Area D: Inou Ryouiki

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If you're looking for a non bias review, this isn't one. For myself, this is exactly the manga I have been searching for. Scouring never ending lists of anime in looking for a mature, esper/super ability, well drawn, high action, takes place in a microcosm (prison,) and has several main characters with interesting abilities kind of manga.
I found all of this in Area D. I shall make some attempt to be objective especially since I am writing this at chapter 36 and feel it's a bit early to rate the story and characters in the middle of their being established.

*Only spoilers is for the actual ... setting of the prison. As the characters do not know what to expect until they get there and might neither.

Story: 8
While a prison setting, even one with abilities is nothing new I find this one interesting so far. The 'Arkham Asylum' set up of Area D allows for great freedom of writing and social inner workings of the prison. Many similar mangas employ gimmicky prison systems, like Deadman Wonderland's Corpse Carnival and any such setups where combatants are forced to fight. Here, that doesn't happen and in it's place they establish a system that actually makes sense for a military controlled prison for the super power. Even then currency system allows for people to focus more on the story and less time worrying about getting food or, in some cases getting serum to negate collar poison (really Deadman Wonderland, really?)
The warring factions of the prison are very exciting so far. They promise for more interesting conflicts and already give rise to favorite characters outside the main cast. The established events years prior to the start of the series has set up most of the major conflicts at this point and at the same time interconnected many of the characters besides having abilities and being placed in the same prison. (Trying to stay well clear of spoilers here.)
I am going to say 8 for now because I think it's very well written and the best presented prison survival to date. I am really wanting to know how the tension between theses factions affects our protagonists and to determine who really ARE the antagonists of the series. I see great margin for the series to end up with a 10 at the end. (I hope.)

Art:10
While everyone has their own taste in art, and I myself prefer realistic and gritty art that show great detail to musculature and expansive back drops. Having said that the quality of this art is consistently impressive. Frames are dense and layered, characters are drawn with detail in every frame and are athletically pleasing while anatomically accurate (unless you are a giant lizard man... then not so realistic I guess.)
One of the first thing that catches my eye is art work and I find this to be top notch.

Character: 8
Another reason I'd love to hold off my review is that many characters' story have not been explored and it has just been enough time to establish their ambitions. A significant amount of time has not elapsed in order to show character growth or see how they all play into the whole plot. So far there are some cliches when it comes to the some, but I enjoy the interactions of a large cast introduced incrementally but still rather quickly in the series time frame. I like most all the characters introduced thus far whether it be for your personality or ability. The characters' ties with the already preexisting faction conflict with in and out of the prison give them some considerable depth for the the time frame thus far.

Enjoyment: 9
This is literally the exact manga I have been looking for. I would give a 10 in a heart beat but as long as this series is being serialized the jury is till out and therefore I cannot condone a perfect score (as of yet.) This became one of my top 3 mangas of all time in a 24 hour period. I had reading another manga that I found enjoyable and read a large amount of chapters and then decided to give this one a quick trial right before bed and found myself unable to put it down. Prior to that experience I had tried about 5 series over the course of that week and while also all similar to my preferred genres I because dis-enthused.

Overall: 9
Like I said this is right up my ally but I think that I can justify most of my thoughts. I admit its a little early to commit to permanent rating for the story and characters, but for now, this manga is my most anticipated of every week, as I even have a desire to readit again (a rare feeling, especially so soon after first run through.)

Thanks,
Das Bolt

This is only going to be brief since I am only writing this because I saw only one review (they had only read 37 chapters as of me writing this) and something needs to be said to people planning on reading this.

To keep it simple up until chapter 100 (not specifically as it has been a little while since I have read it) I would be giving this a 8/10 and a solid try it out recommendation, however it goes down hill from there and seems to try to tie together the story in an extremely rushed ending, in other words they tried to cram ... to what is by my estimate about 80 chapters worth in less than 40. Therefore the quality of the series declines sharply and left me feeling empty.

In other words if you like well tied up stories (like me) then be cautious of this, however otherwise read the other review and see whether you want to check it out.

[ NO SPOILERS, BUT SOME REFERENCES HIDDEN ON THE BOTTOM ]

When you start reading this manga, you'll probably think "Wow, this universe is awesome! There's so much to explore in this world setting! And at this pace, how come the story ends so quickly?".

That I've asked myself many times while reading this, while constantly wondering about the chapter count. I was trying hard not to be dissuaded by my intuition and enjoy the story in spite of what I was worried about, because the art is fantastic and the premise seems interesting.

Here's something: there's not emotional development or insight into the personality of the characters. ... It seems like their persona is simply made out to be to represent some conviction or be some sort of vague representation of their power.

You'll bump into a lot of scenes from cool moments in fights and dangerous situations they will eventually face, but there's not much behind it. You'll occasionally see two characters made to get along with each other and maybe develop some mutual feelings, but it won't be consumed.

When a character dies, there's nothing left of him remaining in the story, like [spoiler reference 1].

There's not enough background or to justify why a character behaves the way it does.

There are some characters who just exist for the sake of being a power piece somewhere along the line and then vanish into nothing, like the [spoiler reference 2]. Flusterings and feelings that may appear will seem to be simply for the sake of flavor and fan-service, not because it actually means anything.

I've struggled to finish this series, not because the story kept getting duller (it already is pretty dull), but because the characters felt so bothersomely shallow. I thought about dropping Area D many times because I felt no reason to continue reading other than to know how the characters would end up being. As expected, the ending is premature. THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS LEFT UNANSWERED OR UNDERDEVELOPED.

I'll try to save you of your possible worries and anxiousness: if you're an emotional person, don't pick up this title. You'll find really hard to become attached to what's going on because there's not enough juice, not in the story, not in the interactions with the word, and especially not in the characters.

If you just want to see some powers flying around in a different world setting, then go for it. As I mentioned, the art is really cool.




*SPOILER REFERENCES*
[1] - Tatara or Owl Eyes
[2] - Sol/Luna sisters