Ranked #1440

Tenjou Tenge (Manga)

Alright. Let me be straightforward and honest here. I have never been much of a shonen/shuojo/seinen/whatever fan. And it is obvious that this here is a shonen. Here's my handy-dandy shonen checklist:

Action plot - check
Cool (and oftentimes cheesy) attack names - check
_Ridiculously_ hot female characters - check (note the emphasis)
Outrageous costume designs - check
Strong harem implications - check
Guys with whacky hair - check
Guys with _Ridiculously_ large muscles - check (note the emphasis)
Geeky lead males who are somewhat oblivious to the advances of the beautiful women around them - check
Accidental groping - check

No matter how you approach it, this is a shonen...meaning it is a form of entertainment aimed at a male audience. I have never been too kind on these types of stories. To me, they are simply too predictable in that they always have the aforementioned 'macho' elements. Entertainment meant to fulfill a male consumer's fantasies of guns, games and girls.

Some positive notes:

As is expected from series creator and illustrator "Oh!Great", this manga contains some rather beautiful female artwork. Always a plus in my book. And although the bodily proportions are really whack at the beginning, they do become more realistic as the story progresses. The Natsume sisters are a particular highlight :)

Unlike a lot of other shonen stories, Tenge follows a linear plot which will most likely end after a reasonable amount of volumes. Compared to the seemingly endless volumes of OnePiece or Naruto, this anime is seemingly going to end after 20 or so volumes (another Oh!Great hallmark. The guy knows when to wrap up a story.)

And despite the rather crude/macho dialogue, the plot twists are oftentimes original and surprising.

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I have given you a layout of what to expect in this manga. Now it is up to you to read it and give your own judgement of whether you like it or not.

It was quite enjoyable. It served it's purpose for me (which was to kill time at the local comic bookstore).

By the way:

I am highly aware of the difference between a shonen and a seinen. I know that Tenge is a seinen. But once an anime is in that direction, I don't really bother with being specific in categorizing an anime to either genre.

Because really, with the way technology goes nowadays and with how this website unabashedly asks people how many episodes they've downloaded, do all those legal stuff really matter?

Would a stereotypical 12 year old shonen/internet geek really care if there is an age limit for this manga? He's got curiosity and a fast internet connection (not to mention a lot of boyhood fantasies). What's gonna stop him from downloading? Illegal downloading laws? As if...

Final grade:
B- read more

Well,well...When was the last time I read a Tenjou Tenge chapter?I wonder...

Let's start off with the story...

Story 6/10

Typical,turns a bit more interesting after chapters but nothing big.Everytime it tries to be surprising the mangaka devotes more than 3 vols to the past of the characters,making you lose track of the real history.As if that wasn't enough we've got another "surprise" waiting for us...You might all be wondering,or even you already guessed it...that's right...it's the example,thingie...Yay!When Oh!Great wants to explain something more analytically he will just stick in the story some historical event or figure.For the people who have no idea about Japan's histoy will probably give up the manga,or even if they do make the desicion to continue it'll probably be cause of the fanservice.

Art 9/10
One of Oh!Great's strong points if not his strongest.He offers you everything,cute faces,cool hair,nice moves,girls are perfect...what more could you ask for?
But since this is Tenjou Tenge I'm rating then,you'll find it quite disappointing at first,the art.It seems sloppy and so old-fashioned,weird eyes.But the improvement almost makes up for it.

Character 7/10
Good!They first appear quite ordinary but they develop well later on,you get to know them better,you see how they feel and all these stuff.Despite that they still follow the roles of those in shounen mangas,nothing really to impress me.All I can say is,that they could be more original.

Enjoyment 8/10
Who said you can't enjoy a manga even if it sucks?While this here isn't the case I had quite a nice time with it,no wonder I kept going after all.You might be wondering what it was....
At first it was the whole thing,but then the story got uninteresting,here is where his wonderful art comes.I'll be honest with you,what kept me from giving up this manga was its art and how creative the character designs looked(appearance) and Tenjou Tenge is a manga with quite a large number of characters.

Overall 7/10
I wouldn't really recommend this manga simply cause it's hard to follow.You get lost after a few vols.Except of course if you're a fan of fanservice,violence and gore.Then try it as long as you're not a person who's looking for some quality in the story.

Since I forced myself to read many chapters while being story-uninterested,then I could force me again.Maybe I've missed what makes TT so popular or what the mangaka really is trying to do with such a story. read more