All Rounder Meguru

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I am not a person that has ever taken part myself in MMA, but I have watched plenty of it in the UFC and Bellator in the past for my 'experience' with it. And I have to say, All Rounder Meguru was a really good series that I feel deserves more attention and love.

Hiroki Endo, the mangaka who was also responsible for Eden: It's an Endless World, was someone that clearly put his heart and soul into exploring the various MMA styles present. The story is really simplistic and nothing too revolutionary, and the art and storyline doesn't really exude 'hype' that much, but the ... more realistic take on MMA sports and detailed explanations of what was taking place in a competitive, professional environment made it an enjoyable read. No over-the-top characters with absurd personalities, and no over-the-top, wacky takes on MMA fights. Everything feels precise, technical and progresses well with both the actions, and characters too, even if they might not be the most exciting of the bunch to most. I did enjoy their realistic portrayals though for a more refreshing take (especially Maki) and Meguru). The characters while a bit dry, did have good chemistry together and that built up well towards the end. The pacing, exhaustion of fights and the progression felt like I was watching a real fight at times but portrayed in manga form, and I like the more professional environment involved with this series than just brawls and unrealistic action scenes all the time.

Overall, its a pretty respectable, technical and enjoyable series but definitely not for everyone. Especially ones that expect more hype inducing levels of fights. But in terms of detail and care put into the characters and especially the MMA styles themselves, that was what sold the series to me as something I highly enjoyed despite the dry feel at times. The covers look great too, and while the battles don't look the most exciting, they do feel incredibly dynamic to read through - which gave me the feeling like I was observing proper bouts. Just maybe wished there was more of a proper, more memorable conclusion to what was an overall satisfying series.

From start to finish it's a masterpiece. If you've done any amount of Muay Thai, BJJ, Boxing, or Wrestling this is the manga for you.

The art is also super realistic and fluid, really helps you imagine the tweens between each frame drawn.

The characters are likable and full. No random melodrama or dark backstories. Real people in the real world.

I personally enjoyed the entire series from beginning to end, even the extra 5 chapters.

The stories are fun and realistic. It ends well too. Most importantly it stays realistic in its depiction of MMA as well as its characters.

All Rounder Meguru does a great job at what it sets out to do: make a realistic mma (shooto) series. The main character is a high school students who lives a normal life, who happens to practice mma after school. He isn’t some martial arts genius, he isn’t born with insane punching power, and he doesn’t have an in-humane work ethic.. Hell he doesn’t even have a speciality. He lacks most martial arts manga tropes that would serve to disconnect him from reality. This allows us as the audience dive deep into his journey.

All Rounder Meguru does not have a very distinct art ... style, and sometimes characters are hard to tell apart. The manga refuses to include anything that would suspend disbelief, like fancy hairstyles or exaggerated personalities. This can be seen both as a strength and a detriment, as it pushes you more into the view of realism, but also lacks the staying power in your mind.

Where the art style does shine is in the fights. The author clearly has a strong understanding of real life mma, as the characters always use realistic and grounded movements and techniques, which makes the fights flow better between panels. There were very few times where I got confused with how someone ended up in a certain position, and when that did happen it was usually on purpose to demonstrate a high level (yet real) transition or technique.

Also, thanks to the grounded style of the manga, the exciting moments don’t have to be the characters doing some secret clan explosive technique. Whether it’s a well timed sweep, a beautiful takedown, or a great striking sequence, the moments that would make a viewer excited in a real life mma match carry over into the manga, meaning that there is very little required suspension of disbelief. This also rewards us as readers, after watching the main character work hard, seeing the things he did in practice used in the ring.

The characters in this manga also go through very real struggles, Meguru, our protagonist, has no idea what his goal really is. He doesn’t have a typical martial arts manga “dream to become the strongest,” as in the real world that dream just isn’t really practical. They play with a more typical manga protagonist with Takashi (the secondary protagonist), giving him a tragic backstory and making him fall into other tropes, but at every turn he is beaten down by real life into becoming more of a normal, realistic person.

What this manga does well, it does really well. It gives you an insight to what a high schooler who has a hobby’s life is like, as he struggles his way through the mma world while trying to understand himself. The character design leaves a bit to be asked for, and most characters aren’t very memorable, but overall it is a enjoyable experience, especially if you love martial arts.