kusare-en11

Reading Death Note was one of the defining manga moments in my life. Up until I had read Death Note, all I had ever read was shounen manga. Which, don't get me wrong, can be awesome! But Death Note was the first series I read that played with more mature concepts like life and death, morality, and the individuals role in society. All of that was coupled with some of the most suspenseful and masterful storytelling I've ever read.

The premise for the series itself is amazing, our hero/antihero is given power over life and death itself in the form of a notebook. The two main characters are unforgettable. The story is a battle between two sides of the law, between two views of the world, and two total bad-ass geniuses. The art was perfect for the story, which is all I look for. The first half series of the novel was stronger than the rest. But when I think of Death Note, I know where the series ends for me truly (with the resolution of the conflict between L and Light).

Death Note will always hold a special place in my manga history and my heart.

I fell in love with NANA the second I looked at the cover of the first volume. It is so beautiful and atmospheric, just like the opening phrase Hachi says each episode. There are little parts of the story that I will always carry with me, like a new found affinity for things like strawberry printed glass cups, woodworking, and bathtubs. In my opinion, NANA is a very good thing to remember, and at times angering to watch. I say watch in a manga review because I haven't been able to read past a certain point in the manga (my library doesn't hold the series to where it stopped), but I have seen most of the anime so I am using that to go off of. I really love NANA. It has probably my favorite atmosphere to any piece I've read. However, I found the characters to be a bit frustrating at times. Hachi would make such god-awful decisions that would turn me off of the story. To be honest, I am a person who would love a Nana x Nana endgame where they end up together and support each other and are a cute couple who don't constantly back stab each other, but I highly doubt that sort of conclusion would have been possible. All and all, NANA is a piece I highly recommend. It will make you feel some type of way when you look back on it, and it is just such an iconic must-read for shojo fans.

Story, 9/10: The story of Beck is about a teenage boy who is boringly average, has no life goals, just goes through the motions of daily life, and to top it off has a questionable taste in music. Well one day he encounters a prodigy of guitar playing, and his life changes forever. Beck is the name of the band that the previously mentioned boys form along with a few others.

In my opinion the best thing about the story is how it shows just how hard it can be to make it in the music industry. The members of BECK constantly have to jump over obstacles, and backstage politics such as big wigs trying everything they can to make sure they don't sell records, can't perform at big venues or music festivals, and finally even trying to turn members against each other.

Art, 10/10: The art is simply fantastic, the amount of detail in facial expressions, clothing, rain, snow and other weather background detail and instruments is some of the most realistic I've ever seen.

Characters, 8/10: The character development is probably the weakest part of this manga, but really its still very good. All of the main characters and even a few side characters get developed fairly well, my only wish is that some of the other band members got more fleshed out

Enjoyment, 10/10: Man, this just knew all of the strings to pull, just the type of music they talk about is stuff that I love, mostly classic rock, Like The Beatles, The Who, Jimi Hendrix. Also the way it uses the "never give up" cliche, normally an eye roller, but for some reason it just fit.

Overall, 10/10: This is definitely a new favorite of mine, seeing them be put through things that a lot of people have tried to face but just can't overcome and refuse to give up on their dreams is something you don't see often these days, most people just want everything handed to them. All that being said however their are parts of Beck that won't be for everyone. I say that if you love music you should at least give it a try.

Even if it's usually labeled as that, Ashita no Joe it's not the best option for boxing fans, but for people who appreciate a great storytelling, characters and drama. If you are looking for the best approach to boxing as a sport there is nothing close to Hajime no Ippo.

Some people say it gets boring or is too long, but in fact there is not a single moment when you think you are reading filler chapters, HnI is like following boxing in real life for a decade or so, new fighters arise, others decline, etc. With Hajime no Ippo even if there is a main character (Ippo) this is not just his story, but the story of boxing during the years of his career. There you have many weight classes, different boxing styles and the personal life of each one of those boxers.

That's why this series is so long (1311 chapters as I write this review), because usually any pro boxer will have around 30 to 60 fights in his career. You can't rush things, this is not a narrative created by Morikawa, but a translation of a reality to a manga, the perfect portray of that reality (as luckily happens with HnI) needs to be this long, each one of these characters needs to evolve, to train, to change in their weight classes, be the best in their countries to go for the world fights; it's not about repetitive storytelling, it's just about how this reality works. That's why for me right now HnI it's probably at the best moment of the entire series, because many of the characters are approaching or are already in the elite fights, if you think it's dragging too much maybe the problem is that you really don't appreciate this sport, and you are looking for just another story where this is only about a main character who gets bullied and the story ends when he gets his Japan belt and marries the girl he likes.

George Morikawa makes clear his love for boxing and knowledge about it, many of the fighters and situations come from real life and boxing history. If you share that passion for this sport Hajime no Ippo is the way to go, if you are looking for a great and moving story maybe Ashita no Joe is a better option.

This is the type of manga you will end up hating sometime from the start but you'll still be up reading this continuously (not until the translated chapters end).

At first, the manga seems promising for its premise, but I should know better. The characters are overly dramatizing and so engrossed with the prospect of living that it seems too incredulous and stupid at the same time, though this may pass to some who aren't keen on the fact but this overall mashup display of cliche emotions expressed by the characters aren't that fitting.

And the art wasn't that all great, considering how cutesy and unpolished it is. Good thing there was no more translated chapters otherwise I will be throwing my laptop anytime sooner...

Ana Satsujin is a thriller manga about a suicidal NEET and his discovery of a murderous neighbor through a peephole. I'm extremely new to the horror/thriller genre and in fact I avoid it in general, but Ana Satsujin was able to keep me curious and interested.

Story 7/10 - As you can expect from a horror/thriller manga with a character who's a psychopath, there are lots of violence and people dying. The story doesn't really have a plot, but instead it's more of a journey of how the relationship between Kurosu and Miyiachi can work and waver. There's a part where murder was being justified by the killer, which I find completely irrational but nonetheless interesting. The story likes to throw curveballs of which are mostly unexpected, but then again by the time each new character is introduced you'd already be thinking "welp, you're definitely going to get murdered."

Art 7/10 - The art is above average. The farther chapters you get in, it's less and less detailed compared to the panels from the earlier chapters. At some parts it's extremely watered down that it's laughable; I'd say "cute", even. There are times where the characters are presented as chibi, which completely detaches from the atmosphere of the story. It works well during the "tamer" scenes though, so I have no gripes about it. Even though it's a horror manga, the way it presents violence is surprisingly tame (kind of a "leave it to your imagination" style). It's so tame that there was even one chapter where most of the page was censored, followed by an apology note on the side by the mangaka.

Character 8/10 - Suicidals and psychopaths are pretty common character archetypes, but Ana Satsujin makes those two archetypes work together. In other words, they have chemistry. Kurosu finds another reason to live, while Miyaichi finds someone who can accept her. It's entertaining to read each of the characters' thoughts and actions, especially Kurosu's. He thinks and reacts exactly the way a guy who'd fallen in love with a murderer would.

Enjoyment 8/10 - Not much can be said. I enjoyed this manga a lot even though I'm not fond of the genre. The story was good and the characters were good. Also, I'd like to mention that the characters really like to break the fourth wall for occasional comedic effect. They also like to reference anime and other manga. It breaks away a little bit from the tension of whatever scene they're in, but I just accepted the fact that everyone is batshit insane.

Overall 8/10 - I personally think it's a good manga that can keep you interested and curious in every chapter.

I like the whole rich guy falls for not-so-rich girl story but in this case the rich guy has moments of total asshole-ness that makes no sense and the girl is just an absolute doormat who is a shame to all womankind so you empathize with neither. I don't suggest reading this manga if you don't like guys who are abusive and girls who are unassertive and nonsensically accommodating (after being 'betrayed' she just continues being friends with them without a clear resolution first).

I get why people would understand Hatsumi falling for Ryouki at some point because he was there for her etc, but to me the negative aspects of how he treats her is just disgusting (Domyoji from Hana Yori Dango was spoiled too but Ryouki is no where near as redeemable -- but this may have to do with the fact that the storytelling of HYD is much better and unfolded through many more volumes). Hatsumi is just the typical shy female protagonist who forgives everything, stands up for barely anything, and has conviction in nothing (I really hope this changes in the end, but no strengthening of her personality has occurred in SEVEN whole volumes).

I'm finishing vol 7 right now and I want to just give up reading this manga but I only got a little over 4 more volumes. I think I'll stick it out because the drawing is pretty consistent and nice and there are really sweet tender moments in between all the absurdity and cliches.



To those who are thinking of reading this because of the one-girl-many-guys thing, read Hana Yori Dango, Vampire Knight, or Parfait Tic instead.

This is a low tension fantasy comedy. The main characters are a dark mage shopkeep and her toddler-age slime apprentice. It has a bit of a slow start, as most gags revolve around the mage hiding her affection and contriving excuses to huge and squeeze the slime.

But as the story progresses it finds its rhythm and becomes more engaging. I think the cast of side characters are the main charm - they're very funny and likeable. It begins dipping its toes into surprisingly dangerous and emotional drama and adventure arcs as well, without sacrificing the story's safe-feeling vibe. Well, the cover art tells you what to expect pretty well.

This manga is 4 years old by now, so this review is quite late but I decided to say how I feel about it.

Boruto is an underrated manga imo. I think that's how best I can describe it in one word. It's a lot better than the anime counterpart, and for sure a proper sequel to Naruto as opposed to the former. The reason I say it's underrated is, as you can see in MAL, it has a low 6.80 score and sales are relatively low, not to mention that many people hate the series. I understand that for the anime, but the manga is different. I don't necessarily blame the fans for the low popularity of the series though, as it erred in several apescts:

-The first one I want to talk about is the art, and it is that which I like the least in the manga. It is not similar to the art of Kishimoto at all and several characters are almost unrecognizeable, specially female characters. The art has gotten better as the series progressed but it's still a big drawback. Related to this problem is the fact that the artist, Mikio Ikemoto, works very slowly. As it was stated by the story writer (Ukyo Kodachi), the reason the manga is monthly as opposed to weekly is because of the slow work schedule of the illustrator.
-The fact the manga is monthly does not help the series as well. The pacing for the story is particularly slow at a certain point in the series, and the release schedule certainly makes the readers impatient. Another thing that didn't help it was the fact the first 11 or so chapters were a direct adaptation of the Boruto movie released in 2015. Many people dropped the series at this point, since by the time the manga moved on from the movie recap, almost a year had passed and the anime started airing at that point.
-The anime in particular was a bane to the manga and the series as a whole, as it is mostly filler. The producers should have waited until 2020 or 2021 to start adapting it but they decided to make as much profit as they could from the Naruto name and sort of "stained" franchise's name.

I know it feels like the series already has a lot of bad things to even be redeemable, as I wrote three paragraphs and haven't started praising it yet, but most of these things are very circumstantional. If Kishimoto and Shueisha had organized and prepared themselves a bit more I'm sure the series would be more popular. Of course the hardcore Naruto fans that hate Boruto simply for the fact that it exists don't help either. Anyway let's move into what actually makes the manga good and why I recommend it.

The Boruto manga, like I said, adapts the movie arc entirely. The reason they did this was because they made a major change at the end, as when Boruto defeats the villain, Momoshiki, he receives a special seal in the palm of his right hand that no one knows about. This seal is going to be major to the plot of the series. The writer does a really good job at capturing the attention of the readers and creating suspense and mystery, as we still don't know exactly what the seal is, but we have received plenty of hints and information. Enough for us to still be interested and not wanting to drop the story.Without getting into major spoilers, there is a group of characters called Kara and a boy named Kawaki that are going to be directly involved with this seal. Kawaki possesses the seal, just like Boruto, and they are trying to find out a way to get rid of it while also escaping from the Kara organization that is pursuing them to "obtain" the seal.

One of the things that I really like about the series is how much the writer does in so little time, as we have about 35 chapters of new content and it feels like the story has been going on for a long time. The characters, specially Boruto and Kawaki, but also Naruto and Sasuke for example, are very well developed, and it is very interesting to see them bond and relate with each other. I particularly like Kawaki a lot, as even though many people have been calling him a rip off of Sasuke, he does not seek revenge for how he was poorly treated during his childhood. He simply wants to get rid of the seal that plagues him and try to achieve peace. I really respect that.

The battles are very entertaining, well coreographed, and there is a great sense of danger in all of them. The recurring cliffhangers and plot twists at the end of every chapter are very welcome and I hope that the series develops into something even greater.

I do believe that, while Boruto (series) is making use of Naruto's(series) name, it would definitely be more popular and successfull was it not a sequel and instead an original story, as most of the haters/critics are fans of the original that can't get over the fact Naruto is not the MC anymore.

I heavily recommend Boruto, especially for the fans of Naruto that are looking for something similar. The series has a lot of potential and I hope that soon the general image of the community is not so negative towards it

this series is great i wish it didnt end so soon cuz the magazine got bankrupt and the series didnt get picked up
i liked the main characters as they slowly and steadly gets friends where in every chapters are fun and the main characters get closer and closer with a end that goes from 0-100 real fast and you get to sea both sides starting with torako`s friends and then torako both sides are great but torako`s side is even better if this manga haddent ended prematurely it could have been a 10
chapter 19 is one of my favorite single manga chapters out there cuz it breaks down torako and her fears i hope the author gets to remake this manga or in somway continue this series
but even with how it ended its great and dont get me wrong the ending was good and the Epilogue cptr 21 is great with a funny plot twist