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Aug 14, 2012
I'll start off by saying that I have no idea how the chapter system in Ciel works, so just assume I've read every English chapter, and the majority of those in German/Korean. (I took German in school just so I could read this, dammit!)
To be honest, I'm not completely sure how exactly I should review this manwha. The thing that really kept me reading was the incredible atmosphere Ciel had; after what is the single longest prologue I've ever seen, it was hard to say that all was well in the world-- a couple of people burning alive, and hints of an unavoidable
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disaster in the near future-- it made the characters feel helpless, in a way, but at the same time, the art style and fine lines and sunshine made every chapter have an empty/hopeless yet bright feeling to it. This probably wasn't meant to be intentional, but it really makes the art stand out in comparison to the other graphic novels I've read (for fans of That Game Company, it's similar to playing Journey by yourself when the lights are out). And the art does get better; there's a huge change between the anatomy of the characters from the first volume to the tenth one. The only thing I could point out is that the backgrounds aren't as detailed as I would usually like them to be, but it isn't really noticeable most of the time.
The characters are another great thing about this manwha. As previous reviewers must have mentioned so far, each and every one of them have unique backstories-- I especially loved how the main heroine's origins are always very secretive, even though she lived a very (technically) normal childhood. Yvienne's quips and sharp remarks keep her from being a Mary-Sue (even though she would seem to be one), as with the hints that something is quite off about her. January's past is quite angsty, but what he takes out of it is quite different than what a typical character would. Larry's personality shines through much more than her backstory, and her development is quite realistic, even though she has her quirks. Saying anything about Daughter would spoil, and Krohiten's actions in the story are quite interesting. It takes a great deal of time for the story to kick off, so it's hard to review without including a huge load of spoilers.
The story is the weakest part in my opinion - the pacing starts off incredibly slow, but the author is pretty good at building it into a climax (sometimes interrupted by sudden humor. But she's good at humor, so it's okay?). Stuff does get real later on, but that's volumes later. Terrible things happen, not discluding the main four.
This review must seem incomplete because of the lack of detail to this section, so feel totally free to write me off as a dumb, giggly fangirl-- I was a bit stupid to focus so much on the art and characterization anyways. (Will saying I like Berserk make everything better?)
RATING MAY CHANGE WITH TIME - WILL BE UPDATED EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Sep 24, 2011
To be honest, I wasn't planning to read to manga at all of this series, after hardly being able to sit through most of the anime past episode eight. Surprisingly though, I enjoyed the manga quite a bit more (may have something to do with being able to flip through at your own pace), though it still does have its share of problems.
Starting off, we have the plot (that you can read for yourself elsewhere), which is a good idea overall, but fails to provide too much in terms of developing the storyline. The story itself is seperated in different "arcs", none of
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which properly explores the main characters (or feel like they are part of the "plot"), but instead focuses on different supporting characters, many of whom don't get much focus onwards. Still, each arc does provide you with some scattered clues about the main characters, and manage to be enjoyable as well (opinions may vary). They usually have powerful endings that are not to be missed, no matter how tedious parts of them can become.
As mentioned before, the main characters aren't exactly what I would call well-developed; characterization is pretty weak in this series. Ciel is alright; he seems to be the self-proclaimed chessmaster of this series, though the reader can see that it's more of his ego than actual ability, per-say. He's a spoiled brat with a cruel past, and you can see how much it made him develop as a character. Sebastian, on the other hand, I absolutely despise. He is the very definition of perfection, and is definitely a God Mode Sue in my eyes. Maybe it's justified, on account of him being a demon, but the way the story plays out makes him more of a Deus ex Machina then anything else, and has not developed his character properly yet; even over sixty chapters in, after a couple of years, we still do not have any backstory on him nor many hints as to his true motivation. Maybe this will change later (and let it CHANGE), maybe it won't. But until it does, I refuse to give him much credit.
With that being said, the supporting characters get a little more development, and all have their unique quirks. Something to remember in this series is that morality here is very dark, and characters usually should not be given a proper alliance (good, evil, neutral) just because of causing harm to a major character, who aren't exactly that nice either.
The art makes up for a lot of the series' faults, though. It's very delicate and attentive to detail, truly making the setting come to life. Only problem here is that it's a bit too delicate, giving little flow to fight sequences (unfortunately for the viewer).
Will you enjoy this manga? It's a bit hard to say. If you are a fangirl, then you might become enamoured with the endless stream of pretty-boys here (That's what most of the fan-discussion seems to consist of, anyways). Otherwise, most people may be turned-off by the slow pace that the author works with a lot of the time, espicially considering the wait for each chapter (a month for around 30 pages).
Overall, this series gets a 7/10 for me.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Sep 7, 2011
Despite all the hype about this anime, I have not really heard much of it myself until early April this year. Puella Magi Madoka Magica is, to me, one of the best magical girl deconstructions that I've ever seen, and I'm quite honestly surprised at the material that they've managed to stuff into this rather short anime. It does have its flaws, of course, but I'll be mentioning them later.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica begins as any other magical girl anime would go, and tries (of course, we still all know it's going to end horribly) to somehow manipulate the viewer in the beginning
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into thinking that this is going to be a light-hearted slice of life magical girl anime with its cute-but-shy female lead who has an outgoing best friend and another who seems to be the perfect girl, despite being a tad childish. And, if you don't know what genre of anime you were watching, you'd probably be fooled into thinking this. Don't forget; this anime was NOT written for five year old girls. One of the most important elements used to create this atmosphere is the art, which is cute, but not often used for animes. It varies from this style (used mainly for characters) and strange, almost gothic cut-out pictures for the witches, reminescent of traditional fairy tales. All this provides great contrast, unsettling the viewer and creating an environment full of suspense. The graphics are quite smooth and in high-quality; the style may be unique, and many may not like it, but it is quite obvious that much time was spent in the animations. It also fits quite well with the music (composed by Yuki Kaijura, though she's straying from her usual style, making it difficult to exactly say whether or not this is one of her better works) as well.
Now that I'm done talking about what I love about this show, I'll move on to what I dislike about it; the characters. While I do have to say that I do not dislike any characters in particular (you can see that Miki Sayaka is in my top five favourite characters of all time), I do have some problems with the characterizations. While each character do have their own different goals and backstories, they don't exactly have much drive in the story. Yes, one of the characters is responsible for much of the stories' events (I won't say who), but it's done it a way that feels less character-driven and instead more forced by the plot, though it's pretty far from being a simple plot device. The characters have been created in order to suffer in this world, and it's hard to say that they get much deeper than that. It's true that they're all sympathetic enough, but more characterization is needed to make the characters all feel realistic. Some of you will not disagree with me, but I do truly think that the characters were some of this anime's greatest weaknesses.
Don't let any of that keep you away from the story, however. This anime has many plot twists, one of the major two happening near the beginning of the story and is sure to unsettle for those watching this the first time. The story keeps going at a thrilling and rapid pace, and doesn't leave you much time to catch your breath. However, watchers should try and watch other magical girl animes first and get used to the cliches and plot devices of the genre in order to get the full experience of this wonderfully done deconstruction. This show may not be perfect, but it was one of the best shows that aired in the 2010-2011 winter season. If you are an anime fan, you need to watch this.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Aug 2, 2011
Ibitsu has been one of the rare horror manga that, in my opinion, managed to effectively capture that "dark" atmosphere that helps the reader to fully enjoy the story. Very good for reading at night alone with the lights out!
Story - 8/10
"Ibitsu" is about a young college student named Kazuki who meets a lolita-like woman one night while he is taking out the trash. The lolita woman asks him, "Do you have a younger sister?". Kazuki instinctively answers that he does, and runs home surprised, trying not to think much of it. It turns out that this lolita is part of
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an old urban legend, which says at midnight in Tokyo, a young lolita will appear in the streets, asking you a question. If you answer this question, then you will suffer a "twisted" death.
The plot of "Ibitsu" works a lot like a Japanese horror game (most similar to "Calling", I think). It starts off with an urban legend, and the main character somehow gets entangled in it, and tries to survive/escape. True to this stype, "Ibitsu" starts off in the main character's apartment, then goes to those classical horror locations like the school, hospital, etc. If you've seen this style before, you have a pretty good idea of what's going to happen. While it isn't the most orginal idea ever, the story does manage to move at a great pace, and is able to throw a few curveballs at you a little past halfway through the story. There really isn't much else to say here.
Art - 9/10
The art works perfectly with the style of the manga, and I absolutely love the way the lolita is drawn. The blood isn't too over-the top either in the story, which is always a plus. However, depending on the quality that you're viewing the manga in, some characters will be hard to identify at certain angles, and may look a bit odd.
Characters - 7.5/10
The lolita's personality is consistent throughout the story, and so are the rest of the characters. While there is surprising depth to characters that don't even appear in the panels, many of Kazuki's friends are a bit lacking personality-wise, and are just there to provide him with information on the lolita based on research from the internet or simply rumors they've heard. A bit dull, I would say. However, Kazuki does provide some rather realistic reactions to what happens in the story, which helps sustain the reader's belief.
Enjoyment - 9/10
A horror series should always have that element of surprise, yet keep the reader's belief that, yes, THIS COULD HAPPEN TO YOU. This is what scares the reader the most. "Lolita" manages to do this most of the time, while fail at it the rest of the time (one of the reasons why I disliked the ending, as it had little foreshadowing). While horror series are arguably unbelievable in general, "Lolita" (again, this is all subjective) manages to provide enough realism to scare a person. While I wouldn't exactly say this manga was very scary, I think most people will agree that it is pretty creepy. The first special of the manga actually had me paranoid for a bit. The blood isn't very disgusting and over-the-top like many other thrillers, so it helps. Eating garbage juice, however, does not. Some of the lolita's antics are truly sickening.
OVERALL - 9/10
If you are a fan of this type of manga, I definitely would tell you to give it a try.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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