"The Seven Deadly Sins" is a shounen action/fantasy manga that seems like it would be about as generic of a story as you could imagine something in this genre being. But only at first. It certainly clears that up quickly by introducing a world and a complex cast of characters that are anything but generic.
Beginning with a meeting between a princess and a man with a childlike stature acting as a barkeeper, the manga begins with the duo deciding to find a powerful group of warriors known as "The Seven Deadly Sins" in order to defeat the evil that has overcome the kingdom's monarchy. What
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is soon revealed is that the barkeeper is no ordinary person, but actually the leader of the Seven Deadly Sins, Meliodas, the Sin of Wrath. He is a legendary (and might I add, incredibly overpowered) warrior who the Holy Knights of the kingdom of Britannia (yes, it's not a creative name) has claimed was responsible for the death of the Great Holy Knight. Holy Knights are basically the strongest protectors of a nation, and the Great Holy Knight is the strongest out of all of them. The Seven Deadly Sins were originally allied with the Holy Knights, but ten years ago, everything changed and the members split up as they fled from the Holy Knights. Now Meliodas and the princess named Elizabeth begin their search for the other Seven Deadly Sins.
Still sounds like a fairly generic setup, but trust me, that doesn't last long. So what makes it unique? Aside from the characters, the complexity of the world is slowly showed to the reader in a way that will keep you focused and wanting to know more. This story hides an incredible amount of detail from reader, dangling it just out of reach, but not too much to the point of being annoying. It makes you wonder many things:
(1) What are the sins that each of the Seven Deadly Sins have committed? This is a huge part of the story and one of the most interesting features of the main characters. Even the other main characters do not know what sin each of them has committed, and they don't ask. So far (as of 82 chapters into the story) only two have been revealed so far, which is done in lengthy side chapters. The reason I'm mentioning this in so much detail is because the first one to be shown in chapter 25.5 is one of my absolute favorite backstories ever (and I'm a huge sucker for a good, emotional backstory). It also creates one of my favorite couples in a long time.
(2) Who are the real villains in this story? Most of the people of Britannia and the Holy Knights initially believe that the Seven Deadly Sins are the villains and that the Holy Knights are the heroes because of what happened ten years ago. However, that's not how the Seven Deadly Sins and Princess Elizabeth see it. But just because they are the protagonists does not necessarily mean they are really good. If you think the main characters are going to be similar to something like how the Straw Hat Pirates in One Piece really are good and are just seen as being bad because they're pirates, keep reading and you'll see how conflicts in that belief will arise.
(3) What the hell is up with Meliodas' power? It's obvious he's incredibly strong, but... Well you'll know what I mean when you get to the end of the Byzel arc.
And those are just a few of the questions that I wonder the most. Given that each of the Seven Deadly Sins is incredibly strong beyond belief, and most of the Holy Knights are as well, it creates some of the most intense battles I've ever seen in a shounen battle story. Every fight in this manga is exciting and the outcome is unpredictable. Despite being very overpowered, the main characters do lose and do underestimate their opponents because of their power.
While the Seven Deadly Sins as well as many of the Holy Knights are very interesting and unique characters, Elizabeth is about as boring of a female protagonist as you can get in a shounen manga. She's your typical damsel-in-distress and only has a couple useful moments. There are mysteries surrounding her, but aside from being the catalyst to start the story and a motivation for Meliodas and the others to spring into action, she hasn't done very much so far and has less fighting skill than the talking mascot pig character, Hawk.
As for the art, it starts off a little rough but eventually settles into an excellent groove. This manga has some of the most detailed battles I've ever seen in a shounen manga. The character designs are also interesting and good. Despite being ecchi, it never pushes it too far and only has it as a backdrop occasionally with Meliodas' perverted side and the occasional ripped clothes in a battle. The scenery of the fantasy world of Britannia is also beautiful. The world has a Middle Ages' European style as many fantasy stories do.Each town is unique and shown from a distance before the characters enter it (and sometimes destroy it).
What I originally thought would just be another typical "find some allies and beat the bad guys" story turned out to be a much more complex tale then I could have imagined from the cover. The characters, the world, the art, the mysteries. It's all excellently executed. Despite the beginning being a little slow, Elizabeth's uselessness, and some other issues here and there, this is one of the best shounen action stories I've seen in a while. Plus it's still got a long ways to go. With an anime announced sometime in the future, hopefully this manga will continue on for a long time and be able to fully show what the world of "The Seven Deadly Sins" really has to offer.
Alternative TitlesJapanese: 七つの大罪 More titlesInformationType: Manga
Volumes: 41
Chapters: 364
Status: Finished
Published: Oct 10, 2012 to Mar 25, 2020
Demographic:
Shounen
Serialization:
Shounen Magazine (Weekly) Authors:
Suzuki, Nakaba (Story & Art) Statistics Ranked: #34322 2 based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded. Popularity: #50
Members: 182,863
Favorites: 7,128 Available AtResources | Reviews
Filtered Results: 28 / 32
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Your Feelings Categories Jun 23, 2014
"The Seven Deadly Sins" is a shounen action/fantasy manga that seems like it would be about as generic of a story as you could imagine something in this genre being. But only at first. It certainly clears that up quickly by introducing a world and a complex cast of characters that are anything but generic.
Beginning with a meeting between a princess and a man with a childlike stature acting as a barkeeper, the manga begins with the duo deciding to find a powerful group of warriors known as "The Seven Deadly Sins" in order to defeat the evil that has overcome the kingdom's monarchy. What ... Dec 1, 2014
Nanatsu no Taizai is one of the more recent manga I’ve read, and i must say, when i first saw the trailer for the anime (which i saw before reading the manga) i was skeptical, it didn’t look too good, something about the faces i think... but after giving the anime a shot i liked it, and then i started reading the manga and i loved it.
The story: let’s skip the mandatory plot synopsis, and jump right in. the first thing i liked about the plot was the main characters’ situation, how they are considered traitors and are constantly moving forward, it helps keep the pacing ... Mar 22, 2015
Originally aimed primarily at the young male demographic, shounen manga today is consumed around the globe by old and young, male and female alike. However, shounen has been bombarded with numerous series trying to breakout throughout the years, causing saturation. Few are able to be prominent amongst their contemporaries. Regardless, "The Seven Deadly Sins" (七つの大罪) written by Suzuki, Nakaba, is able to unify many clichés creating a unique narrative that can only be experienced firsthand.
The tale begins within a rowdy bar ran by a short-statured man, Melodias, and his talking pet swine. Wasting no time, Suzuki takes advantage of the bar's chatter and introduces ... Mar 22, 2020
The Seven Deadly Sins is the worst battle-shounen of all time.
In fact, the shounen community usually has several types of mangoes that can be good and bad, the quality goes from taste to taste, this becomes more common when it is a popular series, and someone can see clear problems, and with that a discussion is generated within a work. I am the type of person who, after all, likes to enjoy a shounen as a hobby, being sincere with the reader, even if it is bad, I probably had fun seeing some fights and flashy characters that I probably would not find anytime soon ... May 20, 2020
My first impression after watching the first season was that the anime was amazing but I couldn't wait for the second season so I decided to read the manga and at the time the new arc was barely just brewing and it was amazing, I was reading this, One Piece, and Bleach (which was barely finishing) and in the past it was the manga I was the most hyped up about once a new chapter came out.... After a few years a bunch of chapters came out and that hype died away by a lot and it's just sad because this series started out so
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Apr 16, 2015
The seven deadly sins starts with the princess of the lioness kingdom trying to gather the seven deadly sins a group of knights who were legendary to stop the corrupt holy knights who were abusing their power.At first this would seem like your average shounen full of the standard cliches and while it does have a lot of cliches the execution makes it enjoyable.The series is heavily influenced by Arthurian legend and Celtic mythology so if you like those you will be a fan of this.The whole race dynamic is also interesting.There are fairies,giants,humans,demons and goddesses.The characters are also really likable.There are tragic backstories and
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Aug 6, 2020
As a guy who mostly reads/watches shounen its's a 7 but for those who dont like the generic shounen stuff would probably not like it. So if u like shounen and u dont know what to read/watch i would recommend it. If u want something new (in terms of story) then this aint for you. I forgot to mention that it has very good characters so if u are a character driven person this is for u.
This is also my first review so pls like it so i can be a liitle happier. I actually dont care i just want to write a review but ... Feb 12, 2018
Nanatsu no Taizai is an ongoing battle Shonen that the masses hype up as a work of true greatness and like most that can be described in a similar way, is an overrated mess.
Note: May contain spoilers regarding plot and characters. To start off, the story is painfully typical of a Shonen. The first few arcs consist of gathering a group of main characters, battling minor villains before a showdown with the evil usurpers of a kingdom, plot threads that have been done far better in Saint Seiya's Sanctuary Arc or One Piece's Baroque Works Arc. After this, a new set of villains are revealed ... Oct 6, 2020
This review may contain spoilers!!!
. . ok, so i didn't dropped this because i already had advanced a lot on the history but I wish i hadn't picked up this Manga, when I first saw the anime it didn't looked that bad but the animation was horrible we already know that so i read the manga, my first problems with this was: 1. With the power of love I realize you!!! : this was so cringe, it was awful how every villian was later like uwu I'm good demon actually, and all of the sudden everyone has a beloved one and that love is what saves ... Sep 10, 2020
I genuinely liked nanatsu no taizai for a long time, first 100 chapters were a silly and fun battle shounen worthy of praise (even with the problematic way that Meliodas treated Elizabeth), but from then on it started to get lost.
Even with the arrival of Escanor, a character that worked very well for being the essence of what the manga should always have been, the author was unable to maintain the level of the first arcs, leaving aside everything he had done right, opting for a narrative more and more convoluted and uninteresting, trying to be something bigger and more epic than it should. What started ... Jan 22, 2014
Nanatsu no Taizai kicks off with the main goal being finding all the Seven Deadly Sins and having them band together to defeat the Holy Knights. It's isn't overly complicated and the story uses that to its advantage.
Nanatsu's protagonist, Melodias, is the sin of Wrath. At first, with his childlike appearance and actions, it seems oddly placed. The man runs a traveling bar that is carried on a gigantic pig, and he's generally very carefree despite being powerful. But occasionally Melodias displays characteristics nothing but deserving of his attribute of wrath, and that has been a key factor a few times. He travels with the ... Sep 3, 2018
Warning: spoilers for chapter 280 ahead and extremely salty reviewer ahead.
I have to say, I used to love this show. I bought 22 volumes of the manga and was planning on buying more until I saw this chapter. I was losing interest from when Mael received the commandments a few chapters ago because he isn't a threatening villain to me. the reason why I think this is because one of the ways a villain is threatening would be to try to take over or otherwise fundamentally change the world they are in, see overlord, youjo Senki, death note, etc. while I do accept that this ... Mar 25, 2019
[NOT spoilers here]
For starters: if you haven't readed it yet, get the eff out of here and get yourself confortable to read it. NOW. Just go. Don't waste any more time. You'll have plenty of time to thanking me later. Go ahead. To begin with, I must confess I'm not a frecuent manga-reader, I only read them either when the anime is discontinued or when I don't feel to waiting an eternity for new seasons, just like this case. So let's put this as simplest: I've readed a few mangas including NNT and that's it, so maybe if you're searching for an experimented manga-reader's review, this one ... Apr 25, 2022
A pretty good story that went on for too long and ended poorly. There was one point where I thought oh this is the ending, but then it continued on for at least twenty more chapters. Then when everything seem concluded and was finally ready to end, they created a side storyline that seemed to come out of nowhere and then didn't even finish explaining it. Overall it wasn't a bad manga. Art is hard to understand sometimes but not badly done. Characters are fairly interesting and parts of it were a fun read, but the ending was severely disappointing. It honestly felt like the
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Feb 5, 2019
It's funny how some people dropped this manga after 100 chapters and I started loving it after 100 chapters ^^
I totally understand why anybody would not enjoy, get bored or be uninterested by it since the story takes like 200+ chapters to start unfolding. For the first 100 chapters you kind of get that filler vibe, that lack of originality in everything, it bothered me in the beginning and wasn't enjoy it as much. The MC also felt kind of emotionless which was irritating. So in the first 100 chapters there isn't really any plot except gathering the sins so you get that feeling of lack ... Dec 15, 2015
The main story line is pretty bad... until the chapter ~100. So you have to survive this because what comes next is just so epic! I'm looking forward to learn about reincarnation, Meliodas's past and Escanor. Yes, yes, the main feature of Nanatsu is that friendship/love surpasses death through reincarnation - watch this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qd4pMykGn9g).
As I said before, the main story line is retarded in the beginning. But Ban's Side Story and King's Side Story are just super awesome. The worst things about Nanatsu are fan service and ecchi elements. Ecchi looks completely unsuitable. Many people complain that the main characters are overpowered. Yes, they are... ... May 4, 2018
I like the concept of the "sins" is the hero at the beginning and later the "commandments" is revealed as the villain. The story development is so damn good, especially with mindblowing flashback about holy war 3000 years ago. The only negative thing (for me) is the power level sometimes just too absurd and confusing (the chara is using power up at magic, physique or spirit?) and the progression of the main chara is a bit too fast for me
The art is great, idk the reason but maybe because I know drawing is so damn hard, especially with so MANY chara in this manga. ... Mar 20, 2024
I cannot, in good conscience, recommend this dumpster fire of a manga to anyone.
The plot starts off interesting — a tavern owner running his business gets entangled with a princess looking to save her kingdom by seeking out a band of criminals, and, miraculously, she finds the ex-captain of a group of criminals in the tavern owner. A simple plot, but it's simplicity is what drew many in in the first place. And somewhere along the way, probably right after the first big battle arc, is when Nanatsu no Taizai truly fell apart. The story after the big battle is full of bad writing, and any plot ... Apr 10, 2022
The seven deadly sins is a conglomeration of all the usual unpleasant narrative devices of a shonen manga of the lowest quality, a feeling that is gradually exacerbated over the course of the series by a growing mediocrity.
The story takes place in a very summarily characterized fantasy scenario, perhaps in the first volumes a little superficiality was acceptable as the story is still in its beginning but going forward it will never be fully explored. The main setting is the kingdom of Liones, ten years after the seven deadly sins, once the group of knights directly under the king, became criminals accused of trying ... Dec 30, 2019
Seven Deadly Sins is a difficult beast for me. On the one hand I really like it, it's a modern Shounen that gives me a similar feeling to the one I used to get reading Shounen Jump when I was young, but on the other it's very confusing to read.
I really enjoy the artwork and many of the main characters, both the Seven Deadly Sins and Holy Knights, and think they have very interesting character concepts that I've not seen executed quite the same way in any manga before. I was roped in with the various love triangles, drama, and conflict between characters. Unfortunately, I found ... |