also has a bunch of movies out. Shippuden movie 7, "The Last," is coming out this year, and is canon to the storyline.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Jul 31, 2014
!!! KEEP IN MIND, THIS IS MY FIRST REVIEW !!
STORY:
Soul Eater, is based off of the manga by the same name, by Atsushi Ohkubo. The anime follows the manga pretty well, until the Operation Capture Baba Yaga Castle arc, where it differs. The anime does an okay job at creating it's own story-line, but it falls flat on it's face toward the end. I just couldn't enjoy the final battle in the anime, like I did in the manga. It was too...cheesy. I actually had to look up the ending on Youtube after the fact, because I actually quit out of the video, after Maka's
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final "attack," on Asura.
ART:
The art was weird looking at first, but quickly got better as the anime progressed.
SOUND:
Oh god, the music. The first opening theme, "Resonance," was stuck in my head for weeks, due to it's upbeat rhythm, the battle music isn't too shabby, and the second opening theme is perfect for the tone of the second-half of the series. As for the ending themes, they're pretty enjoyable.
CHARACTERS:
The anime, due to splitting from the manga, wasn't able to capture the more mature, selfless side of the characters you see later in the manga. For example, Black*Star. In the anime, even after fighting Mifune, he still remained an irritating, selfish, brat who only thirsts for power, and to surpass God. He did grow up a little bit, when it came to controlling his Shadow Blade, though.
ENJOYMENT:
It was a pretty fun ride, but like most good things, it had to come to an end. As stated before, for me, it was during the final battle. Until that, however, I was content, even with the "filler" story-line, and nothing really bothered me(besides those stupid Excalibur episodes. >.< The only thing enjoyable about those, was the faces the people made when dealing with him).
OVERALL:
I do recommend this anime, though I also recommend you read the manga first, due to numerous differences. It's a pretty enjoyable anime, giving you those moments when you want to punch the characters in the face, those when you want to cry, those when you want to laugh, and those that make you just...feel good on the inside.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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