Ranked #178

Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro (Manga)

When I first saw the manga art for this series, I was very very turned off. It seemed very amateur at best. Although the monster images are very detailed and gorgeous, the mangaka doesn't appear to have his human anatomy drawing skills quite down...

But then one day, just cause I was bored, I picked it up and started reading. And WOW, it's addicting. I couldn't stop. And the art, as with every other mangaka, gets better.

I'm not a typical shonen dectective type manga lover either...actually the hate the "monster of the week" type anime and manga, but I found this one to be really good.

Definitely give it a shot. I read this and then found myself watching the anime, which is decent, but doesn't compare to the manga. read more

This is easily among my favourite manga, for the simple reason its so unique. The manga flips through Pseudo-Mystery genre, humour, almost-horror, Crime, action and pretty much everything else so much it should feel schizophrenic, but instead works perfectly. The most prominent genre is really Psychological. The capture of criminals is often less about discovering how they did the crime as much as it is their motivations for doing so.
Perhaps the best part of this manga is the characters however. From the main characters to even the very most minor, there is not one whom is completely undeveloped. Everyone feels very real and Human (or Inhuman when intended), even the basic criminals given the same treatment which makes finding out every reasoning interesting - and some making you feel so sympathetic for the murderer you would prefer they go free. This manga is truly one for people who like varied interesting characters. From the Sadistic 'Evil-Good' Neuro, to the petrified Along-for-the-ride Yako, to the childish but entertaining and slightly scary 'Chaotic-Evil' murderer X.

The artwork is difficult to rate numerically - ranging from 10 to 6 at its worst. Matsui has a beautifully surreal expressionlist drawing style, which leads him to create perhaps one or two very complex weirdly-beautiful drawings a chapter. These are unique from most manga and are often used to represent an idea as its being explained, or simply to unsettle. Some were so good i often find myself looking back through, and i have in fact bought some manga myself even though theyre in japanese for the best bits i enjoyed them so much. However, hes admitted that drawing these take up much of his time and in the earlier chapters its obvious the rest of the art suffers for it and its one week chapter creation time (and it doesnt help most scans represent it double its normal size, screwing the resolution up). As it goes on the standard art improves to an acceptable state with even more of the beautiful surrealist works per chapter, presumably as he gains assistants or improves time management, so stick with it.

In conclusion, if your bored with the standard Shonen clones, want something truly unique and unconventional, or happen to be a fan of bizarre art stylings - Read this Manga. If your not any of those, still read it because it will make you all those things regardless, and youll be better for it. read more