TheRedLine3

The first thing you wonder about when you start to read DEATH NOTE is whether the stories main protagonist is good or evil. After reading a bit further you realise that your suppoesed to keep guessing right till the end.

DEATH NOTE was the first manga I read the entire way through and I will continue to re-read it over and over, till the day I die.

The story of DEATH NOTE is a detective story that runs over the course of about seven years. However, it has a edge-of-your-seat speed and danger about it that is strangely alluring. Tsugumi Ohba has managed to weave a tale with many twists and turns that you don't expect until it's right there on the page in front of you.

Takeshi Obata's artwork begins very well. Then gets better. It is perfectly dark and worrying, and the Shinigami (Death Gods) almost look as if you could meet one in reality. But it is at the end where the imagery is most powerful and amazing.

The most important part of DEATH NOTE is it's characters. All of them are well developed from their unveiling. Even some of the characters that are only in three or four frames seem to have been created with the same love as the main characters.

DEATH NOTE is enjoyable for almost any body in their teens and onwards through adulthood. It can be (and has been) enjoyed by all ages, all genders, race, religion and political preference. And always will be.

Overall, this series' excellence speaks for itself and has paved the way for an Anime and Film adaption as well as a prequel novel. No one can really say how good this series is. The reader must judge for themself.

And more often than not, they judge it wonderfully.

Imagine being able to buy your ideal lover with a few simple clicks of a mouse. That curvacious/muscular body, those beautiful (color) eyes, that wonderful hair; everything you look for in your fantasy lover is all there.

Would you be willing to buy one?

The story centers around a guy named Ying Bei. He is an art student, and has a romantic interest in a fellow art student named Yunyun but finds himself cohabiting with another girl he bought off the internet named JiuJiu. JiuJiu, as a product bought off the internet, lives only to satisfy the consumer who bought her, which in this case is Ying Bei.

What drew me to the story was the interaction between Ying Bei and Jiujiu. Jiujiu acts like she is a simple merchandise bought off the internet for the pleasure of the consumer who is Ying Bei, but Ying Bei insists on treating her like a human being. The contrast between how she was expected to be treated, and how she was actually treated made for some really heartwarming moments.

The story picks up the pace and the mood gets darker, especially evident with the coming of Jiujiu's merchandise friend, Zidie. I really like the turn of events; Other than seeing how bad it gets, I want to see how the entire situation gets resolved. I'm really looking forward to seeing what Ying Bei will do if placed in a predicament.

Ying Bei is a gentle, caring and quiet guy who suffers from a bit of low self esteem. He is very polite, and addresses his peers in a respectful manner. He generally keeps to himself, and the way he conducts himself makes him seem a lot more mature than other people his age. His compassionate and mature side is emphasized with the coming of Jiujiu into his life. Despite knowing that he could have taken complete advantage of Jiujiu as long as he was "happy," he treats her like a human being and endeavors for the both of them to mutually benefit from each other rather than making the relationship all about him.

Jiujiu is a girl that Ying Bei bought off the internet to cure his loneliness. She, and all the people like her, are referred to as "angels." So far, angels are commonly marked by hairstyles that gives the illusion of having wings on their heads, and the ability to grow wings on their back. Ying Bei wished for an energetic girl that would love him forever, and so he got Jiujiu; a cute, hyperactive, cheerful, playful, and loving angel who would dedicate her entire being to making Ying Bei happy.

The art makes the manhua look like it was drawn by a shoujo artist. The coloring is very light, especially appropriate in situations where the characters experience happiness and joy, accenting their emotions. I found all of the characters to be drawn beautifully, each of them serving as eye candy which further enhances the manhua's storytelling potential.

It's a good read. So go read it.

I kid you not when I tell you this manga is pretty much perfectly legible no matter what language you might speak. Having not translations of any kind past chapter six but realizing the lack of quality of this work, I attempted to read the original scans and dear Lord, the Anime Man of the YouTube planes disappointed me for the last time with this terrible recommendation (of sorts). When you can read a manga without reading it at all, you realize there is a thin, thin, THIN line between a masterpiece and an utter piece of shit.

Or, in other words, you can use cliches to your advantage very effectively, because that's how you can read the vast majority of this without requiring the knowledge of English (or any!) language. Seriously, the scenes are so by the book that it might as well effectively be a textbook example of how to write your very first story (because it's your first, and of course it's going to be bad), and how not to write a story at all if you're at all concerned about making it too cliche.

As for the rest of the product itself!
The basic setting is where this manga both starts and stops, and from then on out, there is nearly nothing but rather close-to-explicit porn and some gore so disappointing that it's clear the mangaka just wanted to do draw very questionable tabboish sexy-times. If there are any redeeming points in this read, I doubt I would find them upon my second read because by God, just draw porn, won't you?

The art is OK, the characterization non existent, and most character archetypes used in just about the laziest possible damn way. Each and every character is clearly deranged or traumatized or both in some way, and it shows very early on that they are not what they seem, which just makes it so easy to see where it's going that I don't even know why I gave this a chance. Call it a morbid curiosity, far greater curiosity, mind you, than I had for the story itself.

Plus point for some very nice nudity. Not many plus points for 'yikes' content, but hey, that's what this manga is all about. Extra minus points for very disappointing gore.

... Just read Pumpkin Night already!

"No matter how wonderful a memory is, there comes a time when you have to move on and start living in the present. Dwelling on past happiness doesn't bring true happiness. You don't need to fill your arms with happy memories from the past. There's plenty of happiness right in front of you. Just reach out and grab it. I want us to look towards the future together." --- Yaya Hanatsu

First of all, this review may contain spoilers (as this is a One Shot it's quite difficult not to spoil anything), so please read at your own risk. That is all.

Past Heaven, the sequel to Yaya Hanatsu's masterpiece .traeH, is just as good as its prequel, or maybe even better. This chapter covers the background story of Ayumu's past (or past heaven, which the title probably refers to).

The story begins with Ayumu asking Yuu if she wants to come over to her house, revealing to her that she lives on her own. Arriving at her house, Yuu notices that she has a lot of keys, to which Ayumu responds "Yeah... there are some on there I don't use anymore". These, which we discover later in the story, were given to her by her former "girlfriend" Rei. After a bit of chatting, Yuu comments that Ayumu looks cute when she's enjoying her ice cream so much. Ayumu then asks Yuu if she likes her and if she wants to go out with her. After the flustered Yuu, who is a bit taken aback from those sudden weird questions, says they're both girls, Ayumu kindly asks her to leave. The next day, she completely avoids Yuu and just continues to be her usual cheerful self. Then, when Yuu approaches her and greets her, she gives her a cold "...oh, morning, Yukishiro-san". Later, after school, Yuu notices Ayumu sitting by a tree and hears her talking to herself, talking about how she met a girl who looks just like "her", but that she's not the same as "her" and how she "rejected" her. (Also, it seems she smokes...) Ayumu then decides to tell Yuu all about Rei, telling her about the fact that Yuu looks just like her and that she and Rei used to date and kept it a secret from everyone. But, when Rei's parents found out, they sent her away to live on her own in an apartment in another neighborhood. A month later, she got a letter from Rei, which said that her parents wouldn't let her be herself and how she didn't know what she'd need to become to be able to please them. Ayumu then comments that "she didn't even talk to her before she did it", which refers to the fact that Rei committed suicide soon after, and that it's been exactly 2 years now since that happened. Right under the tree she was sitting at, meaning Rei must have killed herself at that spot; the only spot which she liked in her new neighborhood... In her letter, Rei wrote that she wants to give Ayumu a pair of keys (the key lying on the letter is a hint to that), saying that they'll live together once they get older and they'll have their own matching pairs then. Ayumu thinks she's an idiot for that, since there's no point in having it now that she's dead. Though, she confesses that she's an idiot too, because she can't get over her death. And that that is why she moved into her current neighborhood, where Rei lived, all alone... The same goes for her seeming addiction to ice cream, which Rei gave to her when she was feeling down. After Ayumu's long story, Yuu says that she came here to find something out, namely the difference between a friend and a girlfriend. Ayumu answers that this is when your feelings become one with each other, to which Yuu asks if that's how it was with her and Rei and she responds with "......yeah, it was......". Yuu then says that she can't be like Rei was to her. But, that she wants Ayumu to become one with ´her`. And that she wants them to be so close that nothing could ever separate them. The story ends with Yuu commenting that eating nothing but ice cream will make her sick.

Anyway, sorry for the long summary of the story. I just had to do this! This One Shot just needed a small novel adaptation that covers all the important events that occur during this chapter.

But, to keep a long story short, the background stories of both Yuu and Ayumu were just mindblowing. A little dark and sad, but interesting.

And now, to end my everlasting ramble, a little quote directed especially toward Yuu and Ayumu (also in Japanese to the best of my ability): かもしれないお互いのためのあなたの愛は永遠に延長する | Kamo shirenai otagai no tame no anata no ai wa eien ni enchō suru | May your love for each other extend into eternity.

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# My Ratings
----------------

Story: 10 (Outstanding)
Art: 10 (Outstanding)
Character: 10 (Outstanding)
Enjoyment: 10 (Outstanding)
Overall: 10 (Outstanding)

FLAVOR METER: Bittersweet, although the taste could have lingered for much, much longer on the buds.

-The Story-

What I really loved about the story was the fact that it took a more realistic approach towards the theme of "following your passions" through the perspective of the main characters.

It showcases the compromises that someone is willing to go through to make those dreams a rose-colored reality, may it be leaving the ones you love behind or sacrificing those dreams for the sake of others.

There was also the motif of "strength," which was touched on through the motivations and sense of responsibility that each of the characters develop throughout the three chapters.

Of course, there was the obvious romance between the two characters - but we'll get to that issue in a minute.

The pacing of the story is what killed it for me. As said in the beginning of this review, the premise deserved to be a bit longer than just three chapters.

The character development would have made more sense this way, rather than having these time-skips that don't necessarily tell us anything other than, "So, this is what is happening right now. Look at this pickle we got ourselves in!"

Don't get me wrong! The situations that the characters go through are tender, but to me, they needed more depth rather than a brief rundown.

While the story isn't forgettable, it's not one that has a lot of "meat" in it, if that's the kind of story that you're searching for to go with a side of boiled potatoes.

-Art-

The art honestly wasn't that bad! Although there isn't much to say about this portion, I do have a complaint about the proportions of the characters.

In some panels, Rui looks very "broad" in the shoulders. Like, body builder kind of broad. As if she was just like, "Screw the modeling career!" and got jacked on steroids. Okay, maybe a bit of an exaggeration. Actually, the same could be said for the rest of the female characters.

Everything else was pretty crisp, but that was my only peeve.

-Character-

You can see where the characters are coming from with their motivations, but the question is - why?

Why does Rui want to be a model? Why does Togou want to be a famous artist? Why did Rui's mother suddenly decide to grow a backbone after grieving the death of Rui's father?

The "why" of their characters are not touched on - but this could probably be blamed on the lack of character development based on the length of the manga alone.

You're never really given time to get to know the characters, let alone get emotionally attached to them to invoke feelings for them - considering the scenarios that each of them go through. This also touches on the romance aspect of the manga!

All we know is their motivations, and we as the audience are spoon fed their thoughts and emotions without actually processing it for ourselves.

It's not savory, to say the least. Fairly, poor.

Although, I did admire the strong drive that the main characters possessed to achieve their goals! That was one of the several things I liked about the characters, because it's motivating.


-Enjoyment-

Despite it being short, I actually thought that it was decent! It was tender-hearted and forgiveable, and it delivered with a good ending at least!

It was bland, but not terrible. Most of it was predictable, but overall, it was good enough that I felt that it needed a longer runtime.


-Overall-

"Just because it can be shortened, doesn't mean it should be!"


The art was very good! The character development and story needed more work, but the enjoyment level was good enough.


I would recommend this manga, if you're looking for a quick read to put into the database and some mild entertainment!

I saw this and was curious. I have never read or watched a dance theme anime/manga. Honestly, it seemed interesting but like its just ,,,, there ya know? I was this recommended so I had to read it because of how short it seemed. The story is ok. It's your typical mysterious boy. Honestly, I didn't even know one of the characters had a crush on her. It's not bad but like it's not the best either. IM SO SORRY but ... yeah.

If you want a quick read then this would be perfect. I don't know if its because I'm tired but I had to tell myself to not put this story down and drop it because of how short it was.

I love reading isekai manga and am usually going through piles of obscure stories for the sake of "quick" entertainment. So, I stumbled upon this story the other day and decided to give a quick read but this story really disappointed me.
The concept of dragon reincarnating as a human and gaining a new experience,perspective on the species is interesting but the execution is dull. The human/dragon has no '"unique personality" as oppose to other isekai protagonists and the story is not interesting. Frankly speaking, it's boring af.
The story is going forward and introducing new characters,expanding world but there is no connection with the viewers. I mean, the world is just about same as any other fantasy world and the major problem of demon tribe is nothing new so I can't invested in the story. The character of lamia was the reason why I could complete at least vol. 1 but I can't see myself going any further than this.
The art is the worst aspect, with plain character design,identifying 2 female characters when their upper-body is only shown is impossible, the environment isn't new and the art feels rough.I barely enjoyed this series and wouldn't recommend it to any isekai/fantasy "fans".

Scores
Story : 4/10
Art : 3/10
Character : 4/10
Enjoyment : 4/10
FINAL VERDICT : 3.75/10

The story is decent and easy to follow – it’s the typical murder mysteries set within an all-girls high school and how the protagonist, the school’s maths teacher goes around solving them and gathering the pieces of puzzles together while in danger of being the next target.

At the beginning, new characters are introduced at every few pages and it’s easy to get lost and confused. Nevertheless, the art style makes up for it as each character is distinctively drawn, although remembering their names can be baffling. However, given that the characters and their circumstances are intertwined with one another in some way, these characters are not redundant as they add to the bigger picture.

The murder mystery and methods of execution is somewhat easy to solve and this could be due to the fact that rather than focusing on the complexity of the murder methods, the author wanted to focus more on the dark side of the characters through the series of events that unfold.

Nevertheless, I believe that there could have been more depth in the development of the characters and the way they interact. Further, the hint of a teacher-student affair could have been more elaborated - I was a little disappointed that the relationship between Maejima (the male protagonist who is married) and one of his female students were brought across so placidly and ended way too abruptly. From the tone of their conversation and the way they interact, there is definitely something deeper between the both of them which I believe would have made the story more appealing if the author had dwelled more into developing their relationship. Without revealing any spoilers, it’s hard to describe the frustration one felt towards the end.

Further, the motive for murder wasn’t that compelling and I wasn’t convinced by both the victims and the culprits. Most of the characters failed to move me although I must say that after completing the series, I developed a love-hate relationship towards the male protagonist, who in some way is that typical gentleman cum jerk who destroy the lives of unlucky women albeit unintentionally.

Overall, this manga is still a good read, although I believe there are even better titles of the same genre out there.

First of all, let me just warn you that the plot is VERY superficial and 'fake', if you will. Story starts off with our main heroine as a nerd, ugly and fat. However, because of various reasons (shown in manga), she decides to attend a high school where none of her junior high friends are going in order to change her appearance from 'jimmy' to 'hot stuff'. There she falls in love with our main hero, who is not the brightest, but 'who cares he's hot'. And the journey of superficial-ness begins. I was liking the manga at the beginning because Ai, main heroine, was hotheaded and could 'fight', verbally, if you know what I mean. However, as the manga progressed, it got more and more on my nerves. It sends out a message to people that appearance IS everything, and it doesn't matter what your personality is like, as long as you're hot, you can get guys to fall head over heals in love. It indirectly states that because you are ugly, you cannot speak out, you can't have any confidence, for Ai states "how can she (ugly girl) have so much confidence looking like THAT?!". I found that to be horrible. Also, when our main hero states "Its true, I would rather date a pretty girl and an ugly one regardless of personality and you know it. That's why you wanted to become pretty isn't it?". Besides that, the art is fairly well drawn and that was the only reason I kept reading, unfortunately. If you don't take mangas and the message it sends out seriously, then I recommend you read it. Also, if you want to have a good laugh, this is the manga for you.

I really enjoyed this manga, due to it being different from most of the assassin manga out there that i have come across so far. The story line so far has really picked up and is able to hold my interest because its not revealing too much too soon. Or on the other hand its not ridiculously slow moving. The art is really good, i haven't ran across a panel i had to stare at confused (thinking what in the world is that?). The Tsubame character is great due to his diversity. His main(body) is not the annoying kid type who eats a lot that you see so often but is rather level headed. Overall i give it a 9. I enjoy assassin manga and hope that this one doesn't end.