Ranked #434

Spiral: Suiri no Kizuna (Manga)

Spiral: Suiri no Kizuna can be almost what you would call reading 15 volumes of bliss. The mix of excellent artwork, a mind-boggling storyline, fascinating characters and plot twists that you would not have expected all work towards creating the dictionary definition of an 'enjoyable read'.
Story
Spiral's storyline is one of the decisive elements that keep it apart from your usual run-of-the-mill manga. While it begins on a rather lackluster note, seemingly appearing to be a murder mystery, the plot quickly develops into one that leaves you with many questions asked, and begging for the answers to come quick. The mystery behind the existence of the 'Blade Children' is the most pivotal plot element, one that you'll only find out from reading this title.

Art
Obviously, if you ever notice the various pieces of Spiral artwork, you'll realise that this series has excellent artwork throughout the entire manga. While the art itself does develop as the series progresses (it appears to be cleaner if not even more super-deformed or 'shoujo-like' during later volumes) you'll most likely love it from the beginning to end. The existence of bishies and bishoujos are also rampant in Spiral, so you won't miss anything out in that department. Obviously if you're looking for a more realistic art style, Spiral may not deliver.

Character
Most likely Spiral's strongest point is it's wide variety of characters, many that you'll probably love rather then hate. Unlike many titles, who is good and evil is even more ambiguous in Spiral, there is no clearcut 'good' or 'bad'. Because of this, the protagonists and so-called antagonists are all individuals you may grow to love. Character development, especially for the protagonist, Ayumu, is something you will most likely look forward too. Besides that, most of the characters are both humorous yet attracting, you'll probably end up hoping they will all sincerely receive a happy ending.

Enjoyment
What can I say? Spiral was seemingly one of the most enjoying reads that I've ever laid eyes across on. The mysteries can be rather irritating at times, but you feel satisfied when you finally know the truth. The art is plain eye candy (which is a benefit I hope), and the characters are ones I think anyone can grow to love. After reading numerous titles, I can safely say that Spiral is able to tower above many of them. The mix of mystery, logical and physical (and violent) battles puts this series into being one that can be read by any type of person almost.

Overall

Summarising Spiral's strongest areas:

Excellent artwork for those who seek this type of eyecandy (that is, cute girls and boys that may not be on the realistic side).
A gripping story that keeps you on the edge of the seat for the entire time. Next to the mysteries, Spiral also brings in much comedy, action and even slight bits of romance.
Likeable characters you can grow to love.

It can be safely be said that Spiral is a series that deserves its 10 in this review. Spiral's mix of story, art, character and enjoyment is not something that can be easily overlooked. While they are various minor irritations one may find with this title, it can most likely go unnoticed as you stare in awe as the mysteries and events unfold in front of you. read more

This is my first review for one of my favorite manga, please cut me some slack guys. :D

Spiral Suiri no Kizuna has been an amazing read for me, in every way. There are very few lacking aspects in this manga. Upon finishing it, it left me both happy, sad, and thoughtful, which most mangas fail to do. If Spiral were a song, I'd say that it begins mysteriously and ends both beautifully and in a simple way.

Story
The storyline is just very nice, very well-done. Kyo Shirodaira-sensei did a good job. Even though Spiral is an action and a mystery manga, there are many emotional aspects to the plot as well. It has a good amount of suspense and tension, but not a ridiculous amount that makes your brain freeze up, just enough to keep you on the seat. In addition, the many tiny comic relief moments are very well placed, so Spiral, with all its darkness, is still rather light, but not inappropriately so. But, the most outstanding aspect to me was that between all the action and humor, we have many of those...I can't even describe it, but, BEAUTIFUL delicate moments that touch your heart. The only complaint I have is the beginning, which implies that Spiral is going to a manga that is just about a bunch of random murders and Ayumu catching the culprit (FYI, the actual story is NOTHING like that). However, the seemingly random murders in the beginning does indeed play its own role in the main storyline. Also, the ending, though beautiful, leaves you hanging which can annoy some people. For Story, a Solid 9.

Art
The art is up to par. I love Eita Mizuno's style and I wish that he would do the artwork for some other manga as well since I just fell in love with his art. Everything is water-colored and the drawings are always very nice. I bought one of the Spiral Artbooks (which was quite expensive costing 40 bucks) and it was well worth it. The art in the actual black-and-white manga is also gorgeous. Like the story, however, the art is a bit messy at the beginning. And enjoyable aspect to me as an artist was seeing Mizuno's work develope thoughout the chapters. The characters in the end look a little different, but not so different that you don't know who is who. For instance, Eye's hair becomes more and more wispy thoughout the book. The art is a bit shoujo-like and is run amock with cute girls and hot guys (eye candy!) which I enjoyed. The art isn't typical shounen, however. And some shounen readers maybe a bit upset about that. The characters all have their unique style of clothes and are very attractive and colorful. For art, also, a perfect 10.

Character
This was a major defining factor in Spiral. All of the characters are very likeable and, thanks to the art, attractive. The wide cast of characters was a plus, but some character "types" get copied a bit. But that's perfectly fine since most of the "copies" still retain their own personality and that makes the cast more realistic since its only natural that someone will have a similiar personality to another. There is no good or evil in Spiral. All of the character have goodness and darkness in their personality, which makes them more human to the audience. Another 10.

Enjoyment
Spiral is a very enjoyable read. The suspense and tension mixed with comedy and the nice scenes and both the physical and mental battles all add to the enjoyment. Sometimes, the individual manga books (translated by yen press) and reading them book at a time can seem...lacking. But the story as a whole is amazing. The mysteries can be vexing, and this manga is chock-full of WTF moments, but to me, that just adds to experience.

Overall
Spiral was an amazing manga. It made me laugh and cry and could really bring out my emotions. In most manga, I end up going like "awww, that's so cute" or "oh, that's too bad", but Spiral actually got me smiling, like, physically, and crying, as in, tears actually running down my face. I would always impatiently think "oh god, what on earth is going to happen". The art is great and the cast is such an easy one for audiences to fall in love with (and when I say cast, I mean EVERYONE, not just a few characters here and there). Spiral has it moments of comedy, action, mystery, foreboding, comedy, and even some romance that makes you smile.

Spiral gets a 9 in Story. A 10 for Art, Character, Enjoyment, AND OVERALL. It expands over many genres. Whether you be a mystery lover, a romance lover, an action lover, or even a sci-fi/fantasy lover, you're sure to fall in love. There are also a few biblical references in the book that spices things up. Highly recommended for just about anyone out there that love manga.

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