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Oct 13, 2017
Slam Dunk - The Best Sports Manga
"One of the greatest shounen sports in history" is not a bit exaggerated, is it? Actually, not at all. Before "One Piece" robbed the laurels in 2002 as the highest-selling series by volume, Slam Dunk was the one who held that position for 8 years. And, even today, the only series that have managed to get past their success was exactly "One Piece" and "Attack on Titan".
Even more surprising that Slam Dunk is, as said, a sports shounen (specifically basketball) who, although he has a good reputation in Japan, usually loses to fight and adventure shounen such as
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Naruto, Bleach, Fairy Tail, etc. In fact, the second largest sports shounen is Mitsuru Adachi's "H2", with the apex of 1.5 million copies by volume 17, against the 2.5 million Slam Dunk by volume 21. And it looks that Adachi also ends up being an exception, most do not reach the millions. "Kuroko no Basket", for example, another well-known basketball manga published here, had a maximum of 1 million copies by volume 21.
In total, Slam Dunk has already surpassed the 120 million volumes sold in the world, counting any versions and re-releases (Tankobon and Kanzenban)
The fact that an author's manga until that relatively unknown moment of a not-so-famous category thus reaching these heights is by itself impressive. And the fame was so great that it boosted thousands of young people to become interested in basketball, receiving a prize in 2010 by the Japanese Basketball Association precisely because it was so important in popularizing the sport in the country at the time of its launch.
And how did Slam Dunk get that feat? It is true that the author was in the right place at the right time, with Shounen Jump at its apex. Every week the new magazines brought "Rurouni Kenshin", "Yu Yu Hakusho", "Dragon Ball", "Dragon Quest" and several others of unquestionable fame. Being in the middle of works of this suit certainly gave the author the chance he needed, until he even turned the magazine's flagship.
Slam Dunk is a very simple premise story, in fact, a new year is starting and the Shohoku High School basketball club finds itself in a delicate situation: it urgently needs new players. Meanwhile, Hanamichi Sakuragi begins another school year being rejected for the fiftieth time by a girl, but his luck changes when he meets Haruko, the sister of the current captain of the basketball team who recognizes in the boy the body of a potential athlete. Surprised by the girl's attention, Sakuragi falls in love and begins to try to impress her and after some resistance, he joins the basketball team. From here you follow the mess of the boy and boy your team beyond troublesome.
The main source of laughter in the story is exactly Sakuragi who lives almost in an alternate reality in his mind, he finds himself the best player in the world and lives in childish and ridiculous quarrels with his own teammates, especially Kaede Rukawa, the "lady's man" of the team, for whom Haruko clearly has a downfall.
The series also features several other charismatic characters and their own stories and problems, whether teammates or rivals from other colleges, of course always accompanied by the distorted and absurd view of Sakuragi, who thinks everyone should be kissing the ground by where he goes.
Slam Dunk is a great read to chill and laugh, far from having a heavy or questioning story. It's the kind of story you read fast and get frustrated that it's over, wanting to follow more of Sakuragi's antics.
Story: 9 | Art: 10 | Character: 10 | Enjoyment: 9
Score: 9/10
Personal Note: If you have never read or watched the anime, give volume 1 a try, you might also find a new addiction in the title. I'm saying this because I bought the first Kanzenban volume, of course, in the original Japanese language.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Oct 12, 2017
Lone Wolf and Cub - A Family Murderer
Every comic book reader has his "sin". That classic CB (comic book) that is acclaimed, indispensable and for some reason you ended up never reading it.
I have some of these sins, but perhaps the greatest of them is never to have read Lone Wolf and Cub, a true landmark in manga history and considered one of the best comic books ever, an influencer of legends like Frank Miller, and responsible for the arrival of the expansion of manga in the West.
The problem is that since then, Lone Wolf and Cub didn't have any republishing and the manga
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ran out quickly, becoming a collector's item. The version I read contains luxury finish, offset paper and cover with "ears". A new chance for comic book collectors may say.
First, it is important to keep in mind that this manga was originally published in Japan between 1970 and 1976, accurately depicting the Shogunate Era when samurai existed on the hills, and corresponded to the period from 1603 to 1868. This is because some may strange to the characteristic art of the manga of the time, accustomed to more recent publications that bring the theme, such as "Blade of the Immortal", or even the famous shonen manga, "Rurouni Kenshin". Unlike these two, Lone Wolf and Cub is extremely more grounded in realism, with a raw, dynamic beauty and that portrays with as much of verisimilitude as possible the Edo Period to which the plot corresponds.
Kazuo Koike's script and the art of Goseki Kojima bring the story of Itto Ogami, a mercenary known as Lone Wolf, who travels through Feudal Japan offering his services with his sword, while carrying his son - the little Daigoro - in a baby carriage. This concept, by itself, is already one of the highlights of the manga. It is impossible to not see all the beauty of the scenes where Itto and Daigoro walk towards the sunset, father, and son walking along a bloody path called by the Itto - the meifumadou. That is, "the errant way of the world of the dead."
During much of the manga we are introduced to this path traveled by Itto and Daigoro, while the ronin performs his missions and always let us know that even though he is a mercenary who kills for money, he is even more honored than practically all the other samurai who they cross their path in the course of the plot. This narrative, despite having chapters that bear little relation between them, and only try to show random "missions" of Itto, begin to make us interested in the past of this character and question what would have made someone so honored to travel through world by offering his sword in exchange for money while supposedly putting his own unborn child at risk.
It is only in the last chapter of the first volume that we are lightly presented to Itto's past and we understand part of what made him decide to become a wandering ronin. The interesting thing is that even bringing the character's past, the chapter still leaves some questions open, keeping the reader's curiosity about the volumes that will come next. At the same time that we understand the reason for the current life of Itto, we still don't know exactly what happened to arrive at the point where the chapter begins.
To conclude, what I can say of Lone Wolf and Cub is that reading this manga made me extremely happy. Not only by finally being able to lay hands on what is considered by many to be the ultimate work of manga or not because I've always been curious about this manga but by something much simpler: that indescribable feeling of when we perceive that we are before a pleasant, perfect reading, that immerses us in the pages and transports us to a completely new world. And nothing beats that feeling.
Story: 10 | Art: 10 | Character: 10 | Enjoyment: 9
Score: 10/10
Personal Note: I have never learned so much in a single volume, honestly time makes the reader appreciate better readings in life.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Sep 26, 2017
Summary of the story: Morality. Every character has a radically different conception of justice, but who is the good guy? And is there one? Who's right? Who's wrong? Those questions have multiple answers, so let's find out.
What defines good and evil? How should evil be dealt with? Who decides which is which? Death Note doesn't necessarily answer these questions, but it doesn't intend to; the point is that such questions have been asked for centuries and will never be answered but humans simply can't find answers as living beings in this world. This anime pits formidable personalities with wildly different worldviews against each other,
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and none of them are afraid to say "I am justice!". The question of who is right haunts every character and ultimately go unsolved, so let's see if we can't get to the bottom of it, using the three characters at the center of the show's moral conflict.
As Yagami Light, a protagonist is not necessarily a hero and Light proves it in the first episode.
It's not enough for him to take a stand against violent crime; after only five days with the Death Note he's written hundreds of names and declared himself the "god of the new world," vowing to strike down any who stand in his way. It's a noble cause, but easily corruptible; it's basically the communist ideal. It's worth noting that in the five years of Light's reign as Kira, the crime rate plummets and all wars are put on hold. From Light's perspective, it's one step closer to an ideal world. But a world governed by altruism is a far cry from one governed by fear. By this time Light and his subordinates have started killing pickpockets and other petty criminals, judging mankind on acts rather than reasons. The rule of law rests entirely in the hands of three flawed individuals.
Perhaps only fear can motivate humanity to coexist so completely and so quickly, but the second half of the plot makes clear that Kira has addressed symptoms and not causes. Fear, ignorance, and anger still exist, and Light is perfectly willing to manipulate these flaws in his favor, as when he organizes a bloodthirsty mob to storm the Kira task force's headquarters. And lest we forget greed, this same mob is distracted and neutralized when Near showers them with the remains of L's fortune to cover his team's escape.
Remember that Light's original motive is boredom. "Day in and day out, the same news on permanent repeat," he laments, shortly before picking up the Death Note and changing the world forever. Though he vows to strike down the wicked, he makes no distinction between hardened criminals and those "who are less guilty but who still make trouble for others." The troublemakers are culled through disease and accidents, while the truly terrible serve as examples. One could argue that Light's power gives him the responsibility to reshape the world for the better, but the world he seeks to create is unquestionably in his self-centered image.
L is described by Tsugumi Ohba as "slightly evil", and it isn't difficult to see why. As the undisputed king of detectives, L has essentially limitless jurisdiction and resources. In a world that turns on the interpretation and manipulation of data, he is as close to superhuman as one can get. It's the perfect recipe for a villain: wholly without rivals, with every eccentricity tolerated and he even is a star athlete. With the ability to succeed at seemingly anything he does, why does L devote himself to the law?
In a way, L is just as vain as he proves Light to be in the second episode. He admits that he's "childish and hates losing," which indicates a certain amount of pride at stake in his work. He also will not take a case unless at least ten lives or a million dollars are on the line. If his detective work is indeed just a game to him, it makes sense that he would seek out challenges. He may also believe that his intellect is wasted on any but the most dangerous and impossible cases. But both he and Light declare "I am justice!" at the end of the second episode. The parallel is no mere dramatic flair. As Misa's extrajudicial kidnapping and torture prove, both men are willing to go to extreme lengths in the name of their principles. But while they both work from the shadows, L has an existing legal framework on his side—one that he is more or less free to dictate. While he insists that extraordinary foes require extraordinary actions, he's also not above outright lying—everything from using convicts as expendable decoys to insisting that his trademark crouch increases his reasoning abilities by 40%.
Humans are inquisitive by nature. We want answers, and Light's tenure as God proves that many of us look up to powerful figures who claim to have them. Light appeals to an innate desire for justice in all people and uses that to rule the world from the shadows. But his arrogance consumes him throughout the second season because he has no equal to keep him humble. It's possible that L is the same way: he gravitates toward law, detective work, and justice simply because he has to succeed. Where Light represents individual, retributive justice, L represents law at its most perfect and least merciful.
While we're on the subject of L, why does the discovery of shinigami shock him so deeply? Because of the supernatural upsets the balance of the hierarchy he has crowned himself king of. Gods of death operate by completely different rules than humans, physically and psychologically speaking. Once he's acknowledged that he's dealing with forces beyond his understanding, of course, the shinigami are just one more challenge for him to fit into his worldview. So what is there to understand about Ryuk? Of all the characters in Death Note, Light's companion shinigami is the most honest. Ryuk may be deliberately evasive or obtuse, but unlike the humans he meets, he never tells an outright lie. His reason for dropping the Death Note into the human world is clear from the beginning: "I did it because I was bored."
Is it evil to allow a deadly weapon to potentially fall into evil hands? Perhaps, but would you call gun shop owners evil? All they do is respond to the demands of an existing market. The difference is that Ryuk knowingly attempts to stir up trouble - the most "interesting" humans are the ones who make extensive and creative use of the Death Note, and those who rise to challenge them. Ryuk sets in motion the deaths of thousands - perhaps hundreds of thousands. But he does not hide behind ideals or principles. There will be other lives, and as long as they do interesting things - and give him apples - he is content to watch them destroy each other. He'll be the first to tell you. It may sound like a paradox, but there's an undeniable integrity to that sort of morality.
The answer to the question of right and wrong is that there is no answer. Good and evil are mutable concepts that change with perspective and context, and defining them is a constant undertaking that stretches back as far as recorded history. Both Light and L believe that humanity is fundamentally unchanging, both use that belief for their own gain, and both have different definitions of justice to back it up. Ryuk, as one of a stagnant race, is wholly amoral, but he is under no obligation to be otherwise. Nor does he feel it necessary to disguise his motives - why should he answer to alien laws? Trying to decide who is on the side of justice - whether they take a side or not - misses the point of this show. The idea that there are sides drives human history and achievement. But in the world of Death Note, those who see beyond the abstractions have the power to manipulate them, for better or for worse.
Personal Note - This manga came out in Portugal and it took 3 years to be completed. The manga does a better job of conveying the message.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Aug 25, 2017
Vagabond - GOD LEVEL DRAWING !!
Inoue Takehiko is known for being a legend, thanks to works like Slam Dunk - which is one of the best-selling manga series in history - or Vagabond - an adaptation from Eiji Yoshikawa book "Musashi".
Synopsis: In 1600 AD, Japan undergoes one of the most turbulent periods of its history. The young Takezo, with his friend Matahachi, leaves the Miyamoto village to fight in the Battle of Sekigahara. Although they dream of fame and glory, they only find defeat and a path full of uncertainties. Follow the journey of bloody fighting and spiritual challenges of this fearless swordsman, who was
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known to posterity as the great samurai Miyamoto Musashi!
Based on the epic novel of Eiji Yoshikawa with the breath-taking art of Takehiko Inoue, this comic book classic is one of the most awarded works of Japan's greatest hero!
Before Takezo becomes Musashi, the reader sees the character as a boy from the Miyamoto village, Mimasaka province, who can attract the fear of anyone and who lives almost exclusively from his intelligence, therefore an isolated boy of the world. At age 17, he and Matahachi went to war and this is where the story of Vagabond begins, with the end of the Battle of Sekigahara. It is from here that two personalities appear, Shinmen Takezo and Honiden Matahachi.
Takezo quickly gains reputation as someone who kills without mercy or pity, anyone who crosses his path and this leads to Takezo becoming a problem, since the hunters in his own village want him dead. Eventually and later in the story, monk Takuan and his childhood friend, Otsu, plan to help capture Takezo who is later held in a tree for several days without water or food. During this time, Tsukizake Kohei, the younger brother of a thug whom Takezo killed (and who gave him a reputation), comes claim his revenge against Takezo (although he himself wanted to kill only his brother), however Takuan scares him and the character disappears.
At the end of this arc, Takuan takes Takezo to a remote area around the village and talks to him about what he should do and that his soul is not as evil as the rest of the people thinks he is. The monk portrays to him that those who do not know the darkness, will never be able to know the true light and that Takezo must carry with itself the darkness itself. And this is how Miyamoto ends arc - chapters 1-21 (volumes 1-2)
The change from volume 2 to volume 3 is incredibly well done, and the character Shinmen Takezo completely transforms and changes name to Miyamoto Mushashi (the true legend that existed in real life in Japan).
Monk Takuan states that Shinmen Takezo officially died in Miyamoto village and now, who is there is Miyamoto Musashi and all this happens to avoid problems with the village itself, the Honi'den clan and the maturation of the samurai. Musashi is now 21 years old and travels to Kyoto with the goal of looking for strong swordsmen to challenge. He heads to the Yoshioka sword fighting school, where his father's name was extremely well known, but before he gets there, he unknowingly sees the current Yoshioka Seijuro schoolboy surrounded by geishas in the city. After exchanging a few words, Seijuro remits to him that he will kill him and Musashi without realizing it, feels the horror when the sword of Seijuro was in his neck. Fearless, Musashi heads for the school and challenges the owner, but first he is forced to face many of those who train there, after some of the lower class members insult him. Musashi kills five members of a higher class, until finally Yoshioka Denshichirō, the more serious of the two sons of Yoshioka Kempo, decides to kill Musashi himself. In a very dramatic battle, one that Seijurō intervenes in once to give Musashi the scar on his forehead, Musashi also manages to dislocate Denshichirō's shoulder, but the fight does not end until Hon'iden Matahachi accidentally sets the school building on fire, after drinking much of the sake stored in the basement, bemoaning the "inevitable" death of his newfound hero (Musashi, to which he called him a pilgrim samurai) who stood up to the Yoshioka. Denshichirō then tells Musashi to come back stronger within a year for a rematch.
Musashi escapes with his life and once Matahachi realized that Takezo was in fact Musashi, Matahachi decides to return to his old life. This becomes the beginning of an inferiority complex and a rivalry that will influence him for the rest of his life. Then begins Hōzōin arc- chapters 33-76 (volumes 4-8)
Takuan encourages Musashi to be a more serious person with regard to his training ethic and who should not jeopardize his life so easily but Musashi still has a lot to learn. He then goes on his way and separates himself from Takuan, for the purpose of visiting the temple of Hozoin because of his famous spear technique. Gion Toji, the Yoshioka school killer who aims to kill Musashi, first arrives at the temple. He cuts off the hands of a monk who challenges him and proclaims that he will do the same again every day, before finding Musashi, throwing the temple into turmoil and malaise. Musashi appears in the temple the next day and fights with Agon, one of the top-level monks. Musashi actually looked for In'ei, the legendary old schoolmaster who, unknowingly, retired from office. Agon recognizes that this must be Musashi and seeking both to end the turmoil that Toji caused and defend the name of Hozoin, then fight with Musashi. At some point in the fight, Musashi finds himself without a sword but manages to end the fight, breaking Agon's nose. Gion Toji then defies Musashi, but before they can start the fight, Inshun, the new schoolmaster and son prodigy in the spear, stops the fight, wanting to fight with Musashi himself. Toji backs off and Musashi has a head-to-head with Inshun. Musashi gets tired and disturbed and so he retreats a little to catch his breath. The elderly In'ei feels that while Inshun, his greatest student, brilliantly mastered the physical art of the spear, he was unable to control himself or his soul, for he believes Inshun needs a rival good enough to Perfect his abilities and for this, he believes that Musashi could become this rival. In the end, Musashi has a second battle with Inshun, with only In'ei and Agon as witnesses. Having learned a lot from his training on the rival and his demons, Musashi rules the spirit of Ishun. He can dodge an opponent's attack, knocking him down with his own (handmade) sword. After that, he goes back to his wild self (personality disorder) and starts beating Inshun repeatedly while he lies stretched out on the floor. Both are quickly treated of their wounds and depart in the hope of trying not to kill themselves the next time they meet.
So far, Vagabond has been an abysmal experience, making other seinen works look like mere toys for children. Master Takehiko Inoue has reformulated the seinen genre to a whole new level, unlike anything and everyone, including the reader, must value it. Vagabond is perhaps the most complex story of the author, due to his historical experience and the adaptation of one of the greatest samurai ever. The author also shows and portrays the contrast that exists with Musashi, who wants to be the "best under the sun" and Matahachi, where his goal was to be a family man. Matahachi chooses pleasurable but momentary moments, while Musashi chooses to dedicate himself and improve himself. Both make mistakes and both have their ways of solving certain problems. Matahachi is filled with problems while Musashi rises above his countertops and strengthens himself to unbelievable proportions. After surviving numerous battles until a bitter end and overcoming many personal struggles (the decision to leave his only love, Otsu, to pursue the life of the sword), only a swordsman is still in the path of Musashi.
There are also flashbacks from Shinmen Takezo's father, Shinmen Munisai, who was one of the most famous samurai from across the country. When Takezo was young, his father divorced his mother and forced Takezo to learn martial arts. Takezo wanted very much to see his mother again and shows him how much he grew up but his mother rejected him, telling him to return to his father's feet. And this caused that there was no affection for his parents, with which Takezo passed and that grew with him. And with this lack of affection, also appeared the fear towards his father. On several occasions, young Musashi tried to assassinate his father but he never succeeded, which made him always suffer physically. It was until one day, that Takezo began to know the mountains, through the forest, and began to calm with the nature beauty. And with this calm, came the will to train and develop an approach with the mother-nature. There was a time, when Takezo found the corpse of a swordsman in a cave and was impressed, hoping to be like him. As a child, Takezo became an intimate friend of Hon'iden Matahachi and Otsū.
While the story drags a little, in the Yoshioka Arc, in Vagabond, the story and its contextualization is full of emotions and battles of realistic and painful swords. This adaptation is relatively short in dialogue but the images that the author presents, speak for themselves. A picture is worth a thousand words and this work lives up to the saying. It is only a pity that other authors do not adopt this style and do not make their history so profound to the point of Vagabond. All manga volumes really let the reader think about what they actually read from their own production.
In Vagabond, there are no enemies, but opponents. There is no quantity, but quality. There is no fantasy, it is an adaptation. There is no imagination, but reality. There is no egocentrism, it's all life lessons.
Story: 10 | Art: 10 | Character: 10 | Enjoyment: 10
Score: 11/10
Personal Note: Currently finish reading the Hōzōin arc – chapters 33–76 (volumes 4–8). Favorite manga when talking about art, plot, adaptation, characters, personality, charisma, plot points and fights. Yes, Inoue is a legend and here is the proof.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Aug 16, 2017
Samurai Gun - An anime without a goal
Samurai Gun is an anime adaptation of the original manga with the same name. It began airing on October, 4 and ended on December, 4 of 2004 and it was animated by Studio Egg, best known for anime that people don't care. You don't need to read the full synopsis to know more about this particular anime because, once more, no one cares.
"(...) A group of Samurai has banded together, and, with the development of new weapons and new technology, they have both the will and the hardware to stand up and fight. Ichimatsu is one of these
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fighters. By day, he works incognito at a local tavern, in the evenings he frequents the brothels, and by the dark of night, he doles out some big-time, gun-barrel justice. He is here to help. He is Samurai Gun."
As said, guns were in fact used in this era, so that's true, this isn't an original idea. In one hand, Samurai Gun can be seen as a revenge story about Ichimatsu and his family. In another hand, Ichimatsu doesn't want to kill anyone, except the guy who actually did it. Besides that, people don't need to watch the rest of the episodes because it gets more and more uninteresting and Ichimatsu breaks the golden rule of not killing other people except that particular evil figure.
The art is just decent in the first three episodes but then, it gets kinda bad until the end. The sound process was kinda the only good thing but as the anime progresses, it becomes very repetitive. In fact, there are interesting characters but they aren't explored at his core, making them unexplored. This anime is great for people that don't give a damn about a good plot or good quality animation because it fulfills those person's desires. This is just an anime to add to your "Complete" list as something degradable.
Samurai Gun is just a poor story and my expectations were all shattered.
Basically, a shit anime. It was purely a waste of time.
Story: 2 | Art: 2 |Sound: 3 | Character: 3 | Enjoyment: 2
Score: 3
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Aug 14, 2017
Zetman - Just Wooow!
First of all, Zetman is an adaptation of a manga with the same name. This "Zetman" is different from the manga because it follows its own way, however, the manga is canon, as you may know. With that, the artwork for the anime was magnificent. If you aren't following drawing artists or even amateur drawing artists, you don't have the right to tell me that this is not true art. As you know, there's plenty of detail in the characters and in the settings and that's obviously a good thing. When there's a fight sequence, you can even see the speed of
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the battle itself. So yeah, looks like there's a "Hunter x Hunter" done by Madhouse Studios vibe here, just saying.
Comparatively to the music, that's probably the lowest part has I can remember. I didn't like the Opening or Ending song but I recognize the artists work on the pieces of music.
The development of the characters is present in the series and is something positive. Both protagonists, Jin and Koga are characters easy to understand and sympathize until the last episode. The problem is that the scenes are forced or, in a way, they do not exist, so the viewer does not know (unless if you go read the original source). Another problem is that the smaller characters are not very fun and don't have an original personality as if they were extras in a movie. And this makes the main characters "compensate" screen time for not-so-important characters.
As for the enjoyment, yeah, the first episode was so epic yet unpredictable and I loved the series until the end. Overall, it was great.
People like to compare the anime adaptation to the original manga but that's kinda wrong because, for these people, there are no expectations. If people create expectations with all kinds of adapted works, then they will always have their expectations shattered. If you are a manga reader just don't compare it because the anime adaptation goes its own way (again said).
Zetman was such a good and promising series and to be fair, I really can't remember the last time I watched such an exceptional series with great fight scenes, promising plot and also, dramatic moments.
Story: 8 | Art: 9 | Sound: 7 | Character: 8 | Enjoyment: 9 |
Score: 8/10
Personal Note: I'm really glad that I watched this show. I would recommend it for people who liked Parasyte, for example.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Aug 10, 2017
Hajimete no Gal - Something Different
Why do people like ecchi series? Is it because of the boobs, the girls or the story? Personally, I think it's because it's a funnier and an easier genre to appreciate, as being a reliable and a fun combination. And there's nothing wrong with the liking of some ecchi series, including Hajimete no Gal and by that, I'm another one that thinks that ecchi doesn't get the love it deserves.
This story for Hajimete no Gal, as for some others series by the same genre, appears to be simple. Our main protagonist (named Junichi) is forced by his friends to confess
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to a gal named Yukana and then, by surprising, he gets the girl in exchange for some conditions. So Junichi is our male protagonist and he wants to try getting a girlfriend to help him with his insecurity. The girl, Yukana, on the contrary, it's a more interesting character, because she likes to tease him and seems very confident when she's doing it giving an idea or her life's experience.
I think this is what people want when they are searching for a funny romance story with a bit of fanservice and with a perfect pacing for 10 episodes. It also has a great opening and ending song, which combines with the series as a whole.
Apparently, this is one of the best adaptations in this season also including the adaptation of the Kakegurui manga. This adaptation even has some parts that are skipped or re-arranged from the original manga but doesn't seem to be a problem. So yeah, apparently the manga is better so make sure to check out.
Story: 8 | Art: 9 | Sound: 9 | Character: 9 | Enjoyment: 8
Score: 9
Personal Note: It's my new guilty-pleasure, thank you Ueno Meguru sensei. I find it very similar to "Prison School" but that's just my opinion.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jul 25, 2017
One Piece - The "Shonen Jump" King
I like One Piece. I like One Piece quite a lot in fact, but the issue comes from how insanely long the series is currently residing at 873 chapters and the staggering extent of its world which according to the OPW (One Piece Wikipedia) has named 870 characters.
What I'm going to do is to explain what I consider some of the fundamental aspects of the series and so it comes the appeal of One Piece. I first encountered One Piece in 2015 on an anime event called Iberanime, in Portugal and unbeknownst to me at the time, what
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I was looking for was a mass success. I really came to enjoy the adventures of Nami, Zoro and of course Luffy as the first Straw Hat Pirates to appear (technically). The series had a unique place illness to it that made it stand out from other more shonen series I'd seen up to this point like Naruto or Dragon Ball and even the show's more dramatic moments there was a tremendous amount of fun to be had. Of course, as I read the imaginative pirate adventures within the first volumes, what I was completely unaware of was what a world shattering phenomenon I was actually dealing with and that revelation would only appear to me two years later when I find out what a massive deal One Piece really is inside Japan.
The main appeal of this series is the simple premise of adventure and I know that's also the concept of countless other shounen series but nothing really captures the same sense of exploration and scale as the world of piracy, in the series. The hero on this voyage is a young pirate named Monkey D. Luffy, a basic character with a simple purpose to find the mysterious treasure named One Piece and with that, becoming the King of the Pirates. This is Luffy's primary motivator from Chapter 1 and remain until the latest chapter, and this keeps Luffy's journey along the one distinct path which is something unique to One Piece which is the same journey along the same path to the point that you can charge Luffy's route on a physical map (in which the crew encounters various island and territory) and this makes the story very easy to understand since allows to a massive amount of variety in the series sub-arcs like Baroque Works or Dressrosa in which the crew must untangle a web of political intrigue and take down a tyrannical false king, for example. The type of stories are unlimited since it started off fairly with a basic villain or villains but as we move on, people see the Straw Hats embroiled in government conspiracies or haunted ghost ships, jailbreaks and even being at the center of a large scale war like Marineford and this is what makes it the show.
I really don't like some major plot incidents that are separate from the Straw Hats but when they occur, they reverberate throughout the world on such a scale that it drastically affects the lives of every character in it, such as my favorite character, Portgas D. Ace or the Yonko "WhiteBeard" (Shirohige) even though One Piece (as series) succeeds on a large scale. There are also a lot of very strong characterizations in the series, but one of the things that are a bit strange for anime and manga connoisseurs is the difference between the two versions where the 'x factor' of each person enters. For each person, the information they have so far is incipient phase what still remains to be known why everything is called into question. Because there is a lack of known and unknown information from the series, concrete examples can not be given with arguments, but it is a difficult problem to argue. The viewer is aware of what he sees, how the characters react (what is later compared to real personalities), and how everything that exists in the shape of the characters actually comes into being. From now, just trust me when I say that nobody writes a story like Eiichiro Oda and with that, you need to see to believe (that's an old Portuguese saying).
Story: 8 |Art: 6 | Sound: 8 | Character: 8 | Enjoyment: 7
Score: 8
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jul 15, 2017
Tokyo Ghoul - This kind of Seinen is.. Normal ?!
Since 2011, seinen has become a more shared genre among readers who are exclusively attached to other types of readings. Tokyo Ghoul is just an example of yet another forbid reading.
Personally and by reading the first time, I didn't like this manga at all because I feel that it's just like another 'cliché' seinen, which it's boring to read after a certain amount of hours with the same kind of stories. Even so, I feel very unsatisfied with the final product being almost exactly like some people thought it will become. Actually, I'm not even in
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favor of public opinion so that's why in some cases, my opinion may vary in favor of some plot points during the series until the end.
Tokyo Ghoul tells us the story of shy Ken Kaneki who is thrilled to go on a date with the beautiful Rize. But it turns out that she’s only interested in his body—eating it, that is. When a morally questionable rescue transforms him into the first half-human half-Ghoul hybrid, Ken is drawn into the dark and violent world of Ghouls, which exists alongside our own.
Many people know that the part I like the most in the manga, in general, is the first chapters because the characters must have characterization until the end of the respective series and people know that due to my One Piece review.
This manga shows a very specific story due to everything is going on at the same time, like Kaneki being practically forced to live a new and dangerous life and with this, several other developments. Many people refer chapters 60-66 like something outside of this world but that's just an excuse, as always. The manga features the same kind of art to the extent of the tragedy, but the art is retouched to look something different, in this case somewhat improved. Of course, the context that is presented during these chapters is justifiable, but it is nothing out of the ordinary. Ken Kaneki no longer has a student personality to have a half-ghoul personality and this includes his appearance and again, of course, this part of the story is important because it is when the character is accepted as a ghoul, but the story does not end there.
Being art enthusiast in general, I can only say that Sui Ishida's art is not ugly. The context I want to get is that the author's art is almost the best considering that new readers are reading a seinen manga and so they can simply give a high score as a definitive score without justification and this is something that most users do. Being honest, I believe Sui Ishida can get to an 8 but because I like the trait of the beginning of the story, once again.
The goal of the Tokyo Ghoul manga is to bring realism to another level, using fanciful elements just as in works given in compulsory schooling and this is a positive thing, but I believe that the true readers of seinen can not be indefinite with the work of those elements. I like the characters immensely but it would be praiseworthy if they had more closeness to the reader. I realize that the work has excellent characters and well used but I don't understand why the author creates loving bonds if the character ends up dying. Without this, each important character has proper development and significance to the story and that's a good thing.
As my final words, the manga is enjoyable and have excellent adult ideas such as sadism and cannibalism which is something well used. Nowadays, Tokyo Ghoul is a well-known manga because of his anime popularity, unfortunately.
Story: 8 | Art: 9 | Character: 9 | Enjoyment: 9
Score: 9
Personal Note: Still reading Volume 7. Volume 8 will be available soon enough.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jul 11, 2017
Mob Psycho - ONE's Best Work
I'm starting to see Mob Psycho 100 as a trend and it is something that doesn't fit with the series because Mob is a top notch manga.
Mob Psycho 100 tells the daily life of Kageyama, Shigeo, who unintentionally have also telekinetic powers (psychic abilities). As the manga progresses, the reader finds more about his hidden emotions and powers as well has found out about his crush (Tsubomi). He changes the hearts of both friends and foes through his own simplest ways. He also has a psychic "mentor" (who has no psychic powers indeed) named Reigen, Arataka and in the end,
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he's trying his purpose in life.
If you ever read ONE's previous works then you know what Mob Pyscho 100 represents to the author, as he's trying to make a story flow from the simplest and funniest to the most dramatic, serious and consistent possible. The physical books are actually rich in details and well made during the progression of the plot itself. And with that, comes the unexpected humor. People, in general, don't know how to react when they see a different art style from the "stereotype" and that's really a shame. Yes, I know what you all are thinking right now, that the art is very poorly drawn and that's a reason to drop the series but you are making an enormous mistake because as chapters progress, the art improves significantly and in the end, that's not a reason to give a low score to the art itself. That's even a plus for me because I really like the author art style even though it looks like a 4-year-old sketch, I really think that's remarkable as many manga artists usually use the same way of drawing.
To most readers, it's easy to relate the feelings of most of the characters in the series, including those who made a way into each one's heart. As you may notice, Mob Pyscho 100 it's not the perfect manga, it has poorly written characters and it has mistakes, the big ones but eventually, they grow up has seen in the manga. Some people even switch sides, and several villains show a point in their arguments and views of the world.
I think that Mob Psycho 100 it's manga with the purpose of laughing and not necessarily a shounen type however it has is own action pack while stirring the feelings of Mob as the main character. Many people compare to One Punch Man but that's not even an argument because they have different genres. Mob has a better art and characters are way more developed than the webcomic and in general, Mob Pyscho 100 has an as infinite better story based on their course. Maybe this review will be edit soon or maybe not, we'll see.
Story: 10 | Art: 8 |Character: 10 | Enjoyment: 10
Score: 10
Personal Note: My favorite manga of the author and #1 at my shounen top.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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