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Jul 14, 2018
Area 51 is both stylish and fun, while containing a heavier-than-you'd-expect dose of darker adult themes. With an interesting premise, impactful stories, and a cool art style, it's a real pleasure to read.
In this story, gods aren't gods -- they're people.
The premise of "various gods and legends of mythology coming together" is used a lot in anime and manga nowadays, but this particular interpretation is quite refreshing. It presents gods and other figures not as superpowered spirit-like beings throwing fire and destruction everywhere, but more like real people with power who integrate into human society and culture in Area 51.
As opposed to stories
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like Kobayashi's Dragon Maid, Area 51 is a place full of suffering, crime, death, and power struggles. Everyone here has their own place in this new home, their own motivations, and more. While they all still have powers, the more godlike beings seem to be de-powered or don't often use them in full force, and even die rather often -- which in this case makes for a much more interesting story. Even though there is plenty of action, they also do plenty of things normal human citizens do -- they have meetings, negotiate, perform business, and have other interesting interactions with each other.Showing all this really gives you the sense that they're in a town. A bit like American Gods, except it doesn't spend its entire time setting up the story.
However, some of the most interesting characters have been human. Plenty of humans live in this town -- people who can't exist outside of here for various reasons, and people who are just here to smuggle magical goods in and out. As they often have little to no power, they have many interesting stories to tell of love, suffering, sorrow, and strife -- all big themes in this manga. Our protagonist is no exception, as she has an incredibly interesting background story that I LOVE.
Furthermore, the author did more research than you'd expect -- he integrates culture, origins, and historical representations into his renditions of these characters. This makes for cool interactions and relationships between characters, as well as a fairly educational experience. Especially because Area 51 does not only contain gods -- it has weird anomalies like Aliens and the loch ness monster, as well as a bunch of ones that I've never heard of before. It's really cool to see these characters blend into human society, doing anything from running shops to running races.
The art was honestly strange and hard to follow for me at first, but quite easy to get used to after reading for a bit. Once I got used to it, it made the manga stylish as hell. This shows itself in spades during the action scenes and makes everything feel cool, but shines the most during some of the emotional moments, where it is truly both beautiful and impactful. It was still occasionally a bit difficult to follow, but overall I didn't have much trouble at all after adjusting.
I really enjoy this manga. After every chapter I couldn't wait to see what new and strange anomaly came up next, carrying a cool action scene and often a moving story along with it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Sep 21, 2017
A beautiful, fun and fluffy semi-slice-of-life manga with a lot cute moments and surprisingly great world building and fantasy elements. If I had to compare it with something, I might describe it as "Yotsuba in fantasy land," but obviously there are still a ton of differences.
The story is about the daily adventures of a newly retired knight captain, who has bought a house and settled down, and an adorable little witch girl. It follows the classic episodic formula you'd find in other slice-of-life manga of problems appearing/events happening and being solved once every chapter or two, although there are quite a few important story and
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character elements in the background that are addressed and develop multiple times. Along with these important story elements comes drama at times, but the overall feel of this manga is undoubtedly light hearted.
The character themselves don't feel overly cliched and it's just generally great to see them interact. Especially the (somewhat classic) dynamic between the fatherly, but fun knight captain Astra and the hilarious and cute Noah. Special mention goes to Astra's interactions with his former bosses and subordinates too. So far we've seen friendships blossom and rekindle, and hints of romance as well.
Another special mention also goes to the numerous side characters of different races. Many of these characters have some interesting personalities and customs that shows that the author has put effort and thought about the characters and races themselves, even if they don't get much screentime. Harpies have a fun greeting custom. Nidhoggs are blind dragons that are actually mostly scavengers despite their fierce appearance.
The author even draws some complex and pretty magic circles and explains that each spell has its own, and many other little interesting details about the world are given, including in the extra pages -- so be sure to read it all.
This shows a quality of world building that's sadly unexpected of manga nowadays that follow the japanese-high-fantasy-esque genre of swords and magic. It's not super detailed everywhere, but there are loads of little fun things here and there. It would be way too much to expect crazy deep levels of detail while still keeping the cute and comedic pace going anyway. Even if the world is influenced by other works such as games that the author's played, it's still refreshing to see rather than the same old generic creatures and races being thrown at you over and over again from other jap-high-fantasy manga.
The author has also included their personal music loving flair as an influence, and it shows. The chapter names are based on rock and metal songs. The characters' names and designs are sometimes based off of music genres or musicians. Even if it's not an immediately obvious thing, it's great to see an author's own personal influences be included in their work and make it just that much more refreshing.
The art also needs to be talked about. While the general quality of the art is pretty good but not absolutely spectacular, and a few panels here and there are done with less detail, the author gifts us with loads of beautiful watercoloured pages and coloured digitally(?) painted pages, which are a feast for the eyes.
Overall, this manga is a great example of funny and fluffy slice of life in a surprisingly great fantasy setting that isn't totally generic like so many before. Coupled with the beautiful watercoloured pages and the author's fun personality reflected in the details of the world, I really thoroughly enjoyed what I've read so far.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Jan 14, 2015
A refreshing mix of politics, school life, and warfare, with some fantastic attention to detail, largely realistic universe, and a capable MC.
This manga follows the story of a young, prestigious and able officer, Bernd Balzer, who has quickly risen through the ranks of his country's (Weiben's) military. For his latest task, he is assigned to a neighboring country who has recently formed a pact with his own as a military instructor. This is not only done to aid their ally, but also increase his home country's influence through political means. The MC soon becomes involved in a series of political intrigues and actual conflict as
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well as his normal teaching duties, gradually introducing progressive ideas in a country with many conservative and traditional customs.
The late 19th century pseudo-fictional setting was executed brilliantly by the mangaka, as you'll find out yourself if you read the additional notes ranging from military tactics and specifics of equipment to a description of a traditional kind of bread consumed at the time. These details, which mirror the actual history of late 19th century (largely inspired by Prussia), are incorporated seamlessly in this fictional world. The ranges of rifles of the era, advantages and disadvantages of certain formations and more, are all taken into account in military decisions and teachings, as expected of competent military leaders.
The politics and intrigue are also rather interesting and well-written. As well as dealing with the country's leaders, Balzar also needs to consider the general populace's opinions of Weiben. Not only that, we are often reminded that these two countries are but a small part of the global theatre, and Balzer also needs to consider the international response to Weiben's actions.
Balzer himself is a logical and capable individual, who ultimately acts in Weiben's and his own best interests. As a distinguished member of his home country's military, Balzar has an intelligent mind and a wealth of information, especially regarding the art of war. Although he is usually friendly and enthusiastic, he will quickly become calm and rational in a political and diplomatic setting or during a battle. I found Balzer's intelligence and rationality to be very welcome in the largely realistic and historical setting.
Other main characters all act rationally and according to their believable mindsets, for example the conservative views of a crown prince in a feudal system. However, the capable characters occasionally pull off some physical moves or quick-thinking decisions a bit better than you'd think they could, and a few light-hearted moments in the academy are perhaps a bit too expressive. This will probably only be an annoyance for those looking for the most serious and gritty of manga.
The art feels more detailed but also slightly messier than the popular modern style. Not too different from what you'd be used to, but also not many shortcuts were taken in the areas that detail was required the most, such as the different parts when a rifle was dismantled.
Overall, this manga is a fantastic mix of politics and military, and brings forth a lot of logical theory and ideas reminiscent of Maouyuu Maou Yuusha. It's not overly focused on battles, so if you're looking for some really action-heavy manga, you should probably look elsewhere. However, the few battles that have occurred so far show off Balzer's smart decisions yet remain largely realistic, and the additional historical details and theory add a great flavour on top of both the military and the political aspects of the story.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Aug 10, 2013
Gou-Dere Bishoujo Nagihara Sora is a crazy comedy/ecchi manga. And by crazy I mean CRAZY. And by CRAZY I mean CRAZILY FUNNY. From the same person who made Sora No Otoshimono (which had lots of, surprisingly, comedy and ecchi) comes a manga that somehow manages to be filled with even more sexual references/scenes and even more outrageous comedic moments, but is a little weaker on the plot side.
WARNING: 99.9% of this humor is sexual in nature, so it is not for everybody. However, having been through quite a few manga of this kind, Gou-Dere Bishoujo Nagihara Sora is the first that has made me laugh
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so hard... So it's probably worth it to check out anyways even if you're not a fan of this stuff.
Story: You usually wouldn't read a manga like this for the story, but for what it's worth, the "arcs" usually last no more than a few chapters and consist of either development of relationships between the characters, or absurd situations that always lead to something ridiculously sexual (not saying that in the "normal" parts of the story this doesn't happen either...) It isn't terrible, but any parts of the story that try to be remotely serious are pretty average so far, although everything else (the 90% of the story that isn't serious) is very creative and entertaining.
Art: The art is pretty good quality, with some nice shots of some certain female characters when the scene needs it... (*coughecchicough*). Special mention goes to the "2-D art of death" frames, which are basically outrageous special moves... It's not everyday that you'd find a mangaka who would draw some of the ridiculous things that happen in those.
Character: There are two kinds of characters in Gou-Dere Bishoujo Nagihara Sora. The first kind, which includes quite a few of the main female characters, is filled with "average" or "typical" characters, who behave rather normally and shy away from awkward sexual situations with a "Huh!?" or a "Kyaa!"...
Then, there's the characters who aren't so normal (in the head), who are either fine with these situations, or are the ones who create them, and in both cases, their outrageous characteristics and personalities shine through and create the humor. I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll just say that the characters are what makes the manga so funny, and one should not expect much meaningful character development from a series that is all about the comedy, although there is still some development. Just the personalities that we get to begin with are already very creative, unique, and hilarious (for the second kind of characters).
Enjoyment: This manga is hands down the most enjoyable one that I've ever read in the comedy/ecchi genre, period. I literally could not stop laughing. Neither could my friends. The only one who wasn't laughing was my mother when she saw this on my screen, but even then I swear I saw a smile sneak through. There's something about the absolutely crazy style of comedy combined with the art and character personalities that really makes this manga truly enjoyable.
Overall, one would not read this series for amazing plot or complex character development, although the plot and characters are quite entertaining. If you ever want some extremely creative and hilarious (sexual) comedy, then this manga is the way to go.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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