Ranked #2593

Kurokami (Manga)

Black God is a Seinen, Supernatural, Action that is about the usual ‘fateful encounter’ starting point, with awesome art & action. Even though this is technically a Manhwa/Manwha, the Japanese characters & setting basically makes this a regular Manga.

Keita Ibuki is a normal guy who undergoes an unexpected life-changing experience, when he gets caught in the crossfire of higher beings that call themselves ‘Mototsumitama’. Now there’s a girl named Kuro, who he must stick with, due to various circumstances. The beginning of this hectic story really throws the reader into the thick of it, bombarding you with information regarding the complex plot (doppel-liners, terra, mototsumitama, etc.) and some intense action. Even with it all explained by the end of the 1st volume, it’s obvious that there are a number of plot holes that need to be filled (e.g. coexistence balance). It’s also a problem that the story lacks any real focus, as it just teeters between; Keita’s daily life, fights between mototsumitama and the dealing behind the scenes. Though after some surprising developments, the situation soon changes and the story soon finds some real direction.

This manhwa has a plethora of characters, with the ones largely involved in the story being somewhat cliché but realistic. Keita is a regular guy with an unappealing attitude, though he can be quite funny & dependable. Kuro is a weird girl, with a cute & dim-witted personality but has a troubled past. It’s interesting the way these two form a deep relationship as ‘mototsumitama & partner’ and the others that appear are also intriguing in their own way.

What’s truly amazing about this manhwa is the awesome artwork. The characters look first-class & have nice round features, the backgrounds are immensely detailed and the action is impressive & intense. Although the artwork would have been perfect if the action sequences weren’t so incomprehensible in the beginning.

Overall Black God felt like a Role Playing Game because the protagonist was thrust into a situation he had no control of and just did what he could to reach the end of his quest, with his companion. It didn’t help that the Keita could be such a d**k, on the other hand he and other the characters’ actions were portrayed somewhat realistically. The premise of the story regarding doppel-liners and such is one of the most interesting I’ve come across in a while; nonetheless it is also quite flawed and fairly confusing so far.

Note: May edit if necessary. ^_^ read more

Wow this is underrated (going by MAL standards not my own). I Hope I can do this some justice with my review.

Black God aka Kurokami is a piece of work that combines a supernatural theme with shounen-like fight scenes. While this is not groundbreaking in any sense when looking at it from this perspective, it makes up for this by being the best in its class.

Art: It Excels and in its case it really matches the style. Its up there with Shin Angyo Onshi and Akumetsu. It really is a waste to deliberate on this when the real thing is just a few clicks away.

Story: This is a critical part of a manga for me and in the case of Kurokami it did not disappoint. The supernatural theme that Kurokami is based on originates from the philosophical dilemma that arises from multiple identical bodies/souls coinciding in the same existence plane. Suppose that it would be possible to replicate your body in its entirety (atom for atom, memory for memory) at a set time and at the same time to replace your position with that of the replicate instantaneously. Which body would embody the consciousness of you? Kurokami explores this dilemma with a world system where there are two dopplegangers(replicas) for every person (root) and that when one of these three spiritual bodies comes into contact with another the result is the eventual death of the inferior existence (non-root). This relates to the main character(Keita) because his mom was one of the unfortunate that happened to run into her doppleganger and die in an accident. The story although effected by the theme runs a traditional shounen progression and keeps the reader interested with numerous fight scenes. In conclusion I think that Kurokami does a great job at combining its supernatural theme with action to keep the reader interested but also providing substance for those looking for more.

Characters: Meh.. The characters are alright, but a little clichéd with some exceptions. Keita is probably the most unique as he is insecure (early childhood loss) but comes off as aggressive instead of the wimpy/whiny trait that is seen with many characters liek his.


Overall/Enjoyment:
I think this series has a very interesting supernatural premise and manages to combine that element with action smoothly to create a artistically beautiful supernatural/shounen. If you get the chance to read it I would recommend you do so.





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