Ranked #463

Shi ga Futari wo Wakatsu Made (Manga)

When I was scrolling one manga.com one cold evening when I should have been sleeping, I noticed that Until Death Do Us Part had updated. I'd been looking for something to read, and there really wasn't anything that caught my eye, other than that.

But I told myself, look at the title, it's a horrible shoujo and you know it You've skipped reading it for that reason. Well, I reasoned to myself, that just might be, but what does it hurt to check out the first chapter? If I don't like it, I don't have to continue reading.

So I clicked the link and boom! There I was, reading about a precognitive girl. Not that the supernatural element is completely unknown to shoujo manga, after all. By the time I realized it, I was ten to eleven chapters in and craving for more.

A blind swordsman was something completely unexpected.

But more, the action, art, and story left me speechless. I couldn't get enough of it and was instantly obsessed. It was like the main character, Mamoru had cast a spell over me and hasn't let me go.

Read it-- you all won't be disappointed. read more

Picked this one up at the start of the week, looks pretty good.

Story: (9)
"Until death do us part" is about a blind assassin (who can only see shapes of objects thanks to supersonic technology) kicking badass with a walking cane/katana. He is accompanied by a tech support guy and a small girl who can "predict the near future" (not quite sure how to word it, so i'll just go with the Bakafish translation). With the assitance of the tech and the girl, the blind guy goes around protecting the streets, saving people and doing the odd jobs that police can't do...
Okay, to put it simply, it's about a blind GAR kicking some badass with a sword. Too bad such storyline lacks originality.

Art: (8)
Considering the high amount of action in the manga, the artist didn't do too bad drawing the actions. The drawing style is pretty serious, not much funny faces and clumsy situations ( like your shounen and stuff, think Angel Heart or City Hunter). The only critisism is that the faces are drawn a bit too simply
(think Naruto)

Characters: (10)
cold, insensitive GAR: 10
damsel in distress: 10
tech support with lazt attitude and smart-ass comments: 10

These characters are pretty much essentail to the plotline of "GAR protecting the streets in his own way". It might be a bit repetitive, but that's what we like XD.

Enjoyment: (10)
Personally, I enjoy GAR manga with lots of fight scenes.
Until Death Do Us Part pretty much staisfy all my needs.

Overall (9)
With such a classic storyline, cast and it's pretty good battle scenes. I really wwanted to give this a 10. But it's lack of facial detail and lack of originality really hit the weak spot.


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I usually read shoujo manga, so it was the title of this one that drew me in. I thought it would be some sweet story, you know, with all the typical "everlasting love" etc. etc. etc... Boy, was I wrong. And I'm glad I was. I don't have much expertise in action-packed manga such as this, but I devoured this manga like no other.

PLOT: I gave a 7/10 only because I'm probably just too dense/read too fast to really GET the plot. I'm used to character-driven stories, so reading this one with an actual outside plot was different for me. But I caught enough of the main story without working too hard, and it was intriguing and left me hungry for more. I just wish it had been made a little clearer at times, like who was working for who and why.

ART: Beautiful artwork, and the action scenes are about the most intense, breathtaking scenes I have ever witnessed. I was also very impressed by the character designs. They were unique and consistent (not to mention gorgeous) and the diverse nationalities of the characters made for an interesting overall feel to the art. The only reason I don't give it a 10/10 is because there were a couple chapters where it was like there was a different artist, the art was very subpar in a few chapters and I don't know why, but it was distracting. There were also the occasional colored pages, which were nice but because of the nature of the manga, not very "colorful" anyway.

Character: Outstanding, 10/10. I love the characters. For being a plot-driven manga, what really makes Until Death Do Us Part stand out from other action mangas is the characters. Mamoru - so badass you can't help but love him. Not only that, but he also has quite the interesting psyche, and he's hard to figure out. Not to mention a really twisted, unique past. Haruka - at first she seems pathetic and scared (well, she is twelve) but she's adorable all the same. And her growth throughout the series is just incredible to watch. She gets almost as badass as Mamoru in some places. Not to mention the relationship between the two develops very deeply and smoothly, realistically; it's not a weird romancy lolicon at all but a deeper story about what really connects people. All the supporting characters are also dense and diverse. You'll get really invested in them all.

Overall, definitely worth reading, but only start if you've got ample time on your hands! read more

Until Death Do Us Part = not crappy Shoujo. Who woulda thunk?

STORY: 5/10
Basically a middle school girl who can sort of predict the future "hires" a swordsman who can sort of see to protect her from bad guys. The guy who can sort of see's name is Mamoru. He's technically blind, but he has super speical high tech sun glasses which let him see the world in an extremely basic state. They react with the vibrations from his cane sword to send an image directly into his head. Also they let him dodge bullets...yea. This is one of "those" manga. There is also a lot of technilogical mumbo jumbo in this manga. Basically all the weapons and fighting are deeply technological from Mamoru's super special awesome molecule cutting sword, to assassin kill-bots. This is a sci-fi manga through and through. The actual plot is sort of...blah. A bad guy targets the school girl/ Mamoru himself, Mamoru beats him, etc, etc. Seen it a thousand times.

ART: 9/10
I actually like the art quite a bit. Every character has a unique (and cool) look and I haven't mixed up any of them yet. The backgrounds and scenery are all very well drawn, and there is almost a manwha feel to this manga. As in the females have nicely sized breasts, all the males are drawn maturely and all the lines are very clean. It's nice to look at, and can really get you into the story at times.

CHARACTER: 6/10
Well we have the school girl, Mamoru, and his white gangster friend who's a techno genius. Techno genius hasn't show too much personality as of chapter 45, mostly saying that he doesn't want anyone do die *yawn* he's pretty boring. Then the school girl is just a little girl, and her role is fairly small. Mamoru is the real main character in charge of all the fighting and "badassery". But I use that term very lightly. There is so much effort put into making Mamoru look like a badass its actually laughable at times. From his sunglasses, to his leather jacket, to his little phrases, it almost seems like he's a parody of Arnold Schwarzenegger. If only for the joy I have making fun of Mamoru's over-badassery 'character' get a 6.

ENJOYMENT: 5/10
When I tried taking this manga seriously I ended up hating it. But when I just sat back and made fun of it quietly to myself I ended up having a pretty good time. If I was to grade "Until Death Do Us Part" seriously, how its intended to be read, then I would maybe give a 5. BUT, when I treat it as a parody I can sometimes get level 7 giggles. That's only sometimes though. Most of the time its barely entertaining enough to keep me moving on to the next chapter.

OVERALL: 5/10
If I read this as a parody its not terrible, but its not a parody. It's a mediocre seinen with one dimensional characters that tries too hard. And for that, Until Death Do Us Part gets a 5. read more