Back to -wide-kanji-'s Profile -wide-kanji-'s Profile

I gave this a 10/10 - It's a must read for fans of action, comedy, absurdity (?) and impressive art. In terms of action, I'm pretty sure this is the best one on the market. It's also a great material if you're looking learn storyboarding, because Yusuke Murata drew this as if he was storyboarding an anime, which is pretty rad.

Not a lot of people notice, but One Punch-Man is also an excellent superhero critique/satire. Kind of like The Boys, another superhero satire, the highest ranking heroes are similarly douchebags and self-serving, and cause a lot of destruction in their heroics. Unlike The Boys, One ... Punch-Man focuses on what it means to be a hero, and despite being the strongest person, Saitama, the protagonist, is not the best hero he could be, which leaves him room to grow and develop as a character. The point that the manga is trying to make is evident through strong heroes who act in self-interest instead of empathy, and weak heroes who would put their lives on the line to save the innocent, no matter how strong the enemy. World building, character design, relations and actions reflect this as well.

The story gets very introspective at times, and Saitama has quite a few "Guts moments". Whether you're coming looking for a fun, enjoyable read, or a complex, contemplative one, One Punch-Man will leave you satisfied.

I gave this a 10/10 - If the ending sucks, I'll revise my score, but otherwise, this is an excellent manga. A must-read for fans of action dramas, or fans of biblical fiction. I also found that this is excellent material if you're looking to be an illustrator, comic/manga artist, or storyboard artist.

It's fun to read, the writing is simple enough to follow, and deep enough to allow for a lot of fan discussion and theorizing, making it worth every reread. The art is clean, the composition is perfect, and the author's love for movies shows through with the way he panels, making action sequences ... feel animated. Chainsaw Man knows when to be comedic, when to be depressing, and when to be intense, with high stake situations that reap satisfying payoffs.

The character design is excellent. Characters are distinct in both the way they look and act. The world building isn't bogged down by unnecessary trivia and prioritizes quality over quantity, showing only things that are important to the story (which pairs well with a lead that has a simplistic world view). As of now, the story isn't complete, and chapters are published on a (generally) weekly basis, but every chapter leaves you wanting more, knowing that the wait always pays off.

I gave this a 10/10 - A must-read for fans of drama, or who-dun-it mysteries, or fans of the socioeconomic climate, pop culture, or conspiracy theories of the late 20th century. The story uses the elements mentioned to paint a picture of a fictional, but believable, 20th century setting, so if you're also nostalgic for that time, this is the story to read. Fans of the band T.Rex will also find a good story here, although unlike what the title may imply, it isn't about the band T.Rex, sorry.

20th Century Boys uses excellent writing and timeless art to bring you back in time, to its ... titular time frame. It really makes you feel like a youth living in the late 20th century who's uncertain of not only their future but the hopes and dreams that the coming century will bring. It just has a little something for everyone.

But mainly, it's a story of good intentions being misguided and/or manipulated, and how innocent dreams can be weaponized, leading to disastrous consequences, layered behind mysteries and conspiracies. You will probably not want to put it down until you've uncovered the truth. Thrillers are only as good as how long they stick with you, and I believe this eerie title is one to stay.

I gave this an 8/10 - It definitely is not for everyone, and unless you're interested or is fine with gory depictions, as well as a romanticization of violence and mental illness, don't read Goth. However, if you're into a gory thriller, or better yet own the novel counterpart, this is a worthwhile manga to pick up.

It's exclusivity in subject matter is not its biggest enemy, but its potentials as an adaptation instead. It's a great adaptation, undoubtedly done by a fan of the original novel. However, it's 2 chapters short (these stories are extremely difficult to adapt anyway), which is a shame, and a ... lot of the discursive elements, like internal monologues, were replaced with visual presentations, despite the fact that to me, the discursive parts of Goth is what made it not limited to just a gory horror p**n. So if you were to choose either the manga or the novel, I would still recommend the original novel first even if you're more of a fan of manga. The twists also felt more satisfying in the original novel, not to mention that there are 2 whole more stories to read, which were excellent and easily the best ones.

Still, the stories are closely adapted and did justice to the original work, and are entertaining to read. The art is clear, concise, and beautiful, and the visual design is an excellent adaptation of Goth's tone and subject matter. A solid addition to your manga shelf.

This might sound like a spoiler, but from the first page of the manga you'll learn that your male lead isn't a "normal person" anyway, which is why I felt like those internal monologues in the novel were important. The point of Goth, I guess, is what's so different between the male lead and the antagonists; either that, or the point was to get in the heads of these psychos and know them a little better. Either way, the novel goes a little harder into that. Don't get me wrong though, the manga is still great.

I gave this a 10/10 - You will not go wrong picking this series up. Even if you're not a horror fan, or a thriller fan, and you're just a fan of bizarre concepts and interesting stories, there are many to explore here. As the title implies, it focuses on spirals, and it really goes hard with this concept.

I think good horror/thriller are only as good as how long they stay in your mind, and ever since reading this story a decade a go, I've never looked at spirals the same way, whether that may be the shell of a snail, wounded up cables, or ... a piece of ramen decoration.

You might be frustrated with the leads of this manga. They both are aware of the horrors but choose to not run away. I'm lenient on idiot plots because without them a lot of stories will not happen at all, but in this case, I kind of like their reason of staying. Their reasoning loops around until it ends at the start, like a spiral.

The ending was more or less perfect too.

Demon Slayer is my 10/10. That doesn't mean it's a perfect manga, in fact trying to find a manga without flaws is impossible, but to me, this is as far as the craft goes (and some of its stories is personal to me so I guess I'm also biased). To explain my reasoning, I will have to go into heavy spoilers, and while it might not be your 10/10, or even above 5/10, I seriously think that this is an excellent manga that is worth your while.

Firstly, it's pretty surprising to me that Shonen Jump ran Demon Slayer. A cheery magazine for boys running a ... tragedy that could have ran on a seinen magazine? It's not like SJ doesn't run tragedies. Chainsaw Man is technically a tragedy, and Death Note is definitely one, but regardless, not often, so if you're looking for one, try Demon Slayer.

I will now continue to sound like your English teacher.

Like other tragedies, such as those written by renowned tragedy writer Billy Shakespeare, there're lots of irony in Demon Slayer. In Bill's Hamlet, or Romeo and Juliet, those irony come in the form of convoluted revenge plots, or the fact that 2 preteens were just being too overly dramatic. In Demon Slayer, I can think of 2 major ironies. The first, and probably very off-putting to a lot of people, is that behind almost every demon in the manga, no matter how violently evil they may be, there is a backstory in contrary to that nature. It's almost like they were just normal humans who didn't choose to be demons, who tragically became demons due to circumstances. I believe that they primarily serve as reminders of Muzan's evil. These people could have very well been left alone, and the pain and suffering they bring about others or is brought unto them wouldn't have been done, but because Muzan exists, there will be more and more of them, and this is why Muzan has to die. Muzan's goal isn't even to rule the world or exterminate all humans, he just wants to live basically, but his existence brings rise to evil and depression. This basically builds up hate for Muzan without overexposing him or having him kick a dog into a furnace, and it's not like any demon were spared of their wrongdoings just because they had a sorry past.

The other huge irony I think, is the fact that despite being the reincarnation of demon slayer Jesus and the protagonist of this story, it wasn't Tanjiro who defeated Muzan. I feel like this is the biggest turn off for those who finish the manga, and will probably be a huge turn off when the anime ends, but I hope that I can offer an alternative and interesting point of view.

1/ Why should Tanjiro defeat Muzan on his own? He hasn't trained as hard or as long as the other Pillars, he doesn't have an outstanding physical attribute, and the one gift he has that would give him an edge, he hasn't even fully mastered, and even the demon slaying Jesus that mastered it couldn't slay Muzan. Some thought that a time-skip would make sense, but when? As of the Sword Village arc, Muzan already knows the majority, if not every demon slayer facilities, limiting their places to train, forge weapons, or even rest, not to mention that he knows where their HQ is. If the time-skip is after they stormed the "Demon Castle", then Muzan can just repopulate his Moons right away and counterattack because he knows where the HQ is, while half of the corps is slain, injured, or unable to fight, not to mention that those awaken to the mark die very soon. I think Demon Slayer ended at the right time, right place, not too long or too short, and if it had gone any longer there would be a lot of filler or just loses its steam.

2/ Everyone defeating Muzan together plays much better to its theme. Demon Slayer plays with a lot of themes, but one of its central ones is that no sacrifice is meaningless, one that is echoed in the Wind Pillar's backstory and the latest chapter (a Rengoku spinoff). A lot of people died to gain intel on Muzan, to entrap him, and a lot more died just to weaken him. When it was down to just Muzan, it really felt like a "it's not or never" moment, because while it wasn't the demon slayers at their strongest, it was Muzan at his weakest, so the stakes here are very compelling. And then unknown, faceless corps members laid down their lives just so that the Pillars can regain their strength, and their sacrifices actually gave the Pillars a fighting chance despite the power difference, and it also made more sense to me that demon slayers who've trained more and are stronger than Tanjiro should be the ones to fight Muzan, like Tanjiro can't just win just because he's the protagonist you know? Also, just the fact that none of the strong side characters were invalidated in the final fight was kind of astonishing to me. Despite however many character have been introduced in Dragon Ball, it often boils down to Goku or Vegeta, or just Goku mostly, to win the fight, like, what could Krillin do fighting Cell Max?! But in that fight with Muzan, it was everybody's fight, everyone whose lives were afflicted by Muzan earned the strength and the rights to kill him, and that's why I think that battle was well written, not to mention the tactics they employed on the spot to coordinate against the raid boss Muzan and close the power difference.

3/ It's also more appropriate to the story that the Kamado's kindness technically saved the day. I mentioned that Demon Slayer is a tragedy, and some may ask, what is the character flaw that brought him down? Urokodaki would say that it's his kindness, because he thought that Tanjiro's kindness is what will kill him. Gyuu probably thought the same way when he saw Tanjiro groveling, but in a stroke of irony I guess, his kindness ended up saving the day didn't it? His kindness reached his demonized sister, who then reached the demon slayer who would spare their lives, and the demon he spared ultimately becomes the key to fabricating an antidote to Muzan. It's extending and reciprocating kindness that ultimately not only helped defeating Muzan, but also freeing Tanjiro from Muzan's manipulation, literally lifting him up from the darkness. This is a much cooler and more fitting way to end the story, isn't it.

Another criticism I see people bring up about the writing of Demon Slayer is that the characters are very bland, and Tanjiro is not a very interesting protagonist. I disagree, and I also think that's kind of the point. Tanjiro is your run of the mill guy, he's just a child in a typically average Japanese household of the time, and the story shows what he's willing to do to avenge his family who unjustly got ruined by an evil man. The story went the "this could happen to anybody" route, which I personally like more. I also think it's inspiring somewhat, that this typical child could do so much for his family, which encourages me to do better too. Demon Slayer ended 3 years ago, and despite having not read it for 3 years, I still remember a lot of the major players. I still remember the 2 Upper Moons who didn't get a backstory because they're scummy, and I still remember the scummy one who actually got his own backstory that was actually compelling, or the guy who brought a gun to a swordfight, or the guy who used a snake to see when he was blinded, etc. If you were to show me a picture or ask me who did what at a certain time in Demon Slayer, I can answer you pretty confidently. That's not bland, I think. Bland is like boiling broccoli, or a potato, or a cut of chicken breast and eating it without seasoning. Demon Slayer characters don't feel like that. They feel pretty seasoned, and they stand out in their designs, actions and motivations, and while the Pillars have differing powers and specializations, they're all united by grief and suffering, which simplifies their characterization in a way that it doesn't become filler or flashbacks that disrupt the tempo of the story; and while the Moons don't have any similarity other than the fact that they are demons, that's exactly why each of their backstories is worth exploring which makes up for their limited screen time; not to mention that the main "next-gen" demon slayers are based on the five senses, with Tanjiro being smell, which I thought was interesting.

Two characters that I want to talk about are the strongest Pillar, Pillar 1, and the strongest Moon, Upper Moon 1. Pillar 1's specialization is stone, something hard, strong and unmoving, mirroring his determination, but contradicting his kind and caring personality. Before he became a demon slayer, he was attacked by a demon, and betrayed by those he loved, still, he remained kind. Doesn't this remind you of Tanjiro? Isn't it ironic, that Urokodaki says kindness is a weakness, but the strongest of the corps is a kind and caring person?

Upper Moon 1 on the other hand, was an extremely skilled swordsman, who realized his limits and demonized so that he could be stronger. He claims to have forsaken his kindness and humanity to attain the power he's always wanted, but when he is slain and dusted away, the only thing that remains is the flute belonging to his brother, a keepsake, sliced in half, a memento to the humanity that he falsely claimed to have abandoned, but also his regret. This is the story that was personal to me, you know, cheating to get what you want to only realize that you actually didn't really want that, and all that cheating was for nothing. Anyways, I was moved during this, and I know that one of these stories told in Demon Slayer will move you too, maybe you will also find one that's personal to you, maybe even inspirational. Even a character that is outwardly dull and not very talkative like Gyuu has a pretty interesting story.

I don't wanna sound like your English teacher anymore so I'll stop here. In conclusion, Demon Slayer is a concise and compelling story with interesting stories and satisfying payoffs, and I believe my score speaks more than I could for the art and design. I talked mostly about writing and design because that's what I'm most drawn to, but for a weekly action manga, the action is very clear and easy to follow, something that I think shouldn't be taken for granted after having read the recent 3 chapters of Jujutsu no Kaisen.

I also just want to be ahead of the curb because Kamado Jr's parkour will be animated, and it will be awesome. Everyone will lose their minds over it. That is my prediction.