Origin

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Can't recommend this one enough. This manga is chock full of thrills, kills, awesome shit, and so much more. It's very funny, very beautiful, and overall such a fun read. Much like Boichi's other originals, the story isn't crazy, and is really the only thing that is not excellent to perfect about this joyride of a manga. However, if you aren't some snob who can sit and enjoy a simple, fun, wild story about robots and action and romance and guns and future shit, this is the pinnacle of binge reads. Give it a shot. I cannot stress how simply fucking sick this manga is

If you've read any of Boichi's other Manga such as Sun Ken Rock or Dr. Stone then you already know to expect some top tier art and action scenes. Origin tells the Tale of an Artificially Intelligent Robot who is on a journey of self discovery to essentially "become more human" by acquiring different emotions throughout his journey. In order to live a full-filling life as his creator/father said it is necessary for him to take down the other AI robots his father created which seek to do harm to humans and their society. Boichi does a great job with creating uniquely distinct and likable ... characters throughout all of his manga and Origin has followed suit.

Every character has distinct personality traits and their own motives throughout the manga which to me makes this journey much more enjoyable as its easy to find a character that you may relate too on a personal level. Overall my enjoyment of this Manga is about 9/10 purely off the art and action scenes although i'd give the overall plot and storyline about a 7.

The reason for this is that while it does give some backstory on the motives of the MC etc.. it still isn't enough at its current point in this manga's production. Perhaps the storyline will get a bit more complex and reveal more in the future but as of right now its "just okay"(dont expect anything sort of existential thought provoking content). Ultimately this manga boils down to 1 word "COOL" and thats okay :P

tl;dr: A manga with interesting concepts and well implemented sci-fi that falls apart horribly as it reaches its end.

This manga has a lot of interesting aspects that work quite well together. Firstly, the basic premise of a robot protagonist doing his best to blend in unnoticed with humans while having to deal with various problems that only robots have like charging and maintenance is incredibly interesting. The writing also does a good amount of showing the internal thoughts of the protagonist, which are very logical and contrast in a generally amusing manner from all the humans around him who are often quite emotional, but at ... the same time don't feel completely cold and seem to have some level of humanness to them. This results in some great comedy, but also allows for a lot of good character and relationship development. The highlight of this is the heroine Hirose, who is incredibly likable and has a decent amount of depth to her. The robot aspect in general also feels very well done with things feeling like they're being properly explained for the most part and it getting quite deep into the hard sci-fi aspects. This is especially prominent during the action scenes like robot battles where things often get incredibly complicated and heavy on tech, but still manage to flow well and be really exciting and interesting.

Unfortunately, all of these strengths only last for about two thirds of the manga. After that the blending in aspect gets dropped and in general the comedy disappears, leading to a much darker tone. The plot ends up going in directions that really doesn't treat any of its characters well. Some characters end up getting completely screwed over by the plot, in some cases in ways that feel completely unfair and unnecessary. Some characters that seemed likable have random heel turns which are equally annoying. And some just end up being way more lame than they should have been. The plot itself becomes overtly crazy. The harder sci-fi aspects are dropped and characters just start getting arbitrary supernatural powers. And while the ending does finish essentially all the important plot threads, it doesn't feel satisfying at all as it feels that it does this by throwing away pretty much everything it built up over the course of the manga. It also doesn't help that this entire last third happens in an extremely rushed manner that just makes everything so underwhelming.

If you've read another relatively popular manga by Boichi, Sunken Rock, it isn't that bad, but it's pretty close, and I think close enough to give me an impression that this guy while great at coming up with concepts for manga is terrible at ending them. Still, a strength that does remain consistent from beginning to end is the art, which is excellent with good designs and an elaborate art style for both characters and machinery with good range in terms of being able to convey action, horror, and comedy all pretty well.

Origin is not a very good manga. The characters are not very well developed (or maybe that's due to there only being 38 chapters) except for maybe Origin. The story itself isn't amazing either, often only reaching mediocre, and is mostly cheese. The art is good, but nothing exceptional. So why do I rate this series a 7?

Because I found it to be an extremely fun read

While Origin lacks in story and characters, it makes up somewhat with the action. The action is on a level I haven't experienced much in the world of manga. "Turning pages" ruins the flow for me, but not ... for Origin. Origin has induced in me a state of childish glee. The action and story, while cheesy, are extremely enjoyable for me.

Origin is not a particularly good manga, however, the protagonist is a ROBOT NINJA. How could you not try it out?

As the illustrator for one of my favourite ongoing mangas right now: Dr. Stone, I thought I would check out his own ongoing series - Origin.

I must say, like the art in Dr. Stone, Boichi has also managed to maintain high quality art in Origin, even more detailed in fact. (Although that is to be expected for a bimonthly? manga.) I’ve read the first few chapters of Sun Ken Rock and was really not into it though.

The premise is quite simple, and not very original though. It it set in the year 2048 around a humanoid robot - Origin, who aims to blend into a ... society of humans, with the risk of being found out everyday as well as tasked to eliminate other badly behaving humanoid robots, as his “father” wishes.

I find that the slight comedic elements fit in quite well. It isn’t forced and comes in the form of many slice-of-life elements that the inhuman protaganist faces that he doesn’t understand. I feel as the comedy in this series is better than in Sun Ken Rock (where I find the comedy to be forced, and poorly timed).

You also get to see how Origin, improve himself by modifying himself after every battle and learn from his past experiences, much like how a normal protagonist would improve after every battle. One thing I will critique is that he seems like an “overpowered” individual, even though he isn’t and actually risks being caught every time. This is due to the way Origin narrates every move he makes. I feel that the only way this has worked in the manga is because he is not a human.

One major negative for me is the main female character/love-interested. I do not like her design and she annoys me. Despite being an “intellectual” character, she has done nothing helpful as of yet and is one of those naive, clumsy, nice-girls, I’m hoping that she will not be the actual main love-interest but from chapter 35-ish, that does seem to be the case. I really don’t like her and seriously hope there will be another, much better female later on.

Overall the plot isn’t particularly amazing, and quite predictable. However I did have a great time reading the action scenes and the artwork is top class. I recommend it if your bored and you want to see cool pictures without having to think too deeply into the story.

Oh yeah, this manga has is a seinen and has (female) nipples so if you don’t like that stuff then don’t read!

°English Version°

After reading Boichi's Origin I am very satisfied knowing that it is the first thing I read by this author and I loved it. Although its 87 chapters feel short and it is true that it loses strength towards the end, it does not mean that it entertained me for a while and I enjoyed it very much.

It has an immediately engaging story, and to this is added Boichi's ability to vary or switch between serious/comic situations without feeling forced. Something that the author also achieves perfectly is the development of his protagonist, Tanaka (Origin).

Many of the secondary characters have very little or no ... development (except for Mai Hirose), but that's fine because they serve the function that Origin learns from them, learns from humans. Tanaka evolves knowing about them and seeks to become the last dream of his father.

The manga always moves in a constant search for "proper living". Tanaka's learning is precious in that sense because he not only gains experience with each step, but he learns from those around him and forms that "ideal" that he knew how to desire.

It is beautiful how he manages to realize what he has, what he gains, and also what he loses. Circumstances that are repeated and help him to form and also become the dreams of the people who love him, fulfilling not only the satisfaction of himself, but also of the rest.

Not to mention the drawing. Total madness Boichi's attention to detail when it comes to getting serious. The fights, the moral debates, the feelings, everything helps to transmit much more and better when the mangaka leaves his life in the details. Rarely have I seen something so beautiful.

Finally, I close this opinion by saying that you give this manga a chance.
He is very good at what he sets out to do and fulfills what he wants to look for. Now it will be time to read something more from Boichi to find some "jewel".
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°Versión en español°

Terminado de leer Origin de Boichi me voy muy satisfecho sabiendo que es lo primero que leo de este autor y me encanto. Aunque se sienten cortos sus 87 capítulos y es cierto que pierde fuerza llegando al final, no quita que me entretuvo un rato y lo disfruté muchísimo.

Tiene una historia que engancha enseguida, y a esto se le suma la capacidad que tiene Boichi de variar o cambiar entre situaciones serias/cómicas sin sentirse forzado. Algo que también logra el autor de forma perfecta es el desarrollo de su protagonista, Tanaka (Origin).

Muchos de los personajes secundarios tienen muy poco o nada de desarrollo (menos Mai Hirose), pero eso está bien porque cumplen la función de que Origin aprenda de ellos, aprenda de los humanos. Tanaka evoluciona sabiendo de ellos y busca convertirse en el último sueño de su padre.

El manga se mueve siempre en una búsqueda constante de el “vivir apropiadamente”. El aprendizaje de Tanaka es precioso en ese sentido porque no solo gana experiencia, sino que aprende de los que lo rodean y forma ese “ideal” que supo desear.

Es hermoso como logra darse cuenta de lo que tiene, de lo que gana, y también de lo que pierde. Circunstancias que se repiten y lo ayudan a formarse y convertirse también en los sueños de las personas que lo aman, cumpliendo no solo la satisfacción de el mismo, también del resto.

Ni hablar del dibujo. Una locura total el detallismo que tiene Boichi a la hora de ponerse serio. Las peleas, los debates morales, los sentimientos, todo ayuda a transmite mucho más y mejor cuando el mangaka se deja la vida en los detalles. Pocas veces vi algo tan lindo.

Por último, cierro esta opinión diciendo que le den una oportunidad a este manga.
Es muy bueno en lo que se propone y cumple en lo que quiere buscar. Ahora tocará leer algo mas de Boichi para encontrar alguna "joyita".