ABILITY SHOP

I'll keep this short, I mean the manga is less than 50 pages, what's the point of a in-depth analysis?

My first one shot manga, so I should mention why I even read it - because the art looked appealing, so did the name.

Quite frankly, it's probably one of the easiest ways to decide whether to read the synopsis of a manga you've never heard of before - art and the title.

So anyway, [i]Ability Shop[/i] is pretty much set out like a fable, if you've ever seen the movie [url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0389860/]Click[/url], then the fable is kind of the same.

Thinking about it, it doesn't actually hold much comical value, and rather, is actually quite serious - despite the art style.

It's kid a kiddy version of [i]Death Note[/i] almost.

But it's good, if you read it for what the underlying lesson is, then it's a good lesson learnt.

I can't say much more, I mean.. it's a one shot manga - characters were good, but you can't grow attached to them just because of how short this was.

I felt that it was kind of a waste to use this as a one shot, it had the potential to be a short - at LEAST one volume manga, that way it would've allowed readers to feel more sympathetic.

However, enjoyable none the less. It's 50 pages, read it.

Ability shop is like an Aesop Fable in manga form.

The main bulk of the story is the 'life lesson' that is to be learned at the end of the story. Being a one-shot, the plot has to move quickly, with the escalating actions leading to the climax compiling quickly one after another. Although the rushed pace is inevitable given the author only had 50 pages to work with, those 50 pages were well spent building rising conflict and leading to an valuable, if obvious, life lesson. The ending was more positive than I anticipated, which prevented the story from driving it's point even further home, but the ending is still acceptable.

The art is fairly decent; there is not much to say about it. The characters are differentiable, although they may not be the most appealing in design. The art does not hinder the flow of the story, and the small action scenes don't need major scrutiny to see what's going on.

Toshiki will not be the most noteworthy character in the manga universe, but he certainly played his part well, undergoing surprisingly rapid "growth" throughout the story culminating in the life lesson that he has learned. Side characters are side characters, they are there to support the main. None of them detract from the main story, though none of them will ever stick in your mind as memorable. Heck I had to look up Toshiki's name when writing this review.

Enjoyment here is definitely the most debatable factor here in this manga between individuals who have read this one-shot. I didn't enjoy in the sense that it was a fun read, but I enjoyed the fact that I came out of feeling like I learned something. That's incorrect; the lesson taught here is rather clichéd. What I truly enjoyed was having the value of a clichéd lesson reaffirmed within me.

Honestly, the greatest strength of this one-shot is it's brevity. There are no extras to this story; no fan service, filler arcs, beach chapters, warped power levels, plot holes, plot twists, or loose ends. It just tells a story of a boy who learns a valuable lesson in life, and will likely teach it to you too.

Questions, comments, criticisms, and compliments are welcomed whether or not you found this review helpful.

You might get mad at me because of the score I gave, but I can at least explain somehow why.

Just by reading the title of the story, you already have an idea of what's the story about. I honestly didn't read the synopsis, but I'm pretty sure that when I do, I would know almost everything without reading the manga. No, don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining here.

The story isn't as hard core as 'Death Note' , but I can't say it's a bad manga. There's an obvious moral lesson of the story that even kids would notice. It's a friendly manga that clearly explains the consequences of being somewhat greedy without using foul words, real 'bad' characters, and the story line is really easy to follow.

Enjoy! :)

Um I'm writing this review cause I dun really agree with the other 2 reviewers b4 me. One thing I noticed right from the beginning is how impossible and unrealistic this series is. Come on, what's the deal with deciding lifespan? And the mastering of abilities of some skills could take up to a few decades, what's the meaning of learning it in one go?

Story:6
Well, kinda unique, says something about "the human condition", one of which I believe is something like thirst for power or smth (the ability to excel). And it progressed similarly to some people who win lottery one day and go crazy (reported in news a few times already).

But... I don't really get the ending parts. The explanation was a bit strange.

Art:8
Normal, most panels were clear. Some panels were drawn very well, showing emotions beautifully.

Character:5
There wasn't much character development, and there seemed to be only 1 main character.

Enjoyment:7
Special form of supernatural genre, it's very unique. Action scenes and emotional scenes were done well. Some moral lessons learnt.

Overall:6
For a one-shot, this is one of the better ones I've seen, although Beezlezub's (?) one-shot was much better. I recommend it if u like this one.