Back to ClownOnACloud's Profile ClownOnACloud's Profile

Delinquents aren’t something we really see much of in anime nowadays, well not in the truest sense at least. Every now and then you may come across a series which has a delinquent type character feature, such as Yu Yu Hakusho and Beelzebub to name two, but neither of these series are actually about delinquents as they are both supernatural action series that just happen to have a delinquent as the main character. I, for one, think that this is a bit of a shame since season after season we are constantly being flooded with series set in high school, some will revolve around a ... club where cute girls are doing cute things and in others we will see our lead character climb aboard a giant robot in order to save the world but never do we see any series about groups of students, with a few screws loose, playing pranks on one another and getting into fights over the pettiest of things, surely it is not too much to ask for one or two new anime focused around delinquents...

But apparently it is too much to ask for, and so if you are going to find yourself some good series featuring high school delinquents then you’re going to have to turn your attention towards manga and I think I may have found the best of the bunch right here with Kyou Kara Ore Wa!!

Story - “Hmph picking on him makes me feel much better. Bullying the weak is the only meaning of life after all.”

The story of KKOW is completely and utterly aimless. It simply follows the misadventures of Mitsuhashi and Itou, two delinquents that both transferred to the same school on the same day and both of them decide that this is the perfect opportunity to change their self-image in order to stand out in their new school and gain both popularity and respect. One thing leads to another and the two form the terrifying duo of Nan High attracting other delinquents towards them and from here many shenanigans ensue.

The story more or less falls under the category of slice of life since this series just follows the day to day lives of Mitsuhashi, Itou and a handful of other delinquents that we meet along the way but that doesn’t mean that this story is lackluster at all. It is impossible to be bored when reading this manga since it is just about the most hilarious thing in all of existence, as a matter of fact, it is so funny that you will end up laughing so much that it will make the orange juice you were drinking shoot out of your nose and damage your keyboard. You should probably watch out for that.

But this series is not all comedy; there are a number of arcs where more fierce rivals appear before Mitsuhashi and Itou and the manga becomes a little more serious (Mitsuhashi often runs away at this point though) and these arcs are actually surprisingly good. They are actually well executed and can be rather dramatic and even emotional in a very manly kind of way.

When push comes to shove, this story isn’t really anything original or innovative but it will never fail to put a smile on your face.

But the reason for why you will constantly be smiling from start to finish is undoubtedly because of the wonderful characters.

Characters – “The main character never takes a shit!!”

While the two main characters are both categorised as being delinquents on account of the way they look their personalities are vastly different from each other. We have Itou with his ridiculously spiky hair which has earned him the nickname of Kappa. Despite being a delinquent, he is very noble and righteous and he is often compared to a hero of justice but all he really does is beat up other delinquents because the way they behave annoys him. Then we have the self-proclaimed Lord Mitsuhashi who is completely egotistical and self-centered and is personified by his repeated use of cheapshots to win fights because to him it doesn’t matter how a fight is won because who ever wins is the strongest. Mitsuhashi is really what makes this series so entertaining because the things he does to the other characters are hilariously evil. He simply wanders around looking for ways to make cash and one day take over the world, all the while bullying those who are in his way. In particular the one person who he probably picks on the most is Imai who is the head delinquent of one of the rival schools and is a rival of Mitsuhashi, as well as the one person that Mitsuhashi will absolutely not permit to be happier than him. Throughout this series Mitsuhashi abuses Imai time and time again and so at one point Imai, being the absolute fool that he is, decides to get his own back by playing a little practical joke on him and so what does Mitsuhashi do, he gets revenge on him Mitsuhashi-style. This entails locking Imai in an abandoned apartment for several days and laughing at all the ridiculous stuff he does in order to survive, the delight spread all across Mitsuhasi’s little face as Imai has to survive by eating a lone banana peel is one of the most hauntingly hilarious things I have ever seen. This is just one such example of the dastardly Mitsuhashi’s malevolence. Other than trying to get himself a girlfriend (because Itou has one and he’s jealous) Mitsuhashi enjoys reading manga and inventing sports to play against Itou.

This being a comedy series you wouldn’t exactly expect there to be all that much character development since that isn’t ever going to be the focus of a comedy manga. But the two main characters are rather well fleshed out and over time you will learn a lot about their personalities and their habits, which just goes to show you that characters do not need to have some sort of existential crisis every ten minutes in order to be considered a good character. The two main characters develop slightly over time, for example Itou has to confront the loss of his beloved Dio-kun and Mitsuhashi learns to have more respect for the environment when he joins the gardening club, but the surprising and more substantial development can be seen in the side characters that encounter Itou and Mitsuhashi. Usually you would expect those who lose fights to just disappear into the background but in this series that is not the case, we get to see a lot of the characters reappear frequently and it is quite interesting to see how some characters like Nakano who you wouldn’t expect to see again show up regularly and you will also see surprising amounts of developments of people like Tanigawa who would have normally been nothing more than a lackey in any other series.

Art - “Never heard of you, moron! Your ears look like Doraemon’s pockets.”

This is something like the elephant in the room since it is just about the only thing in this series that I consider to be bad. This series first started in the late 80s but still even considering the time there were series that looked better than this one. However, while the artwork may not be the most beautiful thing in the world it certainly manages to get the job done, at no point will you have trouble understanding whether a person is angry, happy, sad and so on because their faces are expressive enough and the actions scenes aren’t exactly difficult to follow either. As a matter of fact I think the art in this series sometimes just made things even funnier for me.

Enjoyment – “Do you understand now, Itou? If you’re pissed, let your fists speak. Rather than crying yourself, it’s better to make the enemy cry. Make someone else feel more unpleasant than yourself! Make the enemy repent! If he collects stress he’ll die early! This is what true victory is!”

So, did I enjoy this series? Well that would have to be a resounding yes!!! This is probably the most enjoyable manga I have ever read. It made me laugh so much that it became physically painful and the supreme Lord Mitsuhashi is a wise ruler who has many lessons to teach us commoners. This manga is funny and very endearing with lots of fun characters and plenty of fantastic memories to take away from it. I suppose it may be a tad repetitive and maybe the art isn’t so great but honestly I couldn’t care less about those things. I have probably taken a lot more from this series than most acclaimed anime and manga masterpieces which is rather funny in itself.

This series is tied with Gintama as my favourite comedy across all mediums so if you want to have some laughs just relax and read some KKOW and be careful if you plan to read this manga while eating or drinking.

It would have been a perfect 10 if not for the artwork but well that’s just a superficial thing anyways.

“I just want you to know one thing...I may be the one facing them. I may be the one cutting them down. The one who stands on their graves. But you will be the one that kills them.”

There are a great many stories that revolve around the concept of revenge. A great many writers have written a great many tales about revenge, each expressing their own sentiments towards the topic. Some glorify it, others ridicule it as a fool’s quest and others tell a more sympathetic story. Blade of the Immortal however simply tells it how it is, at no point is the author ... ever forcing his beliefs onto the story. The writer prefers to allow the reader to reflect on the story themselves and come to their own conclusions. An engaging, exhilarating yet quietly contemplative quest for vengeance, Blade of the Immortal is one of the greatest seinen manga ever created. Allow me to explain to you why I believe this is the case...

The story of Blade of the Immortal centres around the young Rin Asano’s journey to avenge the death of her parents at the hands of a sword school whose influence is growing within Japan: the Itto-ryu. Unable to deny her own powerlessness in the face of her powerful foe she seeks out the skills of a swordsman who has been cursed with immortality. A man known as Manji. He has his own aims and beliefs that make him more than just a simple bodyguard. Throughout the series we watch as Manji acts as a sort of mentor to Rin and we also watch as the relationship between the two changes and develops.

The premise is quite simple, chances are you can think up some series with similar plots, and the mention of immortality may seem a little silly to some but you shouldn’t write this series of just because of that. The story is an amazing journey for both characters and readers; it’s a grim tale of blood, violence and complex yet savage emotions, a story filled with political intrigue and numerous rival factions all gunning at one another. The premise may be basic but it is simply a backdrop for a deep, emotive, memorable and epic quest.

The only criticism I have with the story is that the pacing was a little bad. Initially the story didn’t really grab me and I took a little break from reading. In my opinion the story doesn’t really get into its stride until around about chapter 30, but once the story gets going it is a nonstop rollercoaster of pure awesomeness. Similarly at later parts of the story I feel that certain events were dragged on for a little longer than I would have liked, but this is a very small criticism it must be said.

The thing that really makes the story of Blade of the Immortal so captivating is without a doubt the characters. The cast of Blade of the Immortal is simply amazing. I would go as far as to say that this series has the best cast of characters I have ever come across. Over the course of the series the two main characters, Manji and Rin, go through a tremendous amount of development but that’s only to be expected really. While the development of the two main characters is exquisite, it is the side characters that really make this series extraordinary. With most series you can consider yourself fortunate if even a single character receives a good amount of development but in this series there are about are around 5 or 6 characters that receive just as much development and characterisation as you would expect of a main character. Ironically, on a personal level I was more interested in some of the side characters and their struggles than I was in the main characters (and the two main characters are really amazing). This is really a testament to how well written the characters in this series are.

All of the significant characters in this series receive a great deal of development and with this there is no clear divide between which characters are the ‘good guys’ and which are the ‘bad guys’. They all have their own circumstances, ideals, determination and reasons for fighting and because the author shares the limelight equally between all of the significant players there is truly no telling who will come out on top and during some of the fight sequences it becomes near impossible to determine whether a particular character may win or lose which really makes things genuinely tense.

Personally, I always like to see those badass female characters who know how to hold their own as in anime especially female characters are more often than not just waifu bait. So I just wanted to give this series props for having some of the most awesome female characters I have ever seen in Makie and Hyakurin, that being said I did feel that Rin sometimes came across as being a typical damsel in distress but this was really only in the earlier parts of the story.

This amazing story and these spectacular characters are all presented to us in Hiroaki Samura's fantastic artwork. It is a little difficult for me not to start gushing over his artwork because subjectively speaking this series has the best artwork that I have ever seen. I have always had a preference for old school art as opposed to the more moe art style that is prevalent in modern anime and well Blade of the Immortal is just about the least moe thing you will ever find so it gets a big thumbs up from me.

The artwork is just so perfectly styled and this series has the most well drawn action sequences you will see in any manga. Seriously, the fights in this series are absolutely brutal - blood and limbs are seen flying all over the place. There are so many great fights in this series and the flow of action in the panels makes it easy to follow the action, the fights are ridiculously intense and will have you on the edge of your seat. The scenery art in this series is also worth mentioning. The backgrounds are quite well detailed on the whole and the traditional Japanese landscapes that you will see over the course of the journey are all captured perfectly.

With all this being said, I cannot say that the art style will be to everyone’s taste. If you dislike sketchy artwork and prefer clean drawings then you may not like it. I really like it because it matches my personal preferences but that doesn’t mean everyone will think it’s as great as I do.

Also, as I have already alluded to, this series contains a lot of gore so if that is not your thing then this may not be a series for you. This series really doesn’t pull its punches when it comes to violence but unlike similarly violent manga series, such as Gantz and Akame ga Kill just to name two, this series never gave me the impression that there was just violence for the sake of it or that it was being used for shock value. While this series is very visceral I don’t think that it ever became excessive.

In my opinion this series is the pinnacle of the seinen genre. It is dark and it is brutal but it remains human. With a well constructed and deceptively complex plot, one of the most well fleshed out cast of characters you are likely to find and artwork to die for I cannot recommend this series highly enough to anyone who enjoys seinen manga. Although, if you are looking for or are expecting a story that is actually focused on samurai culture then I would point you in the direction of Lone Wolf and Cub instead. Blade of the Immortal is more focused on telling its own story than it is about what life was like in this time period and the way of the samurai and the all that sort of stuff.

Anyways, I hope you found this review helpful. Any and all feedback is welcomed (unless you are going to criticise me that is).

Well I happened to notice that nobody had bothered to write a review for the Durarara!! (the exclamation marks are very important) light novels before now, which I found quite surprising given the popularity of the anime adaptation, but anyhow I’ve taken it upon myself and I apologise in advance for the lousy job that I do but still nevertheless this will end up as the most helpful review, well for the time being at least.

First things first, I think that I ought to talk about the anime just a little bit. One of the major problems that people have with the anime, are in ... one way or another, to do with the plot and the reason is because the anime was an incomplete adaptation which only adapted around about three of the thirteen novels so unsurprisingly there were a fair few loose ends. This, to some degree, will be remedied by the upcoming sequel but I doubt they will adapt all of the novels so I predict that there will still be plenty of loose ends so if you really want to know what happens you’re best of looking into novels.

Now onto the actual review...

Well trying to describe the plot of Durarara!! (remember that the exclamation marks are extremely important) is liable to give you an aneurysm. To start with it doesn’t exactly have one plotline, instead we are given a massive cast of characters who are all acting for their own reasons and interests and the story follows each of these characters as their path cross and intertwines with each other, as events unfold as a consequence of the characters actions the plot develops.

Well that may be a little vague so I will try and make it a little clearer.

The story is set in a rather chaotic area of Tokyo known as Ikebukuro, a town filled with gang conflicts between colour gangs, monstrous bartenders, Russian sushi chefs, otakus and any number of urban legends. The story begins when an ordinary, unassuming teenager who grew up in an ordinary, unassuming, un-descript Japanese town, Mikado Ryugamine, moves to the city and ends up getting more and more involved in the events of the city known as Ikebukuro.

If I was to try and answer the question; what is Durarara!! all about? Then I would have to answer with two words. Twisted Love. While on the face of it, this may seem to a supernatural action series, underneath all the bizarreness and lunacy this is basically Narita Ryohgo’s take on a love story and frankly it’s brilliant, whether it be an information broker’s love of humanity, an otaku’s love for anime and manga, a young boy’s fascination with a severed head, a sister’s abnormally strong feelings for her brother or a person’s obsession with an idol it is all captured absolutely perfectly.

But still it is near impossible to pinpoint the main plot in this story and also it is impossible to identify any side plots because everything that happens is linked together and this is only really made possible due to Narita Ryohgo’s brilliant writing. Everything is planned ahead of time and there is never any time wasted. Every scene, every bit of dialogue and every action is significant in the grand schemes of things (something that is lost in the anime due to the abrupt ending)

Now I think I’m going to talk about the characters a little bit...

The cast of Durarara!! is massive and overflowing with iconic, eccentric, larger than life figures. Talking about the entire cast of headless monsters, omniscient information brokers, bartenders that personify violence, knife wielding psychopaths, yakuza, Russian sushi chefs, Russian assassins and the trio of high school students who wind up in the centre of the chaos brought about by these people; it would take me way too long, but I think I will talk about some of the stand out characters a little bit.

Ryugamine Mikado, who is probably the closest thing to the main character in the series, begins as a rather dull protagonist, it must be said, but it must also be said that his character has deliberately been written that way. Anyhow while he may start out as being a rather bland character over time his character, his personality, his beliefs and everything about him gets shaken by the events of the story and his character ends up developing into something that I really wouldn’t think of calling bland.

Masaomi Kida is the best friend of Ryugamine and is also quite the contrast. He is confident and he is assertive and he is also the one who convinced Ryugamine to go to Ikebukuro. He leads Ryugamine through Ikebukuro and teaches him what’s what. He has changed a lot from how Ryugamine last met him and needless to say this was due to the city known as Ikebukuro.

Anri Sonohara is quiet and not particularly sociable girl who ends up becoming acquainted with Masaomi and Ryugamine but she has difficulty opening herself up to them because of the dark secret she has.

Izaya Orihara, who is my personal favourite character in the series, is an information broker who claims to love all of humanity, except for Shizuo Heiwajima. He is probably the closest thing to an out and out antagonist in the story but he is not exactly evil per se. He acts like a sort of puppet master who manipulates information in order to create interesting situations in which to observe humans. He takes an interest in Ryugamine and is usually involved behind the scenes of the events in one form or another.

Shizuo Heiwajime is essentially wrath incarnate, however he doesn’t like violence at all he just has a short fuse and monstrous strength so more often than not he is seen doing something absurd like throwing vending machines across the street or what have you. Also he and Izaya don’t really get along too well...that may be a bit of an understatement.

Celty Sturlunson is a creature of myth straight from a folk tale. She is a dullahan. Originally from Ireland she is in Ikebukuro searching for her head that was stolen from her. She is in a relationship with a doctor named Shinra and their interactions were always my favourite parts of the story because they were just so outlandish, cute and funny all at the same time.

Well I could go on but that I think that is enough. To summarise, the cast in Durarara is fantastic and go a long way in making the series memorable. Narita has a real talent for creating fascinating characters with interesting worldviews, beliefs, personalities and interactions.

As far as enjoyment goes, I cannot think of anything to say other than Durarara!! is entertaining as hell (why else would it have two exclamation marks huh?)

I would recommend these light novels to just about anyone, but since most people wouldn’t even consider reading light novels in the first place, probably the reason why there wasn’t any reviews either, it’s kind of pointless in a sense but well if you liked the anime then I would urge you to go and check out the light novels at some point...or not. You can always wait for an unknown amount of time to wait for them to get adapted but there isn’t really any guarantee that this will even happen...

At any rate I award Durarara!! with a score of 9 out of 10

(Would you look at that, I managed to write a review of Durarara!! without mentioning Baccano! even once.)

Now I wouldn’t really describe myself as being a big fan of the shoujo genre and to be perfectly honest I always normally hate series that centre around high school students (so perhaps I am not the best person to be writing a review for this series but oh well). The reason for this is that these stories have been done again and again thousands of times and have become stale but here we have Kare Kano (short version of the title) which is for all intents and purposes one of these old boring high school romance series that we have all seen far too ... many times before, the only difference being that Kare Kano is a lot better than many other similar series that come to mind, and why is this exactly?

Well Kare Kano really isn’t any different than any other high school love story you will have seen before. There are no radically new approaches to the genre or anything of the sort; on the contrary it is more like a perfect refinement of all of the elements that make up this kind of story. In short this is just a simple love story told very well. Well actually it is not as simple as I made it out to be, there are plenty of complications and unexpected developments to keep the reader hooked and complex multi layered characters that elevate the story above most anything I’ve read thus far, so if anything it is the depth and complexity of this story that makes it great.

While the series appears to more or less be your typical high school romcom it eventually evolves into its own independent story and separates itself from those familiar series. If you go into this series (like I did) expecting some kind of fluffy romance then you will most probably be caught off guard as this story is a lot darker and more mature than you would expect.

I think the main thing that stood out for me, personally, about Kare Kano was the feeling of authenticity that this series seemed to have. It felt like the author was probably basing aspects of the story on things that she herself had some kind of experience with, which makes a real change from those wish-fulfillment harem series that I am used to.

The two main characters, Soichiro Arima and Yukino Miyazawa, particularly felt very real to me. They really do seem like real people complete with flaws (extremely well hidden, mind you) and emotional baggage. Everything about their relationship felt very truthful to me, nothing felt forced and all the challenges the two had to face were relatable. The cuteness of their relationship and the envy seen by fellow classmates also rings true as well.

But each of the main characters individually are both really great as well. I especially liked Yukino because she is really completely unlike the stereotypical shoujo female lead. On the surface she appears to be the ideal student; kind, extremely smart and attractive as well. But this is only a mask beneath which lies a money crazed borderline sociopath that desperately craves everyone’s admiration and praises. Right from the get go I really loved her character for some reason but over time she really developed into a wonderful and really likable character.

The male lead Soichiro Arima appears to be the typical super idealised male that you can’t help but fangirl over but he is a seriously complex character and much of the story deals with his emotional scars and checkered past.

But Kare Kano is not solely focused on these two characters. There is a large cast in this story and unlike too many manga they are not mere cardboard cutouts, they too are fully fleshed out characters in their own right. I really loved the way that the author would occasionally take a step away from the main story to concentrate on other characters that would usually be ignored, this really serves the series well in my opinion as it makes the whole high school experience presented feel that much more personal for the reader which is always a good thing.

I also feel like I should praise the use of comedy in this manga because the author managed to find that perfect sweet spot. There is plenty of comedy but it is always at the right moments and when the story gets more serious these jokes are carefully placed to one side and only picked up again when they should be, this is something that a lot of anime and manga completely mess up and I find it quite frustrating but Kare Kano did a great job in regards to the use of comedy.

The artwork in this series is quite simple which is not to say bad, characters are all distinctive, landscapes are clean and there’s really nothing I can criticise…well sometimes she would put too much into a small panel and things would look a bit messy but this was only present in the early part. The art progressively improves as the series goes on and the mangaka did take special care with the art in the more significant scenes which makes them stand out and it makes them more memorable. Also I loved those little rant type things down the side of the page.

The more I think about it the more trouble I am having expressing exactly why it is I liked this series so much. If I had to sum it up it was mostly because I loved both of the main characters and I was always very happy to see things work out for them. The story just sort of felt personal to me and I was able to get very involved and relate to the story, feel for the characters and I felt really immersed and captivated by this not-so-simple-simple-love-story.

Simply put, Ashita no Joe is nothing short of a timeless masterpiece of a manga. This really is likely to be one of the greatest manga creations that has ever been created as well as one of the greatest that will ever be created. In every single medium, whether it be in literature, film or anything else for that matter, there are a select few creations that manage to transcend the media in and off itself and become something truly epic, truly beautiful and truly classic. Ashita no Joe manages to pull of this staggering feat. It manages to go far beyond being just another ... inspirational story about one scrappy young lad's rise to the top of his particular sport. Ashita no Joe is a grand story about the entire life of it's main character, poignantly detailing all of the excruciating pain and suffering, expressing every thought and every action with moving and genuinely emotional realism. It is for this reason that anyone with even a modicum of admiration to the thing that we call manga owes it to themselves to check out this series at one point or another.

It wouldn't exactly be wrong to say that the story of Ashita no Joe starts out in a fairly cliche way. The protagonist of this sports manga starts life as some no name punk who wanders around the streets as he has no place to belong but then that all changes when he comes across Danpei Tange who is a failed boxing coach turned drunkard who spots Joe's innate boxing talent and proclaims that with his training Joe's fists will someday conquer the boxing world. While this may sound similar to things you may have seen in other series it must be remembered that Ashita no Joe is one of the pioneers for the genre and that most of those other series are actually just inspired in one way or another by this series.

This being a sporting based series the plot has that tendency to progress in a very predictable manner. There's a fight announced, a rivalry develops, the two rivals finally square of in the ring and after the fight ends the cycle begins once more, but I would just like to say that the plot in the series is really anything but conventional. There are many unexpected plot twists and I can guarantee that certain events in this story will simply leave your mouth agape and you'll find yourself nearly paralyzed by the shock of what you've just read, yes really, things really are that intense in this manga.

Unlike many other manga series that come under the category of sports, Ashita no Joe is not exactly a cheerful or uplifting series. At points it's very brooding, the atmosphere is dark and serious and often sombre and melancholic. This series takes itself seriously and the story of Ashita no Joe is a very serious one. The heavy tone of this series separates it from others and is very important in getting across the importance of the story and the severity of life as a boxer as well as life in general.

While structurally speaking the story of Ashita no Joe may be described as being simplistic the delivery of said story is terrific, the plot is rock solid, the interactions between characters is deep, insightful and meaningful and the progression of the story is without a single flaw. But what I really think sets Ashita no Joe apart from other similar series is how the writer's message transcends the sport of boxing entirely. This is a story about one man's life and his struggles and this is what makes the core of the story and it's the messages that can be found within that makes this story nothing short of masterful.

Moving on to the thing that connects everything and brings the story to life for the readers; the characters. The characters in Ashita no Joe are spectacular to say the least. Let's begin with the main character, the wild brawler Joe Yabuki. Joe starts life as little more than a piece of human garbage drifting through the slums of Tokyo. Nothing but a wretched orphan that cares for nothing but himself, a prankster that gets his kicks from making the lives of those around him a misery, a rebel that goes against everything that modern society stands for. A directionless punk with no prospects, Joe would have simply wasted away if it wasn't for the interference of the stubborn Tange who would do literally anything within his power to turn Joe into a boxer. Joe's life as a street punk eventually comes to an end when his actions finally catch up to him and he's thrown into juvie. Within the confined space Joe's only salvation was the boxing training he received from Tange that kept him going.

Joe's passion for boxing was then finally ignited once and for all once he met his greatest rival, Rikiishi. Riikishi, while also spending time in the correctional facility was the complete opposite of Joe. He was a fine upstanding man that was destined to become a great boxer. And well it's at this point that you could say the story really starts. From this point Joe Yabuki, the wild beast that defies the very logic of the world of boxing begins to charge forward recklessly, never letting anyone interfere, never letting anyone stand in his way, never once compromising, never going against his principles as a man, even if it would lead to his own destruction, Joe lashes out against his opponent who stands on the other side of the ring.

There are many characters in this series that I'd like to talk about in depth but I feel as though I shouldn't because I feel like I'd be spoiling things for those who've yet to read the series, so I'm just going to tell you flat, the cast of characters in this series are magnificent and are one of the many, many things that make the series so great.

Now, I suppose many people who are thinking about reading this are probably being put off because it's too old and the artwork may not be up to the standard of more modern series. But frankly speaking the artwork is great. Granted the designs of the characters are outdated but the actual level of expression in the faces surpasses many modern series and also the level of detail put into the background goes far beyond most anything you see these days. Also the fight scenes are all brilliant to read. While initially the artwork may be a tad polarizing, all you need to do is get accustomed to it, so just give it a chance.

The enjoyment factor in this series is a little difficult to sum up. This story is very heavy and it doesn't hold any punches. At times it is very emotive and at times you'll just feel bad and depressed once you finished a volume but that is really the strongest point of the series. It never set out to be a happy story in the first place. It's an emotive story that will take you on an emotional rollercoaster ride. And it's exactly because of the nature of this story that it is just so much more impactful than damn near anything I've ever read.

So if you are still wondering whether or not you should read Ashita no Joe then let me just say yes definitely. I mean don't even finish this review, just go read it right now. If you're worried about not having enough knowledge about boxing then that really isn't a problem. Personally I only watch boxing a couple of times a year. I'm definitely no expert and yet I had no difficulty with this series.

I am writing this review simply because there was only one review which means that no matter how bad this review is it will still end up being the second most helpful.

Set in an alternate universe from previous parts as a result of the events at the end of Stone Ocean, Steal Ball Run is probably the apex of the massive Jojo's Bizzare Adventure franchise, which is no small statement. Araki has once again recycled and improved upon his formula for making terrifically bizarre adventures.

The premise for Steel Ball Run like many of the other parts of the JJBA series is fairly simple and straightforward ... yet manages to go so far beyond the limits in depth and development of such a simple story. Essentially the story is about a cross-continental horse race across America with a prize of $50 million. There are many wacky and wonderful characters who enter this race ranging from a native american trying to save his village to a man who entered the race because he got a good fortune from a creepy fortune teller.

Moving onto the two main characters of Steel Ball Run. We have Johnny Joestar the titular Jojo of the series and Gyro Zeppeli. In his youth Johnny was a promising horse jockey until he was shot and paralyzed which resulted in him being unable to compete, he also lost all his fame and his father's love as well. It's at this point Johnny encounters the flamboyant Gyro Zeppeli who Johnny believes holds the ability to restore his ability to walk, with nothing to lose Johnny pursues Gyro. Gyro whilst reluctant at first allows Johnny to race alongside him in the Steel Ball Run. Araki decided only to have two central characters in this part as opposed to previous parts such as Stardust Crusaders and Vento Aureo which results in both characters receiving brilliant development over the course of the series, this is hands down the best bromance in anime and manga. There are still many notable side characters present and they still play an important role in the plot, we have a magnificent cameo performance from previous villain Dio Brando in the form of the suave ladies man Diego Brando who is willing to do anything to achieve his ambitions. As well as the mysterious Hot Pants who provided one of the most shocking twists in the entire series.

We then have the antagonist of the story Funny Valentine (named after the song 'My funny valentine' by Chet Baker) who happens to be the President of the United States and is the one secretly pulling the strings behind the scenes of the Steel Ball Run for his own nefarious means. Valentine manages to set himself apart from the other villains in the series and even manages to surpass his counterparts which is very impressive considering JJBA arguably has some of the best villains in any series. He manages to combine his strong philosophical and political views with perhaps the coolest ability of all time to become a truly great villain.

Once more Araki's artistic style has evolved further, his eccentric character designs have been brushed up to the point of perfection. Since the series moved from Weekly Shounen Jump to Ultra Jump which has monthly release the length of the chapters has lengthened, as well as the quality of the backgrounds and landscapes which vary greatly across the massive continent of America from vast desserts to frozen wastelands which are all captured beautifully.

The Stand fighting system is back once more, but has been refined further. Araki once again provides the reader with a banquet of fabulous powers and intelligent fights that other fighting series could only wish for. A special mention to Diego Brando's 'Scary Monsters' because well it is awesome.

Araki has really outdone himself this time. He has truly created one of the most exciting and memorable manga series of all time with Steel Ball Run, I have no idea how he plans to top himself with Jojolion but he has set the bar pretty damn high for himself and every other shounen author out there.

I highly recommend this series to anyone looking for a fantastic series filled with intelligent and innovative fights, brilliantly developed characters who are genuinely relatable and for anyone who wants to read a series with horse races in it. If you are interested in reading Steel Ball Run you can probably get away with not reading the entire series from parts 1-6 but I would strongly advise you to check out the entire series as you would be missing out on a lot of greatness, at any rate you should at the very least watch the 2012 series as there are a few overlapping themes and characters which you should be aware of.

Story=8.7
Art=9.1
Characters=9.5
Enjoyment=10
Overall=9.4