Ranked #166

Holyland (Manga)

My first review for a manga, it was just so great that I had to whip out a review for it. I stumbled onto this manga completely by accident and I never regretted it. The entire storyline was so addictive and captivating that I stayed up from 1 am to 3 am to finish the 43 chapters that were hosted on a site. Though I have not completed the manga, it has already left a very deep impression on me.

"Between the world of boys and men,
there lies holy land.
Where laws don't matter and the strongest rule
In that world, "he" roamed
Kamishiro Yuu, he was there"

Basically, the story is about a high school student who was bullied throughout his middle school life. The manga clearly depicts the suffering and pain that he went through and how he struggled to overcome it; which is by becoming stronger. His journey to find and protect a place where he could belong and grappling with his identity is realistic and not over the top. He eventually realizes that by getting stronger, he is able to belong in the night streets. But at the same time more people try to challenge him, threatening to take away his "holy land", the night streets.

Holy Land is somewhat like Kenichi, but has a much darker atmosphere and takes things more seriously. The main character Yuu is very well portrayed, and his growth throughout is remarkable. The manga also goes in depth about the inner demons in Yuu, that he actually feels a sense of euphoria when he knocks down anyone in his way though he tries to deny it.It is much more believable than Kenichi, where he just gets stronger and stronger because of just training. Holy land focuses on the psychological effects of bullying extremely well, allowing you to symphatize with the character.

The fighting scenes are also well drawn and fast paced, making shivers go down my spine each time I read them. I even went back and forth 2 or 3 pages sometimes to reread some particular parts over and over again. Yes, it's just that awesome. Sadly, this series is neglected, scans take forever to come out and it is also EXTREMELY underrated in my opinion.

Also, note that this series is NOT for everyone. It differs from people to people. Some people love it, while some hated it. It just depends on yourself.

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Joined this site just to write this review.

Like many of you, I'd been searching for a good MA(martial arts) manga for years now. Only found one, Hajime no Ippo. Along the way, it's been a long road strewn with chi blasts, wire-fu and moves that would get you killed in a real fight(Kenichi I'm looking at you). That's not even going into the retarded story lines of so many MA series.

Finally found this little gem and it's just great. Blood, violence, realism and all the consequences that come with it. The characterizations are just so realistic, despite the massive vein of nakama-ness that runs through. The story isn't all that complex, it's more of an exploration of the characters as they clash, not that there's anything wrong with it. The art might not be what many are used to, but please, give it a shot.

And yeah, the moves actually work, which makes the MAist in me real happy.

9/10 stars.
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