Ranked #529

Veritas (Manhwa)

High school is usualy full of bullies, arguments, exam's,60-year-old-hag's, and other realistic/uncool elements. But what about a school where almost every second is spent for fight's? Interested?Then I suggest you step inside the world of Veritas

The Academy where our protoganist studies isn’t your typical high school. It’s ruled by fighting, and The Executive Council (and the teachers) intend to keep it that way. Intimidating and dangerous, they practically rule the academy.

Some of the things to watch out for are: crazy brawls, near-death battles, relationship drama, ripped skirt's(?), special fighting moves and supernatural abilities.

After reading the first six volumes, I asked myself: “Is an entire manga series dedicated to fighting worth it?” My answer was “Yes…and no”.

Basically,Veritas is one big fight, with some unique characters thrown into the mix. If you can follow panel after panel of devastating bouts of violence, you’ll probably enjoy it. Personally, I think the artwork is really strong and there are some interesting stories that are revealed between battles. But overall, I found it difficult to relate to any of the characters and found the violence a little repetitive after a while.

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With the exception of a few comedies, like Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, or Cromartie High School, manga and anime primarily set in high school absolutely suck.

The reason for this is simple enough; of all the exciting, interesting places to base a story, high school is just about the worst. Choosing this as a setting is simply pandering to one's audience, nothing more.

However, despite so much working against it, "Veritas" manages to pull this off. This is no ordinary school; it's a place for instructing exceptional fighters, set up by an organization called Reunion, which has mastered biotechnology and robotics at a level far beyond anything in the real world.

None of the main action occurs in the classroom either; instead, the manga is a series of tremendous fights interspersed with political intrigue and mystery.

At the center of all this is the hero, Gangryong, the typical, strong-willed, never give up, never back down street fighter. While at first just an ordinary juvenile delinquent, his life changes when he comes across Lightning Tiger, a tremendous warrior who begrudgingly takes Gangryong on as a pupil.

After Tiger's supposed death, Gangryong is recruited into the school as his late master's only student.

While this could easily turn into a non-stop fight manga, (not that there's anything wrong with those!) there is a great deal of exposition and mystery connected with Gangryong's sponsors, the struggle between traditional martial artists like Lightning Tiger and Reunion's own brand of synthesized, bio-engineered martial arts, and the battle for the title of the head of Heaven's Riches that includes the school's student council as well as its adult sponsors.

While the story is well done, and the fights are brutal, gorgeous, and exciting, the manga manages to include a number of funny, humorous moments as well. It never takes itself too seriously, which just makes it that much more fun to read.

The place where this work really stands out most is the style of the characters. They just look cool. Gold chains and pendants around their necks, bracelets all over their arms, beanies over their heads, (in one case) a tribal tattoo, and a generally cool, trendy vibe are a hallmark of every significant character.

The guys all have hard, chiseled facial features and a moderate, well-defined amount of muscle. The female characters have soft faces, slim bodies, disproportionately large breasts and ass, and a similar trendy, up-to-date sense of style.

All of this might seem besides the point, but it's not. Having the characters look interesting, appealing, and (gasp) like a bunch of trendy high school youths makes the illustration more entertaining and the story more palatable.

While it undoubtedly alienates a portion of its readers, who won't be able to identify strongly with most of its cast, it's a fine decision on the part of Veritas's creators.

In terms of weaknesses, Veritas suffers from some predictable fights and scenarios. They're done well, but on several occasions, the creators had a chance to change it up, but opted to go for the more familiar route.

Still, 30 chapters in, this manga continues to be outstanding, and I eagerly anticipate each new release. Highly recommended for anyone with even a passing interest in action manga. read more

So this is actually a manhaw not a manga. So the characters names are a little different then usual. Take Gangryong for example, he's the main character. I don't know why i felt like pointing that out first. Anyways on with the review of the manhaw.

The story is really not outstanding, but its better then a lot of other fighting series' stories. I was suprised that alot of thought was put into the different fighting techniques. Theres literally pages of characters doing nothing, but explaining the different types of ki, fighting styles, elements, etc... It's nothing groundbreaking, but suprisingly good for a fighting manga. It gets an 8.

The art is not to be overlooked. Almost every male character has a 6-pack, and is loaded with musle. Despite all their musle they're not big like in DragonballZ. They're all just really fit. No characters look the same, and they each have something unique about them. The art is drawn very cleanly, and the fight scenes are drawn amazingly. Theres no mystery panels like in Bleach. I give the art a solid 9.

I mentioned the characters being nice to look at, but they're also fun to watch. Even though Gangryoung is one of those never give up characters, i don't hate him. The only thing ever on his mind if fighting which makes him perfect in a fighting manga. He never thinks about girls which is kind of suprising considering how many beautiful girls go to the same school as him. Only a few characters have backstory, but thats understandable since theres only 39 chapters out right now. For characters i give an 8.

Now for enjoyment: The main focus on this manga is fighting, and boy does Veritas deliver in that department. Each fight scene is really well put together. Each character has his/her own unique move(s), and watching them fight is just a blast. Li Gauwho fighting the robot was the first real major fight. And it's just plain awsome to see his body turn hard as steel and just go toe-to-toe with the robot. I was hooked from that moment. Enjoyment gets a definet 10.

This manga has sweet action, a suprisingly good story, and great artwork. I enjoyed it emensely. Overall it gets a solid 9. read more

Story: It's not really unique. A persevering student finally gains acceptance by a teacher in martial arts that also holds supernatural powers, but is shocked to learn that the teacher dies not long after teaching basic techniques. The student then goes to a school for martial artists (semi-complicated - The school exists to steal traditional martial arts techniques passed down by families in exchange for artificial ki rewarded after winning fights) Pretty much being forced into the school, the main character sets forth to make a name for himself like a typical shounen. (9)

The art is pretty good. Nothing special. The manhwa is full of men with 6 packs and smoking hot ladies. (9)

Characters: This is what gets me. I absolutely love the personality of the main character. If you want to follow the story of a badass character (maybe like Ichigo or Naruto?) who starts off very weak (maybe like Ikki from Air Gear) at first, then this is the manga, er, manhwa for you. His dogged spirit just tricks me out. He acknowledges once that he might get some broken bones and get beaten to a pulp at first, but he will still fight in order to get stronger. Even with his idioticly determined fighting spirit, he still has a sense of humor which makes him a thoroughly enjoyable character for mainstream shounen addicts. (10)

Overall: If you're looking for a deep story or a meaning to life, then this manga is not for you. If you're looking for hot babes, ecchi, or a good romance, this manga is probably not for you. If you're looking for kickass battle scenes, badass characters, and lots of action, then I would full heartedly recommend this. I give this an overall 10. read more