Rave
Rave Master

Edit

What would you like to edit?

SynopsisBackgroundAlternative TitlesPictureChapters/VolumesPublishing DatesRelationsTypeExternal Links  

When people hear the name Hiro Mashima today, they instantly think of his most recent work, Fairy Tail, which is steadily growing in popularity since its debut in 2006. However, its clearly easy to see where Fairy Tail's roots come from when one decides to undertake his previous, massive shounen story, Groove Adventure Rave. The anime adaptation of Groove Adventure Rave, named Rave Master, suffered considerably because of character designs that were not consistent with the manga counterpart, and because the anime adaptation covered only the first 90 chapters or so, leaving many unanswered questions and open plot holes. Groove Adventure Rave ... is a story that is unbelievably shounen, through and through. However, despite obvious plot twists and predictable characters, it still does not take away on what turns out to be a highly enjoyable read about a teenager's coming of age journey to save the world.

Haru Glory, Rave's shounen hero, is a young teenager living away from civilization with his sister on Garage Island. One day, an old man happens to pass through the Island and Haru eventually learns the identity of this old man is none other than the Rave Master, a hero that is destined to save the world from the atrocious organization, Demon Card, who plan on ruling the world. The old man, in poor health, eventually passes on his title and sword to Haru, entrusting him to find the Rave Stones to stop Demon Card. And thus Haru, becomes the 2nd Rave Master. Early on in his journey, Haru meets a young girl, Elie, who has amnesia and is seeking the truth about her past. This fateful meeting will eventually trigger events that become the foundation that eventually shakes the world.

From this synopsis, any reader familiar with shounen stories can get a sense of what kind of adventures, pitfalls, powers, themes, etc., Haru and Elie will encounter in their journey, and without fail, Mashima utilizes all of them. The sudden power ups, the talk about dreams overpowering thirst for power, friendship overcoming critical death status, so on and so forth. Groove Adventure Rave has all these shounen plot elements and in today's standards, the story starts to get pretty predictable as to what will occur. Fortunately, there are a few plot twists that occur deep in the story which some readers will be surprised to learn about, and it are those saving graces which help keep the reader entertained.

Readers familiar with and fans of the art in Fairy Tail will easily come to love the art Mashima utilizes in Rave because its the same exact style. While not as refined in the early chapters, Mashima designs his character rather attractively, the men with defined muscles and distinct faces; the women with heavenly chests and attractively looking figures. The battles are rather easy to follow, however, there are some instances where things tend to get a bit cluttered. The only critique I do have with his art is that Mashima does sacrifice detail in the background. This is especially apparent during battles, where the background will either be plain white or black. But again, this isn't too bad, as it does make the battles easier to follow.

While the characters look attractive, their personalities are rather predictable. Meaning, Haru is your typical shounen male lead; Elie is your typical female co-lead, and the same with all of the other characters Mashima introduces. They are nothing you haven't seen before, both good and evil. On the other hand, Mashima is able to adequately tell the history's of each of his characters without taking up too many pages or chapters, which is a nice change of pace from other stories where character past's are either too long or too short. Though character personalities really don't undergo a drastic overhaul from start to finish, all of the main heroes do evolve in a sense where you'll be able to pinpoint the difference from when a character was first introduced and where that character is during the last chapters.

Despite Groove Adventure Rave being the poster child for all things shounen, there is something about the story and the way Mashima goes about storytelling that makes it all seem enjoyable. You actually start caring for what happens to Haru and Elie, and watch in awe as their relationship develops from acquaintances to love throughout the plot. Mashima introduces a plethora of different characters that help shape all of the different arcs, and despite the length of the story, with the exception of a few gag chapters inserted in between, you never get the sense that Mashima doesn't know where he's going with the story. Although the story does go from point A to point B without much deviation, it's still an enjoyable read.

One of the big knocks I do have is the fact that almost every evil character, after being defeated, will undergo an instantaneous change from evil to good, which gets to be really old, really quick.

After reading Groove Adventure Rave, its easy to see where many of the ideas, character and guild names arise in Fairy Tail. All in all, if you're looking for a lengthy shounen, "coming of age" journey of a young man, with a nice side of romance, Groove Adventure Rave is something you'll definitely want to check out.

Story: At first I didn't think the story was originial. It's mainly about a guy who is destined to save the world, and he's given a sword and travels around in search of something (in this case Rave stones) in order to save the world. But when I began to read Groov Master Rave aka Rave Master, it captivated me. The story may not be original but there's a spice to the series that makes me love it. But what Haru (main character) does on his journey (the friends and enemies he meets, the obstacles he faces, the story twists) are all original and are ... fantastic.

Art: I love how the art is unique. (If you ever read Fairy Tale (Which is made by the same person) the art is exactly like that. But the art had resemblences of other fantastic series such as Shaman King, YYH (to an extent), One Piece, and Naruto. I am not picky on art, but the art is really cool.

Character: Haru Glory is a very honest person. He is like normal protagonists (Honest, loyal, strong, has good morals, determined, etc.). I felt an instant attraction toward his good nature, but I felt the character could be developed more. I wish he could reveal a "dark side", but that is probably wishfull thinking. And of course no benevolent hero can live on without the annoying, worthess love (Elllie in this case), and the super cool, strong, player, attractive side kick (Musica in this case too). I felt Ellie had a good background and mystery to her, but I feel she is not strong enough. She enjoyes to gamble (like most annoying female characters do), but I feel she is too dependent on the others. Musica is just awesome, I enjoyed Musica a lot because he grew as a character, as a figter, and ultimatly as a person as a whole. But there are of couse an annoying mascot (Plue). I enjoyed the most of couse was the way some villians were developed (such as King Gales Raregroove of Demon Card). I loved some of the characters, but I felt some lacked originiality and development. But none-of-the-less all (or most because I despise Ellie for her weakness) are loveable and are able to connect with the reader.

Enjoyment: Would I read a long series of a series I didn't enjoy? As I read the series I felt I throughly enjoyed it. But hey, it's better than doing homework right?

Overall: Even though there are some aspects of this series that I didn't love 100%, I added this series to "List of Series That Are Underestimated". I hated the anime dubs, they did not give the manga series justice. (The dubbing was horrible and they edited out any violent parts.) Please do not associate the anime with the manga, and please read it. If you think this is for a younger audience (like I did), read it and be surprised. There's plenty of action, adventure, romance, drama, comedy, fantasy, everthing! (Well not everything, but you catch my dirft. Please read it now!

Groove adventure rave is a rather unique manga. The story is quiet simple and usual, but after some point(where the anime series ends) the storyline becomes better and better. The art is wonderfull, both with unsual creatures and great characters. I recomment this manga to all manga lovers and to all who finished the anime.

Today, I am going to write a review on Groove Adventure Rave, otherwise known as Rave Master. I am going to try a different format today. We will dissect this manga in slightly different aspects.

~ Exemplary Shounen-ness ~

First of all, Rave Master is Shounen. There is no dispute about it. It is also a good Shounen, and that means that every once in a while, readers starts to feel blood rushing into their heads. Or, as I would like to put it, it is epic. In this regard, it is on par with Naruto, Bleach, One Piece, etc. As we will soon see, though, ... Shounen is definitely not the only strength it possesses.

~ Amalgam of Genres ~

Another noteworthy trait about Rave Master is that expands its territories to encompass more elements than what a standard battle Shounen would include. Of course, all topnotch (popular) Shounen has shown this characteristic to some extent, but rave master has done this especially well. Other than action, fantasy, and comedy, RM puts a heavy emphasis on adventure (much like One Piece), drama, and even romance. Granted, the romance aspect is nowhere as explored as it is in romance-oriented manga. It is still a respectable amount of other elements added to this epic Shounen saga without ruining the Shounen aspect of it.

Moreover, while RM has more in variety, it cuts down on fan-service. This is a fantastic news to most of the readers who are tired of freakishly common occurrence of boobs on manga pages, but maybe bad news for those of you who find an excessive fan-service enjoyable. Nevertheless, the romance in RM makes up for a lack of fan-service.

~ World Construction ~

It is among some of the best world construction pieces ever found in fantasy manga, probably because the mangaka is a huge fan of Eiichiro Oda, creator of One Piece. Readers who appreciate a frequent change of setting throughout the narration of a story will surely love this.

~ Art ~

Depending on how much the readers like the art in One Piece, or a more direct comparison, Fairy Tail, there will be different opinions on the quality of art. Personally, I found this kind of a style quite different from a majority of other manga, in a refreshing and enjoyable way.

~ Character ~

Instead of talking about the entire character cast, I will only talk about the male lead, Haru Glory, which is, again, what sets this manga apart from all other Shounen.

Typically, male lead (in Shounen) is a bold, determined, adventurous, righteous individual in the manliest way. Obviously, there is an underlying flaw to this setup. It requires the male lead to be also a bit slow in the head and sometimes an EQ way below that of an average person. If I have to state one reason that a lot of people hate Shounen, this is why.

Fortunately, Haru Glory defies this rule. Sure, he has the typical boldness, an adventurous spirit, and determination, but in moderation. On the other hand, he is thoughtful, sensitive, and knows when to give up. Somehow, he seems like more like a person one can relate to instead of just an icon of justice (like Naruto).

~ Story ~

Where this manga truly shines. I said in previous posts that Psyren is a case of good brain-storming. Then, RM must be an incidence of phenomenal overall planning.

Let me remind you of another illness that befall most popular Shounen, the story will slow down between different arcs, and will almost come to a halt before the grand finale. For the most parts, this doesn’t apply to RM.

I will give you a succinct flow chart summary of my experience reading this manga:



Slow Start –> Gradual intensifying plot –> Epicness –> building up intensity –> Epicness

… … (repeats cycle)

(A few slowdown in between)

… … (repeats cycle)

FLASHBACK -> MIND-FUCKED in an amazing way
--> Grand Finale Battle --> Epic Ending!

Overall, Rave Master is a manga that contain most of the shounen epicness as well as tropes and cliches, but also worked around it so that these cliches are not so annoying anymore. It has a typical yet more likable male lead. Its story does not feel disjointed with the construction of different arcs. It has a good balance of different categories, and a comfortable pacing. Ultimately, perhaps most importantly of all, it is completed, so that readers will not agonize over one chapter per week.

Story: 10/10
Art: 8/10
Character: 9/10
Enjoyment: 10/10
Overall: 10/10

Forget about Fairy Tail kids, Rave Master is the real deal when it comes to battle shonen. Having read over both manga several times, I can easily say that Mashima really dropped the ball with Fairy Tail and that Rave is a much better story and it stands above almost every other shonen I've read.

Now, as much I as I enjoy hyping Rave Master up, I can't deny that it's another generic and cliche shonen. It has the stereotypical characters and tropes. But what I am saying is that Rave takes these cliches and executes them in a way that is better than just ... about any other shonen.

I'm sure many of you have seen have watched the watered down anime with it's watered down dub several years ago, but don't let that fool you into thinking that Rave Master isn't very good, the manga is so much better that it's ridiculous, especially considering the anime stopped before the best parts started. And if you guys think characters like the jiggle butt gang are silly, it should be known that they're only in two chapters and are later written off completely.

What makes Rave Master so great is that compared to other shonen manga, the characters in Rave Master felt a little bit more human and actually had developed personalities. I'm not saying they're NGE level deep or anything, but compared to people from One Piece or Naruto they felt a lot more realistic and less contrived at times. It often makes for great emotional scenes and the characters do have great tension with each other.

Story is pretty good for a shonen as well. At first, it just starts off as "evil empire with super powers are trying to take over the world" but it eventually evolves into something far deeper than that. The pacing for the story is also excellent, seeing as how Rave completed it's run in just under 300 chapters with several story arcs.

Fights are also pretty good too. Most characters have abilities that are similar to ones from Fairy Tail. See, in Rave, the characters have things called dark brings, which basically give them magic like abilities. Unlike in Fairy Tail though, these fights actually have a good deal of tension and suspense in them, as the heroes in Rave aren't as invincible as the ones in Fairy Tail. Not to mention Mashima is talented in drawing out fight choreography. So the battles and EVERYONE gets a real chance to shine, unlike other manga where a lot of characters are thrown away so the MC can steal the precious victory.

Now, I'm not saying the manga is flawless, the ending was rushed and I didn't particularly like the main villain. But aside from that I can't really say that I could find anything else that I didn't like about it.

Rave Master is great when you add all the parts together, it really works well as a manga. I can only feel as though Mashima didn't really take a long enough break between writing Rave and Fairy Tail to get any good ideas for it. Rave Master is actually a quality series.
Fairy Tail just feels more like a fanservice one.

I started watching Rave Master a long time ago - it was one of my first ever anime that felt like an anime - before I even knew what anime and manga were. I was kinda lost watching it out of order on TV and then it's abrupt end. A year ago I found the manga and dived right in. By then I already knew the beginning plot and was accustomed to the shounen style; this is typical of the shounen formula.

Story - 7
Rave starts as a light-hearted adventure with three goals - one each distinctly for Haru, Elie, and Musica - a ... small key cast with a predictable progression scale. But then the story became erratic with an inconsistent pace and every single possible opportunity to add a twist, a new character/group, or deviation is beyond exploited. I actually often forgot the ultimate goals and interesting plots that we had been so excellently drip fed earlier - and I'm certain the characters forgot too!
We were given so many epic goals, big one on one battle climaxes and classic angry shounen hero "I'm going to put this right!" moments, that all turned out to be just another false alarm. These would have been fine in a slower paced arc format such as in One Piece but presented as they are it's too much in too short a time to actually register it all.
The overall story if you can weed out the keys points that actually refer to the Rave is very good and does have that "epic long quest with many sacrifices to win this war against evil to save the world" presented very well with enough originality. Unfortunately it's cluttered.

Character - 7
Our three original heroes are typical and interesting enough through the base story to put off a final design until later through thee coming of age formula. Haru is the typical coming-of-age kid on a mission with the usual shounen outbursts of shouting and rage about morals or showing off his naive confidence - he's a safe bet. Elie is the typical female co-lead personality who's gutsy and cute but generally a burden until her sudden power-up near the end. And Musica is the streetwise slightly older character who is briefly an antagonist before dumping all (why I don't quite get) and joining the gang.
But later after developing the storyline and characters - including the supporting lot - we are suddenly bombarded with antagonists after antagonist and so many allies and new mains that outnumber and shrink the significance of the originals. All of the are brilliantly developed with their own unique abilities and sob stories and very likeable - but there's just too many! Nearly every "bad guy" they defeat suddenly has a revelation and swears to change, thus they are spared or even recruited.
I'd love to give this section a nine for all of the characters are brilliant. Unfortunately from the magnitude of them the story loses focus and evens ends up with the characters fighting for limelight.

Art - 9
I found the art style very nice and easy on the eyes. All the character's designs are distinct despite their number and unlike in many manga I never found my self confusing any key characters. The character's developed over time and changed clothes regularly which is a nice detail. The background does often lack details but there is never a deja-vu recycledness and the actual characters in the background (including the insignificant ones without names) are developed with unique hair/face/clothes. The artist does like to focus a quite a bit on the qualities of women - edging towards ecchi in how often they have skimpy/torn/no clothes but it adds to the humour (and fanservice).

Enjoyment doesn't get a section but it's score is a 9.

Overall I give a 8 because it's very good but not quite great.

Groove Adventure Rave : An epic adventure with lots of emotional events.

This is probably the only manga I completely read, so I think I should write a review about it.

Note : I have watched the 51 episodes anime 10 years ago. I just finished reading the manga recently. I am also watching Fairy Tail, the same story wrote by Mashima Hiro, so I will write this review based on this condition.

If you read or watched Fairy Tail, you should also read this manga. They had a 51 episodes of anime based on this manga, but that anime is not done, so reading the manga is ... the only solution to understand the whole story. This story is also the origin of FAIRY TAIL (I thought).

This manga is just like a normal shonen type manga. A hero battling evil, journey through various places and meet a lot of comrade along the journey. Like another shonen type story the hero is powerful and with the journey he become more powerful. The hero is also poses a very powerful item that can only be used by him to defeat the evil. In the end the hero and his companions defeat evil and save the world, BUT the cost is too high, AND that's what make this manga (Groove Adventure Rave) really ROCKSSS. Several important characters die and the event is really touching.

That's enough of the story, so, The story is amazing, I give 10. The art is kinda unique, it change several times and not consistent, so I will just give it 8. The character development is GREAT. For the enjoyment, I really enjoy it because of the masterpiece story, so overall I give it the score 9.

so, for those who wish to experienced a different kind shonen manga, RAVE is the best. For those who read or watch fairy tail this manga maybe the ORIGIN of it, so you should read it..

Please enjoy the read..
WineZ

Rave, the anime was the reason of my anime addiction. I was disappointed when it was left at episode 50(around volume12 I think). And so, I picked it up from where the anime left off meaning that I, until today have not read the first few volumes.

Story:
Its so cliche but since it was my first manga, I didn't feel so then and was completely engrossed in it. There are many twists, some are brilliant, some are dumb. I consider myself as a sadist because my most enjoyable part throughout the anime/manga was when Elie got tortured (it happened 3 times). :D
I found it very arousing... ... =_=
The fight scenes are hard to tell from one another, are short and they follow the same formula, which is the hero loses and he dramatically recovers and starts kicking ass. And the blood is black. The end was also quite rushed though the story up til then was well paced.

Art: 7
Nothing special about the art though it has its own style. Everyone would look the same if it weren't for their hair basically. There isn't much to the scenery as the story doesn't cover much regions and every where is an empty plane.

Character: 8
A typical shounen manga with strong supporting characters and rather weak main characters. Many find Elie annoying but she's my favourite. She's very weak and I am disappointed that her powers weren't exploited btu I still love her, maybe its because of the sadist within me. Haru depends on a sword, so imagine if he didn't have his sword and high stamina, he would be left as a useless wimp and his techniques are just slash and run and jump and slash, he doesn't uses any special strategy whatsoever. The relationship between Haru and Elie is more of a brother and sister, not that of lovers, I choose Seighart over Haru anytime.
Musica is one character who undergoes a make over which is definitely a good thing. the characters basically are the parents of the cast of Fairtail. And also there's the manag's mascot Plue whom isn't decided on what species it actually is. Another memorable character is Reina and I give the author credit for her character's plot. I hate Ruby the retard and Julia the whore.

Enjoyment: 8
Aside from the sadism part of mine, I enjoyed this manga because I wanted to know since the beginning the mysteries the author had laid out. And I am not one bit disappointed at the unfolded stories. However, I hate the ending. It was shit. I wished the author had taken a bold step in destroying the shounen stereotype outcomes. It really ruined my reason of loving Rave.

Overall: 8
Rave was my first love and will always be my first love. I give it an '8' because of Elie and also the twists throughout the manga.
I honestly don't understand why people would rather read Fairytail than Rave because they both are dry out of ideas, at least Rave has an amnesia suffering chick :D



I know I sound very biased, but I feel that Rave is very much left in the closet, compared to Fairytail.

Rave Master is by far, my favorite manga/ book/ anything ever written (though the anime kind of sucked). It is Hiro Mashima's work before Fairy Tail. Even if Fairy Tail is amazing, this is even better. It is amazing, and I give it a 10. Heck, I'd give it a 17 if I could. T^T Anyway, to the review:

- STORY - 10 - I love the story, and I feel it is quite original. I know, it probably could relate to something here and there, but it is still good, I mean, what other stories have you heard about a boy who was chosen to ... be a hero (ok so that's every Shonen anime/ manga out there) to find special magical stones with a giant transforming sword, with a snowman dog thingy, finding Ellie's (his friend, the girl) memory, and trying to save the world?

- ART - 9 - The art was really quite good. It got a little weird from time to time, becuas ein that period of time he was writing RAve Master his art style kind of changed from better to a little worse to better, and than okay, but overall it was good.

- CHARACTER - 10 - Usually, in a manga/ anime you get an weak, annoying, whiny brat as a female lead ( ok that's not entirely true, and sometimes it's not annoying) and a stupid, over powered male that's always trying to save her. I can't argue with overpowered and the part where he's always saving her, but this time, the girl is the stupid one!!! XD She is hilariously funny, and Haru, he's funny, but he's not stupid or mean. He is very kind.

- ENJOYMENT- 10 - I enjoyed almost every last minute of it (I hated the mermaid arc I'm sorry.. -_- ) But it was amazing. It is HILARIOUSLY funny and an amazing story. Although it is somewhat pointed towards younger teens/ tweens, older ones will still enjoy it (unless your a boring old person who only enjoys politics XD)

- OVERALL - 10 - It is really amazing and you should ATLEAST read 35 volumes of it before you decide if you like it or not. XD

As of today i finished Rave Master and it has been a good ride and i loved it.
I love the fact that Mashima-sensei evolved with the story the art everything became even better with the time.
It ended how it should till the end i had soo much passion i didn't stop reading it was that good.
I won't spoil anything i will say only that it was very creative about how Haru fight.
The plot twist was amazing even at the end i figured out the foreshadowing and i was like in my room. "Mashima-sensei is just an amazing man how he thought it WHOAAAA".
I was happy ... and sad that it ended in just 35 volumes but i was happy.
And for me Rave is better than some old manga i have read so easy for me Top 10!!!
I recommend it to everyone give it a go it can be the manga you are looking for.

TL;DR? While not amazingly perfect or objectively brilliant, Rave Master is one of the best shonen I’ve read that combines the most lovable shonen ideals together into a well-paced, heartfelt adventure story.

L;DR:
You know, one of the last things I ever expected was to become a fan of Hiro Mashima. I only watched a bit of Fairy Tail back in the day and declared it so-so at the time. But after completing Rave Master, it would be a lie to say that I am not, at the very least, impressed. Because Rave Master… crap, it was really, really, good.

Fresh off the high of his newest series, ... Edens Zero, I thought I’d check out his original manga, Rave Master. My expectations were immensely low, the bar was practically on the floor. I mean… “Rave Master”? I wasn’t exactly sold on the premise, either. But I had nothing to lose, and decided to just give the damn thing a shot.

Rave Master’s start is rough. The art is crude, the story is mostly unexplained, and I felt like I was floundering in plot. I was prepared to drop it at any moment. I did not expect to become attached at all.

But, something about Rave Master—it has some grit to it, a roughness in quality that complements all of the heart that I can tell has been put into it. Now I know that, by all means, it is simply shonen trash. “Because we’re friends!” “I’ll protect you!” and so on. But this grit, this personality that seemed to come from the manga, is what kept me reading. And reading. For three days straight, I thought of nothing but Rave Master. I was reading it during class, reading during dinner, it even infiltrated my dreams. I started out by scoring it a 7. When I got into more chapters, I bumped that up to an 8. At the beginning of the last arc, I gave it a 9. And when I finally finished that last page… I simply had to give it a 10.

Now, objectively, I doubt it deserves such high praise. Rave Master is a manga of many flaws, too many for me to list here. But I still believe that a manga’s rating depends on my personal experience, and I don’t know the last time I ever felt so emotional when reading a manga.

I simply… loved reading it. It’s a shame that the manga is no longer in print in English (RIP, Tokyopop). It’s also a shame that the anime adaptation is such low quality. If Rave got a Hunter x Hunter-style reboot, I can guarantee that it would be greatly received, both by the thousands of remaining Rave Master fans and by a new, fresh audience. Because Rave Master does not seem dated, not at all.

Sure, it’s reminiscent of the tropes and themes of early 2000s shonen, but as I read more, I realized that this was the kind of shonen I missed consuming. Nowadays shonen is so streamlined, so perfectly aligned with years worth of tropes and cliches that it’s hard to feel as if I’m being offered something new. Of course, I still love that kind of shonen, but reading Rave Master reminded me what drew me towards the genre in the first place. The boyish charm of an unlikely hero setting out to take on the world, that… that is what I loved.

The character writing was pretty decent for his first manga, although I think he much improved in later works. That being said, I enjoyed how Mashima did not fall victim to the disease we call “bad female character writing.” Elie was fun and fresh, and she complimented Haru’s character well. Musica started off typical, but his character arc was satisfying. Plue… was Plue. We all like Plue. Most of the other characters were enjoyable to read about too, even the minor characters (the jiggle-butt gang always had me giggling).

Now, Rave Master isn’t really THAT long, but I found the pacing to be done perfectly. From Mashima’s other works, I thought Fairy Tail to be a little slow or stretched-out, and Edens Zero moved much faster than I expected. Rave Master rests in that perfect, consumable, easily-paced median. Every once in a while, Mashima would throw in a “filler” chapter, but those were the chapters that would quickly become my favorites. Hell, he created a meta-version of himself in his own universe in one of them… it was fun! It helped to balance out all the other serious elements.

When I finally reached Rave Master’s conclusion, I was sad, of course, to have finished it, but the ending crafted was one of the most satisfying that I had read. Most loose plot threads were wrapped up, and the tie-back to Levin from the side comics brought a tear to eye. Everything made sense. All the chapters I had read to lead up to that moment were worth it.

And the moment I finished the last page, I went right back to the beginning again. And then I started to reread.

So. I loved Rave Master. If you’re on the fence about the series, just give it a shot. Try the first five chapters. And who knows? Maybe you’ll love it as much as I did.

For a decade I find many people have said that "Rave Master" is the ้hidden gem and a better story written from Mashima compared to "Fairy tail" which kinda intrigued me lately with the pandemic situation , so I decided to read it eventually.

Honestly, I wish I liked the series more than I do. Aspects of it, and a few entire arcs, are great enough that I want the whole thing to be a masterpiece. But as it stands, there's just too many things I dislike about the series for me to pursue it any further.

The story is the definition of "cliché" , except ... that one arc with sieghart that I have to binged reading over 30 volumes for that one epic scene ( which I find it very tiresomes, boring and too repetitive ) .

The power system is ok.

For the character, I have to confessed that I binged reading this boring adventure just for Sieghart one and only!

There are lots of other good mangas out there ,still if you wanna try Mashima first work ( which in my opinion better that fairy tail but not that great) don't expect too much of it and try to enjoy the story as it is told.

Groove Adventure Rave(known as rave master in north america) is easily one of my favorites for shonen's also it's my 5th favorite manga EVER! Let's get down the story, A boy named Haru Glory is the chosen one...The rave master (meaning he is one of the only one's who can use rave stones) along his journey with a snowman named plue (who is called a dog) meet's an etherion girl named Ellie, a man who can shape shift metal named Musica, a dragon from the mystic realm named Let, and numerous other characters. Along the story, Haru goes through hardships to make him stronger ... and fight against the main antagonist of the first half of the story...Demon Card, as for the second half read to find out who the villain is. The art of this manga is great, character's are very good, story arcs are fun(it became better after sieg hart's fight for me). One of my only problem's is the slow start in pacing, art problems and shaky story, but after the 6th volume everything changed for the better. When first picking up the manga, I thought this wasn't going to be good...but how I was wrong, this manga could be read by any age group and still be enjoyed, that's why this manga will always hold a special place in my heart.

Great beginning! Likebable characters, exiting story, funny dialog and very well drawn fights. Volume 1 was absolutally fantastic, extremely well written, good character introduction and dramatic. Volume 2 was a bit weaker, it could get a bit messy at times and more fights than story telling. But it was still good! Great character development, and cool that a new funny and cool character (Elie) joined the adventure.

- PS: If you already have read the comic DONT watch the TV series. It leaves out volume 1 and is just absurd. You will get frustrated!!

- I will update as I read more

Story: 4
Character: 4
The story and characters are really cliche. There is a warrior, and he is the only one who can save the world from an evil organization. Along the way, he meets people who join him because he changed their heart. He brings a few evil people onto his side, absolutely refuses to kill, is the typical naive good guy. I found the general direction of the story easy to predict as well.
Art: 6
Reminiscent of One Piece, and I am one of those people who likes One Piece, so I could tolerate it. The art got a lot better after approximately 7 volumes? I ... think. But there are many well drawn fight scenes. The mangaka uses many of his character designs over again in Fairy Tail, and I absolutely love Fairy Tail, so it kinda made me annoyed to see the same or similar characters.
Enjoyment: 10
Overall: 8
I know, I know my previous scores were relatively low, but I somehow really loved this manga. It was really lighthearted and there was a lot of comedy, but it was pretty serious too. It was a bit cheesy and lame, but the emotional rollercoaster and the tiny plot twists were amazing.

I recommend this to people who want an emotional read, but are very tolerant of cliched lines in story and character and can stand the art.

First i would like to say i really enjoyed this anime and manga. To be honest i loved the manga more then the anime but i would have to say the story is far to complex for it to all be in an anime so maybe that's why they stopped doing the anime. After i watched the anime i quickly went to find somewhere to read all the comics to it. I really wanted to find out what happens with all these wonderful characters. To be honest most of this artists characters have qualities that i would hope that all humans would strive to have ... in their lives. I really felt like i cared what happened for them i felt like i was right there in the battle field with them saving the world! I did feel like it had some extra fillers in the story line but to be honest what anime doesn't have those. Overall i enjoyed this series and its a series that actually has a good ending one i can be proud of after reading a lot chapters. It wasn't the greatest art but i thought the feelings of the characters and the purpose why they are fighting was well portrayed. Though this series is not for everyone you really have to love what this series brings to the table to understand to not judge a book on its cover and go deeper with this series cause i believe there is more then meets the eye to this. This series deserves a chance to be seen so don't pass it by if you have the free time!

4/10

Simple standard shounen. Most key moments either include foreshadowing so obvious that it is very predictable, or are plot twists pulled from thin air to the point that it requires a suspension of disbelief. This undermines the very themes the manga is trying to portray.

Pacing of story midway begins to slowly drag on, as the protagonist cycles between underlings to defeat. Rinse, repeat. The story seems to be stuck in a rut and serves its purpose in a way. It is a missed opportunity however due to the lack of growth in many characters' development.

Cementing the experience are overdone friendship tropes, repetitive puns as a ... plot device, and sporadic pervy jokes that all dull the reading experience. Admittedly the story & art improves along the way, picking up a lot in last 7 volumes with flashes of brilliance in the plot; otherwise Rave's potential leaves much to be desired.

Rave Master was one of my first mangas so I might be slightly biased towards it but don't say I didn't warn you! I also won't be using my review to compare this to Fairy Tail.

Basically, Rave Master has it all. You want fighting? It has that. Romance? Got you covered. Comedy? It has some of that too. This manga has a bit of every genre in it so it appeals to a wide range of people. The story isn't all that special, but it is executed well and is supplemented by some nice art and fantastic characters.

The fights aren't too dragged out like ... a lot of shounen manga, and there are often humorous moments within fights to make it even more interesting. The characters are lovable from the moment you first meet them and it's easy to grow attached to them as they mature through the series.

Rave Master is definitely worth a read and even a re-read.

Mashima-sensei's first manga, Rave Master (Or RAVE, or The Groove Adventure). The story is not new for sure. But once you start reading. You will get hooked. The art drastically improves throughout the lifespan of the series.

The one thing that stood out the most was the Characters, some good-hearted, some wicked, and some just downright strange. I highly recommend this for fans of Fairy Tail. An alternative world(s) filled with magic, curiosities, and monsters is much like Fairy Tail. Who couldn't resist that?

Overall I give Rave Master/RAVE/The Groove Adventure a 9 out of 10. It is an excellent debut-manga by Mashima-sensei.

Ok so first of all, overall, I give Rave Master a 10. To me, it's really the most outstanding thing I've read. I believe Mashima sensei did a great job writing this story out. It's filled with PLENTY of humor so it keeps the reader entertained. Not only that but he manages to delve deep into the roots of the characters. Even the bad guys seem likable in some way. Not only that but he makes sure to give reason behind the villains going down the wrong path. It's really incredible. I cried when reading the manga and got attached to so many characters. His ... art improved, as most mangakas do, throughout the story. But even so, from start to finish, the characters were all beautiful and their personalities were likable. I believe the story became more engrossing as I read.

Mashima sensei's Fairy Tail is pretty great but to be honest, I believe Rave Master is more incredible. The battles are like...I don't know how to explain but filled with more action and it's just amazing. The abilities the characters have and the fighting styles are all pretty different so it can really entertain any type of fighting style the reader likes.

Basically, 10 out of 10. No wait, 100 out of 10. It's still my favorite manga and this is what got me into the whole anime/manga fandom anyway. I definitely recommend anyone to read this manga.