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Jun 20, 2025
GTO is an epic manga, but you know Shonan Junai Gumi is just as good. Rather than follow Onizuka as a Great Teacher, we see Onizuka as a punk, a high schooler who hangs out with his pal Ryuji. Both of these characters are great, though the series does loose a step at a few points when Ryuji grows up a bit.
That being said, Onizuka and Ryuji, and honestly many characters are mega pervs... and oddly it works here. Onizuka hitting on a teacher, is different then Onizuka AS a teacher hitting on students. I think it's clear why.
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Some story lines are a bit out there (Ayumi), and yet I also love them.
The one thing is this is just a comedy/street punks manga. While there's a decent amount of fighting, it's more done for dramatic reasons, and most of the fights are ... I was going to say ok, but truthfully they're bad. Onizuka gets hit, bleeding badly. He somehow gets up and beats the other guy with a few punches. Unlike Fist of the North Star where it's because Kenshiro knows ultimate martial arts. Onizuka, Ryuji and most of the rest of the characters are just strong because the story is that they're strong.
Basically I'm saying if you want some fighting manga, go elsewhere, ther'es Kinnikuman, Fist of the North Star, Hajime no Ippo, and Baki all just waiting for you. The combat here is serviceable most of the time, but it's not what this manga is designed for. This is a comedy with heavy dramatic elements.
And you know what? That's exactly what I came for.
Basically this is GTO, but with a more acceptable versions of pervy behavior... And honestly, GTO was still just as enjoyable as it is., so this is just that much better.
If you haven't read GTO, start with this one it was written first, and deserves a read. Then you can graduate to GTO, which is also epic as stated
I honestly forgot to write a review for this, and it's been a couple months, so that's what you get
Love this one, 8/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Feb 26, 2025
Maybe I'm a simple guy, but I've rather enjoyed Kakegurui, and just ate this series up.
Allow me to post my new and updated rubric when it comes to gambling Manga, that'll help you understand what I like and what I don't care about.
A. Are there interesting games? This is the most basic request, but essentially the bets have to be on SOMETHING interesting. Most of the gambling manga's end up going to a Rock Paper Scissors game, such as Kakegurui. But then use a twist on it (limited of each choice, random selection, poker). And in
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fact Kakegurui does that twice, but both times they feel like there's a good "game".
B. Is there a variety of games? I liked Gamble Fish but honestly there was a bit too much Mahjong. Tobaku Datenroku Kaiji was a great manga, but 131 chapters on a SINGLE game? Jesus. (though that one was still good.) So really I want to see differing bets and games. Returning to the same theme once in a while and switching it up is a good thing, but I prefer a varity of games versus one game.
C. Does the manga move "quickly"? Again Kaiji is the counter argument to this (and they do excellent there) but sitting in a single game for 10+ chapters only works if the game keeps deepening. Liar's Game handles this well, where a long game keeps evolving.
So how does Kakegurui score? Well the games are extremely interesting, I enjoyed almost every single one. There's a LARGE variety of games, I mentioned the Rock Paper Scissors variants, but there's also a game where the question is who removes their finger first while cutting wires connected to a guillotine. As well various classic styles. They're all interesting games. However there has not been a Mahjong game which I have to admit is quite refreshing for a Japanese Manga.
And as for the quickly metric.. well, yes it does, but I think a big piece of that is the meaty chapters, there's about 40 pages per chapter, which is great, when coming from a bunch of Shonen manga which barely hit 15 pages. But there's always a new game around the corner, and usually a new interesting character....
Which I haven't mentioned for a good reason. Characters in Gambling mangas aren't that important. I look for a reason for people to gamble and in this case the characters give that. There's a large plot element about how the school is set up to gamble, ok check the box, and get gambling.
Admitedly, the characters are ... mixed. Yumeko has become a great character... 100 chapters after the beginning of the manga. I get why people call out her development because there hasn't been any, she's just the gambling personification, and that works, but it's not going to get too much praise.
Most of the other characters are a little simple, and I think that's intentional, because rather than focus on the character development, the focus is on the games and gambling. A few characters have clear traits. One gambling loves dangerous games with risk to their lives, a number of characters have a larger story arc between them (much later in the series, around chapter 60) but for the most part this is all done in service to one thing... gambling.
And ... that's why I enjoy Kakegurui, because I read it for the games. As long as character A and character B have a reason to gamble and are doing it with something interesting , I don't care. Kakegurui delivers on that.
PS. Also love the fact that the main character doesn't always win. There might be reasons she loses, but overall I'm glad to see a manga that allows the main characters to have the ability to both win and lose.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Feb 9, 2025
I ran into GTO the first time when I was a young man in the late 90s and 2000, and it became one of my favorite series, it was funny, and had a great main character. Basically everything about this series as enjoyable.
And then in 2024, I started reading GTO again. Oh boy.
Now listen, I have often defended art of all forms to say that looking at stuff in a 2024-2025 view is relatively incorrect. You can dislike something that doesn't fit with the morals of today, but to not acknowledge that people's opinions have changed and it
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was acceptable at one time is disingenuous.
However I think we start here.... A major story in the start of this manga is Eikichi Onizuka decides to become a teacher because a High school student he helps out goes running back to the old and unattractive teacher that apparently she was living with, and possibly her current teacher. That could be over looked. Admittedly Onizuka is getting into teaching for the wrong reasons, but consenting adults and all that.
Only problem is Onizuka then gets put in charge of a Middle school... a middle school where he at a number of time decides to talk about waiting until they are "18" in just "four years"... Now none of these are directly related to a specific student (At least most of the time) .. But Egads....
Admittedly by the second half of the manga, Onizuka really doesn't seem to have these thoughts, but a number of other characters around him do and while they're not intended to be heroic protaganists, it's still damn creepy. Plus, a number of sexual situations are discussed, shown, and even a few times the girls in Onizuka's class show or distribute their panties (mostly to Onizuka)... so... yeah.
And yet this isn't the reason I have Mixed Feelings, and if you think I hate this manga, my final Rating will definitely surprise you.
With that huge potential negative out of the way, I can now say that I still found GTO to be one of the funniest, and cleverest mangas. Onizuka as a character may be a creep, but he's a lovable one. He's one who almost always will do the right thing whether he wants to or not, and has a really solid moral compass, at least most of the time. He finds himself, or places himself into horrible situations, and will always find a way to succeed.
He usually does this and yet still gets a laugh out of me, not a thought that something is clever, or a little chuckle, but a solid laugh, and this is not the first time I've read this manga, and it's still remains funny all the way through. That's not something I can even think of another manga that delivers that reliably.
The characters are interesting in GTO as well, and much of the book is about Onizuka having to win over someone who disagrees with his teaching, or just hates teaches on a base level, but each challenge is solved in a different way, and so many of them are done with a level of humor. There's rarely a deep heart felt moment, without some humor surrounding it. Readers also won't be able to guess how a number of these complex relationships work out because ... well Onizuka is something special.
But I will say that GTO is not a beginner friendly Manga, there's a lot in GTO that is "Japanese Culture" or even other mangas. Early on Onizuka wears a ton of different costumes or makes references to other mangas or animes. And while these might not be required knowledge, most of what makes GTO great is knowing the in-jokes and references. Knowing why X is said, and that's the one problem.
I love GTO because I grew up and read a bunch of 90s manga, I know most of the references because that's what is popular then. But in 2025, a lot of these references might be lost. If you focused on modern manga, enjoy yourself. But if you do venture back into classic series and classic anime, well GTO might work for you.
But then again, I will say you are going to have to push through a bit of questionable content still. It's never bad, but the story can be dark, have complex (dirty old men) characters, and even strange moments, but this could be nostalgia but 20 years after it's published I still find this to be one of the funniest mangas, I have read, and that's something I can't deny. It's an excellent manga, but that's a complicated meaning of excellent as well.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Dec 30, 2024
So I guess Kaiji is just a horrible person. But that makes him an interesting character.
This is the third series, and once again Kaiji is penniless and yet roped in a major high stakes game, which he will struggle to get out of.
What's different this time around is Tobaku Datenroku Kaiji focuses on a single game, rather than a series. It's impressive that for 131 chapters, this manga focuses on only a single game, and in fact a single day. Kaiji runs into his old friends who tell him about a underground casino owner who likes to
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play large scale games, and cheats to ensure he wins, but with his friends Kaiji can beat him and earn a massive payday.
This leads Kaiji to start playing "17 steps" or "Minefield Mahjong" and yes, that means this manga is heavily focused on "Mahjong" Though a reader doesn't necessarily need to understand Mahjong to really get a good feeling for this manga, there's a lot of Mahjong terminology and focus that will probably enhance the experience.
Personally I'm not familiar enough with Mahjong but this manga did get me closer to that understanding and like I mentioned it works with out that full understanding as this is a specialized game.
The story here is oddly compelling considering the game, but also since it only focuses on a single gamble and a single night, it's surprising how well the entire manga flows and keeps ramping up the tension until it's almost out of control, and yet finds ways to really push the envelope even when the reader thinks it's over.
It's a very solid series, and in fact I think I might even say this is the best Kaiji manga yet, though I do think the others gave a more diverse set of games (you know... more than one game). Still I'm glad I read this one, and I'm probably going to be continuing this series as I'm curious where this will go next.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Dec 30, 2024
I picked this up because I enjoyed Liar's Game, and found an even better Manga here.
One Outs is about a pitcher, Tokuchi who plays a game of "One Outs" to gamble. If he gets an out he wins, and if the player can get a hit, the player wins. This is where the manga starts. It's an interesting premise, but before long Tokuchi is pulled into the major leagues through a situation and gets a unique contract.
Tokuchi is a gambler, so the contract he proposes is that he earns money for every out he gets, and every run he gives
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up takes a decent chunk of money. The owner of the team being a gambler sees a major win if Tokuchi so he quickly agrees to the contract and that's pretty much the premise.
Tokuchi is set up in situations where the owner expects him to fail, and Tokuchi will work on solutions that will avoid losing too much. Admittedly Tokuchi is not perfect, and doesn't always win, but that's part of what makes this more interesting than a perfect gambler who can't lose.
In addition, Tokuchi isn't a typical protagonist. He's not necessarily a "good person", usually tricking people even his own team at times. But having a morally grey protagonist only makes the series more interesting because the reader is often left out of the major plans until it's revealed, though that definitely makes it a more exciting experience.
And of course there's a decent progression to the series, while the main contract could get stale, both Tokuchi and the owner work to modify it which only changes the rules and makes it more interesting as the stakes tend to go higher and higher.
I will mention, the series does end on a very solid note, and I enjoyed this manga from the first chapter until the final chapter. Like I said, I enjoyed Liar's Game (it's ending is a bit more muddled) But One Out is an excellent manga, with a lot of potential that pays off. I'd easily recommend this one.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Dec 30, 2024
Just a short review for this one.
I love Initial D, I really enjoy MF Ghost.
The main character is weaker, there's not as much development there, he just is an incredible driver, who was trained by Takumi from the original series.
The real "character" that gets developed is the car, that needs to get overhauled and built up for each race. The races themselves are also a very interesting character and the combination of the car versus the race, versus the other driver really gets me going, and has me excited for this series, and finding out how it all
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ends up, which I think is coming soon (chapter 260-ish currently)
The other racers though do have development but overall most are forgettable, with the exception of a brother and sister pair and the top racers.
There's a romance story that I think works a bit better than Initial D but a decent amount of does feel like filler I will likely skip next time.
The series does constantly bring back characters from the Initial D and... yeah I feel like this butchered almost all of them. Especially Ryosuke, especially in that the drawing style is so different.
Still I'm hyped for the ending, even if the main character is "perfect" from the start, the racers are intense, and the fact that a 86 ( GT86) is competing with hyper cars is a little insane, but there's also some plot reasons that make it more possible than you would expect.
Also I will call out that the main character doesn't "win every race", but... well read it and you'll understand it's not like Initial D where Takumi couldn't lose, but rather where our main character shows off his skill.
If you liked Initial D, read it, but don't expect it to be AS good as Initial D, though it is in the same ballpark.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Dec 30, 2024
What if Superman was real, not just a comic book hero, but a hero who actually was THAT powerful?
One-Punch man is a super hero who can defeat any enemy with One Punch. That sounds like a very boring idea for an action manga, and truthfully it is. However One-Punch Man isn't necessarily a pure action manga, it's much more of a comedy affair.
Our main character (Saitama as I'll call him, as it's his name) is actually One Punch Man, and I don't feel it's a spoiler to say, he lives up to that name. In that I
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mean the manga doesn't betray his power. He literally can beat any enemy with a single punch. But everything about Saitama makes this a compelling story. He's a character who got strong by doing "100 pushup, 100 situps, 100 100 squats, and running 10km every day". This sounds stupid... because it is stupid, but that's what what makes One Punch Man work. At first you might wonder if Saitama lies about that training regiment but I think the truth is, he's being honest, he doesn't have a clue why he's so strong, that's just his path.
And what truly makes Saitama an interesting hero is he is looking to grow stronger, but the only way he knows how to do that is to fighter stronger enemies. However if he can beat every enemy in one punch, then there's no struggle. And again, he doesn't betray his power, by forcing himself to use head butts, or kicks or anything else. He's fully strong in every way, it's just he wants a challenge.
One part that really develops the series is that for most of the first and second major arcs, Saitama joins a hero association but because of poor testing he starts as a "C tier" hero. However the other heroes in the group from C to the S tier are utterly fascinating, and a bit silly. We have "Tanktop Man", a guy who uses the power of tanktops, he's an A tier, We have magicians who are also in A tier. There's a woman who runs an entire organization that has a stranglehold on the B tier, and then we have "Metal bat", a guy who wields a metal bat, and that's literally his power. He's an S tier, the highest of the high.
And those other characters will struggle with opponents, in fact a major portion of the manga has been a all out battle, where all the hero association is involved. Which means even though Saitama is made into a person who can't lose... The other characters deliver a lot of drama, and while Saitama could win any battle, he's not omnipresence, he needs to find enemies to fight, which means he can be involved in the large scale scenes, with out completely invalidating the battle just by standing on the field. (Even though he kind of does).
The thing is I don't really have major complaints, this is a funny series, interesting characters, my only real problem is there needs to be more chapters, because I'm really interesting in this universe and world. It has the interesting characters of MHA, but also each hero here is designed to actually fight evil, and then a world that gives them interesting and unique opportunities to do so.
As such I'm giving this a 10/10 rating, this likely will drop eventually, but ultimately One Punch man is fully satisfying and it's a manga that I can see going on for a very long time, mostly due to how interesting and humorous the writing is.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Dec 30, 2024
IF you want to see more of the My Hero Academia (Boku no Hero Academia) world. This is a good manga, but it's good, it's fine, it's ok.
Much of my problem with the original manga exist here, but also of course it does, it's trying to be the same thing. You have an older mentor, you have a love interest, you have a kid learning how to be a "hero" (in this case a vigilante).
But that's also a bit of a problem because as a vigilante, the main character doesn't really feel like someone who is constantly hiding their actions.
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Even when we see real heroes, they rarely try to stop the main character. Heck, let's put it this way, because of the Sparring and tests, Deku easily fights more heroes than our main character in this manga.
In addition this is set before the beginning of MHA, which means every great hero even those who might not survive MHA, will have a chance to appear here, so you do get to see All Might in his prime, you get to see who Erasure Head was before he joined the school and all.
But like I said, there's a lot of the same problems. This does have a good first two arcs, but once again the final boss... just takes too long. In this there's a more focused final encounter, but it does feel like it just keeps going on and on and on and ... it's a good battle at times, but it's tiresome.
I honestly don't know what else to say, it's a weaker series than MHA, but not significantly so. If you really want more MHA this does a great and interesting job, but... ehh I probably could have skipped this one as well. It's "Fine". Yeah that's a perfect word for it. "Fine"
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Dec 30, 2024
Sadly I forgot to write or review this series when I first read it so I must go off of memory. But also I really enjoyed this one and I think there's an interesting part to this series.
I try not to address other reviews, but I want to point out an important point, most of the not recommended reviews on this manga have not ready the entire series. It's acceptable to stop a manga at any point if you don't like. It's also acceptable to NOT like this manga, just as I don't like everything other people love. But
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I think it's important to state that my feeling on this series changed significantly in the last 10 chapters or so. With out spoiling anything, I would say that personally I'd probably rate this around a 6 or a 7 before that point, and give a 8-9 now.
So the entire series starts with a "Tomodachi game" basically can you trust your friends. That's at least where the manga starts, but Tomodachi Game's strongest part is that it's not afraid to change it's story or experience. While the game starts with "Do you trust your friends" there a lot of intrigue added into there, including if and who betrayed the group. It's rather brilliant with it's progression, and how the games change.
However by the end of the book, there's new grouping and mixtures of parties involved, and each one actually adds a new wrinkle in the discussion of "trust". In addition the games being played start with interesting ideas (though a bit outlandish, most of them making me wonder how did they do all of this secretly). But the later games are much more psychological and those really elevate the strategy and thought that the main characters have to put in.
The biggest thing though, is the main character. At first he seems like your typical high school protagonist but Yuuchi is perhaps one of the best main characters I've seen in a long time. There's a lot of trauma in his past and rather than just throwing a "Split personality" on him to explain what happen, the manga just owns him as a dark character. In fact for most of the manga, I would say the reader doesn't know if Yuuchi himself is wroth of trust, and that's a brilliant place for the main character. You're not entirely rooting for him, but you also will find it hard to root against him. What drove me on is more to understand Yuuchi.
That might upset people, but I think that's what really drove the score up by two full points. The ending of this manga isn't just good, it is extremely satisfying. Characters make rather important reveals, but they don't betray the context of the previous actions.
I would recommend this series for people want a more morally interesting main character. Yuuchi isn't necessarily dark or light, but the best way to describe it is that while you do question all of Yuuchi's friends in this series, you will also question Yuuchi as much. And that feels unique in a way that makes me recommend this to anyone.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Oct 22, 2024
I guess I caught up to another ongoing manga, and I guess I should say where the manga is right now. Likely this will be my only take on the manga unless it completely goes off the rails
Simply put Chainsaw Man is both extreme and unique. Chainsaw Man takes place in a universe where devils are real and exist. Our main character gains the ability to turn into the Chainsaw Devil.
The idea that the main character can change into a devil with a chainsaw for a face and hands as he wants to fight devils is certainly not one
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I expected. Obviously the chainsaws mean there's going to be a lot of blood, and the certainly is, and it's not only the enemies. The combat is violent, and while sometimes it's a little hard to follow, there's a visceral feel to most of it that works.
In addition, the enemies are interesting and unique. Almost every devil is something you haven't seen before, and each is unique which you want to see how they will fight against Chainsaw Man or any of the other devil hunters.
Chainsaw man is unique in another important way. The Main character Denji is ... trash. And that's intentional. This isn't heroic little Goku who can do no wrong. This is a character who has been abused by the world for his whole life. This is a character whose main goal is to "touch a boob", but clearly has no chance of ever doing it. This is a character who is pathetic in oh so many ways...
And that's the point. Later on in the story Denji wants to be heroic... Like almost every Shonen main characters, but he ONLY wants to be heroic so he can have the girls all over him. He is kind of despicable, and oddly enough that's why he's interesting as a character, because this isn't a grand adventure of a noble knight. This is a character who is fighting through actual devils and actually is one as well.
So Chainsaw Man has interesting enemies, decent action (I wouldn't say "great" but good might fight), and a unique main character. But how's the rest of it.
Well here's the thing, I almost want to give this a "Mixed Feelings" because Chainsaw Man frustrates me a lot. This is a VERY fast pace manga, usually to it's own detriment. It often feels like there's missing chapters or characters who align with each other the last time we see them, end up fighting each other the next. Many characters are developed to be killed off and far more are just killed off like they're a set of toys the author lost interest in entirely too fast.
Many character's motivations are a bit cloudy. With out spoilers this is hard to really explain but it feels like often there could be a couple extra pages just to make it clear what the character motivations are. There's points where a character appears to be in alliance with others and then attacks them a little later. This SHOULD be treated as a huge betrayal but the manga just accept it and keeps it going. Some characters get entirely too much motivation, but their whole purpose in the plot story can be a fraction of the backstory.
But perhaps the most frustrating part is a common issue with Shonen manga. There's three simple questions.
* What is your ability?
* What is your limitations?
* What is your power level?
And the fact is Chainsaw man doesn't seem to want to even address that... even when they do. They make a point of saying when a Devil is feared they get more powerful but if people like the devil it weakens it. With Chainsaw Devil being a hero for much of the manga (or doing heroic looking actions). You'd assume this would come into play, but it's never shown, only told to the audience that this is happening. Chainsaw Devil is usually just the Chainsaw Devil.
Other enemies are often shown have some undefined ability and killed with out much more than a few panels of combat, no intro, just death. Even Chainsaw Man/Devil seems to be able to be destroyed, at least taking heavy damage often but it's easily healed up as well.
The fact we don't understand the exact power levels, characters, or limitations we are playing with ultimately makes much of Chainsaw man feel a bit hollow.
Yet, I can't say I am ready to put it down. The combat might not be the most interesting due to the power issues, and the writing can be a little obfuscated at times, but overall... the characters (especially despicable Denji), the story (For what you get) and the concepts at play here will keep me reading a little farther, likely as long as the manga is being produced.
Like I said, this is a little closer to Mixed Reactions than it should be but, I'd recommend people give it a shot. At least see a main character who is INTERESTING rather than just being a stock Main Character that you get from every manga.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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