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Vagabond is, in my opinion, one of the most important titles in recent manga history, and perhaps ever. It is, in many ways, one of the most ambitious manga ever created, and although it's impossible to measure individual effort, it wouldn't surprise me if Takehiko Inoue worked twice as hard as most mangaka.

Vagabond follows the exploits of Shinmen Takezo, who would eventually become the legendary sword-saint Miyamoto Musashi, and his childhood friend, Hon'iden Matahachi. The two start off as very different people to begin with, and their inherently different natures set them off on completely different life paths. Though based on a famous novel by Eiji Yoshikawa, it diverges from it in numerous ways to the point that it can stand on its own quite comfortably.

There isn't much of a "plot" to speak of; Vagabond's entire hook and storytelling style is based entirely on the characters and their growth and development over the course of many years. This is in no way a bad thing because the character development present in Vagabond is some of the absolute best in any manga. Musashi grows from an immature, amoral gloryhound into a spiritually enlightened philosopher, warrior, and artist and it's incredibly fascinating and engrossing to behold. The rest of the characters get a fairly good amount of fleshing out, more than enough to make them distinct and memorable in their own right.

Vagabond is one of the most genuinely japanese comics I have ever read, and not in the stereotypical anime/manga way either. There are many moments and actions in Vagabond that in any other manga would have been the subject of judgment; being a seinen, it does not shy away from graphic violence, nudity, and other similarly adult content. However, these events are presented much more matter-of-factly and through an entirely different lens than most stories. While this can potentially alienate some people, I found it very fascinating, as if I was looking through something that was made by a person who is very different from me.

Of course, I would be remiss in also mentioning the incredibly important part that Vagabond's art plays into its excellence. Simply put, Takehiko Inoue is arguably the most skilled manga artist in Japan today. He has achieved a level of draftsmanship that is far beyond most comic book artists in general, whether they be eastern or western. The character designs in Vagabond have a ridiculous amount of effort put into them; not only are they all completely distinct from one another, but they are very detailed and realistic, much moreso than 99% of other manga. Takehiko Inoue has such a strong grasp of proportion, form, shape, perspective, line weight, and every other artistic fundamental to a degree that I really don't see outside of the best art instructors in the world. A big point in Vagabond's favor is that unlike other similarly well-illustrated works such as Berserk, Vagabond's art *starts off* really strong to begin with and only becomes BETTER as time goes on.

This growing expertise is perhaps best represented by the challenge Inoue took up in using a brush to ink his work as opposed to traditional ink pens. Using a brush is ridiculously difficult and requires a lot of control, but the results are self-evident: Vagabond gradually develops extremely lush and beautiful illustrations that would only be possible with this tool. His masterful use of the brush is one of many testaments to Takehiko Inoue's expertise.

Any flaws Vagabond has are mostly nitpicks; a lot of the story is not based on action, but on spiritual and philosophical musings by Musashi and the rest of the cast. Generally these moments are insightful and even almost spiritual, but very occasionally they can be a little pretentious. While I like Kojiro's character, i'm not sure if his portrayal as a deaf person is very sensitive to the deaf community or how they would respond to it. As of this writing Vagabond has been 'almost over' for a few years, and it's not really clear when Inoue is going to come out of hiatus.

regardless, even if this manga is never finished, it is still a seminal masterpiece in the industry that everyone should read. the amount of artistry, research, and raw passion that went into it are undeniable. It is one of the only manga i'd ever give a 10/10 to.

Glad I finished this on a whim after dropping it roughly half way through. Death Note is a well regarded classic at this point and not without a reason but it's not without flaws.

Art: Realistic, detailed and grounded. Usually this combination leads to good looking but rather bland looking titles, not the case here. Obata is really talented when it comes to design and style, he deserves a lot of credit for making a manga about people talking always looking so cool. There's a lot of care put into the way every character looks, dresses or walks to separate them from each other and complete their personality. Designs for everything paranormal are exceptional, I wish Shinigami played a bigger role if just to see them more often.
Overall the look is very clean, everything looks like it was meticulously drawn with maximum precision which basically means no sketchy lines or visual inconsistencies. Shading is very detailed which helps that realistic look but there's also some nice hard light and shadows for more dramatic scenes.

Characters: while main cast is pretty interesting and varied, it's not the point of the manga. It's about a tense game of playing cat and mouse so it doesn't really matter how deep or developed the characters are. However they are distinct and quirky enough make their interactions fun to read.

Story: Death Note, at its core is a battle of wit between two opponents, trying to stay one step ahead of each other to accomplish their goal and assert their own superiority.
While it can provoke a discussion about justice and morality, as author stated, the point of the manga is just to a fun, thrilling ride which is why won't discuss those themes. At no point they are really explored or even addressed so even if you applied the whole author's death concept there would be little to talk about. However I think Ohba is admirable for managing to create a story where it's still possible to root for the villain even if you disagree with his ideology well at least I do).
In summary there's little variance in plot progression, until the very end it's just a constant back and forth with stakes gradually getting higher, from faith of one individual to entire humanity. It all comes down to whether or not you'll find that enjoyable. There's valid complaint that many events are unrealistic , unlikely, and some other 'un's. However I think if you're gonna read a manga with gods of death and notebook that kills people in any possible way, some suspension of disbelief is in order.
At last, there's one complaint I had and it's that the whole thing can get very drawn out and wordy at times. In particular when Death Note gets in the hands of corporate assholes the manga asks too much when you're supposed to care about page after page of really boring musings about how these people you know nothing about will use the notebook. There are other minor moments when characters explaining their deduction process becomes redundant but it's far less offensive.

Funfactor: Death Note is an entry level title for a good reason. It's well made and easy to get into or recommend. It's probably a good get if you somehow still haven't seen or read it.

I seriously did not think that I would rate 10 on all components.

Story: The storyline is realistic yet the author manages to inject so much twists and humour in it, making it absolutely enjoyable. It also helps that the manga introduces us to the world of space and I do feel slightly more knowledgeable after reading it! The manga is not draggy at all, and cliche is at its minimal.

Art: Not the kind that will make you go "Wow, so beautiful" or "Omg, he's such a bishie!" but I have to give credit to the consistency and dynamics.

Character: The main lead is so realistically flawed that he could very well mirror someone you already know in your life. The story starts out with how he got fired from his job and now in his mid 30s, is faced with the terrible choice of finding a job that he is familiar with or pursuing his childhood dream that has a slim chance of succeeding. He has a slight inferiority complex for his younger brother. But he also has a certain kind of charisma that can motivate the people around him and also comes up with the weirdest ideas. His exaggerated reactions (mostly kept as in his mind to stay realistic) are really funny and will make you fall in love with this character. All the other characters are dimensional and highly relatable.

Conclusion: This is the kind of manga that makes you all warm and fuzzy inside! For those who have ignored this manga because of the art, please just read it! I promise you won't regret it!

As you well know by now, I love the occult and anything that has a sense of sophistication in its writing. I fell in love with the anime version of Mushishi and now I like the manga as well. The manga is pretty much the same as the anime, same stories, pretty much same time frame. People may think this is a let down but not to me. Since the anime was so good, the manga didn’t need to do anything in order to be as good and I think it would have taken away from it if they had changed anything. The stories themselves have sort of life lessons that we should take to heart and some of them are rather old lessons that we had to worry about long ago. Because the acts have happened because of ‘mushi,’ these strange creatures that act according to there desires, that it sort of speaks to today’s world as well. Since these creatures have no time connected to themselves, it means that they can be affecting us in this high tech world. Some of the stories are like the desires of people now a days, things like hunting to much that you are taken over or acting higher then you are because of something special you found out. Other stories are just things around you that you wouldn’t be able to stop and seem like explanations of why things have happened the way they did, like losing your voice, memories, or even losing your hearing.

Now for those who hate when the manga and anime are the same, fear no more because the manga goes farther then the anime. We get even more stories and it starts about half way through the sixth volume. Many of the stories are actually rather sad though we get small parts of comedy so that we don’t get to teary eyed. I really think everyone should read these around the time your about to go to bed or to get some relaxation because none of the stories are big adventure action packed stories. Many times, they are made for you to think about what the characters have said and meditate on the story. I personally loved having meditation music on while reading the manga as it sort of zones me into the manga just as the opening song for the anime would zone me into the story then.

There was a small thing that did annoy me a bit about the mangas though, and that is the little bonus pieces that for some reason the author decided to put in-between a couple chapters. They break up the stories and I found myself skipping them at times because I really wanted to read more of the actual manga. The bonus ones were ‘badly drawn’ compared to everything else and just got so hard to read at times that I just felt it broke the mangas. I believe most of them were supposed to be about the author’s life but still, I found myself not really caring about it since it was so hard to figure out if it really was from Urushibara-san’s life or part of the chapters, or even just random bits from someone else’s life.

The artwork is rather sketchy, sometimes looking like blobs without much detail and then there are other times that the background is really well detailed while the characters look bland and simple. I guess it helps the characters stand out but the characters deform a lot more then you would think. Chins are elongated, eyes have little to no definition of where they end and the rest begins, and even the clothing feel like little blobs at times. The times we get colored pages, the artwork is blobs of watercolor sort of merging together as though from a dream. I think it adds to the idea that these creatures we are reading about are things that we may only see in dreams and the imagination. As the books go on, the artwork gets better and better though still keeps its sketchy look.

Misaki is a high-schooler who recently noticed a change in everyone in her town, as if all of them had a loose screw since the construction of a transmission tower nearby, she started seeing a demon-like creature in her room who questioned if she wasn't the one who had gone insane, but after telling one of the crazy episodes she had gone through, the demon, intrigued said that if she made him believe in her, he might help with it.
The art style is interesting and creepy, in the first chapters the characters and buildings might look plain, but when it comes to a more detailed panel, there's a lot of effort into it. The author knows how to change atmospheres in an unsettling and sudden way and I really liked the storyline of this manga, I don't understand how there is no English translation (official nor unofficial) after chapter 4, I searched for it on every site I came across and none of them had it, I even searched it in Japanese and nothing. I am intrigued by the story since even the viewers complained about how terrifying and nightmare-fuel it was, will definitely read it when the opportunity comes.

It’s a decent one short for it’s length. It doesn’t have much of a full story to tell, and seems like more of a beginning of a story. A little more would have been nice, and I feel it’s a story that would be nice to follow if a bit longer, but as a stand-alone it’s a little lacking despite being a nice short read.

If anything, I think the author is good at making characters and their interactions feel organic/natural (even though this one’s too short to have anything even happen satisfyingly, unfortunately), so it’ll be nice to look out for more related works (as I’ll go ahead and do now!)

A rushed manga ... That's what I felt with the ending of Mushoku Kyousei Shuuyoujo. A manga that loses at several points, but delivers something different than normal.

1 - Story [7/10] - the best point of the manga without a doubt, however, does not mean that it was exemplary. Problems like too much rush, or too little development of certain characters, I felt it all while reading this manga. And something in the manga probably must have bothered 100% of those who decided to read until the end, and it all started from chapter 10, where something unusual happens in the manga, the break of expectation, throwing all the hype of the story at the bottom of the hole. .. Particularly, I did not hate the choice of the author, but I bet most would be upset.

2 - Art [5/10] - I can't say if art is not my style, or if it really isn't all that ... What I mean is that, I didn't really like art, but it doesn't seem to be " bad ", the art itself is something I don't have to complain about, I just didn't find a point of prominence, or something that saves the manga, is it worth reading for the art? I would say no.

3 - Character [4/10] - Well, at this point I have to complain. The author made a choice that was not worth it for me, not to develop characters, sometimes it seems that he decides to tell stories of the characters, but it seems that this only becomes more complementary to the story, I feel that the only one really developed was the MC, on top of that, I didn't like his ending ... Anyway, it may be annoying, but I believe that you will not gain any compassion for the characters.

4 - Enjoyment [6/10] - Okay, at that point I think you should read this manga. While reading the manga, I asked myself why I still read it, I came to a conclusion: The action is very good! The clashes are great, and in combination with the complicated storyline, the manga can grab you until the end if you like the style.

Overall - Most manga will drop this manga as it gets closer to the end, because of its ignorant and complicated story. In fact, several negative points do not make a good story, the rushed ending only contributed to a less attractive one for the majority of the public. Try to read it and find a reason to finish it, otherwise it is better not to continue.

A compilation of oneshots:

Story 3
The stories were all cliche and maddeningly shoujo (if I can use that word as an insult). The plots were so very predictable buy the second page, if there was any plot at all - which there wasn't.

Art 8
The art is beautiful. At least the hair is. The hair (and tears) is flying everywhere so I guess the artist didn't really feel the need to draw backgrounds. I gave this an eight on the hair alone... I like it when the hair looks good. Except chapter 5. Read it and you'll see.

Characters 2
Exactly what number two represents. Dreadful. The only reason that I didn't put it as pathetic is because of the heroine in story 4. Her attitude - only in the first 3 pages of the manga - didn't seem as pathetic as the others.

Enjoyment 4
As I said, it's the hair. I also did like it when the guys wore and earring... it then showed in practically every panel, drew my eye to it like a magnet. I also liked the sex scene in the first story, although that was the only one with any smut and lasted only 3 panels.

Overall
If you like cliched stories with pathetic girls and enamored boys, and the same tearful ending (not in a tragic way) to every story, then this is the manga for you! A match made in heaven. It'll suit your needs perfectly. Maybe I'm not being fair, but this is my opinion after reading it. But really, the hair...

I may have given this manga a rather high review than most of the people but here is why.

This manga as most reviews said had so much potential, the story is related to partially true facts with a twist (e.g newton and the apple) where each power is related to a certain item, and how each power can be used in such ways that we couldn't think of yet they were logically correct.

It is a shame that this manga was not getting enough votes which lead to it being dropped from weekly shounen jump leading to the last chapters being rushed and a terrible ending,

If this manga did continue i can imagine a different slower pace bu i guess the writer wanted to show its potential since it was closing down.

Hope this review helps

This manga is really bad. It tries to be a horror manga, which it successfully does on the surface, but when one really goes into it, one would realise how bad this manga actually is.

Edit:Go fking read some good manga, I would be a good guy here and suggest that you read horror manga before 2010, yet some of the bests ones are older. This manga is comparable Scumbag loser and that manga is a fking joke trust me

Story(2): It is a pretty shit story, which contains multiple short stories which all tie into the dead tube website. First story had a plot twist that was weird, and the same goes for all the other ones. As each chapter unfolds, things get more grim, and then all the occurring characters are portrayed as corrupt people, and everyone has been raped before. With each story, I felt that I was getting most autistic. Everything made sense, and the story is straight forward, but it was portrayed in a way that hides everything from the reader, which makes a shit story even more shit. The ecchi element to this manga is very unnecessary, and my overall rating would be up by 1 or 2 if it wasn't for this. I know I am being very harsh to this manga, yet whenever I look at this and think of Uzumaki, which I don't think has much, or even any, sexual themes, I just laugh and want to kill the author for wasting a few hours of my life. I became dumber through this horrible experience. The only impact this story has is from the rape that happens every chapter that has made me more and more fkd and now I am a brainless blob.

Art(6): Art is fine, fits in with most of the light horror manga with not much essence to it (with the only selling point being the art, rather than the plot or anything else). Characters, when desperate, are portrayed weirdly.

Warning: Spoilers
Characters(1): Male protagonist: is not even a good guy, has fetishes for dead things, and killing, and gets boners from them. Very shallow guy, does not even have a fixed personality, always changes without reason. Female secondary protagonist: likes killing people, and does not really care about anyone except for MC? Kind of like a shit yandere that is disgusting to look at even fully clothed. Blonde slut: person with glasses, think she likes mc in the start, then realise she was acting, and that she probably does IT everyday since the age of 1, so it is like a basic instinct for her, and she is the slut of sluts, nobody can ever rape her because she always likes/does not care about it. Blonde slut 2: person with long hair, likes MC, got raped. Then there is a myriad of useless other characters who have barely any impact on the story.

Enjoyment(1): If there was a zero option I would chose that. Don't know why I kept looking at it though

Overall(1): Don't know why the rating is so high, it is 7.49 more than it deserves, reflects a shitty Japanese culture. It tries to be a good horror manga except it is not, it is very cancerous, and is much like the top 100 manga fox horror manga which are new and shit to the core. There must be something wrong with the people who give this more than a 3. A 3 is already pushing my limits.

Thanks for reading and don't was your time looking at this garbage or else you would suicide and/or become lifeless.

Edit: There are far more manga that are better than this. In fact, almost all anime is better than this other than fking Yaoi and shit. The only reason people give it such a high score is because they think that this manga is psychological, and such yet to me, the selling point to alot of horror manga is not the fking dumbshit plot, its the setting that counts, and the setting in this manga is so generic that I want to die.