+Anima

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Ahh, +Anima. Half the readers probably stumbled upon this manga because its name is, alphabetically, one of the first to appear on a manga-hosting website.The other half probably just liked the word "anima" because it sounded pretty. Despite what coincidental "methods" we readers used to find it, +Anima was far from something meagerly amusing, and in fact, was engrossingly endearing in its own right. You can tell a professional storyteller from an amateur one, and Natsumi Mukai is by far the former. A story that's able to be told with stunning and consistent aesthetics, married with heartwarming character development and engaging subplots is difficult to ... find. Look no further, however, because +Anima is one of the most underrated manga I've ever read (according to MAL scoring); I write this review on this sleepy Monday night to bring light to the wonderful +Anima.

STORY: 10
Some lump character development in the "character" section of reviews. I don't disagree that character development is related to the characters themselves. However, MANY stories convey the growth of characters as their means of storytelling. It's not something merely physical such as a journey (though that is the physical plotline of +Anima); story also includes the story of character growth and how their interactions change later on in the manga. Despite other reviewers' relatively lower scores of +Anima's story, I give it a well-deserved 10.

The premise is simple enough. You have children that have the ability to use physical traits of animals, be it because they've been forced to adapt to this ability or whether they're born that way. Cooro sets on a journey to find other +Anima and travel with them for no exact reason, other than perhaps an innocent "because it's fun" chain of thought. Given its somewhat linear overarching physical plot, it's deduced that this is a slice of life manga. Which is perfectly fine, but I'd have to disagree with other people giving the story a lower rating because of it. Stories don't need to be complicated to be wonderful; the purpose of telling +Anima's story is not to confuse readers or tell a save-the-world/damsel/treasure story, but rather portray the everyday lives of our party of +Anima.

"Given that it's a slice of life manga, how are the daily events of Cooro, Senri, Nana, and Husky, anyway?" you may ask.

"Well," I answer, "it's sweet, relatable, and shifts between fun and serious." Some of the fun ones, such as Husky being mistaken as a mermaid later in the series by a young man, makes the corners of the reader's mouth daintily twitch up in amusement. Yet, there are also points of reflection and the subplots provide small tidbits of information on the characters and their pasts. The more serious stories, such as meeting Senri's tribe, heavily emphasize on the characters' pasts and why they've become whom they are today. It's difficult to convey the endearing moments in these events in this review, but each story provides a small moral or lesson that is IMPLICITLY (and I emphasize this word because there's just not enough IMPLICITNESS in manga) told to the reader, not shoved in our faces like a whole pie. Beautiful, beautiful storytelling. The daily lives of our protagonists are interesting and allow the reader to reflect upon common morals that we may or may not agree with.

ART: 10
Beautiful details. Intricately drawn backgrounds. It's not like your common shoujo with half-assed bubbles or flowers shown in the background when a character has her moment of pleasant surprise. Instead, these beautiful, lush backgrounds of the nature surrounding the party is depicted. And if it's not nature, it's the bustling towns that they move to and fro. Line art is well done -- bolder where emphasis should be and shyer where they're just small wrinkes in the clothing, etc. Given the age of this manga, the style of art has stood the test of time because the mangaka knew how to actually DRAW. As stated before in my review of He Dedicated to Roses, you'd be surprised at how many mangaka can't draw for the life of them despite the nature of their occupation. The characters' clothing designs are done extremely well; one look at a coloured (actually, it doesn't even have to be coloured) picture of Cooro and you can see the bright yellows contrasting the blues and reds, as well as the well laid-out, yet practical, layers of clothing he adorns. Wonderful work on the mangaka's part.

CHARACTER: 9
Despite the colourful cast of protagonists that most readers grow to love, there are several irking supporting characters within +Anima that were evidently not well-designed. Characters such as Fly could have had so much more done with them, but instead they're presented as rather 2D, especially in contrast to the well-designed +Anima protagonists we all know and love (at least, I do anyway).

Even if the supporting characters fall short of what's ideal, the main party makes up more than enough for it. Each of the main party's members has a distinct feel to them. Cooro is playful, yet mysteriously obedient, and loves to eat; Husky is rather frugal, dislikes girls, yet looks like a girl himself; Senri... I'd have to be a little biased and say that he's my favourite character in the manga because there's so much to him (you'll love his absent-mindedness, his ability to spice up cooking, and his forgetfulness); and then there's Nana. Not particularly likable at the get-go, but later on she does learn her place and even Husky learns to tolerate her. Though these may sound stock characters to you, rest assured they're not; the mangaka uses tiny details in their actions and cleverly manipulates the dialogue to give colour to the characters.

ENJOYMENT: 9
It's a great read, but don't expect to finish it all in one or two go's. It's slice-of-life, and meant to be taken in small doses because it's calming and simply a pleasant read. Like Cooro and friends, just take a bit of time out of your daily life to read a little at a time, as reading +Anima could be a slice of your own life's events.

I couldn't give it a solid 10 because some of the events weren't consistently strong; however, they were all well-done. Some were simply better than others, and when compared, the reader wouldn't have the same gratification of reading some of the weaker stories.

OVERALL: 10
Terribly underrated series, and I suppose being a slice-of-life really can bring the story score down for certain reviewers. Don't treat it like a manga you can race through, because that's just simply not how you can enjoy +Anima. Read as much as you want, and stop when you feel you won't get any joy out of reading more. Then pick it up again, sprinkling it in the multiple slices of your own life to help sweeten a tame Sunday afternoon.

Story: If you like to read mangas with stories/plots this one is not for you. There is no overall plot but small random adventures, and in the end you wonder what was the point of all this.

Art: The art was very cute and good but not amazing like some people are claiming. I find the sceneries/backgrounds to be a bit lacking and unimaginative... The whole setting is a bit generic.

Characters: They are well defined but can be cliche. They do not really "develop" or change much. You get to find out about their pasts but the characters themselves dont seem to really change with the ... adventures they encounter.

Enjoyment: This is a great read if you have time to kill and just want to look at something cute, not a lot of thinking involved.

Overall: I would say this is more for kids or if you have leisurely time to blow. If you're looking for a read thats worthwhile you should look elsewhere!

Do not expect any: twists, rivalries, jealousy, suspense, betrayal, etc in the main plot - well... there is NO main plot. This manga is about random adventuring in a world with +anima.
They seem to have hinted towards a past advanced civilization in one of the chapters, but they never develop on those potentials.

The best way to sum up the manga would be: "Its like a beautiful looking +anima, that spreads it wings, but never learns to fly."

Well, It had such a good concept, but it was so disappointing. There's no direct conflect or objective, and it all seems to lack in action. The whole itself was too short and the chapters were too long. It seems at the end they're right back where they started just so the author has an excuse to do some other manga. I'd say it's more suited for kids