Ranked #1158

Franken Fran (Manga)

This is just another of those mangas that you either love or hate, as for me, im still on the fence. The story resolves around a girl named Fran, who is something of a reanimated corpse that lives in a mansion with a doctor(that is never seen) and performs bizzare surgeries and experiments on other people. Often she does this against that person's will. Most stories end badly for those who came to her seeking help. The artwork is alright, but nothin special. The story changes pretty much from chapter to chapter, and is often extremely gory and horrid, so if u hav a weak stomach, do not read it. You can get some satisfaction out of it, but sometimes your hopes just leaves you at the end. Like i said earlier, you either hate it or love it. And don't expect many happy endings! read more

This is simply the most eff'ed up manga I have ever come across (yes, that even includes all the hentai I've ever read, which given the depravity and gratuitous breast shots Franken Fran may even qualify as. And yes, I've seen Bible Black). It's going to be hard to write this review simply because it was too much for me - I dropped it like a hot rock after chapter 7, and in all honesty I have to say I really wish I could un-read this.

Story - 6 (Fair)

It's an extremely twisted manga with just about every chapter having the most twisted, sick, and flat-out depraved outcome imaginable (I'll give the manga-ka some credit, he at least avoids violent rape for the most part although it's certainly filled to the brim with extremely dark, perverse sexual undertones). It also doesn't shy away from gore either, in fact it makes any of the Saw movies look like Barney and Friends. The chapters are for the most part pretty stand alone, and I think it would be fair to describe this as akin to Blackjack - if Dr. Blackjack were one sick sonnava****.

Art - 6 (Fair)

The art is decent at best - the character designs come off as generic as they come. Franken Fran's ugliness may paradoxically be one of the best points of the manga's art for at least it conveys just how much of a literal monster she is, being a reanimated corpse and all. The graphic details of Franken Fran's "medical practice" are certainly well detailed at least - perhaps too well detailed.

Character - 6 (Fair)

Once again, the characters are at best decent. Franken Fran is perhaps the most well-developed character, somewhere in between acting with the best of intentions and acting out with all the depravity and lack of any moral grounding whatsoever of the monster she appears to be. All the other characters, mainly the one she performs her gruesome surgeries on, are a mixed bag - some are surprisingly developed, others are as shallow as you'd expect from an exploitation flick, and some pretty much just exist for fodder for perversion.

Enjoyment - 2 (Dreadful, and that's putting it lightly)

I simply did not enjoy this. It's way too over the top, too depraved, and just too much. Quentin Tarantino's Hostel can only wish to live up to the amount of depravity this has. The depravity goes beyond the gruesome mutilation of flesh and straight into what could only be really described as rape in some cases. That said....

Overall - 7 (Good)

So with all that said, why do I give this the final score I give? For the simple reason that I recognize that this is the type of manga that simply isn't for me (I only read it on a dare, for those of you interested). Viewing the message boards for Franken Fran right here on MAL, this manga seems to have quite a cult following who manages to enjoy the over-the-top presentation of Franken Fran, and with that in view I feel it unfair to rate the manga low just because I'm unable to see what they see in it.

In conclusion:

The art style is decent, the characters are admittedly rather flat but fair enough, and everything else will just vary by the reader's tastes. I know there's quite a following for this type of stuff, so I don't believe it's fair to judge it by my own bias, though I simply cannot recommend this manga. read more

I started this manga yesterday and read all 21 chapters of it. I ended up not being able to sleep without the light now. Actually, I the type of person who can't even stand to watch a horror movie let alone this. But somehow I did and quite enjoyed it. For many of the normal people out there who prefer main stream to all. This isn't the manga for you.

Story Line
Every chapter tells a different story. Either Fran goes to school, helps out dying people or preforms one of her crazy experiments. It's interesting and grabs my attention and after reading how gory things become, I just end up wanting more. But many of you might find the story too twisted and extremely inhumane.

Art Work
The art isn't anything to wow over but I do like how the creator drew Fran. She has a nice design. The rest of it is pretty much as creepy as hell. I admire them being able to draw to just an extent and giving me the sense of being scared as well as it's all just a manga.

Character
Limited to Fran, Victoria and Okita. Fran the main character is probably also the most developed. While her sister, Victoria and pet/friend Okita have a vast amount of mystery surrounding them. It's nice to have these characters which you are familiar with. In each chapter there's new characters that appear but do not reoccur(expect one policewoman and an old man).

Enjoyment
Either you love it or hate it. It really is one of those mangas. If you have a weak stomach(like me actually...) stay away. If you have a problem sleeping or rather would not want to sleep, read it. Very promising story line. It teaches you a little bio while you're at it. Although I'm unsure of how much it is true. Personally, I loved it. I can't wait till more chapters are out :D *I'm so messed.

Overall
Great manga. Interesting and grabbing. Stay away or never stop reading. Give it a try. But don't say I didn't warn you. - You might just not be able to sleep tonight. ;D

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I never knew a horror manga could attract me that much before Fran.Even with all blood and gore,it´s not really disgusting.

The protagonist is adorable.Highly intelligent and cold-blooded when it comes too biology,surgery and so on,but at the same time so clumsy and sensitive about it,at her mode.It´s really funny to see her thoughts along the manga.

The several "assistants" she created are a good comic relief too,even creepy.Okita sometimes appear to be divided between his two selves (human and feline) for example.

All chapters have tense moments of course.But the good thing that´s some are more comical,others sad...it´s very important to have this balance in this kind of manga. read more

This manga is about the half dead girl Madaraki Fran created by her beloved professor Madaraki.
the story changes constantly and have no real plot, but that doesn't change that the chapters individual story lines actually has the ability to surprise you. the artwork is great and it makes the persons seem more lovely than frightening, even the monsters.