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Jun 17, 2013
Upon a recommendation from a friend whom I admire for her impeccable taste in character-driven manga, I started reading Sengoku Youko. And wow, it is quite amazing. I was hooked into this manga via a spoiler, which makes Naruto look so small in comparison and I cannot mention. You will see if you keep reading; all I can say is that Sengoku Youko utilizes a very rarely used narrative technique to move the plot along.
Initially, I thought that the manga depicted several shounen elements, even though the human protagonist, Jinka, wasn't necessarily the most hotheaded hero. Heck, he even hates humans! And yet, he is
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partnered with a female youko or demon named Tama who loves humans, so he is coerced (and sometimes out of his free will) into saving them as part of the "savior siblings." Sometime on their journey, a couple of other people join them, which reminds me of Avatar: the Last Airbender in some ways.
My absolute favorite part of this manga is the strong variety of both humans and demons alike. In most of the manga involving demons that I've read, demons are portrayed as either monstrous or innocent -- there are no in-betweens. And yet, Sengoku Youko manages to provide us with CUTE, adorable demons (think of the villagers from Animal Crossing), and at the same time describe very intimidating demons who are both good and bad. I also appreciated how this manga toyed with the question of duality: Are we humans? Or are we demons? It is not necessarily dark or dramatic, but it can be at times when the story necessitates it.
As mentioned above, Sengoku Youko is wonderfully driven by characters, whose choices they make impact the outcomes that continue to resonate with the remaining characters and what ultimately happens in the end. Because of their choices, the story makes use of a rare narrative technique to further surprise the readers and push the manga to new dimensions. Just because the Final Goal of one character may have been accomplished does not mean that the manga is completely over; in fact, it is this completion of the goal that creates a new Final Goal.
Much like Mushishi, Sengoku Youko is primarily a journey with no conclusive arcs -- no battling, training, or battling. Technically, there is at least one training session, but they are not tedious to read about at all! I enjoy the creatures that the group meets and their little stories, and I also enjoy the seemingly flawless integration of the plot with the episodic adventures at the beginning. All of the characters have a personality that later grows, recedes, and develops as the series continues, which is truly phenomenal.
Ah, the art? I have not mentioned that, but suffice it to say that the art of all characters evolves to reflect their growth and the passing of time, which allows them to escape the Same Face Syndrome that occasionally plagues manga and anime. Overall, I must highly recommend Sengoku Youko based on current chapters, the overarching storyline, and variety of characters with their unique motivations. After all, there is an eight-year-old boy with a thousand demons.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jun 17, 2013
Ansatsu Kyoushitsu, or Assassination Classroom (my preferred title), is a remarkable manga; since its debut, its tankobons have been topping sales charts in Japan and ranked relatively highly in Weekly Shonen Jump, which is amazing. Having read the mangaka's previous manga, Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro, which was incredible in terms of storytelling, I had been looking forward to Assassination Classroom for quite a time. And in some ways, it is vastly different from Neuro, but in some other ways it still has the trademark absurdist humor and surrealism that are typical of Matsui's works.
Certainly, the octopus-like character of Korosensei merits some inevitable hentai fanart, but
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it is more about his charm and charisma that really draws in the readers for the manga. His intent on destroying the Earth in a year or so (by March) provides a strong end-goal of the manga for which all characters can aspire to: killing Korosensei lest he annihilate everyone in the end. But, as the manga progresses, we start to realize that he may not actually be the Big Bad as he seems. There is another character who serves as a foil to Korosensei, creating an interesting sense of antagonism based on the question of superiority. What sort of ideals should we teach our students? What is the best path to success? It is made all the more intriguing by the setting of the manga in the Class 3-E, traditionally the lowest ranked class with poorest grades and academic achievement.
Artistically, Matsui still excels in utilizing surrealism in order to indicate the ugliness of human hearts or extremity of circumstances, as we'll see in episodic situations throughout the series. I have noticed that his art has improved a bit from his Neuro days, and his attention to detail, especially the backgrounds, remains incredible. Notably, his stylization of human beings could use some work, but it wouldn't be a Matsui work without certain facial and body characteristics.
While I admit that Assassination Classroom is comparatively more lighthearted than Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro, this tone of the manga does not deter my enjoyment at all. In fact, I appreciate several serene moments of comedy and occasional drama. My hope for this manga is that Matsui starts to include further plot and character development, not just for Korosensei, Nagisa, Karma, and a couple of characters, but for most everyone in the Class 3-E. Assassination Classroom is definitely an enjoyable manga that I would choose to read weekly without fail, as I am currently up to Chapter 45.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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May 18, 2013
omg this manga. this manga is just... wow... talk about despair-inducing.
in a nutshell, the manga is about human-sized cockroaches who were sent to live on mars so that humans could colonize it in 500 years but the humans definitely didn't plan for them to be human-sized and... evolve to be intelligent as well. so, if you dislike cockroaches, insects, bugs, anything like that in general -- AND THE GORE -- well, i recommend that you should not read the manga because lord, there's so many references to bugs.
the suspense is so great and i love how the art is so action-oriented -- it just
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keeps you reading and reading, and there's never a moment to stop for a rest (except in flashbacks) so it really highlights the action drama of this manga. since i'm reading just four volumes (about thirty-six chapters out so far), i really want the manga to delve more deeply into the story rather than just action.
there IS some story, mainly characterization and the secret behind the project. there are definitely women in this manga, which is great, but also not so great because they're usually the ones to be killed first (save for a few). however, there's not much character development that extend beyond just a few chapters because (almost) EVERYONE DIES. it's a type of human survival manga, except it's in an environment that is not the earth.
art is pretty good, extremely macho if i do say myself (maybe it's inspired by rob liefeld's artworks?) and the drawings of the cockroaches are very uniform yet unique, at least distinguished from the humans. character design is done really well.
tbqh i just want this manga to reveal the answers to the mysteries and to maybe slow down with a respite from the violence that's going on and I WANT EVERYONE TO HAVE HAPPY ENDINGS (except cockroaches) but most of all i just want this manga to go at least /somewhere/ that's not just fighting.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Oct 20, 2011
I'm hesitant to write the very first review for a new series. An obscure one (for now) to boot. So, without any further ado, here's my take -- and do forgive me for any misconceptions I may make since this is still a very new manga.
STORY
The summary is exactly what MAL's very own synopsis says. While there certainly are /some/ panty shots, this manga isn't exclusively ecchi. Rather, I feel, it is a very slow school romance. What's very interesting is that despite the common "guy teaches at an all-girls school" trope, the story doesn't read like a harem. Indeed, the mangaka chooses to
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focus on three main characters: Yuu Tomonoga (the 19-year-old teacher whose true passion is research), Haruka (the problem girl who was sexually harassed by a previous teacher), and Aoi (the girl genius who studies physics in her free time).
Each chapter reveals a little something about Tomonoga-san's past, mostly his struggles as a genius with an extraordinarily high IQ. Each chapter also covers his experiences as a teacher, as he tries to help both Haruka and Aoi, while at the same time, he remains ignorant of their crushes. I'm especially glad that the story isn't episodic or arc-like so far and that it is told from a few different perspectives, which makes for greater variety.
ART
Like I said, panty shots exist, albeit in a more subtle, subdued form -- sorry, fans of ecchi manga like Rosario+ Vampire! They don't distract from the manga, which is a real treat for female readers, because they're not so obvious. The accidental shots actually reinforce Tomonoga-san's young age, when he just blushes and runs out of the room.
I thought the art resembled the Durarara!! illustrations due to flat noses and character designs. Generally, the art of Yasashii Sekai no Tsukurikata is well done and kept simple with backgrounds as needed -- just enough to keep the story flowing and to not distract the reader. Screen tones are used frequently, yet cartoony expressions are little to none.
CHARACTER
Although not every character is given the same treatment, the three main characters that I listed earlier -- Tomonoga, Haruka, and Aoi -- are developed adequately for me to start caring about them. Personally, I'm rooting for Aoi to date Tomonoga-san if it had to come down to a love triangle, but I wish that Tomonoga-san would not be involved in a relationship with one of his students. Then again, it's ~manga~ and he's young, so who knows?
Haruka's personality drives the story. Ever since she was molested by a teacher who, according to another teacher, started looking at her as a woman when she modeled for a magazine, Haruka is deeply suspicious of Tomonoga's intentions. She is also concerned for her fellow students, especially the shorter Aoi.
ENJOYMENT
Mhm. Read all five scanlated chapters in one go.
OVERALL
Good, looking forward to the next chapter! Will check back every once in a while, 'cause the scanlations are not updated as frequently as those of WSJ series.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Mar 7, 2011
it's almost midnight as i'm writing and currently procrastinating so there might be some typos but i just wanted to get this out of my way.
someone on the forums recommended this manga and i decided to check it out, initially believing that it would be another boring shounen manga. fortunately, i was proven wrong (that person has a good taste in manga) and became so wrapped up in this story. even the first volume leaves me wanting for /more/ since it ended with a huge plot twist!
STORY: very, very nicely done! leaves you with plenty of suspense and anticipating. it's like a thriller where you
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quickly flip a page (or in this case, press the next arrow key). the pace's not too bad; it's neither too fast or too slow, but just right. although, at times, there may be some concept pages thrown in for clarity such as how the walls are built and maintained -- a crucial component of the plot. it's quite clear that this new mangaka did some research on the practicalities of his inventions, which makes this manga well thought out.
ART: like the other reviewer said, art is very, very mediocre; just enough to make this manga readable. the characters are drawn out of proportions and if you're one of those people with a sense of OCD (or the general eye-twitching at bad art), then this manga may irritate you a lot. however, in this case, this evident weakness doesn't detract from the quality of the manga. i agree with the other reviewer about the mangaka's rendering of the titans: they were /absolutely/ terrifying and evoked the raw emotion of fear from me. the way the panels were structured made me feel the same fear as the characters in the story. i love, love, love the monsters' design and their lack of proportions does make for the terrifying moment.
CHARACTER: at the beginning, when some men were in the woods, i didn't care for the characters much. however, by the end of the volume, i liked misaka even though she's usually very stoic. she does care for her friends. the human characters behaved realistically. if you were confronted by a giant who wants nothing more than eating you, what would you do? no one would dare defeat a titan on their own until they had a huge motivation.
the main driving force of this manga, though, is the human-eating monster. in the first volume, the titans provide a key point of conflict as they easily trample down the walls and invade the humans' remaining territory. not much is known about them other than the fact that they ignore animals and plants and have only one known weakness so far.
ENJOYMENT: because i read this manga late at night, shinegeki no kyojin provided me entertainment. i would definitely re-read it because it captured what no other popular manga did: it exposed my fear of being eaten and of the unknown. i did notice some points where the quality of art wasn't the best, but the storytelling ability spurred me on to read more. i know that three volumes have been released so far, so i'm definitely looking forward to the second scanlated volume!
OVERALL: great story, art could use work in defining humans, characters aren't thoroughly developed /yet/, high level of enjoyment. i heard a rumor that this manga was rejected by WSJ because it wasn't what they were looking for and i believe that it was a good thing that this manga was rejected because had it been accepted, the story would have to be dumbed down for the readers. this type of story is clearly for the seinen audience.
so, if you have time and like plot-based manga regardless of the art quality, shingeki no kyojin is definitely a great read!
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jan 23, 2011
...! I just realized that no one's ever written a review for this manga. :o unacceptable. SO! I'm going to point out some good / bad stuff, I guess?
BACKGROUND: before i go over to the technical aspects of this review, i thought i should introduce myself. obviously, i'm a fan of this manga since it's unlike anything that jump's produced (refreshing. original. awesome!) yet it still radiates that childish atmosphere. last spring, i read the one-shot on a popular manga reader that's since then closed down, and was blown away by the originality. i was incredibly happy once it got serialized in july, but also
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nervous for its fate since most newbie manga like SWOT get axed pretty quickly. however, it proved popular, even though it's leading the bottom 5 according to the table of contents, so i can stop worrying about it.
STORY: okay, so this story is not your average battle manga nor school story. rather, it's a story about the animals of the zoo with magical elements added. what if animals could talk? in oumagadoki doubutsuen, they're personified as humans (anyone heard of this moe cockroach manga? no? okay, moving on). initially, this story is character-driven and started quite episodic, as both the director, cursed to look like a rabbit until the zoo becomes popular, and aoi hana, the newly hired zookeeper, search for new comrades. it is only several chapters later that the real plot (or at least the arc) starts kicking in and with an exciting new assortment of characters! reminds me of katekyo hitman reborn!, though that manga took 8 volumes of gag (still can't believe it survived for so long) before switching to battle-style.
ART: the first thing i noticed was just how incredibly stylistic the art was. the characters' expressions and designs are not... shounen-like or shoujo-like. for example, aoi hana's mouth is drawn in a particular way (rounded, lots of black, some teeth showing). it feels childish, but i believe that is perfect for shounen jump which is geared towards younger children anyway. the second thing i noticed was the incredible versatility of the page layouts, which definitely facilitates my enjoyment and keeps the manga at least interesting. they're not as ~artistic~ as bleach so as much as to distract from the story, which is a good thing.
CHARACTER: i have a feeling that shiina is going to be everyone's favorite protagonist as well as the new antagonist. not going to spoil the contents, obviously. anyway, if you've read the one-shot, there have definitely been some changes in character designs and their personalities. for example, the rabbit is more egotistic and the zookeeper is more clumsy. aoi hana's become more confident and passionate about animals, though it remains to be seen her interactions with other humans. other than that, i really like the diverse cast since it mostly consists of animals, each with his/her defining personality trait. the only bad thing i suppose is the lack of "normal" humans besides the girl in the beginning of the manga, if you're into them.
ENJOYMENT: really high. this is one of those manga that's made me wish there was more English-speaking fandom / fanart. ;_; i've downloaded the RAWs and consistently checked the manga reader / scanlation group for any updates. /no life haha. well, i have to admit that the story was a little slow in the beginning with all this recruiting stuff but this first arc made it all the more exciting (around chapter 10 or so). it drags out a bit though, 'cause of focus on individual fighting scenes, but at least the mangaka utilizes the environment instead of relying only on the characters' strengths/weaknesses.
OVERALL: this manga may not be for those people who prefer dark manga. oumagadoki is really light-hearted, with a decent plot so far. it's the characters that make oumagadoki doubutsuen so appealing to me, as well as the originality of the concept. just how often do you read manga about animals?
thank you for reading my review! written while i was supposed to be studying for my cumulative finals, oops. eue
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jun 25, 2010
I picked the English translation off the library shelf and read it. So far, it's really interesting and I became really engrossed in this series. The beginning was definitely one of the best moments of the series and I truly liked Yuuta's arc when he was first introduced. That was my favorite moment, along with the eventual romantic hints that slowly but surely emerge.
Admittedly, Alive gives off the Psyren vibe but mostly because at the beginning, you sense that there is some scientific fiction involved such as the great apocalypse. Then, as the novel progresses, it also evolves into what seems to resemble a battle
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manga. However, what differentiates those two is that Alive does not rely solely on the battle! train! battle! train! battle! formula that continues to plague most battle-oriented shounen manga. This is what makes Alive so entertaining: the smooth and neat transitions between arcs. Still, Alive resorts to a heavily overused concept of humans with inhuman abilities. It fails to tie back to the reason behind the powers at some moments, when all the characters care about is beating the other side.
Speaking of characters, their pasts and current personalities help reveal the mangaka's basic theme. They have their own obstacles and troubles, but they do grow and develop. The question, though, is this: Just how realistic are they? Both Hirose's and Taisuke's circumstances further elaborate the answer to that very question, as they are the two with the most unrealistic character development (in my opinion). Despite the notion of disbelief, the characters can be well-liked by the readers through their humorous and friendly interactions / relationships. The extra volume and the omake illustrate this point well.
Like all manga, the art does gradually improve over time to the extent that it reminds me of Ga-Rei with its gradient tones. It is good, but nothing too decorative or stunning.
I highly enjoyed this manga. Personally, it held moving suspense, introduced characters smoothly, and the underlying theme kept me going as well. If you have read Psyren or Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro, this series may delight you.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jun 7, 2010
when i first started reading it i thought the story concept was very interesting, especially the idea of traces and troubles. i especially liked the backstory of one of the main characters, the working man. the presentation of this manhwa is very original, as the next chapter frequently repeats the past events in panels. you mainly need to read from the top to the bottom, sometimes left to right but there is not a lot of need to read left to right. in this internet age, it's easy to simply scroll down.
however, what made me turn down this manhwa was the art. yes, the art
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does not make up 100% of the story. heck, claymore's art was not really that impressive and i would admit that it is difficult to read claymore from the beginning at first. however, the story kept me going. well, in trace, the art annoyed me immensely. especially the eyes and the extremely poor choice of color schemes. in the second arc or so, almost all of new characters have the same colored clothing. for example, a guy would have blue hair and blue clothes. there is not a lot of variety in color, and i believe that annoyed me the most.
as for the characters, they are fairly good. however, the artist apparently tried too much to include humor in the form of chibis at random times. there's not many characters that i particularly like or can relate to. the only character that i would consider my favorite is jin, and that is only because he did have believable character development. i also liked the security guy.
so yes, at the beginning i enjoyed this story. but towards the middle i started to not enjoy it as much because of the visuals. oh yes, did i mention that trace was 100% colored? i would very much prefer that it be black and white to avoid terrible color choices. sorry if my review seems bitter, but this is what i firmly believe about this manhwa. it has the right concept and interesting presentation that works well, but it could have been drawn better and developed characters well.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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May 9, 2010
When I first heard about this from the MAL news, I decided to watch this, without watching the parent story (Toaru Kagaku no Index) since it would really influence my views on Railgun.
Yes, there are some random filler episodes, but this series was meant to be watched on TV, after all. The storytelling is well-done, since they explore various characters, such as the dorm mistress and the useless Antiskill member, in isolated episodes. For them, this is their moment to shine and shows that the Academy is multi-faceted. Plus, there is some fanservice, which can be annoying but anyone can skip over. I'm really not
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the one for fanservice, but it's not too overdone.
Moreover, the episodes that might seem isolated are actually connected in some way or another. I liked the Level Upper arc and the Poltergeist arc as well -- they are all connected together as part of a greater conspiracy in the Academy City.
This is where Misaka and her friends get caught up in this. The character development is quite nice, though there isn't a drastic change. Rather, if any, it is quite subtle. The best development shown so far, though, was that of Saten. As a friend of Misaka "Railgun," Saten in contrast has no abilities (Level 0). Yet, as the series progresses, Saten's views towards abilities do change and help further the theme of friendship and relying on one another.
However, there are some characters that can be annoying, such as Kuroko -- that one pink haired girl. Despite being a highly capable Level 4 teleporter and a member of Judgment, she does have her GL moments where she attempts to make Misaka fall in love with her. They can be amusing, but outright ridiculous at times. Saten's habit of flipping Uiharu's skirt, while a part of her personality, comes across as weird for me. It's a quirk, to be sure.
But most of all, most of the main characters are girls. Now, I'm not sure what this means, but most of the criminals shown are typically males. Girls make up a large part of Judgment and Antiskill and so can punish anyone who disrupts the order of the city. Plus, the "final boss" is also female. Railgun, then, gives off that feminist vibe that I can't just ignore.
The art is decent and quite generic, but the animation is slightly better when absolutely necessary, particularly during these action scenes. Misaka's status as a Level 5 is not a hyperbole; in fact, she rightfully deserves it, even though she persists in saying that level doesn't matter. One thing I've noticed is that the characters are not shaded whenever they are under the shade of some building or at night time. I actually like them flat-colored rather than with their hair being so shiny with unnecessary white, but that's anime for you. The animation does stagger at times, but not enough to hinder the enjoyment level.
Speaking of enjoyment, while I thoroughly enjoyed the story and characters' relationships in reaction to the plot, there were some things that I wish the anime would expand on. For instance, Touma appears but is not involved in any action in the second half as much. What is Misaka's relationship with him? I would assume that he is just a random character tossed in, to please the Index viewers even more. I would have liked an expansion on Touma's ability to block the others' abilities. Maybe that's what Index is for.
Overall, Toaru Kagaku no Railgun is good. Nothing far-reaching so as to make this my favorite, nor to have any staying impact on my mind. It is a simple casual and well-told story, with some action and the usual scientific plot mixed in. If you dislike moe (is that the term?), unrealized lesbian relationships, or slice of life, then this might not be for you. Even so, you can skip over them.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Apr 25, 2010
Bleh, I don't feel like writing such a long review so for the first time in my reviews, I'm going to divide into these nice, neat little categories that MAL conveniently provides for us reviewers.
Story: The basic premise is that a high school girl manages to tame a wild-looking boy. She scares animals, animals love that boy. The opposites attraction sounds familiar, but it's not really about animals. Rather, it's about the relationship between them. The plot actually drives in deeper than what we are presented at the beginning, as we learn more about the boy's history and why he behaves so wildly sometimes. The
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mangaka could have done so much more with the plot, but I feel that would be dragging the manga unnecessarily.
Art: Fair, to say the least. At best, this is the typical modern shoujo art. Other than the typical big shoujo eyes (not as big as Fruits Basket, thankfully), I don't see anything wrong anatomically with the characters that really bothered me. They all have good proportions and-- Oh, why the heck am I analyzing art? It's good. At least it doesn't overflow with obnoxious decorations like Ouran that you can't tell what's going on. The best part, though, was the characters' expressions when they're over-exaggerating.
Character: To be honest, the mangaka could have done so much more with the other characters. They did not develop much, except for the main characters. Still, I commend him for managing to bring both the "beast" Leo and "beast tamer" Yuiko closer together in only seven chapters without sacrificing their personalities. I really like Leo, since he contrasts so many other shoujo male leads by acting like a kid, not a bad guy. The way the mangaka presented him convinced me that he did really seem like a kid who is unfamiliar with the world. That much is said when Yuiko gets to know him better. Speaking of Yuiko, she is fun to read about as she is typically happy-go-lucky but genuinely cares for Leo's well-being. She is weak but does have her strong moments when dealing with other people.
Enjoyment: Not quite as suspenseful as Dengeki Daisy, but I did enjoy. Actually, I could care less about the story behind Leo's behavior. It is a very quick read.
Overall: It's definitely a different type of shoujo manga, but not to the point where it's classified as a josei manga. The elements of a typical shoujo manga are there, such as the art and the characters' designs and the plot.
So if you're looking for a read that involves romance (not as the result of the school drama), Beast Master might be for you.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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