Manhole

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So, this is one of those very random unknown manga with surprisingly good art, only racking in 29 chapters, it's a very interesting ride through a pretty disturbing, impending doom kind manga, the start absolutely hooks you, presenting one of those out of context "what is going on" type moments of distress, of looking at something unpleasant, a horrifying sight that gets your hand into this world.

The characters were very well-rounded and constantly engaging, they had a clear-cut personality that one can instantly get invested into, even with such a small length, it felt like watching a good movie, but while it has great moments, ... I can only describe it as "Solid", not as great, or amazing, just doing everything well enough to be solid but never too impactful.

This kind of story does have a great understanding of structure, motive, consistency, but it should've had more time, just a bit more time seeing the villain plot enough, some more planning, some more clashing; there are many moments you get engaged with and that promise so much more than what you get, but I don't really have anger towards it, just a bit of disappointment, it could've been so much more with enough time and the usage of the latter tense moments, no stretching, it would've just worked.

But the thing I respect the most is the climax of the story, being the most logical way to finish something like it, any other story would've pulled something like a monologue, a weird point where it gets unnecessarily stretched, but not this one, this one ends the way it should, of course you could've had a different longer route, exploring more of the pandemic aspect, not just the pre aspect of it, still, as I said, super solid, and I really respect this story for having actual balls to end how it did.

Manhole is an interesting manga with cool concepts and a touching story. The two protagonists are likeable and well made. Mizo is the typical old detective type. I really enjoy Mizo's dialogue and design. On the other hand, Inoue is a sweet woman and a caring one at that. I enjoyed all the sweet moments between the cast. Every character is likable and well designed, although some may be unlikable per their archetype. I felt the emotional strength in many scenes involving human conflicts. The main antagonist is designed well and likable to. I dig the "infection" and all the history surrounding it. A lot ... of cool anthropologist type beats. I can easily see this story being adapted into a movie. Manhole manages to grab the readers attention early on and keep it interesting as if you were watching the events play out right then and there. Manhole is a simple thriller with a great ending that I felt was very touching. I recommend Manhole to any thriller fan.

----------------------- Manhole review ----------------------

This manga is a police/detective one, not so much horror or psychology in it.

Story :
Not the most original, but not too bad either.

Art :
Below average. Some pages have no shading, some other pages have some photoshopped textures that felt really cheap. Towards the end the art gets a bit better but it was so mediocre overall that I cannot give it a good score. Some main characters looked pasty white and flat because the mangaka put no shadi g, nothing on them.

... The characters' faces are almost always crying, fr0wning, suffering. For 3 volumes straight. Such a variety!!

The background is laughable. Just traced over a photograph. 4/10

Characters :
Shallow presentation, unexplored, generic. In 3 volumes we don't have the time to have so many useless side characters. Too much time is wasted on some nobodies that nearly advance the plot, yet the main characters are overlooked. What about their families? Their routine? Their house? They feel like props because nothing is explored.

Instead we are shown some of the bad guys/ victims and their backgrounds only to move on to something else right away. The whole plot cannot be for into 3 tiny volumes.
Either the writer should have made more volunteers or decreased to scale, reduced the number of characters.

Enjoyment :
It took me 4 days to go through 3 volumes. They were just half baked. It felt like the magnitude of the plot needed more volumes to develop. It felt very impersonal, as we spend more time on random people than the main protagonists. The pacing is another problem : sloooow then everything is solved in 2 chapters way too easily.

The conclusion almost felt like a parody. The writer tried to keep things scientific and grounded in realism but instead made a half baked mediocre piece.

5/10 would not recommend