Ranked #6525

Toxic (Manga)

When I first started on this manga, I was awed by the art. The art is just stunning. Very detailed and beautiful. If you're the sort that excuses all other aspects when the art is good, then you'll definitely like this manga.

Aside from the art, the story was good. It was interesting and didn't bore me at all. Distorted, dark and revolting, the story will pique your curiosity. Its quite hard to stop once you've started, since its full of suspense and mystery in the beginning, even towards the end. Of course, if you will get disgusted by humanity's dark side, then I think its better if you don't pick this up. It's somewhat unpredictable, not the usual cliche stories, though certain parts are expected.

As for the characters, I have to say they were an amusing bunch. I like the character designs, which were complimented by the beautiful art and the military uniforms. I won't go into detail about each character, since you'll know after reading the manga and even I don't fully comprehend them after completing the manga. They're all really complex people and it can be quite confusing, thinking about their reasons for their actions. Each character would seem pleasant at first, but as you read on, you'll slowly see each of their own twisted selves.

To be honest, I wasn't expecting much BL undertones from this manga since it was categorized under shoujo. Despite all the slash and the "homosexual relationships are forbidden" in the first few pages, its not BL (though it might be slightly uncomfortable for some). The hints increase more towards the end...it might be advisable not to read it you can't stand BL elements, though I think it can be a stepping stone for those who have never read BL before.

All in all, it was an enjoyable read. 15 chapters was sufficient, though I wish there was more, like an extra or something hahaha. read more

I had to drop this manga because it was a complete waste if my time, and that's saying something because this is the first anime/manga I've had to drop because it was so stupid.

Story: 1/10
The story (what I've read so far), is ridiculous. It's built completely on cliches and the motives between the characters are just not there. The whole 'toxic universe' lacks sophistication and originality. Many extremely important concepts are not explained properly or is executed by really bad writing and pacing. The timeline also makes no sense. You don't know what the characters are doing when they're doing it and why, for example, why the bloody leader of the world is protected by a small group of puburscent teenage boys???!! Like SERIOUSLY. Also, the ranking within the black rose is not explained properly. People keep changing their titles for no bloody reason and the only time you get an idea of who's above who in terms of social heirarchy is when they kill each other. I'm serious. There's multiple times when I was reading and the manga makes no bloody sense.

Art: 6/10
The arts... OK. This is the only part of the manga that is vaguely palettable. Some of the backgrounds are actually drawn quite nicely, most of the characters LOOK ok. What killed me was the profiles of the characters. It looked like a squiggle and a dot for the nose.... WTF???

Character: 3/10
This was the saddest part. Character design was ok, but if they're not psychopaths, they're insane, if they're not insane, they're annoying. You don't really understand the character's logic because the manga doesn't take enough time to expose a character and their values. Which, for most of them, were non-existent. The only character that is not an a-hole is Louis Ogami, Luka's brother. He seems to be a good person but the ways in which he shows it are just SOOO poorly thought about. And many fights that take place make NO sense. You have no idea where anything is happening and WHY it's happening. It's not mystery or suspense, it's pure stupidity.

Overall: 3/10
It just seems like this manga was not thought about properly. These sort of settings need to be developed properly for an effective storyline and that just DIDN"T happen. There doesn't seem to be a purpose with what the characters are doing and that is VERY different to being 'taken along with the thrill ride". I did not like this manga, and I would not recommend this to anyone who is a fan of good plot stories or good characters or even people who just want eye-candy. Trust me, the best art is on the front cover. read more