Kasane

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I first thought that this manga would be a trashy, edgy, romantic tragedy. Well, I was right about it being edgy. Let's begin the review.

Kasane is a very strange and twisted manga. There are a lot of disturbing themes in this, mostly involving women. It's no Goblin Slayer, but since apparently no work of art is allowed to make anyone feel even mildly disturbed these days, I still must warn you in advance.

The story was a lot better than I expected. It's a bit slow in the first volume, leading you to believe that it's going to be a repetitive 'steal this girl's face ... for a while, steal a different girl's face for a while, rinse and repeat' for all fourteen volumes of the manga. However, once you get into the second volume and onward, things start becoming a real rollercoaster ride.

There's also plenty of twists and turns. I'd be surprised if I found out that story was improvised, because it holds up pretty well. Well, not to say there aren't flaws at all. Of course, there's the tiny flaw that a lot of bystanders wouldn't realize something when Kasane would switch faces with a blonde woman, and from their perspectives, that person would show up with black hair. That alone would probably be enough for a hypercritical person to tear this manga apart (since it's unheard of for an actor to possibly dye their hair), but to me, it's a small bump on a very well-paved road.

The characters are all as deranged as one would expect. With this being a psychological thriller, we naturally get to see deep into the way that the various people in this manga think. The various plays that are performed also complement one character or another at any given point in the story. Warning, though, this is one of those types of stories where everyone is morally incorrect in some way. If you don't like that kind of stuff, a la Rising of the Shield Hero, then I recommend you shy away from this manga now.

However, I think the art is where the manga is sufficiently brought to life. It doesn't look too impressive at first glance. But when actually reading the manga itself, I was glued to it. Somehow, the mangaka is able to skillfully portray humankind's stereotypical form of beauty, and at the same time twist that beauty into some demonic expressions (not to say that the ugly people don't have some of those moments as well). The panel work is also really well done to invoke as much emotion as possible.

Overall, Kasane ended up being a very, very good read. Although it's no Urasawa Naoki manga, it's still a solid thriller. I kind of hope it might get a TV anime someday; it would be an EASY two-cour adaptation. But at the same time, maybe letting the anime community see this with how GS and Shield Hero have been doing might not be a good idea... Well, regardless as to if that ever happens, this manga will still be a moving performance!

Just personal scratch.
Advised, possible spoilers.
Opinion & Informal

Art: 8/10
Anatomy and proportions checked out when they were supposed to look real. I liked how Kasane's proportions would get wild during moments of despair or deep self-loathing. Nature wasn't really showcased at all. Backgrounds looked fine. Supporting details were here and there; they looked fine too. Impact shots were used sparingly which I feel was a slight letdown. I feel this manga could have gained a lot of mileage if it used more impact shots especially during resounding moments of self-pity, regret, and resolve. Facial expressions were nice; they were strong and were able to convey a sense ... of what the characters were most likely feeling. Kasane's sad face made me pity her. Her resolute face made me really get behind her decisions. Her emptiness also felt apparent during miserable moments too. Overall, I thought the art was good because of the above average supporting details, the believable expressions, and interesting presentation. The representation of beautiful suffered from same-face though. "Beautiful" characters all looked the same.

Panel Progression: 7/10
The panel layout was thought-out and kept the narrative interesting by its use of panel-cutting, asides through stage-play elements, and choice of how certain ideas were presented. The overall panel progression was clear enough and I didn't have to double-take on anything. There wasn't too much or too little dialogue...well maybe the sections where segments of the play were being done...yeah those felt a bit drawn out. Maybe those could have been executed differently. The pacing was alright. I felt that this manga started getting drawn out at some point.

Characters: 6/10
Regardless of whether or not the intention of the narrative was to get the audience to like, dislike, pity, etc. any of the characters, I did not like any of them. However, if I were to chose, I can sympathize (not emphasize) with Kasane's plight. I'll go into more detail on why I never really took a liking to any of the characters later. The character designs were fine. Habuta looked scruffy and the consistency of the manga to stick to that vibe no matter his outfit was able to say a lot about his character. Likewise, the differences of how thickly drawn the eyes were for certain characters and certain moods was a nice touch. Overall, character designs were realistic style and didn't leave much to remember.

Plot: 7/10
The first few chapters were really good at hooking me and the initial plot setup was unique that I ended up binging quite a lot of chapters in the first day. The plot and its setup set the stage for the slog that would come.

Development: 6/10
Character development wise, Kasane was probably the only one with any decent development (well, the manga's title is her name). Habuta's development was basically 15 or so pages out of the 120+ chapter manga. Nina never got enough screen time to make her downfall more impactful, sure, the whole vegetable state and "kill me" bit with Kasane's sister (Nogiku) definitely made me a bit sad, but it would have really been moving if we got a bigger foundation for her ultimate fall. I would have liked more development into her character prior or during her involvement with Kasane. Nogiku was lame, just lame. Her only redeeming moment in the whole manga was her decision to do something about her situation with her father. If she has the resolve (regardless if it's an act of desperation, it's still a decision to act...she seemed pretty resolute to me with those expressions and all) to go that far, why does she go down the self-pity, I hate the world because everyone takes advantage of me route. If she hates selling her body so much, I'm sure she could find a manual labor job or a part time job at a shipping yard or convenience store considering how easy it apparently is for highschoolers to get part-time jobs...Maybe she could go back to the huge mansion she just up and left and flip some things for cash? Heck, she could have used her father's bank book. I understand it's a place of terrible stress for her, but I don't see why anything but selling her body never crossed her mind. Furthermore, Nogiku never really develops out of this phase for the entirety of the manga. She more or less remains the same static person up until the end of the manga. The avenues which could have been used to develop her redemption or growth were shunted for more edgy Kasane plot. I was really disappointed, not by the tendency to fall back to the same line of plot development such as Kasane reaching for the light, by how it was done. Time and time again the plot always fell back to step 1 because of the "so and so isn't going my way because I'm ugly" or "I can't develop as a person and neither can the people around me because that's just what ugliness entails." Overall, I felt that this manga became way too drawn out because the "ugly plot" was used too much as a device for progressing the story; it ended up doing the opposite and made the story feel stagnant. Instead of losing Nina as a partner, going through the Iku V2 phase, and the Nogiku phase, why not focus the manga around Nina and develop the execution more around the identity and self-worth elements that were vaguely introduced then dropped around that time.

Conclusion: 5/10
The conclusion was obviously rushed. Or, I'm pretty sure it was. What was up with that out-of-nowhere and abrupt ending? What was up with the decision to have Kasane suffer that kind of punishment? I mean, it's an appropriate punishment for reasons that I don't have to spell out, but why was that whole segment done in the span of two pages? Disappointing conclusion to a way too drawn out manga.

Overall: 6/10
An excellent exercise in self-pity, depressing vibes, and how much the world sucks when you're ugly. This is NOT something you should recommend to a pubescent teenage girl. Disappointing execution of self-identity concepts and character growth.

Story: this has no pay off, as simple as that, not building, no mystery no nothing ... is void, is a souless attemp as to portray greek tragedies in manga but without impact

Why this has so many good reviews ???? I keep reading cuz i thouth that i would get a huge plot twist at the end that would make this soup opera worth

Characters: oh men here is the biggest issue, they are so 1D that hurts, not even the main character is worth wasting the time i spend reading

Art: mediocre, same face for all the "beautiful woman" and over the top ugly ... faces for the rest, so you could tell who was beautiful and who was not , they didnt even show the whole fsce of the monster ... lame.

Overall:this manga is like bad fanfiction, they dont show they tell you HOW TO FEEL
Example : they dont show the whole acting yet you see characters saying "this is intense, this is the best adting i even feel" .... nah it doesnt WORK THAT WAY, yoh have to show us why is impactfull, but sisnce mangaka can not show us thorth her lame art she has to write it

I seen shonens with better delivery of emotions , and that says a lot !!!!

Overall; dont waste your time, this is not a tragedy, this is not a good drama and finally this has barely any psychological aspect besides bullying someone looks, this story could be told in 50 chapters maximum, the way this story was unncesary streatch is annoying.

I end it and not drop it cuz of the good reviews, i still believed this would give me a great plot twist at tye end or good motives , nah .. all plain and boring.

Avoid this