It's.... roughly the same in quality as Phantom Blood. Quite fun but still awkward in places and certainly not a masterpiece in any area. People say biggest improvement is probably in the MC department but I'm not too sure about that, I mean sure Joseph has more attitude than his grandfather but he's just your typical rash and stubborn shounen portagonist archetype. I think I actually prefer Jonathan for being more subdued actually. Also the villains are worse.
Better side characters though. Stronheim, Caesar and Lisa Lisa were a fun band and Speedwagon is ever present (I'm guessing it is a theme in this series for
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Dec 31, 2016
Hunter x Hunter
(Manga)
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I think the most impressive thing about HxH is how it avoid the usual stagnation that ruins the long running shounen. Most long shounens seem to be based mostly around a unique setting or concept that will make it easily stand out and hopefully sell, with little thought given to the long-term story development.
HxH feels like a more planned out story, it's different (although it does have some very good worldbuilding). Each arc is based in a different location with it's own self-contained storyline that still serves to the overall narrative of the main characters (each has their own personal motivation). The arcs themselves switch ... 
Dec 26, 2016
I haven't watched the Jojo anime adaptation or know much about the series but I do know Phantom Blood is considered one of the weakest parts of the franchise and I can understand why. The main antagonist is... not the most complex guy around and beyond his rivalry with Jojo I didn't understand why he wanted to do anything, there was no motivation for his actions. He was funny though, iconic character in his own way, commits some of the most vile acts I've seen in a manga actually if you like dogs or babies be warned.
The bigger problems come in with Jojo himself, ... 
Dec 21, 2016
Azumanga Daioh
(Manga)
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It's the earlier comedy manga from Kiyohiko Azuma but not as funny or clever as Yotsuba. The humour relies more on the traditonal young girls in school type that's been overdone in anime & manga, the funniest character was probably the pervert teacher. The art isn't nearly as good as in Yotsuba and the cast isn't as lovable, I didn't find myself getting attached to them.
Still it's got some decent jokes and there are far worse attempts at comedy out there so you could do worse than Azumanga Daioh. It has the same uplifting happy feeling that Yotsuba has which is a point in ... 
Dec 21, 2016
Death Note
(Manga)
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I really love Light Yagami as a character. It's so refreshing to read about a protagonist that is confident, assured and downright selfish rather than the usual beta MC people pleaser we see these days. Light doesn't do anything for his friends, his family, to save the world or to become a great warrior. He's purely fuelled by his own ego to outsmart his opponents and have the power to kill others when he pleases (that's the real reason he uses the Death Note, the peaceful world is just a pretext.)
Most of the other characters were great too, even if the main antagonists were a ... 
Dec 20, 2016
Yotsuba to!
(Manga)
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For the first fifty or so chapters I quite enjoyed Yotsuba, the art is clean, crisp and realistic with the exception Yotsuba herself to provide contrast. The comedy is well thought and relatable to anyone who remembers their naivete as a child or interacts with children. The side characters have their own quirks to make them fun and unique and I grew particularly fond of Fuuka and Jumbo and their wacky hijinks.
Like with a lot of comedies it loses steam after a while as the jokes and situations slowly repeat themselves, I think it's past it's peak and the mangaka should look to ending ... 
Dec 18, 2016
It's a pretty meh manga all things considered. I don't consider Hellsing as a horror (if it was intended as one it failed in that department) and is more just a straight up action and it's.. okay I guess. Feels visceral enough but because the characters are vampires and ghouls they have an annoying ability to keep coming back to life no matter how much punishment they take.
There's not really much a storyline which is a shame because the whole Vampire Van Hellsing thing has a lot of potential but it doesn't really live up to much. If you just want a manga with ... 
Dec 17, 2016
Trigun Maximum
(Manga)
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It's not a very good manga, the art is shitty and badly detailed, I had trouble seeing what was going on in a lot of panels. The character development is non-existent. The action doesn't work because of the aforementioned poor art and I'm just more of a edgelord who prefers to see the protagonist kill his enemies so I guess the whole premise of Trigun just wasn't for me. (Although the series does get darker later on)
The comedy was not very good so the darker turn when it became seinen was welcomed, but overall I just didn't care for it. 
Dec 16, 2016
Fullmetal Alchemist
(Manga)
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One of those series that isn't particularly exceptional at anything, but all the parts are solid enough to give it a very good base to work from. The art is decent, not great, same with the characters, villains and world building which feels like an industrial era Germany.
I suppose the strongest point about FMA is the bond between the brothers and their tragic backstory, it fits well into the narrative to form a basis of why they're doing what they do, rather than them just being a couple of stubborn headed kids who want to be a pirate or something. I disliked Winry and ... 
Dec 16, 2016
This was one of the series that helped popularise the harem comedy with a beta inept main character but I can't hate it too much, it at least tries compared to most other harems which are just soft porn.
I did actually kind of like Naru, she was a tsundere done right and Keitaro wasn't so bad, he at least tries to be a decent person in spite of being a loser. Unfortunately the other girls are underdeveloped archetypes (slut, loli, samurai, foreigner) who exist just to fall in love with the MC and provide "comedy". This was the main flaw of the manga, it ... |
