Black Dog

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I found this series while looking for action/shounen Manhua that ISN'T Xianxia. Although, there are arguably some Xianxia elements there, it is, at the very least, a story that takes place in modern day and deals with the supernatural.

This is also a review based on the 16 chapters that have currently been translated to English so this may be edited later when more have been released.

Story- 7/10
At first glance, the synopsis seems very cliched. And for the most part... it is. Main character was born with special powers, gets bullied for odd appearance as a child, learns that there's a school where he ... could refine his powers, joins school, has adventures. Honestly, reading these first 16 chapters made me feel like I was reading the beginning of Naruto again.

Not that this is a bad thing. It gives a very refreshing and nostalgic feeling of a shounen series. Most of the twists have been fairly predictable, the author has yet to surprise me. However, this is only the beginning. The setting and world building promises a very interesting concept for the future.

Art- 7/10
The art doesn't strike me as anything special. It's not terrible, but it's nothing special either. Most of the characters have large eyes and round faces. They're also not particularly detailed, but you can definitely see a growth in the author's art. The character designs start getting more extravagant and creative in a short amount of time.

The background drawings are also interesting to look at. The scenery is always heavily detailed with a lot of reference to Chinese culture (the architecture, lanterns, etc).

Character- 6/10
While they have good character designs, a lot of the characters fall flat at the moment. They have yet to impress me, most of them fill common shounen archtypes and doesn't bring anything new to the table. The main character is your typical hothead that is motivated by money. The heroine is a model student and is acknowledged for being powerful, therefore causing the main character to make enemies for hanging around her.

However, this is the beginning of the story and they do have promise for character development in the future. In particular, the villains that have appeared seem to deviate from your typical bad guy.

Enjoyment- 8/10
Like I said earlier, if you enjoy Shounen, you will enjoy this series. It's pretty straightforward and a simple read.

Overall- 7/10
It's a story that has a lot of cliches, but cut it some slack! It's still the beginning! The story does have promise and there will definitely be more to see in the future.