Ranked #3118

Kurosagi (Manga)

Uhhh the other review is pretty harsh, Kurosagi isn't that bad.

It's a shounen manga about, well, a swindler swindling swindlers. The manga follows a "swindler-of-the-week" format so there's no real overlying plot, just a new bad guy popping up every few chapters. I'll admit it's a little drawn out for 219 chapters but the protagonist is charming in his own boyish way and it's fun to see how he ends up saving the day in each arc.

Having said that, Kurosagi is NOT a psychological manga. The methods the protagonist uses generally revolve around finding loopholes in the law, not using psychological tricks. It's a fun read if you're interested in big businesses or law, but if you're looking for something like Liar Game or Code Geass, this isn't the manga for you. read more

Story:Ok, so you get this kid who had a bad past-common character background. He seeks retribution against all swindlers because his father was driven into debt by the swindlers and attempted to kill his family then himself. Of course the protagonist survives but the rest of his family was no so fortunate. He gets taken in or begs to be taken in by a notorious swindler who is currently an underground bartender that deals with selling information. So he goes around stealing from the rich and giving it to the poor metaphorically and becomes the ant-hero story to story. There IS NO climax; the plot is as plain as it is, the techniques he uses to swindle are horribly thought out and very unimpressive that leaves you in huge disappointment. His access to tricks in his bag makes it almost modern fantasy story with no interesting point that draws you in. You'll see the protagonist pull up methods that would never be likely in anything but the early 1900s where you'll wonder, "how dumb do you have to be to be scammed by these brainless scammers(literally)."Overall this was a VERY disappointing manga; if you're interested in something interesting avoid this.

Art: The art isn't very current or "new" despite being published in 2004. The art style suits more of the late 80s and 90s manga art.

Character:

Kurosaki-Character development was not very deep nor a highlight part of the manga. You get Kurosagi who is the anti-hero of the story with some dark past he gets angry when brought up and triesto play the cliche guy that tries not to get anyone involved because of the dangers and doesn't try to get close to anyone. You see his motives are pure but his methods aren't and the author tries too hard to get him seen as the cool wannabe genius swindler.

Yoshikawa, Tsurara-Then you get the female neighbor although who doesn't play much of a part in the story you'll see it get squeezed in as L from death note. She basically attempts to be the one kurosaki can open up to-which he does not, and tries to be the true sign of justice. Because of her interest in becoming a lawyer kurosaki tries to push her away so she doesn't become tainted.

Kashima, Masaru- And at long last you have the vigilante cop/detective who believes he is the true justice and above the law. He plays it tough using threats and blackmail to get to the truth or at least some tips on hunting down Kurosaki. Simply the menace of the story just so the manga isn't limited to only one and a half characters.

Enjoyment- I thought I liked it at first but then I gave it some thought. Man did I waste a large amount of my time. Many readers often continue to read manga from a certain series because the story is actually interesting or something unique that draws interest, however this manga isn't either. This manga has little plan in where its actually going and it seems like things are just thrown in together with no climatic discovery. Unlike other battle of the wits mangas this one tarnishes the genre; the techniques Kurosaki uses are extremely simple and utterly unlikely where there are no twists or turns that are planned out. The author simply makes things happen as they go. I would honestly not recommend reading this if you favor Death Note, Code Geass, or Liar Game. read more

"It's not wrong to deceive, it's wrong to deceive the wrong target."

Kurosagi is a manga about con artists and its purpose is to educate readers on some of the possible ways a person can get scammed. The main character Kurosagi was a victim, losing his parents and complicating his past as a result. Filled with retribution (and a weird apathy at times), he works to undo other con artist's work.

Now, the story is particularly lacking. It's not meant to be an epic narrative about the moral and ethical implications of swindling others (however sometimes it waxes so) but rather to educate the reader on the possibilities. And wow are they vast!

Where the story lacks, I think the character interactions make up for it. It's a sort-of villain-of-the-week format so the characters are the most important. Some of them are particularly interesting like the palm reader or the woman who made away with a man's money through bridal scams. Their characters are pretty flat but still interesting enough to keep me reading.

The art is good enough to convey its points so I believe the art is perfect. I can't imagine the manga being something super artsy.

Overall, I recommend this manga. Don't listen to the other reviewers. Give it a shot and make sure not to burn yourself out on it! read more