Spotlight Manga: Believers MAL Manga Information Page: Believers MAL Score - 7.26 (by 428 users) Ranked - #5141 Popularity - #1368 For the next week I would like to have a discussion about the manga that focuses on the key elements that we here on MAL use to critically rate a manga: Art, Characters, Story, and Enjoyment. I would like everyone to approach this thread as if you were going to write a review and structure your initial post like this: Art - insert rating Characters - insert rating Story - insert rating Enjoyment - insert rating Art - discuss any pros and cons of the art styling used in the series, try to include some specifics. Character - describe any of the things you liked or didn't care for in regards to specific characters in the series etc... If you are having trouble writing up a review or coming up with specific pros and cons, please don't worry. Just do the best you can with it and if you can only write two or three sentences about any of the 4 elements then that's OK. Not everyone here is currently at a level which will allow them to articulate their thoughts and opinions. After your initial post is made you can feel free to civilly discuss issues of contention. I am sure there will be many opinions expressed here that some of us will disagree upon and criticise and it is for that reason that this entire club exists. So I hope everyone has fun and I am really looking forward to seeing how this discussion will develop. RESULTS OF THE YOU DECIDE POLL Believers was NOT inducted into the club Manga list: 12 Yes - 41.3% 17 No - 58.6% 44 Don't know this manga - 60.2% of the total number polled 0 Abstained - 0.0% of the total number polled |
santetjanNov 16, 2010 9:33 AM
| You do not beg the sun for mercy. |
| First of all, for those who haven't read Believers, then I suggest you do since it's only 2 volumes. Doesn't matter if this gets refused or not, I just don't want it to get in limbo. In short, Believers follows three individuals trying to purify their "sins",only to find out that these "sins", comes back harder than before. Literally harder, and I have to say that it does it very well. Believers is a fucked up, crazy, silly and funny manga. However, what differentiate Believers from the other of its kind, is that this manga actually keeps a focus. Most of the series treating with marginals idea that I've read gets lost in their idea and ends with a nonsense ending.Believers, while "fucked up", is actually a very simple and comprehensible manga. I don't have much to say about it. I just found the whole execution to be remarkably great. Yes from me. |
| -Fixing- |
| Art (8/10) - The characters are drawn distinctively. There's not much detail on the characters but it suits the manga well. The backgrounds are really good though. The author described on the end of volume 2 the source of inspiration for the setting. He did a great job into realizing it; putting a sort of melancholic feel even though the story is really demented. Characters (9/10) - Everything is centered on the three cultists, and by focusing onto them up to the end makes Believers solid. Joining a cult to escape the hardships of the 'real world', and being isolated on an island for the purpose of enlightenment has some grave repercussions. And as real as these people are, lust, jealousy, greed, false hope, paranoia, and other sort of emotions eventually get into them as they partake into a rather silly rules to perform the "deserted island program"; trying to resist urges while still abiding to the rules of the "organization" This makes the characters predictable AND unpredictable at the same time. (Here I go again on my vague explanations, but yeah.) Story (8/10) - A reviewer on the manga page here in MAL mentioned that the 'characters and story are one and the same'. I pretty much agree, since this is very character-centered. There's a basic premise though, and we can see the whole picture at the end. Enjoyment (9/10) - Well-executed. I read the whole thing in one sitting (well, it's very short) and there was never a dull moment. Yes. |
 |
| Well, it's one of the better manga I've read. But, considering I've only read 22 manga to completion, this should be taken with a very large grain of salt. That said, this is a manga that incorporates sex and all it's ramifications and builds a story around it. It's very easy for someone to write this off as a hentai but, really, there is much more to it than that. Sadly, it has been well over a year since I've read this so my memories kind of fuzzy. But, wilio and idlezeal's thoughts ring true. As good as I thought Believers was, I just don't see many people reading it. Which is a shame, at only 2 volumes long, it was an easy read in one sitting. And, then, I think you would have to have a fairly open mind to "get" what the story is about. A "yes" in my book. |
| "Yes, I have been deprived of emotion. But not completely. Whoever did it, botched the job." - Geralt of Rivia |
| Am I the only one disappointed in the ending? It felt sort of abrupt. Also, I think the game was an unnecessary element. If it had to be mentioned no matter what, it could at least be introduced in earlier chapters. Other than that, I liked the main characters and how they changed throughout the work but the ending just doesn't sit right with me. Maybe I am missing something. |
I don't know about anybody else, but I laughed here. The build-up helped the joke, too. This manga was pretty engaging and interesting and will get a yes from me. Characters were the highlight, in my opinion. |
| Art - 3 This is some of the most horrendous art I've ever seen. While the panels themselves and pov provided for the reader are pretty good for telling the story, the characters and art itself is just ridiculously bad and I actually laughed out loud multiple times when turning to the next page and seeing some of the drawings. Considering this is the guy who made Sho Nuff I do, I wasn't expecting much but my god..  Characters - 7 The characters were actually pretty well done all in all and felt like real people. Pretty much the only praise I have for this series. Story - 4 I know there's more to it than sex, but there was too much sex. And while it makes no real sense to say so, the fact that everything was so poorly drawn just awakened the stereotype in me of some loser guy who can't draw for shit but always draws pics of naked people. Given the abundance of sex and then the very poor art, it was hard to consider this a tasteful manga. The only way would be to present a very well-thought out and interesting story. Instead I got Jonestown drawn with terrible art and a lot of sex. Then a mad rush of exposition/information dump at the end of the story once the opportunities for people having sex began to dwindle. Enjoyment - 3 1 point for the shit eating. 1 point for ??? 1 point for having someone's I honestly cannot in good conscience recommend this manga to anyone, so it will be a no vote from me. |
BlackMagic said: Story - 4 I know there's more to it than sex, but there was too much sex. And while it makes no real sense to say so, the fact that everything was so poorly drawn just awakened the stereotype in me of some loser guy who can't draw for shit but always draws pics of naked people. Given the abundance of sex and then the very poor art, it was hard to consider this a tasteful manga. The only way would be to present a very well-thought out and interesting story. Instead I got Jonestown drawn with terrible art and a lot of sex. Then a mad rush of exposition/information dump at the end of the story once the opportunities for people having sex began to dwindle. I was going to point that out. I was even wondering if this should be listed as hentai. While I can understand that when you leave a guy and a girl alone on an abandoned island with nothing better to do, there is a good possibility for them to interact sexually, I think the amount of sex is unnecessary and really takes a lot out of the story. It's a no from me as well. |
| Yes too much pointless sex indeed, but I found everything else to be excellent. The art was sloppy sure, but not horrendous. The backgrounds were interesting and detailed, it was mainly the character art that let it down. I loved the black humor, the dialogue, and even the typical dream vs reality ending which I thought was fitting and in this case not typical at all. |
| To echo what most people have already pointed out; too much sex. I felt the focus drifted too far away from the focus on the characters and their development. They should've kept it on the psychological aspects, such as the doubt of the leader and each other, than just letting it degenerate into a smutfest. Started off interesting enough, but no, my interest kept dwindling right up until the end. The whole game part felt out of place. Also, as BlackMagic said; I can't recommend this to anyone. No from me. |
| Lets see, if you add a pinch of the Blue Lagoon, then a smidgen of the Jonestown massacre and blend it together with a large portion of the Aum Shinrikyo cult you seem to get this Manga, a moral tale of the disaster of where belief can get you. As for the sex, I didn't find it distracting to the plot, it seemed natural and a likely outcome to being on an Island with an attractive women for an extended amount of time. The last image of the manga was great if I'm interpreting it correctly. This Island in question was very close to society? This prison was actually in their mind? I could have sworn that they mentioned the desert Island being far off the shipping lanes and away form society. I do like the how it was eluded at the end that he wanted to stay in a real life prison. At least those walls were real to him, vs. the distorted walls of belief. I can't say that the art was fantastic or even exemplary but the characters did hold my attention even if they weren't fantastic character designs. I liked that they did show pubic hair, a taboo in many Japanese manga and anime. It also seemed tasteful that the genitalia was invisible as to make it less of a hentai. I'm curious if it was just the version I was reading, or if the genitalia is left in another version? I'm guessing if there was genitalia it probably would have been classified with the ero title too. I personally don't find that to be a problem if the sex seems plausible. I'm not sure how vote on this one. I'm gonna need a lot better argument against it, other than there was too much sex. The psychological aspect seemed like it was well developed and addressed the dangers of absolute truths or "Belief". |
| Isn't genitalia usually "blanked out" in manga on account of the Japanese moral laws regarding such things? I know I've seen the same practice in other non-hentai titles. |
Orion1 said: It's understandable for sex to be present in the story. The main complaint seems to be about the number of pages devoted to it as it contributes little to plot progression or character development. The mangaka could have halved it and the readers would still get the point.As for the sex, I didn't find it distracting to the plot, it seemed natural and a likely outcome to being on an Island with an attractive women for an extended amount of time. Personally, I find the issue of cults fascinating in a morbid way, but the manga pales in comparison to the stories of real-life cults. I think I'd rather read up on Scientology and Project Chanology. |
| Yet another work with somewhat wasted potential. This could be much better. Not to forget the unbelievably ugly drawings. No for me. |
     |
| @Yuunagi: Fiction always pales in comparison to real life. I did also get the feeling while reading this manga that it was all just too familiar, but I've also seen a lot of documentaries on Jonestown and read a bit on Aleph. Oh course if leads one person who doesn't know about the two cult's I mentioned to question the idea of blind faith then it has done it's job. There is also two different U.S. movies with the name Believers, one with a similar plot, but it is based more on the Heaven's Gate, Hale-Bopp cult. Its' twist at the end was the only redeeming aspect of that movie. Still my initial response or score of this work was a 6/10. I'm having a hard time raising to a 7 to justify voting yes. But my opinion has been going up the more I think about it's redeeming aspects like the plot design. At first I wanted to say that maybe if it were longer, but then I realized if it were the hook at the end wouldn't have worked as well. I'm a big fan of this manga's ending right now. I like it's psychological characterizations and dialog. I think if I read this again, there just might be some hidden genius. Plus I'm at a loss here to know exactly how good the translation was an if it actually conveyed as strong of a message as the original Japanese. |
Orion1Nov 12, 2010 4:51 AM
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