Ranked #1380

Kure-nai (Manga)

Kure-nai is a martial arts-oriented adventure manga, with harem and (sometimes) romantic overtones.

The art is well-drawn throughout the manga, with an uncomplicated style. While each of the characters seems to wear the same sort of typical clothing, their facial features and hair styles are individualized enough to be able to tell them apart easily while reading. The characters are all drawn with a great deal of expression on their faces. Murasaki's formalwear is detailed, with bows and ruffles. The backgrounds tend to be uncluttered and stylistically spartan, with the artistic emphasis on the characters. The scenes seem to be drawn to accentuate the characters, rather than the backgrounds. The combat panels, in particular, are sometimes drawn with just the combatants, with perhaps some lines indicating the motion or movement.

The character interaction between Murasaki and Shinkurou is the highlight of Kure-nai. Their character arc, in which they meet and become friends, is exceptionally conceptualized and written. Murasaki has some of the best dialogue, which shows her alternating between unusual precociousness and childish innocence. Ginko has yet to receive much in the way of dialogue, but she does share a backstory chapter with Shinkurou. It's interesting, as it also reveals the moment Shinkurou chooses to become a mediator. The harem portion of Kure-nai has been fairly restrained, which is a bit of a surprise for the genre. The stereotypical harem fighting over the male lead is kept to a minimal amount of pages, and for the most part is in the background completely. However, with the exception of Murasaki, it isn't clearly and definitively explained thus far why any of the female protagonists have a romantic interest in Shinkurou. All of the characters seem to be fleshed out well, without any completely disappearing. Shinkurou and Murasaki receive the most time, but all of the characters do make appearances in each story arc.

I've enjoyed reading Kure-nai thus far, and certainly have to recommend it to readers of action and harem manga. However, as a warning, I found that there was some graphic violence towards Murasaki that was somewhat distasteful for me to read. There is also some graphic violence towards other children and innocent people. I'd rate Kure-nai an 8 so far, and look forward to continuing to read it.

I may revise this review in the future upon the release of upcoming chapters. read more