I'll get straight to the point: This manga has moments where it does show uniqueness and it is a very easy read, but its plot is filled to the brim with clichés and awful characters.

That the manga is an 'easy read' is probably the best compliment I can give it because it seems the author really worked hard at that aspect.

To begin, the manga drops you right immediately into the action. I do mean 'right immediately' -- from page 1. Other such manga would take at least a single chapter, if not two or three before the action takes place. It's understandable too as the author wants to establish setting, initial characterization (so readers can see the effects of the plot on the characters), and perhaps introduce some conflicts.

Tenkuu Shinpan doesn’t do that. Instead, the action starts from the beginning and the characterization is introduced in small bits and pieces sprinkled throughout the chapters. The result of this is that the manga is an easy read – one can read ten chapters without thinking much at all -- but it also feels like the story is a secondhand thought.

Which brings me to my main criticism: the clichés and awful characters.

The main character, Yuri Honjou, fits every manga stereotype you can think of. First off, she’s a ‘brocon’ (i.e. the little sister who loves her big brother), she’s innocent and naïve, and 1/4 of any particular chapter is dedicated to showing off her panties and/or other assets. She’s also naively simple to the point where she describes a person she acknowledged as highly murderous (and who she witnessed murdering somebody) as ‘a nice person’ and started using the honorific ‘chan’ within moments of meeting her. Yet despite her naivety, innocence, and nonviolent nature, when she attains a gun, she becomes an incredible sharpshooter to the point where she can blow a weapon out of someone’s hand from a distance.

This is just the tip of the iceberg of stereotypes that surrounds Yuri too.

It’s also not limited to her as a character, but other characters and the plot as a whole tends to be pretty simple and one-dimensional. The mystery is brought on inelegantly and ‘clues’ are pretty much shoved into readers’ face. New characters also fall into known stereotypes and fall by the wayside pretty easily.

So question: If this manga seems so filled with clichés, what are these ‘moments of uniqueness’ I referred to?

Well, I actually mentioned one in passing -- the fact that she uses and continuously uses a gun. Manga, even survival manga, seems highly averse to its characters using weapons. Clubs, knives, and especially guns are either never used at all or dropped as soon as the threat is stopped. The heroes seem to depend on the act of physically restraining others or screaming 'stop!' in order to protect themselves.

So the fact that the main hero picks up a gun, uses it, and continues to use it (among other weapons) is actually surprising.

There are other things too, such as the fact that survival (even for the characters who typically survives) is genuinely extremely low, is also surprising. However, for the most part, Tenkuu Shinpan is a clichéd mess wherein the story seems to take a backseat to the action.

What may be a great read that been ruined by the simplistic story and characters. Overall, I think there’s a good chance one could enjoy it if one could ignore those aspects, but for me, I just couldn’t.