Tenmaku Cinema

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Tenmaku Cinema is a relatively satisfying read robbed of its potential by its unfortunate cancellation. From the beginning, the series showed incredible promise, combining drop-dead gorgeous artwork with a fun protagonist, the tantalizing mystery of Tenmaku as a character, and the sheer novelty of a manga about movie-making.

From there, the series continued at a somewhat steady pace. The main cast had a great deal of chemistry, the way it goes in-depth regarding the intricacies of movie-making and the creation of amateur films kept it consistently engaging, and the way these two elements combined into the cast's constant struggle to get their film made kept the ... overall story very compelling.

Speaking of the cast, the series' short run unfortunately means that most of them don't get much development with the exception of Shinichi, Tenmaku, and the female lead, Hinaki Kurai/Himeki Kurakui. Of them, Himeki is by far the most interesting, as her arc starts to take center-stage as time goes on. Tenmaku is also fascinating, though less-so after his full past is revealed and his mystique is gone, and Shinichi is unfortunately stuck being a bit one-note in spite of his protagonist status.

As mentioned at the start of this review, the series being cut short did unfortunate damage to its quality. The main plot started to move at a faster pace and the final chapter especially felt heavily rushed, with the resolution of a few elements in particular being particularly unsatisfying because of that. In spite of all this, though, the series still managed to wrap up its central plot and all the major character arcs it set up in a way which broadly made sense narratively and thematically, and was ultimately satisfying for what it was, so I can't really say I dislike how it ended.

In the end, Tenmaku Cinema, while a rather flawed read, is still one I'd recommend for what it still manages to do right in the limited time it had, but all who might want to get into the series should keep in mind that the ending might not entirely measure up to the quality of what preceded it, and should set their expectations accordingly

A great little series that I'm sad to see cut short, a love letter to film and art and personal expression, with some pointing at fundamentals of filmmaking and the difficulties that come up during even small projects. Would have loved to see more of this, hoping for more from the duo! Enhanced the parts of Shokugeki no Soma that I liked best, such as appreciation of the competition (cooking there, filmmaking here), excellent art, and characters that you quickly care about and understand, without relying nearly as much on the Booba Moments that defined that manga for both better and worse. My only complaint ... about the manga is that it's short, but that's all the more reason to read it quick!

The duo behind Food Wars is back and their new series Tenmaku Cinema is nothing like it. This new serialization does not have anything like the food gasms in food wars and it does not need them at all. The series recieved high praise for its amazing art and well thought out story, but this did not translate into succes as the sales were terrible. The seris had to end early after Jump decided to axe the series.

Tenmaku Cinema has some really clean art as is to be expected of Shun Saeki. The main character was interesting enough and the female lead was really ... well written. The authors show their knowledge of film making which makes the story more exciting. But not everything is great. The side characters are really two dimensional, partially because of the sudden end which left no room for their development. The series also has some really rushed chapters near the end, but because of this the final chapter could be a heartfelt goodbye.

In short Tenmaku Cinema is a short series which manages to tell its story very well in the limited amount of chapters it got. Even if the series has some slight shortcomings, it still manages to make you love all of its characters and root for them. Tenmaku Cinema is a must read if you love movies and is still very enjoyable if you do not know anything about filmmaking.