Ekhein8

"Preoccupied with a single leaf, you won't see the tree, Preoccupied with a single tree, you'll miss the entire forest." -Takuan Soho

In just 327 Chapters, a story following 2 men that live by the sword birthed and brought up in different social circumstances learning their way to pursue the craft of swordsmanship, Vagabond is a masterpiece of a manga about the retelling of the journey between Sasaki Kojiro and Musashi Miyamoto.

Story: 10/10
Musashi Miyamoto (formerly Shinmen Takezo) from Miyamoto Village was determined to be strong and in order to convince himself he had reached his goal, he set out to fight distinguished swordsmen to become invincible under the heavens. However, due to his vulgar anger and violent tendencies towards others he wasn't in the best shape to set out on his journey. With the aid of Monk Takuan Soho, Musashi Miyamoto was able to refine himself sufficiently and reposition his mindset on the correct path of the sword. ~ Throughout his journey, Miyamoto encountered formidable opponents with killing aura powerful enough to fight without the need of a sword. Once Miyamoto learned that he'd need to cultivate his mentality as well as his physique he had spent an entire year training the path of the sword. After defeating the head of a renowned swordsman school and his brother in a duel, he had to face the wrath of seventy disciples. All this occurred while his best friend, Matachi Honiden was enjoying fine sake and women with his short term success with Oko (Chapter 10ish*) and eventually living a life of solitude as his Uncle Gon and Mother deteriorate from keeping up with him. Musashi Miyamoto's first love Otsu and his first disciple Jotaro follow their own path as they await the arrival of their Master...

On the other side of the spectrum, a child born during the great war that consumed his Father and Mother, Kojirou Sasaki a deaf-mute Swordsman who'd lived by the sword since he was taken in by his grandfather by the beach side. Kojiro Sasaki was a natural swordsman who'd gotten his first taste of combat when pursuing an old Ronin that demands 14 Year Old girls and Food & Sake after saving the village from stragglers. Kojiro Sasaki lived a life of swords, women and Sake as he journeyed around Japan to hone his swordsmanship.

The retelling of Musashi Miyamoto and Sasaki Kojiro was amazing, the attention to the story line which doesn't flow forward for 300 chapters but instead flows forward and takes a step back 4 years to introduce our 2nd Main character and his rise to fame. The story isn't just killing, the premise of Musashi Miyamoto refining his disposition by learning how to farm and following famous masters maintained the quality and detail of his life style. Although many characters are short lived in the story, their backgrounds and tendencies are high lighted; the sheer detail in the story line is difficult to comprehend. All while Takuan Soho helps the morale of the characters with his unique style of managing their convictions. Only through Takuan Soho was Musashi Miyamoto able to refine his disposition and maintain a pure mindset while following the sword.

Art: 9/10
The art is very detailed yet not overwhelmingly detailed, the balance between both is recognizable. The amount of panels can be overwhelming sometimes but luckily few chapters are dense with panels which make it hard to read. Dialogue is kept minimal and even when something is described, it is done within at least 50 words per speech box making information consumption and interpretation effortless. It is a pity that it wasn't fully dedicated to color and drawn digitally but with the compromise of shading and crosshatching, there wasn't much missing with the art of Vagabond.

Character: 10/10
Development in character is Vagabond's strongest point, managing 20+ characters and their backgrounds, living environment and relation to the main characters can be wild. Each arc is completely unique and refreshes the style of character development we see meaning there aren't as much filler content or unnecessary filler information. The strict flow of information during each arc of Vagabond (i.e Keeping the introduction and background of Sasaki Kojiro within 30 Chapters spanning over 5-9 years is difficult to manage) (i.e 2 Managing the farming arc within 32 Chapters est. over a span of 1.2 years would have also been difficult to manage) By containing this information and delivering a consistent flow of character development, Vagabond easily passes with flying colors.

One thing that also worked flawlessly, The character design of Honiden Matachi who lived a life of lies. He was desperate to leave Miyamoto Village to experience life in the Capital of Kyoto and on his journey he slept with many women, even ditching the bro Takezo to sleep with Oko. What also disturbed me was when it was revealed that the travelling samurai who had Sasaki Kojiro's swordsmanship certificate was Kojiro's childhood friend ~ The fact that Matachi got him killed and looted his corpse was amazing development in his convictions as a character but also terrible to know. Eventually, as Musashi had progressed and become famous throughout Japan, Matachi had fooled around with women, Stolen, Extorted many businesses under a fabricated name etc. However, in the end Matachi was reliable to his friend, saving him more than three times when Musashi was near death, Matachi never hesitated to save him despite being conflicted and feeling guilt toward him.

Enjoyment: 10/10
Loved it. Emotional. Dramatic. Comedic.
It is a different style of a story representing a lone swordsman in his conquest to becoming invincible under the heavens.

Super Cub revolves around a high school student named Koguma. She has absolutely nothing in her life: her father is dead, her mother abandoned her for no reason, she has no hobbies, no friends and there is nothing for her to appreciate in life. This changes, however, when, one day, on her way to school, she dreams of buying a scooter, which will make her life much easier. Upon arriving to a shop, she finds out that her dream is not that easy to achieve, since a new scooter costs way too much for her to afford. However, the shop owner agrees to sell her a used one only for 10,000 yen. Thanks to her new buy, her life now changes greatly, and she is finally able to see how beautiful it is.

You know, it is somewhat problematic, perhaps near impossible to find a good and enjoyable slice of life. Truly, nowadays this genre is neglected and it is quite a challenge to find a good slice of life manga, because it is one of these genres that are very demanding. One misstep and it becomes boring. Who would want to read about something that people see in their lives every day?

And this is why Super Cub is that enjoyable to read. Not only does the manga portray a very realistic life situation, but it is also able to show how Koguma’s life changes only because of one buy; she finds new friends, who share her hobby and it helps her see life in a better light.

All in all, it is not a ‘cute girls do cute things’ type of slice of life manga, this manga is actually realistic: the art is very realistic, the storyline is dramatic and the drama never feels forced and the characters are just very enjoyable to follow, because of the fact that they show their growth as people, which helps the reader to feel empathy towards the characters. With that being said, this is a very enjoyable read. Fans of slice of life should be looking forward to the upcoming anime adaptation.

I didn't play the game, and I dun own a DS, so I have noooo idea what the comic is about at all.

Story:2
Really really very poor for a one shot, seeing how it is from a game.
The story seems like Fate/Stay Night, with a main protagonist suddenly landing in a game. But unlike Fate/Stay Night, see no action at all, all I know is that it's some kind of game, and other small details. Supposed to have plot, but terribly messed up, focus jumps here and there.

Art:6
Commendable art, but not surprising, it looks something like from Kingdom Hearts or any other similar Square Enix game.
Prob is the art seems quite messy and I have no idea what some panels are trying to show.

Character:1
Was there any character DESCRIPTION other than names? The characters seem random, even the main characters. Worst character development in a one shot I've ever seen.

Enjoyment:2
Kinda interesting, a few of the panels, the others, just confusing.

Overall:2
At the end of chapter 2 they say "story continues in the game". So, this one shot is too abstract to be called manga... isn't it? It's more like a game prequel, except, that I dun even understand even half of what it's trying to show.

The forbidden desire of loving oneself beyond all others...

A curious, dark one-shot that I'm still puzzling my head over. On the outside it begins with a brother reading the suicide letter of his sister. Throughout its course, our belief about what this story really is about changes dramatically. Whatever your original impression may be, several plot twists reveal the reality of the matter. We are slowly drawn into the cruel world of this brother and sister. Their names are never revealed.

The dark, gothic nature of the art befits the themes of this one-shot. The silhouette of trees is beautifully drawn as is the sister's long, spidery hair, cascading across her shoulders. There is an old crime, film-noir aspect to the art. And the focus on shadows creates a feeling of being enclosed, trapped in.

The characters are something that I had a problem with. Despite the depth and the darkness of the plot line they remain relatively two-dimensional and are used only as caricatures to progress the story along. There is very little depth to their characters and their motivations and ambitions are left quite undeveloped.

The story portrays a very bleak view on humanity and exploits the faults of man. Overall, I thought that it was a very interesting, albeit confusing read and if you are you looking for something very dark and melancholy then this is definitely for you. The last line of this one-shot was, I thought, very poetic.

Hot Gimmick was a pretty drama filled love-triangle type story about a girl, her family and childhood friends. There was a lot of confusion and indecisiveness from the main character Hatsumi. She had a passive type personality that allowed for others to influence her too much, and she never really grew as a character. Only a few characters actually matured throughout the series, which I thought was weak. The animation was nice though, so that was a plus for the storyline. It was a fair read, but overall I was disappointed with the outcome and the main character in general.

Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata's 3rd Manga to be my next obsession. First Death Note and then Bakuman. A manga worth crying for :'(

The two artists are well renowned for their first manga Death Note which was thoroughly set the dark mood for the readers. Based on the current chapters it has the potential to be as interesting as their first work.

I believe that with they themselves it will be impossible to beat death note. People are reading this manga and cant forget how well Death Note did and feel like they are trying too hard and pushing their luck. This manga should be read forgetting that and enjoyed on its own.

Story:9
The story as of yet is premature, Mirai Kakeshi a boy who doesnt seek refuge in living attempts to kill himself only to later find himself alive and saved by an angel. As the first chapter concludes he finds himself on a game where he needs to survive to be crowned god. Will he change his mind to live or not?

Art:10
Obata contributes equally and even better with ever work he is serialized in. The right amount of everything where it is needed. Very delicate and sophisticated details behind his art. His art style well suited for this manga's dark theme.

Character: 10
Not much characters have been introduced as yet. Not, focusing on the main character it is being well developed. He finds no reason in living and tries to kill himself. After being given a second chance to live he learns to the reason why he is so miserable of the way he is. An interesting way to see how he reacts on the situations about to unfold on him. Within the story are angel with opposed nature to what most people would believe. The angels show little remorse to the humans want of surviving and some enjoy their slaughter.

Its a manga work looking forward to the end. I have enjoyed the chapters I've read so far and is worth giving it a 10!

Review for first two chapters (Akuma ga Hallelujah story):
In the start I like it, really. Characters weren't anything new - perverted male student who just plays with heroine's heart but in the same time, he protects her. And naive female girl, confused and annoyed by him.
OK, for twoshot it is good enough.

Art was good. Probably the best thing on it.

And story... well, I didn't expect anything original. But... Young perverted and rude... priest? Mangaka probably knows nothing about Catholicism. But OK, Rosette in Chrno Crusade also wasn't a pattern nun.

The problem inheres in the end of the story. It seems like the author was already tired with that so (s)he said: "Fine, I have enough! It's the end and goodbye!" and cutted it - all of a sudden. There's any climax, any finale, any conclusion.

This review may contain spoilers.

Having an appearance that is not what society considers conventional is not easy. It's even harder on teenagers in high school.

The shoujo genre is usually filled with stories about beautiful high schoolers with slender bodies, cute big eyes and who are considered cute even when in-universe, they are supposed to be plain. Sora wo Kakeru Yodaka does have one of these protagonists in Ayumi, but brings a stark contrast in its deuteragonist (and antagonist) Umine; and takes a step further when they switch bodies due to Umine's influence.

What I like about this manga is the honest sensibility with which the author decided to write a character like Umine, who could've been easily mishandled. For starters, Umine is thankfully not a "plain shoujo character with glasses and dark braids", nor a "Long bangs creepy girl who's actually quite cute when looked closely". She is appropriately drawn in a way that you don't often see in this genre, and that would be unlikely to be considered attractive. While you might have to read more than a few chapters (which I don't think it's a lot to ask, considering it's only 15 chapters) to realize this, it's eventually clear that the narrative isn't trying to paint Umine as the "evil ugly bullied girl stealing perfect girl's life." The manga does not justify her actions, but it goes out of its way to show that the way she was mistreated solely based on her looks shaped her personality and greatly impacted her actions. Her theft of someone else's body is of course portrayed as awful, but her motivations are properly nuanced; also, her suicide attempt (which is not a spoiler and is what the body-switching magic essentially was, had it gone wrong) is not portrayed lightly, nor is her depression.

Ayumi can be a tough pill to swallow. She is cute, has not one but two guys into her, seems to be rather popular at school and has a happy family life. However she is also extremely nice, perhaps too trusting and just the right amount of silly; in any other manga, this would at best make her a generic "too kind for her own good" protagonist. However, Ayumi's sincerely distraught reaction to Umine's suicide attempt despite barely having spoken to her, her utter confusion once in Umine's body and her unfailing optimism makes her endearing, and we feel no joy at her misfortune — even though we do understand the reasons Umine had to want to trade bodies with her when we learn of her depressing school and home life. The author also smartly has Ayumi make a big effort to understand Umine's reasons and seldom thinks truly ill of her. Even when Umine is combative and mean, Ayumi still tries to reach out to her, and manages to not appear spineless or overly naive while doing so.

This manga has several glimpses of extremely insightful writing for such a short story, such as a rebuttal of Umine's "victimization" and of the notion that had she been a bit more cheerful the bullying wouldn't have happened to start with; also Ayumi's realization that, unlike in her old life where she existed separatedly from others due to her prettier and "adequate" body, now she is comparing her appearance to other girls' daily, as well as questioning how "ashamed" her friend Kaga is to be seen with someone like her. These uncannily realistic bits truly elevate the story from a little body-switching wacky account to a narrative that, despite its flaws, is truly trying to get somewhere deeper than the average.

As for those flaws: some of the directions the plot takes are rather implausible and sometimes seem to be there solely to shock you for a limited duration, Shiro's personality switcheroo being the main example. At the end of the day you're not sure at which points he was being genuine or not; a problem for a character who is supposed to be, ultimately, sympathetic. Narratively, it's a waste of time and could've been better written.

The manga also undermines the fact that Ayumi's family didn't seem to notice the body change at all; a wasted opportunity as one of the themes is exactly that external appearances cannot change what's inside, not to mention that Umine's mother (whose relationship is nothing like the loving one between Ayumi and her own family) does notice something wrong. Apparently your classmate who's into you will notice that your body was swapped, but not people you've known and lived with your entire life. As for the love triangle, its resolution didn't hold a significant weight to me at the end, perhaps due to Shiro's wobbly characterization, or because at that point the romance angle just didn't seem so relevant anymore given what was at stake in the climax; it was essentially just a loose end that had to be tied.

Some of its feel-good moments might also come off as forced and overly idealistic to some, such as Ayumi!Umine managing to make a boy stop making fun of her merely by pointing some of her cute points herself. But this manga's objective isn't really to teach what would be the correct way to avoid bullying and exclusion. I see it more as a story of how being alienated and looked down upon despite doing nothing to deserve it can have a huge, lasting negative impact on someone's personality to the point of it becoming unrecognizable, and can drive them to drastic measures.

Finally, it explores how sympathy and making an effort to understand and approach others makes a significant difference to someone who suffered this type of alienation, as the last chapter shows us, in shiny and unmistakably pure shoujo fashion. In these objectives, Sora wo Kakeru Yodaka succeeds quite well and is worth the reading.

As you may noticed this is a personal story about part of the transition process that author has been through so my 9 on Story is mostly for how the whole thing is presented to us.

Sometimes playful, sometimes frightening and all around informative, this manga reads almost like a Trans For Dummies and I say it with the best of intentions - it's a great work to show to that trans-ally you all either have or are in a circle of friends or co-workers.

It is FILLED with information regarding the Sex Reassigment Surgery and many of its post-op issues - even legal ones - all presented in a nice and comedic tone using food. Yeah. It is kinda hilarious.

The art is just... there. It gets the job done - sets the mood and makes the plays it needs to make. If you're meant to be see happiness or sadness or despair you'll see jsut that.

Most of the enjoyment one may have with this series comes from a place of delight by being informed about something that you either REALLY want to you for you or for someone else or you just like to read about things that you may not consider directly related to you.


Go take a look. It's great.

I scored this manhwa six not for being 'fine' but because it stands in the middle of two extremes.

Story 8/10
Nice story of connecting and finding what they need in each other. I just wish they didn't do the little useless twist that just made me read bitterly adding nothing.

Art 7/10

Character 6/10
The characters had some development and growth but what can I say the love triangle and excess stress made us hate the characters many times. Although the sides characters are interesting and a joy.

Enjoyment 3/10
The manhwa had great potential which was ruined after a couple chapters with the author's insane idea of hinting to a love triangle with the boyfriend's dad, which caused stress and made us uncomfortable. As I advanced the chapters got even worse and it just killed all the joy of the story and characters! And most of all, the ending felt so rushed as if the publisher was mad about the love triangle and was about to cancel the manhwa so they fixed everything in the last two chapters~