Kurogane

Edit

What would you like to edit?

SynopsisBackgroundAlternative TitlesPictureChapters/VolumesPublishing DatesRelationsTypeExternal Links  

Story: 9 Points: The story - about Jintetsu and various people he meets and befriends on his journeys - is very captivating and interesting. Each individual story has different characters trying to deal with a problem, and Jintetsu getting involved. The story has a great deal of sword-fighting (always a positive thing! ^_^) believable plot, and suspenseful story lines - where it is not immediately known exactly what is happening, but motivations and pasts are slowly revealed over time, making it almost a mystery as well.

Art: 9 Points: The art is beautiful, with many different characters and settings which catch a person's eye, as well ... as the many different kimono that are drawn in the manga. I, myself, am much less knowledgeable about the grading of art than of other categories of reviews, and so I'll leave this much shorter than the others and leave it to someone else to add more if they so wish.

Character: 10 Points: The characters in Kurogane are all very believable (all having very noticeably deep motivation for actions) as well as often times likable. Many of the people that Jintetsu meets in his journeys are seen again in later chapters, but their character never gets old in spite of that. As a reader, I felt a personal respect, admiration, and attachment to all the various characters that appear during the story - but especially to Jintetsu himself, who has a strict code not to harm civilians, children, or women. Jintetsu is seen as a homeless drifter with no home and nowhere to go, preferring to keep company with himself most of the time and spending nights in abandoned sheds. He has killed, but he also protects others, having a very deep character that I greatly appreciated.

Enjoyment: 10 Points: It was very entertaining, adding in some slight humor - such as when Jintetsu's living sword Haganemaru sometimes comments or displays confusion at the action of other characters and during various situations. There is also a great deal of internal suffering and other such things that makes this manga actually very serious in reality. Very original ideas were used, and many interesting concepts were introduced, also giving me - an American - some very interesting information about Japan that I didn't know before, such as what various things are called and what styles of hair were popular during the time of the manga, etcetera.

Overall: 9 Points. - However, please note that I am a very generous reviewer. Many others may not find this manga as interesting as I did, which is a note to keep in mind despite the fact that I believe this manga is exceptionally enjoyable.

Firstly, this is an episodic manga. There is no main story line, no buildup to a climax, and no meaningful resolution. Depending on if this is a positive or negative for you, you may get more enjoyment out of this than me.

Art 7
When I originally picked up this manga, the main characters design is what sold it for me. Unfortunately, he is the only original looking character in this manga. While the mangaka is not a bad artist by any means, there isn't much difference between any of the other characters. All of the women look alike minus different hair styles, and the same ... goes for the men (though the men also mix it up with facial hair). The fight scenes are very well done in this manga. They are drawn out very well, and are well choreographed. The rest of the art is good, nothing crazy, but good.

Character 6
Besides Jintetsu and Haganemaru all the other characters come in 4 flavors. Woman trying to find her purpose, Guy who is emotionally attached to woman, Boss of a turf, and henchmen. This should give you an idea on how every story goes....

Story 5
While I prefer an over arching story, I am fine with a shorter episodic series... however the further I read this manga, the less I enjoyed it. Every chapter always went the same, there is a problem involving a toseinin boss, a girl trying to find her self worth, and guy who is emotionally attached to girl(if there is no other guy Jintetsu fills that roll). Obviously the stories aren't exactly the same, and there are a few stories that differ from the norm, but there is enough similarities that made the later half of my read a little boring. What stopped me from putting the story lower is that, while a lot of the stories were very similar, they were each written well. If each story was more unique, I would have almost no issue with this series.

Overall 6
While the second half of this series did become a chore to read, my first interaction with this series was good. I enjoyed the main characters for what they were and the premise was cool. It could have been something more unique then what is was, but overall I was still able to finish it despite all of its flaws. There is probably more that I could say about this series, but overall I feel like 6 is a fair rank.