Holyland

never expected a good, story about street fights like this one.
We follow a journey about a guy how have a lot of probelms. And that Mangaka find a good balance betwen fights and character's development.

Kamishiro, Yuu A good main character but no only he is important to that story. Izawa, Masaki, Midorikawa, Shougo, Kaneda, Shinichi all of of them are "unique"
Mori, Kouji art is beautiful. The expressions , the background, is "simple" but work almost prefect. One thing i appriciate is the use of humor simple but work. Is not that kind of annoying humor that is always used for break tension in this case is use to mark times in the plot.

Holyland is different from general sports manga in the way that it takes martial arts to the streets. This includes all kinds of fighting styles from karate to kick-boxing and from wrestling to kendo. The colorful range of styles gives an opportunity for all the characters to represent their own one and therefore be relevant to the story.

-Story and characters
As the story follows Yuu's journey to become a better fighter and that way find a place for himself among the streets he makes multiple acquaintances - usually through beating them first. These associates sometimes become important allies to him or even teachers in order for him to master a new style. This might sound like a formulaic way of doing things and for the first part of the manga it kinda is but later it becomes much more natural and expansive.

The story fortunately manages to include other themes of the street life than fighting which makes the later parts much more realistic and ugly in a good way. As someone who has had experiences in that environment personally I was able to appreciate the way the manga portrays it as multi-dimensional and not inherently negative. This was done very well especially with the last arc and the amazing end conclusion.

-Art
The art style evolves noticeably through the run of the manga compared to it only being 182 chapters long. At the beginning I feel like it's going for a bit more psychological approach with the rough edges and inconsistent shapes. It's not necessarily bad but I find the later art far more fitting to the detailed fights and the manga is quite full of them.

The fights are probably the aspect the author wanted to polish most thoroughly and that certainly shows. Every exchange of fists and kicks has an explanation behind it that is based on actual information about the martial art techniques.

-Enjoyment
The series has a slightly generic start story-wise but the fights are very entertaining and detailed and are what carry the manga. Later parts even involve some well-written characters and drama so it's definitely an enjoyable experience as long as the excessive amount of violence is not a barrier.

Overall 9/10

Well wow that was a really worthy lengthy ass manga that I read nearly all night (well I read it from 7pm to 4am yeah I’m dumb so what....?). I found it worthwhile to read because nearly all the characters (cmon who doesn’t like Shin, I need him as a bestie seriously!) grow on you and omg the fighting scenes are just so amazingly drawn man! You even get a description of each martial art moves that the characters would make and yeah I admit, they are pretty forgettable since this is of course, a 182 chapter manga so all I remember is just full on great gangster action. 😹

I AM NOT HAPPY ABOUT THE ABRUPT ENDING THO, I DEMAND MOREEEEE😭😭😭😭😭😭😤😤😤😤

I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected myself too. I am once again in a rut and scrambling trying to find new things to dive into. I’ve re read several mangas and tried and dropped several mangas, but I finally came across this one. In the beginning I wasn’t sure how much I’d like this story but I really started to get a feel for the characters and I actually kind of got attached to them. I love strong protagonists who continue to improve. I love the shocked and surprised look of people around them after they improve. I liked the lack of echi, but the hint of romance. Maybe some people will say a lot of this was predictable, but in that’s easy to say in hindsight. The ending was good too. There was closure. Maybe some holes regarding police and shougo or idk, but are they holes or just a possiblity for a sequel =D

This was awesome. The translation was good too. The explanations are thorough. I got really interested in all the fighting stances and moves.

I definitely suggest this manga!

REVIEW DOES NOT CONTAIN SPOILERS
Holyland is a battle driven seinen that mainly focuses on martial arts, the story isn't particularly complex making it an easy and enjoyabe read filled with action. The principal point of this manga lands in the characters' development and psychological growth as they all try to find, protect and maintain their so-called "holyland".
Our story follows Yuu, a seemingly frail teenager who is constantly harassed by his peers, resulting in him spending his time pitiably and temporarily quitting school. In order to escape from his depressing reality, our protagonist wanders through the night streets seeking a place where he truly belongs. Within the simplicity of the "if I am strong enough to shield myself they will leave me alone at the end" mentality, the legend of the "thug hunter" started from an infirm teenage boy throwing a couple of punches. By utilizing various moves adopted from the people he met to defend himself, Yuu is timidly introduced to street fighting, eventually becoming a skilled MMA fighter with remarkable potential. His development thorough the manga is outstanding, we watch him grow as he persistently faces extreme brutality and dispair, steadily trying to conquer the murkiness in his soul that will prompt his self-fulfillment.

It's no major issue since the mangaka has done a great job in terms of pragmatism and practicality, but the story can come off as a bit unrealistic at times. Some of the side characters are completely one-dimensional (we often see the stereotype of the high school girls who are solely interested in how hot the guys are, remaining vexingly indifferent to all the violence that occurs right before their eyes and the common street hooligans who usually lack depth in character) and in some cases the author's clarifications on certain techniques are slightly unfeasible for unfeigned combat with real life standards.

The only kind of negative thing I would like to call attention to about the story is that it can be quite dreary now and again. The "startingly determined protagonist manages to defeat a strong opponent without proper technique - following day he loses to an essentially weaker one due to his emotional incapacities" pattern, albeit somewhat necessary for his character development, seems to be repeating itself at the point of becoming a little tiring and predictable.

Another thing that I found rather interesting about this manga is the mangaka's outlook with the storyteller acting naturally and expressing his genuine thoughts or associating the events that take place with his own life experiences and personal growth. This causes his creation to feel nearer to the readers, allowing us to step into his world and recognize how his work impacted him as an individual.

I have read my fair share of manga and have never felt compelled to write a review on anything else until Holyland. A manga that I don't even view as the best manga I have read, but one that is without a doubt one of my favorites. The reason that I feel this way isn't because of the uniqueness of the art or panelling, because they aren't, or the way the story twists and turns and creates mystery, because it doesn't. I find this manga to be one of my favorites because of the emotion that it made me feel and because of the characters, which are some of the richest and deepest I have ever read. Excitement, awe, anger, grief, sadness. These emotions come in waves as you dive deeper and deeper into the world of Holyland, because Yuu's struggle to find a place in his world is so tangible.

In other incredible manga, being tied to the main character is something that the most skilled mangakas can do almost effortlessly. I have never had a goal as lofty as the Pirate King, yet Oda has made me a devout follower of Luffy's journey. I have never felt the inextinguishable desire for revenge that Thorfinn has, yet Yukimura had me binge read Karlsefni's adventure until I had no more chapters to read. I have also never been beaten and bullied every day of my life until it seemed like suicide was the only option, yet Mori has created circumstances where the only thing I want is to see Yuu succeeding, regardless of the atrocities he has to commit. I want him to find his Holyland. However, there was something different that I felt while reading this manga that I didn't share with any other. Anger. When Luffy got chased out of Sabaody or when Thorfinn lost his grudge match against Askeladd for the dozenth time, it made me upset. I wanted the protagonist to succeed, and therefore when they lost it made me feel as if I lost as well. Holyland is the same way. Even though Yuu can kick some ass like Thorfinn or Luffy, he also looses fights just the same. But when Yuu lost, I wanted blood. I wanted to jump into the story and make Yuu pick himself up off the floor and beat the brakes off his opponent. But why? The stakes are always high in every fight Yuu has because his reputation grows and grows, but whenever he looses a fight you can almost always assume what the next course of action will be. Every mangaka knows that they can't kill off their main protagonist before the manga is finished (except for Gantz but that piece of work is a whole different story) or else how could the story progress? Yuu never dies so you as the reader knows he always has a second chance at the opponent he just lost to, so why do I have such a strong feeling of anger and resentment whenever he does loose. I can't relate to the past hellhole of a life Yuu had to experience or to the unconventional and dangerous environment he lives in now, so the deep personal connection with the main character isn't something that I feel. But when Yuu does loose and I saw his reputation get tainted and people that believed in him start to turn their backs I couldn't not be upset. And the thing that irritates me the most is that I have no reason to have this anger in the first place. But because I do experience these strong emotional beats, it made the rest of the story feel like a genuine fight for survival.
Something else that I want to include quickly before I get into the issues I find are the characters. Yuu is a great protagonist. I think that you could understand this from what I previously wrote. The side characters, however, are where it's at. Unmatched is the only word and can really describe them as. They give advice and guidance to Yuu in the most brutally honest ways but are also equally compassionate and caring at the same time because they all want the exact same thing that Yuu wants. They want to get lost in the streets and find a place that they can protect, and they all do this together.

The reason I think anyone loves a manga and views it as their favorite is because they found something special within the story that they can grab a hold of. Something that makes their favorite manga stick out among the lineup of dozens and dozens of other stories they have read. But just because one manga is your favorite doesn't mean that it moves this manga into the objectively best manga category. If this happened then the Berserk elitists would be loosing their' shit. Everything has flaws, even our favorite manga. I believe that Monster is a better manga than Holyland when it comes to pretty much everything. I say pretty much because Naoki Urusawa isn't really strong in the art department. But that's not really the point of reading a piece of work by Urusawa, you read Monster or 20th Century Boys or Pluto to get your socks blown off by some of the most incredible stories ever written. It's for this reason that Monster is number 5 right now on MAL and Holyland is drifting around 120. Holyland isn't as tight of a story and it has more flaws than other manga that sit at the top of MAL. For example the repetition of the fights gets so bad that by the end of the series you can almost call what happens every page turn. I didn't find this a big issue personally but that doesn't mean others see the same way. Another big, glaring problem that I have is the dropping of a compelling conflict that I wanted to see more of and I thought would contribute greatly to the story because of how important it seemed. No spoilers I promise. If it were expanded upon I think that the story would have shifted greatly, maybe to the point where the entire manga as a whole would have changed. It was included in the beginning consistently so I was led to assume that it was a big problem. But it just ended up fading out.

Finally, I want to give my scores in the individual categories and explain why I gave the overall score I did. Story-9. Art-9. Character-10. Enjoyment-10. Overall-9. I'm not going to do the thing where I average out the scores and get a 9.5 and round up to a 10 because this manga isn't a ten. It's not even a 9.5. It's a 9. But when it comes to the raw emotion and thrill that you get while reading this manga, if I could put an 11 I could. I really wanted to put a 10 but I couldn't, because even though the best reviews are often subjective where opinions are thrown around like distasteful jokes at Thanksgiving dinner, objectivity still plays a role. You must look at a piece of art for what it is and take all of its pieces into account. That being said, I beg you, please put Holyland near the top of you next reads list if you haven't already. I promise you will find something that you can be happy with reading. Thank you, and have a wonderful rest of your day.

Really great read, you can tell the author has gone through hard times that I share or have felt in some ways. From that you see that expression onto the characters themselves. Characters change, grow and band together in a fantastic and uplifting way. Plot is pretty typical shounen stuff but like any underdog you just want to see him pummel dudes, not typically seen is the pain, rage, depression, suffering and loneliness of those who walk 'the streets'. Still seeing a scrawny lad plow through trained fighters with luck, skill and yuus repetoire of growing martial techniques is a fantastic time. The romance is a bit typical but actually more faceted than most other romances due to the unique characterization of the manga. A must read whether you like brawling or not, the insightful glimpses into the fighting world as the author creates the stage for matchups between the different schools of martial arts is icing on the cake for this moving work.

Well worth a 3 chapter read to see if its for you.

One of the best by far. It's a shame that this isn't as popular as it should be because oh my god. This such an amazing read. So unexpected too. The characters are easy to like. The story is very strong and well thought out. you can tell that the creator was very passionate about this. Art style isn't Berserk gorgeous, but it works very well to portray emotion, and boy does this story have emotion.
I myself have times where I can be really cynical or biased, and I came into this series after it being recommend it to me, very cynical. Expecting the usual main character tropes and story line. I am glad to say that I was pleasantly disappointed. I sometimes wished that the story was longer, Holyland is one of those things that you wish you could forget just to read it all over again.

In the streets... He was undoubtedly there...
Just finished reading Holyland and boy was it a fun read. I would recommend Holyland for many reasons. Holyland falls in a general enjoyment area for me because its story is fun and enjoyable, although it doesn't really grab you like cuum. The story is an average friends in high school getting through life story, but cut out the life part and just keep the relations and street fighting in. I love this story for the amazing point of view story telling. This story is really unique for its use of "second hand" storytelling, by that i mean the author is really there with you as the story goes on. I would say that is a great thing for this story, it creates this relatableness and understanding. Understanding the direction and point of the story is really easy to with the authors writing. I really love the cast in this series because they are so real, and lovable. The martial arts talk and techniques are definitely awesome as well. The ending, spoiler free, is a tad bit confusing and I guess that is good :D. I definitely recommend anyone read this if you love martial arts, coming of age stories, or reality esc thug life. P.S.$uicideboy$ goes well with a read of this

The first thing that drew me into this manga was... this story could actually be happening somewhere on the street.
No super power, no over the top and impossible fighting techniques, and nothing particularly unnatural in the story.
Just pure strength and martial arts, street fight, friendship, and a little touch of romance.
The mangaka succesfully portrayed the feelings of a constantly bullied high schooler, Kamishiro. Kamishiro didn't have any friend, he was timid, and lacked in confidence, he was a misfit and struggle to find a place where he belonged. He needed to confirm his very own existence, that was why he started roaming on the street at night.
Soon after, he was involved in street fighting. At first it was just to defend himself against bullies that picked on him, but even though he didn't want to admit it, the excitement of fighting, the fear, the anxiety, and the pain made the beast within him unable to resist the charm of street fighting.
With every battle he verified his existence, with every encounter with people on the street he gained friends and enemies, he gained experience and got stronger.
There, on the street together with his friends, he finally found a place he belonged. His holyland. And he would do anything to protect it.
The story went as Kamishiro fought people who wanted to destroy his holyland and how he got stronger with every battle.
The mangaka offered explanations about martial arts and even fighting techniques in a way the could easily be understood throughout the story. So you can pick one or two knowledges about how to become stronger by reading this manga. The story is really good, but it's a shame that the ending's not actually what i hoped for.
The art is good too, sometimes it's a little bit not proportional, but it's mainly realistic.
Overall this is a great manga and i really recommend this manga for you to read.