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Oh man It's been a while since I've had my heart torn out by realizing a manga has gotten axed. Hoshitsukai Selena is a wonderful little manga about a girl collecting little spirits called stellar beasts each with their own unique powers. Though the story's concept is quite simple, Len[A-7] has done a beautiful job crafting scenarios where the powers are applicable. Lets go over some positives before I drop why this manga ended with mixed feelings.
First of all the art is fantastic. All of the stellar beasts are super cute with fun designs and surprisingly whenever there is some action its fun to ... follow and depicted well. Environments are varied and detailed and makes every mini story of recovering each new enough where the main goal formatting doesn't get old.
I love the way the author writes how the MC very practically uses all her current assortment of stellar beasts' powers. It makes all the situations very enjoyable and fun to follow the logic of the power usages, almost HxH style.
And now lets get to the sadness, as though it is not listed the manga is just 14 chapters and long and as you can guess was axed. And this is another xxxHolic Rei situations where the main villain had been introduced, they did something where I wanted some sweet justice, the plot was really starting to pick up pace and yet just as it was going we see the story cut short with a Fin where Selena is just about to go on another adventure. On one hand I'm happy that the author made it open ended so maybe one day we can come back to restart and finish the story properly. On the other hand I'm super bummed out how quickly the ending came and wish it just had a bit more time to finish up. This is a wonderful hidden gem that I think people should give a chance and though it ends very fast I'm looking forward to see what Len[A-7] does next and wish them luck on their next work.

A brief but quaint manga about a girl who can use magic and a grizzled veterinarian go around treating magical creatures around town. In terms of how magical its very akin to Magician's bride in that they reference how old magic is, and this applies to the creatures they treat as well. For the most part the creatures don't have like insane abilities and are just interesting animals, with that comes making the whole manga quite grounded. There's not really much fighting or conflict in general, instead it almost plays out like a detective novel, constantly having the characters trying to solve what the creatures ... issues are with context clues. Overall it comes out to quite a unique manga which I would recommend you give a read if the premise sounds interesting to you. The artwork is well done, the creatures are always pretty unique and cute, and the characters while not the most in-depth, do a good job at carrying the story.

Well here's a fun little gem of a manga that has those off personality characters that I love. Black Guard is about a zombie-like virus infecting humanity, and humanity in turn fleeing to the skies in surprisingly high tech cities, though in this universe that tech doesn't translate to destructive power, as the main weapon is still just guns.

So with that summary out of the way what makes this manga special. Well it has some nice theming going on through out the whole story which is that is semi-post apocalyptic universe where you get turned right when you get injured, many people have become ... emotionless, and the very best 'guards' as they call them are the ones with essentially no emotion. In comes in our main character who starts as a weirdly suicidal, emotionless swordsman whose job it is to come in when a operation goes wrong and kills everybody turning.

But here's the special thing about this manga. He is not the only special off-character in this story, in fact most of the main reoccurring cast have something off our interesting about them. I would personally say their are 3 main characters and its honestly is a great surprise to see every one of them develop and show off their quirks. Most characters who are initially introduced as maybe troupe-y become surprising competent throughout the story and its fun to see these characters work together/play off each other.

Which brings me to my next point in that the dialogue and especially the comedy of this story hit surprisingly hard even though some moments come a bit to fast paced for my taste. With the theme of discovering yourself and your own feelings of 'love', there are definitely some cheesy moments throughout the manga but I think the serious tone is surprisingly well kept through out the whole story never letting up but making sure to give some breathing room to characters to develop as people.

Finally lets take about the art, which is nothing too special but is definitely nothing to scoff at. The art style gives of that clean simple vibe which may throw some people off but I think works for the setting and tone of the story. It's supposed to be kinda future-y with very white plain buildings and costumes, which luckily also have the affect of making the MC stand out even more with his black cloak. And there are plenty of panels that later on in the story will give you that sense of emotion and taking your breath away, not over complex but enough to build emotion. Plus I think they do most of the faces right which is always a must in a emotional story.

Overall 8: This is definitely not a story for everyone, but if you can stand the overall theming of the story and if the premise sounds interesting to you then I think you should definitely give this a read. A manga filled with good action, a interesting mystery, plenty of interesting characters (which as a last note I will also add their aren't to many misses with characters in general either), overall it comes to a very satisfying package. I don't think its perfect but I was happily reading all the way through.

Ahhhh and so another action manga gets axed and sadly it was just when it was getting going. Jigoku no Gouka is a manga that has a fantastic opening that goes into a ROUGH beginning to pick up in the last 3rd which is when you then find out its got axed and man does it hurt. I don't know why but they decide to introduce the most annoying side characters right after the beginning of the manga and when they finally leave after like 80 chapters in you finally get a breath of fresh air. Finally the MC gets some freedom to do whatever ... he wants and when that happens this manga goes from like a 5 to a 8 but rough beginnings I think killed its popularity and thus it got axed right when many of the better side chars. get introduced so you never get the many fantastic battles that were probably planned. But for what it is, you will find lots of fantastic battle art with flame drawings similar to Flames of Rekka fighting against interesting opponents though they are quite a few long breaks between battles. Shorter chapters too so even though it says 125 chs its a quick read overall. If you bored and looking for some fun mind-numbing well drawn action then this is a fine pick but don't expect anything amazing and again be prepared for the axed ending.

Story 6: Christ just know that it is slow as molasses. Honestly with 41 volumes a lot eventually changes but to say it gradual would be an understatement. The course of the manga spans about 6 or so years of the Chef Sota's career as a Japanese chef in the top class restaurant of Tomikyu. The first 3rd is him steadily moving up the kitchen ranks from just a griller to a head chef. Imma be honest the manga is very slow, comforting but slow, we literally see characters constantly progress through their lives (and thus) usually get written out of the story. After 20 ... or so volumes you'll get the gist and when it finally comes down to the main cast it becomes so slow moving that essentially nothing really changes from chapter to chapter.
Art 8: Its a food manga and the food looks fantastic, they give us lots of panels showing knife cuts and stunning plates though I will say if you don't like fish heads most of the fancy sashimi plates will not be for you. The character faces are serviceable and expressive though I never loved the crying booger humor which happens a lot in the first few chapters. But the manga hosts some fantastic panels throughout and only gets better as it goes on.
Character 6: Honestly the weakest part of the manga for me. NONE OF THE CHARACTERS PROGRESS AND THE ONES THAT DUE ARE ESSENTIALLY WRITTEN OUT. Its honestly a bit infuriating to read, most of the characters by the end of 41 chapters are still 'in the process of learning' and idk somehow that leaves a bad taste in my mouth. It shows the journey is never over but also makes it feel like the characters never really have gotten to a point of solid improvement. I also really can't stand the love triangle stuff that is HEAVILY emphasized for the first half of the volumes. Literally every time something even slightly love related comes up the in first half every char becomes instantly depressed and uncomfortable its pretty dumb. Also Hannoi had the best storyline just to get written out, man got done dirty.
Enjoyment 7
Overall 6: Honestly its a great long running manga that has a ton of flaws and is far from a masterpiece but if your looking for something long to read and pass the time while looking at gorgeous and tasty sounding seafood (that admittedly is always essentially high class Japanese food so not much variety) then is a great manga to pickup and read. Its not perfect and can definitely drag but the few developments that do happen in the story are always interesting and honestly the everyday cooking chapters never get old. For a manga that started in 2003 it really lets you feel how time is passing by in the characters lives. By the end you will feel like 6 real years have passed since the start of the story, I just wish the characters other then where they ended up could feel more emotionally developed.

ITS ACTUALLY A CRIME THAT THIS MANGA ISN’T MORE POPULAR, the comedy, the characters, the feels are all so good.
Story: 8 Honestly the somewhat weakest part of this manga but what can you expect it’s a comedy, with the basic premise being a crazy buff demon fanatic human got contracted as a familiar by a ‘weak’ demon girl who is trying to catch her crime-crazy dad. Sounds like not much but the story has so many fun twists and turns that the semi-episodic gag feel of the chapters never gets old. TL:DR ITS GOT ACTUAL CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT BABY and that’s rare in comedies now a ... days.

Art: 9 I absolutely adore how the demons are shown to be truly interesting creatures and that the Norman is actually a crazy biologist who just tries to examine and record everything. It makes all the demons that would come off as plain become a lot more interesting and mysterious now that we all they can semi-be explained as actual animals with anatomy. Plus I think the general art for the action and comedy is fantastic cute and cool in all the right places.

Character and Enjoyment: 10/10 Baby I absolutely adore all the characters in this manga. Everybody is introduced quick enough where you get a feel on their personality yet leaves enough hidden to have some extremely fun reveals down the line. They all get their different times to shine and I love how the main duo’s relationship develops as you learn about their initially hidden past. As a plus the ‘Villain’ is truly somebody where you share the exact same emotions as the characters with all the sh*t he stirs up and it makes everybody so loveable.

Overall: 9 If you’re looking for a fantastical action-comedy based manga with a somewhat similar vibe to Marimashita Iruma than this is exactly for you. From the loud duo to the lovable side characters their truly isn’t many things to hate about this manga other than it’s somewhat slow, kinda offbeat beginning but once it gets going IT GETS GOING. Have some time, highly suggest you give it a read.
Plus they get rid of the most annoying side character pretty fast which was a relief.

This might be the most amazing side-story I’ve ever read from a main series, especially for one as unique as Baki.
Story: 9 OMG RETSU GOT ISEKAI’ed and he has the goddamn time of his life going through his fantasy world. The 1st chapter manga is a trip and essentially tells us that Retsu has a epiphany when being reincarnated about China’s Martial history and how he must prove it to this new world… and to do that he just fights freaking everybody and everything and it’s such a hoot.
Art: 10 The wonderful over muscly, crazy detailed, punch and kick happy Baki art is here ... alive and well and it makes this new turn of content all the more enjoyable.
Character and Enjoyment: 9 MANNNN let me tell you I love Retsu and was super bummed out and surprised when he got murked in Baki-dou so to see him alive and enjoying the shit out of his new chance at life was super satisfying. I love that he retains all his memories, Chinese martial arts, etc. and there is even some hint he might learn magic. I can’t wait.
Overall: 9 DO YOU WANT SOME MORE BAKI CONTENT, SOME MORE RETSU MAGIC THEN HOP ABOARD THIS HIDDEN GEM TRAIN BOIS CAUSE WE GOING AND ITS GREAT!!!

Story: 7 This is a very cute manga about a city girl moving to Okinawa and experiences all the activities of the sea at a very simple level things like snorkeling, hand fishing, etc. Not too much happens in terms of development other than you get to see this 3 batch of cutes girls form a very cute and endearing friendship while experiencing Okinawa.

Art: 7 The art is nothing to write home about but it does its job well, the characters are all very cute and got that nice soft pudgy feeling to them which makes the comedy hit harder.

Characters 8: So the main character ... is essentially a airheaded girl who loves to troll people and honestly I love it. The comedy is really either hit or miss but it really grew on me by the time I finally reached the last chapter. The characters love taking jabs at each other and its fun to see them bounce off one another.

Enjoyment and Overall 7: Ocean Colored March is a short but sweet comedy journey about a city wanting to have the Okinawan experience and I would recommend this to anyone looking for a laid-back comedy manga where the characters dialogue and interactions mostly carry the series.

Story and Characters 10: Otouto no Otto is the perfect homophoic introspection story, there is no annoying sense of being overdramatic, it handles all of its subject matters carefully and it does it in a very concise manner. Firstly, this story's situation setting is goddamn a work of genius, it allows for a perfectly melancholic tone which the author makes sure to never drive too far from. It never becomes overly dramatic, overly happy, nothing because the whole manga is about acceptance and regret. The main MC that is the dad goes through honestly one of the most smooth, well paced character arcs of all ... time, being slow to realize his shortcomings of how he thinks of other people. He is constantly reflecting throughout the book about all the situations past and future that he might have to deal with when it comes to gays and I think that's fantastic.

Art 8: The art in this manga is good, if not maybe off putting to some people. Tagame, Gengorou’s style of drawing men is… something and by that I mean that he draws them buff as hell. We are talking like SS3 goku styles of buff but after reading through a few chapters it gets endearing to see these huge dudes going through lots of complicated emotions. The background arts of Japan are all very pleasant and all the food they draw look delicious as always. I will say that there are a few too many scenes of the father and the canadian being naked and having a full body portrait of these huge buff guys was probably a little unnecessary but what can you do and it doesn’t distract too much from the story.

Enjoyment and Overall 9: Overall I really enjoyed this manga, after reading the trashfire ending that was Ao no Flag’s story this was a nice needed refreshment of the subject matter. It handles the topic of Japan's tendency towards negative stereotyping very well and makes sure to always treat it very delicately. It's not annoyingly dramatized and all the problems that pop up in the manga come very naturally, and still there are even twists in the manga which come as a nice surprise. I highly recommend this to anybody who is looking for a good yaoi read, its short, sweet and beautifully melancholic. It has a great bittersweet ending and more than deserves its praise so give it a read if you haven’t.

I'm so sad to see that there aren't many people who know about this manga but this review will be for those who happen to stumble across this page and are wondering if they should pick up. Answer: YOU TOTALLY SHOULD

Dark Gathering might be one of my favorite hidden gems I've found in a while. If you are looking for an action occult manga like jujutsu kaisen and still have the sour/disappointing taste of phantom seer in your mouth I HIGHLY rec. starting this manga. The fun twist is that non of the main characters actually have 'super powers' its all done within the rules ... of this world and nothing is ever pulled out of the ass which just makes it so much more enjoyable. No power of friendship, no random power ups, the occult side stuff is actually horrifying at times (especially the main characters main curse/fear which is actually terrifying) it real shows that this is a true HORRER manga.

Story and Characters: 10 Yo I love our 3/4 main cast of characters, I love how likable and complex they all are. We got our very progression driven main character who is a ghost magnet but has personality problems which surprisingly don't get grating as he is constantly trying to improve making him a lovable, wholesome goof ball just trying to make his way through his horrible life. We got the ghost torturing 20 yr old loli who has a super interesting character design as screams that "I'm an expert don't question me attitude". AND WE HAVE THE BEST CHARCTER of best girl who is just the best (read to find out (>‿◠), but no really I love Eiko's whole character as it gives so much more character to the story as a whole as I feel the duo main ghost people would get stale on their own. Having a character who serves so many roles as the love interest, outside perspective, extremely capaple, etc. is just so impressive.
Art: 9 The art is good, all the ghost designs are extremely creepy and I love how they portray ghost capturing, focusing a lot on the voodoo aspect as well as their physical designs. What helps is that for the 'main' ghosts they love to hint at their designs which makes for a lot of interesting reflection shots, etc.
Enjoyment and Overall: 9 ITS SO GOOD BUT DOESN'T HAVE A LOT OF CHAPTERS BUT I STILL RECCOMEND IT BECUASE ITS SO GOSH DARN FUN, its not perfect and it seems to be going towards a somewhat fast story maybe 50 or so 50pg chapters its feeliing like but its still got good pacing so get on the train boys.