Staying relevant in weekly Shonen Jump is quite the endeavor. Unless you are One Piece or HunterXHunter, one boring chapter leads to your series being canceled. Some series do this better than others, having only a few splits of boring chapters, or integrating the flashbacks every other chapter instead of straight chapters, but Chainsaw man is the quintessential Shonen Jump show. There is not one boring or slow chapter. Things have to happen in each chapter, regardless of if it makes sense or not.
Story 8/10
Chainsaw man is one of those stories that manages to not have a main story or endpoint but stays incredibly engaging
...
throughout. Plot points come in and out, and there are missions that happen from time to time, but there seems to be no overarching narrative that lasts more than one arc. Stranger still, it seems to maintain a flowing story, rather than episodic missions. Merging with a Chainsaw Devil by accident, our main character explores the world and the life of being a Devil Hunter including dangerous enemies. The in-betweens of missions are short, and the story builds on itself organically, the author not knowing of the word “exposition dump.” It’s a character-based tale, obvious to how amazing the characters are, but despite that, the story is really solid.
If there was a main focus, it would be in the de-evolution and re-evolution of our main character. We follow him and his journey of what it means to be human, and what it means to be a devil. These topics are handled more frequently in the beginning and the end, however, this theme hangs throughout the whole show, as there seems to be not one villain. Just antagonists. The main character is quite dense, but not the annoying dense. Born and living in the boonies, where he experienced nothing but torture, and darkness, he explores what feelings and humanity, as well as what it means to be a monster.
The whole story feels like a ride, as each event flows quickly into the other. There are definitely pacing issues that happen along the way, quite often, things happening way too fast to comprehend. These chapters are like full arcs packed into two chapters, and are often confusing, but few in number. The whole story was clearly planned from beginning to end and was build-up to the last arc. Despite being incredibly engaging throughout, there are HUGE pacing issues that happen in some chapters, that cause you to have to read and re-read the chapter, and the ones surrounding it, plenty of times.
Art 8/10
One thing that becomes apparent as the manga continues, is that every attribute of this manga is polar opposites. This is most seen in the art which flip flips constantly.The fights, and the base character designs, for the most part, are fantastic, struggling against its shonen roots, and aiming toward the seinin side of things. The fights are raw and savage, and the characters have fun and unique abilities. The author puts his all in the designs of the Devils, and their fights. However, when it’s not a fight, things change.
The artist is like an amateur artist, who tried to imitate the complex designs things have while remaining relatively simplistic. While in some panels it works, in other panels, it looks disfigured, and the art is hard to make out. The manga art isn’t the bad that old manga from the early 2000s have, but more panels that are hard to make out sometimes.
Characters 8/10
Probably one of the best parts of Chainsaw man, was its characters and their interactions. The humor was gold, their developments were amazing, and as a group fit perfectly in the series of Chainsaw man.
Denji, the main character, is possibly one of the best and realistic teen main characters ever, feeling similar to Kei Kurono from Gantz. This savage grew up in the boonies and hasn’t had any formal education of any sort, acting without any regard to rules, or to his image. Every part of the city and life there is a new adventure for him, and he is the vulgar, rude, and brash main character that you would expect from his upbringing, but at the same time only comes off as endearing. He slowly develops throughout the whole story, and his character arc is like a miniature, but well-thought-out Kei Kurono. His constant development makes his such a great foil to the villain, who is one of the best ones I have encountered.
The rest of the cast is developed amazingly. The story has no large plot reigning over it, and to compensate it has great characters to fill in the void. With little flashbacks and more actions, the story uses dialogue and interaction to make these characters develop. The good ones shine hard, and even ones that appear for half a chapter are fleshed out. Characters are given time and moments to spotlight despite the show being about Denji. The only problem, the bad characters also shine hard, as they stay annoying and 2 dimensional. There are about 3 characters that will make you grit your teeth out. But thankfully they don’t stay in relevance for long.
Also as the show starts off a slapstick comedy to counter its slow beginning, their characters and their interactions are some of the most humorous I have ever seen. The main trio and their interactions are constantly hilarious, the laugh-out-loud type, almost every quote from them is gold. Their characters are unforgettable, and fully fleshed out, where they are amazing and have some of the funniest dialogue. Their conversations and arguments are like when 4 and 5 years olds argue, and their mentor Hayakawa acts more like a parent when they argue
Enjoyment 8/10
Looking on the surface level, and on pure hype factor, the story delivers, its fights well thought out and planned. The moments are epic and there are plenty of creepy parts of the show. But looking on the deep level, it also works quite well, as it tells a deep story. While reading each chapter it was easily an 8, and kept a level of quality throughout. It works as deep, but also as dumb fun. If there is one thing that does not give you enjoyment, it is the weird pacing issues that take place in two area. While they don’t mess up the story, they do make it weird.
Overall 8/10
You won’t regret reading it. Also, don’t be that one Makima stan.
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Jun 11, 2021
Chainsaw Man
(Manga)
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Recommended
Staying relevant in weekly Shonen Jump is quite the endeavor. Unless you are One Piece or HunterXHunter, one boring chapter leads to your series being canceled. Some series do this better than others, having only a few splits of boring chapters, or integrating the flashbacks every other chapter instead of straight chapters, but Chainsaw man is the quintessential Shonen Jump show. There is not one boring or slow chapter. Things have to happen in each chapter, regardless of if it makes sense or not.
Story 8/10 Chainsaw man is one of those stories that manages to not have a main story or endpoint but stays incredibly engaging ...
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jun 6, 2021
Sword Art Online: Alicization
(Anime)
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Story 7/10
What drives Sword Art Online Alicization is its new world and its simple goal. Save Alice, and climb the tower, where Kirito might get the chance of escaping or contacting the outside world. It's a relatively simple plot driven by the mechanics of the world, with numerous exposition dumbs. On the first watch, they are hard to get through, but they are subtle foreshadowing and necessary parts, as this time, there are consequences, and more people in the world aside from Kirito. As a whole, the world grows on you, and all the small details build a world, not just backgrounds. The author crams ... stuff about the world whenever he can, in conversations, images, history, and whatever he can. This does cause some questionably slow pacing at points and frustratingly long episodes consisting of only dialogue, trying to convince you that the author isn't making things up. There are a couple of episodes like this, episode 5 as a prime example. It was them talking and trying to explain how the whole impossible circumstances were theoretically possible. The show also likes to take its time with its storytelling, making the story develop as organically as possible. There is a pleasant lack of time skips, as the show skips what would only be boring training and years of them chopping wood. However, this time, the story not only occurs in the virtual world but in the real-life world, as the two storylines slowly converge. What makes the first five episodes more interesting than the following 5 was the mystery(Contrived and see-through as it was) and its simplicity. It was only in the subsequent 5-9 episodes that it fell apart, before slowly re-constructing itself back together in the last arc. If there were to be a complaint with the story itself, it would be the Sword Academy episodes. They had very little to no relevance to the central plot, and all it introduced were two typical SAO villians. I suggest you watch episode 10 despite the warnings and complaints, as it has a scene with Eugio and Alice that can't be missed and are the only redeeming part of the 5 episode arc. But beware of gore and some not Vanilla scenes. Art 8/10 Long Gone are the days of a low-budget SAO, with animation that improves itself each episode. It was a great adaptation of its Light Novel Counterpart and seemed to add more depth than A1 usually does. As it takes place in a world similar to a game but adheres more to them than real world logic, there are a few scenes with light gore. These scenes seem to raise the stakes but also add a sense of reality, that previous seasons lacked Sound 8/10 Not much to say but that Sword Art Online destroyed its sound game again. The OST nailed it and did well elevating its scenes. The sound design itself, Sword strikes, ability sounds, and the regular sounds are halfway through an evolution. It's not the generic sword clash sound or the generic rubble sounds, but more refined and fitting ones. It's near perfect. The Voice Acting was on point and conveyed plenty of emotions. Character 6.5/10 Excluding the terrible and horrible villains that were the Noble Duo, the "Antagonists" and the season's overall characters were quite good. Without the episodic formula and containing a flowing story with long passages of time, this arc's characters were great for what they were trying to do. Kirito, usually the overpowered and harem King, acts more like a boisterous and generally decent protagonist for the season. As most of his annoying traits are boiled down to him being bland, Overpowered, and having a Harem, seeing him without it does wonders for his character. He also does well in a storytelling perspective as he learns about the world, allowing us to learn it through him and being the one unique thing to the world. However, he is quite bland, and what makes his character a lot better is due to Eugio. Eugio acts as Kiritos friend and one saving grace of Alicization for him. Eugio has plenty of small pieces of development that are pretty good, but his bond with Kirito makes Kirito decent and their dynamic more bearable. Their characters are pretty simple but not generic, and there are few things to talk about them, aside from the fact that they just work. While over half of the cast were females, they had minimal feelings for Kirito, making them more bearable. No Harem gets built here, aside from a couple of Generic instances, and they evolve to be more than just living fanservice. The "Antagonists" are all quite decent as well. They are all antagonists not by choice but by the situations that Kirito and Eugio were in. Also, minor spoiler, it helps that the person they come to rescue and the main reason of the show turns out to be the secondary main antagonist from the same group that they were fighting, humanizing them subconsciously. There is a nice mix of antagonists, villains, and opposing forces. The antagonists get small pieces of development that are used in further seasons and can be understood. The Opposing forces get similar amounts of growth and fulfill their role. The villains, on the other hand, are just bad. The two antagonists of the Sword Academy arc, were the Fairy King Overon all over again, but going further and including a gory scene for no reason. They are the representation of what is wrong with Sword Art Online villains. As for the main villain, she just seemed bland. Like the author had built her up, and used her as a plot device for the story, but when it came to her character, didn't know what to add. She isn't terrible by any stretch of the imagination, and she isn't a horrible person, just nothing really. Her fight and her end was definitely a bit weird, pulling the regular SAO Villian power of friendship ending/ruining of all stakes and reason. Kirito did the most Kirito thing and hacked the game(for like the 5th time), and a different character pulled a power of Friendship, but this time with more thematic relevance, and dumb as it was, wasn't too annoying. Enjoyment 7/10 After watching the next season and the last episode, it was clear that this was a setup and nothing but a prelude to the next season. It had parts that dragged and were slow. It set the purpose of introducing the characters' world and place while taking place on a loose storyline. However, it did end interestingly, including so many small details that shine hard on the rewatch. On the first watch, I gave it a 2, and now I give it a 7.Thats not to say that you will hate it on the first watch, but that there are annoying and plenty of boring parts of the show that annoyed me along the way. Just don't drop it on episode 10. It gets better after that. Overall 7/10 It did well with most things it tried. Don't listen to the people who call it the greatest arc or the best that there is. Some parts are the peak of SAO, but there are plenty that are the Biggest downfalls of SAO. I would give it higher for the tier of Waifu that it Alice, but most of her best parts come from the next two seasons. It acts as the best buildup in the series so far and has plently promising aspects.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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May 1, 2021 Recommended Preliminary
(4/11 eps)
86 is everything that a mech anime should be and more. Its roster and quality is absolutely stacked, with Hiroyuki sawano with the music, A1 pictures for the animation, a light novel that is a best seller, a director who worked on Anohana, and a producer who worked on Keijo. Everything it tries it does so well, and in just 4episodes I am convinced that this will be a masterpiece. Its been a while since a military and politically based mecha tale has come out, and this one had brought a fresh new outlook on the genre. So, what can you expect?
The first thing ... that comes to mind that makes this so good, would be its underlying story and themes. Despite being a mecha anime, the focus is really not on the fights, just presenting good animation and short battles and skirmishes. If anything they are just a vehicle for character development and the world, despite being a vital part of the show. We follow the stories of two kinds of people, the lives of the Pretentious and upper-class Alba, and the broken and beaten 86, a people whose sole purpose is to fight. In a tale of society, discrimination, what makes a person, and how we view others, 86 takes strides ahead, and comes in with some of the best writing a show has to offer. Mech shows and military tales depend heavily on its society, causing the show to require good worldbuilding, but this show blows it out of the park. The society and the world that they live in is fascinating, victim not to exposition dumps, or instant knowledge of the whole thing, just slow development and exploration. A constant theme hangs in 86, is the world they live in, and how the two different kinds of people live. Constantly contrasting the lives of the two people, and how they live, and what the war has done to society. Slowly and subliminally bringing in themes of Discrimination and racism, the show is not only a mech show, but one about war, people, and humanity. The Characters in this show are by no means amazing, but the impact they have on the theme, and building these moments, are phenomenal. The two main characters, are of course contrasted heavily, the overly reactive and innocent Alba, and the calm collected and weathered 86. The 86, who pilot these Robots, are treated not even as humans, just pigs who could not evolve, and the main character is that one Alba who views them as people, attempting to humanise them. However things aren’t that simple. The journey that the female lead takes, while simple in premise defiantly is realistic, and deep. Its not simple to erase the hatred of generations just by playing nice. Constant reminders, facts and things are brought up, and shakes her core and ideals, as she sees how discriminatory she is, despite advocating for them losing, and never winning . And while she defiantly does overreact in some moments, it does plenty to show her side of things. The development is not only on her side but the 86, as their squad are all on the same path of hatred, just at different points. Hearing their conversations, dialogue, thoughts, and deep and meaningful words, brings another level as the show dives straight into these themes, having the luxury of delving deep inside these, instead of forced to go into mech fights. And while its not the only selling point of the show, it does an amazing job with. All of these characters have been promised development, and watching the development is a highlight, as the show captures and does it so well. I revealed only a small development that happened, and honestly, the changes that the world and society force on the characters, makes such realistic and believable characters who work extremely well. And the way each episode/ part ends, more development seems obvious, constantly setting these scenarios up both effortlessly and without large exposition dumps or drops in quality. The final thing I want to mention is the amazing Direction, Art, and soundtrack which have become the new standard at A1 pictures. Sawano, who has some fascination with Giant Mechs and Titans, does yet another amazing job with his soundtrack. And bringing a wonderful blend of 2d and 3d animation that blends perfectly and puts Aldnoah.Zero’s animation to shame, A1 easily gives the two categories no choice but to go in 10/10. And similar things can be said with the direction. The direction is honestly amazing, and I encourage you to look closely. While the animation is Sakuya filled, and perfect in every frame, the subtle hints, and contrast simply in frames is crazy. The 86 place always had bright colors, but is full of old and broken things, while the Alba have dull colors but near perfection, always one only mistake in the frame, or out place object. The characters are portrayed differently in each society, the Alba quiet and regal, while the 86 are always free and wild,with a darkness underneath. Messages of the world and the place are hidden in the back of frames, and rarely the center of attention, just small hints about the world. It really stretches the limits of storytelling using animation, and does amazingly with it. I have not read the light novel, however it seems to capture descriptions and backgrounds that the light novel would have described, and more. Of course this has only had 3 episodes and you may think I am overvaluing certain things, but that could be farther than the truth. The story knows where it's going, constantly builds off itself, and does wonders with what it is. If you are looking for a mech or military show with lots of action this is not for you. It's hard to put on words, but it's a show that focuses on its characters and society as the main point, many reflective and quiet scenes. The show is rich with information and interesting concepts, and the world is developed nicely. The story works perfectly and the fights, while short are a blessing to see. Watch it. You wont regret it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Apr 19, 2021
Kubo-san wa Mob wo Yurusanai
(Manga)
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(67/152 chp)
Kubo’san doesn’t leave me be is like taking all the wholesome moments of Takagi, and Komi, and increasing them tenfold. Then adding a shojo art style, amazing art, funny dialogue it really stood out in its genre. Many titles small and big have tried to get into the wholesome and cute, genre, and many fall short or flat. However, after reading a whole bunch that were fun, and were enjoyable in the moment but got boring and repetitive, I found this particular one, and absolutely enjoyed it. Its honestly a masterpiece with what it tries to do, and if you like that genre, you are
...
sure to like this.
Kubo-san doesn’t leave me be brings a freshness like none of the others do. While many others are fun to read and have a blend of the main character being made fun of and the girl always on top with wholesome moments some chapters, this one just seems to be pure innocence and wholesomeness. The story starts off by exposing its gimmick, the one that all of these do, and in this case, it’s the fact that the main character is hard to see. He also has a wish for a good high school life, and that’s when he meets Kubo-san, who is obsessed with finding him, and exploring how invisible he can be. His high school life changes with their encounter, and they begin talking and becoming friends. This gimmick stays central for barely any chapters before the story moves on. Constantly exploring the relationship between the two, it crafts both characters, and sets a simple dynamic that is free enough that despite being recycled like every other harem manga, seems plenty different and not at all dragged out. Each interaction is different and fun and runs along the lines of Kubo-san teaching and showing parts of life that he too can enjoy, as well as the two of them enjoying it. Exploring most of the generic settings that all these Rom-Coms do, it put puts its own twist to it. They use the classroom desks, AND the teacher podium. They use the walk home, AND stores of many kinds. However, the gimmick doesn’t disappear altogether and merely stays in the background and in certain occasions, the show not shoving the gimmick in your face all the time, a big mistake that some of these other ones showcase. Possibly one of the best parts of the manga is the characters, as they are similar but still different to the regular Rom-Coms. The female lead definitely does like the MC, and when she speaks she never hints at it, not knowing it herself, and just loving to spend time with him. Her dialogue and thoughts rarely show it, and her character isn’t a teaser, she guides the Main character and show him stuff about life, and as does he. She seems like she knows everything but quite often she doesn’t and redacts to a cute Chibi form when this happens. The main character definitely doesn’t have too much personalization, however its his dialogue with her that allows him to be so bland, but at the same time interesting. Their conversations feel so colorful and full of life, constantly changing, and never consist of the both of them attempting to confess but failing, doing away with the trope many would others try. Honestly their interactions have a sort of freshness that seems to never get old. Unlike many Harem and these slice of life shows that you enjoy while you read, predict half the things that happen in the chapter before you read it, and force yourself through some chapters, its not the same here. The situations and things they talk about are handled in an extremely quick fashion that does not drag, and often brings something unexpected. The jokes, always evolving never get boring, and always bring laughter. At the time of the review, I have read about 15 titles of this genre in the span of days, and putting each them on hold quite quick, each feeling fun, but nothing motivating me to go on or enjoy it. However, this one caught my attention and has it climbing up my list of favorites. The side characters deviate from the tropes, and are quite fun to watch, and as of chapter 64, they have been enjoyable and constantly bringing new things to the table. This is all caried on the back of the stories pacing and art style. While many manga like We Never Learn, Teasing Master Takagi or Kaguya sama(volumes 12 and after) have amazing art and great pacing, their art constantly does the job. Its scientifically good, but emotionally, it falls flat. Kubo-san falls into ones like Oshi no Ko, that have a very niche and shojo aesthetic that creates a level of submersion and fits the type of manga perfectly. Is a wonder how it is produced weekly, and honestly if the whole thing was planned and created over a year, and then released once a week I would believe it. The art is jaw droppingly good, and everything seems planned and paced well, as it keeps falling in place. Honestly it’s the best in its genre, and if you are looking for a nice wholesome read that will take your mind off the world and bad stuff its amazing for that. 10/10 in its category and a 9 in general, but a solid 8 for me, as it lacks the heartbreaking emotional connection that I strive. As long as you don’t hate the slice of life genre, this is perfect. Story 9/10 Art 9/10 Character 8/10 Enjoyment 9/10 Wholesomeness over 9000/10 Overall 9/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Mar 28, 2021 Not Recommended Funny Spoiler
***THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS***
Steel ball run is another example of why JoJo should have ended in Pt 3. It was easily the worst arc of JoJo, taking place after another good point to stop the show. Containing a mediocre plot, bad stand writing, bad characters, and horrible battles makes me wonder about Araki's credibility and his ability to write two solid parts in a row. Going into Steel Ball Run, I was expecting a good story, but got the typical transcontinental race. Yes, the typical transcontinental race that takes place in any Midwest American set anime. This plot is by no means unique or different, meaning ... that there are a couple of things they can do to make the plot entertaining. One, they can add great characters to balance it out, two, they can add a new element that makes sense and is interesting to it, or three, they can make it so over the top and unbelievable, that it comes off as amazing. What did Part 7 try to do? Every single one of them, but not in the capacity needed. And one other significant change is the change to a seinin, meaning long chapters that either flow greatly or are slower than Polnereff in turtle form. And as you could guess, it was the latter. Now the first problem with this part is the characters, who were insufferable, and impossible to watch without getting annoyed at them. We have Johnny Joestar, who is just annoying, and somehow powers up even more than Goku. Now there are so many problems with him, starting with his personality. Araki likes to make each Joestar different and unique so that the parts are never dull, and I respect that, as it helps each part feel different. But when you disable a person for personality and then forget it, you've gone wrong. Johnny seems to be like Speedwagon, a guy who is there just to react. If you look at his character interactions, he just seems to narrate what happens, while Gyro at least adds something. He acts more as the peanut gallery than a character, as he has to specifically tell us what is happening on screen at all times. And despite this disability, it seems like he doesn't have one. Aside from the first chapter, he just trots on his horse, pretending he isn't. And unlike FMA, where it shows these small scenes that convey how disabled Ed and Al are, it entirely skips over it. In every fight, he somehow lands on the ground and can somehow move around. It's understandable you can drag yourself with your arms, but if you are paralyzed waist down, you don't have a vast range of motion. It is also pretty hard to move around using your hands while shooting fingernail bullets out of the same ones you are using to move. His broken powers didn't help either, as he just becomes more of a Merry Sue. There was no way Johnny mastered those techniques in seconds that Gyro spent his whole life learning. The one bit of character that is forced upon us is the noble, and his somewhat pacifistic tendencies, used as buildup for when he goes “Hard Mode.” This switch and mentality makes no sense, especially if we look at his backstory and how he deals with enemies in fights. It was obviously an allusion to the nobility of Jonathon in PT1, but just does not work. And his final stand was GER all over again, and equally as bad. The 14-year girl married to the 50-year-old balding man was Araki's poor attempt with mystery and suspense. He tries to have both parts happening simultaneously but fails and ruins one of the few real characters. Her being scared is a natural reaction, but there is no way a scared out of her mind 14 year old would decide to infiltrate the people with these magical powers without any of her own. Her character, who was portrayed as innocent and bashful quickly turns into a stealth operative who knows which buttons to press, and which ones not too. Hot pants who was only there a healer, fine to do as l ong as she doesn’t be painted as a complex or main character, but sadly that is the case. She receives a character arc that doesn’t resolve, only mentioned in a stand fight, and literally the reason the fight turned out to be that way. She gets a backstory that starts, never finished, and has a clear goal for her to finish it, but it never does. Jesus, who was literally the crux of the whole part, was left criminally unexplained and showed up in that same fight which Hot Pants created. He appears only there, but never appears again. Remember how this is a race, and they have to name the winners and give them designs. Well, Araki seemed to be lazy, as every single drawn character that was not the main trio, was a villain. That's right; the second problem is the villains, and what's worse, their motivations. It seems like each villain group on each part had some reason to oppose the main characters, aside from the ones in SBR. Despite going in a race that would give them 5Billion dollars, I repeat 5 Billion Dollars, they would rather risk it because a shadowy figure said they would get superpowers. Then they would accept and go to deathmatches so that a new character can take the spot of an opponent when they die. They never questioned that an insane amount of characters kept dying in the race, and didn’t connect the dots in what happened. Unlike part 3, where they had a flesh bud that made them follow DIo, or Part 5, where they were loyal assassins, and members of the Mafia that were contracted to do it, the these people just followed a random guy who they didn’t even know their identity. The villain writing was really slacking in this part, and probably the worst in the series. There is suspension of disbelief, and then there is asking someone to freeze it mid air while in a typhoon larger and rotating faster than Jupitor. The third issue is the combat, which really suffers in this part. Remember how there was Hamon, and Araki discarded it when he said it was a one-trick pony. Remember when he created stands as a replacement and a whole new concept, that would develop interesting fights that had to depend of whit and who could figure out each others stand abilities. Remember how the universe reset would only change the situations people were in, as they were merely transferred to a different world. Well, that shouldn't change stands, but they did anyway. In this part, it didn't seem they had stands but magical abilities. It appeared to be a mix of the old stands and new ones, as some people had magical powers and others straight-up stands. This also further ruined the combat. While the fun of stands were these unique and unknown abilities that they had to decipher and beat, these fights set up just boring fights like Hamon. However, you have to give credit to Araki as he attempts to make it like stand fights.......... and fails. The characters over-explain every action when it is blindingly clear, and the combat isn't necessarily combat, just Gyro and Jonny using the same attack repeatedly. While stand fights didn't need amazing choreography as they were weird unexplainable abilities, Pt 8 has to, as all the main characters do is shoot balls and shoot fingernails. These battles also have to be interesting, as every episodic chapter or set of chapters involved someone attacking them. The characters are bad, the story is boring, so what else do these chapters bring aside from fights? And the stand formula only hurts this part, as even the week's predictable stand with a cool ability, becomes a generic battle lasting five chapters, where we see the same tactic be employed again and again. The fourth issue is the story, which is both slow and pointless. As mentioned earlier, the story is a weak excuse as one, just a way to make it that there are characters nearby and they could look for the corpse. While all these other Jojo parts are looking for a dangerous villain and targeting them, this one is just looking for a corpse. Their whole reasoning for the corpse was the power lust Johnny felt, and nothing else. And because of this, they are perfectly fine with risking their lives for a power rush(as Gyro points out way too many times). The story's pacing was also abysmal, as each chapter was an unrelated fight. Consisting of pointless battles to convince you that it is a seinen, this further slows down the borderline unmoving plot. In each chapter, there had to be a conflict in which they further ruined the part. Rather than have a couple of understandable battles and the other chapters focusing on the race and the characters, it only did battles. If you think about it, the first stage was a race, and then it was completely forgotten, until the last five chapters with Diego, where these background characters suddenly appeared after 80 chapters of no screen time. And Again, while Part 3 and Part 5 had a similar set up, they used their insane fights, and their characters to stay interesting, not mentioning that in each fight they either got close to Egypt(as shown on the map each episode) or they had found another clue or lead against the boss. And finally, the power escalation. Now there comes the point in any show that there has to be a power boost of some sort. There is little tension in a fight where the bad guy is as strong as the Shōnen protagonist in the first episode. And like P5, this is a part where Araki goes overboard, where the somewhat grounded in reality powers, spiral out of control(No pun intended). With Gyro's introduction and their team-up, Araki set up that Gyro would do most of the fighting, and Johnny would help in the background. Gyro had this rotation ability, and Johnny has a weaker version that could back up Gyro. But sadly, he switched it where Johnny got all these versions of Tusk and rotation, WHICH GYRO TAUGHT HIM AND CHOSE NOT TO USE. Johnny was a worse version of Star Platinum, where while it made sense Jotaro was that strong, and had all those powers, it simply didn't for Johnny. He just powered every other chapter, his fingernail bullets constantly alternating between the rotation "natural ability" and a stand. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, while a fun thing to say, was just the author's way of keeping the cash cow alive. They had 15 chapters of in and out fighting, and then Dio again to prolong the part. Unlike all these other parts, which had these three episodes finales of just one constant adrenaline run battle, in which you were on the edge of your seat the whole time, it was fragmented. They clashed at least four separate times, in which they would attack, Valentine escape and killing an ally, the good guys catch up and lose an ally but injure him, valentine heal, and then repeat. Despite having the ability to just hide in a different dimension and wait for a while (as he had all but two corpse pieces), he decides to face them off, mano to mano, where he loses due to plot armor. In Conclusion, Jojo Pt 7 was a hastily put part that copied and pasted too much of Pt5 and Pt3. When he saw people liked the 2D power-ups for bigger explosions and a self insert with a broken ability, Araki decided to do the same in pt7. It got to the point that the only part that felt like Jojo was the copied and pasted parts of Pt 5. Many times while reading this, I would think of this as just a manga, rather than a JoJo part. If you liked the first 3 parts, or the interesting stands that were in the middle three parts, I suggest you stop at Part 6, and save yourself from possibly the worst part in the story. Overall 4/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Feb 21, 2021 Recommended
If there's one thing that Nisekoi has taught me, it's gymnastics. It's taught me that you will receive a high score and appreciation from the spectators as long as you start strong and stick a perfect landing. That then, for the most part, the stumbles and small mistakes made in the middle will be forgotten by the viewers, and you will feel a stronger connection to these characters. If I were to score the series, it would be a 7 or 8 for the first 92 chapters, a 6 or low 7 for the following 84 chapters, and then an 8 with 9s and 10s
...
for the last 40 chapters. I had already been spoiled about the ending, but even still, it was surprise after surprise. Nisekoi's last 40 chapters were a step back, and probably the best way to conclude a Harem Romance series.
What makes Nisekoi stands out from most Harem and Romance series is the heavy plot focus. After a series of repeated attacks, the two Yakuza factions' leaders have their high school children have a political boyfriend-girlfriend relationship. The main couple is forced to "Fake date" as a political marriage, for both the people, and all the Yakuza, with the twist that they hate each other. The story has many phases, the first 30 chapters being the plot-heavy one. It focuses on developing the relationship of the main character and Chitoge, and in their comedy, their fake dates constantly under surveillance. And every 20 or so chapters, a new girl is introduced in a fun and creative way, each holding onto a mysterious key. All these girls seem to have an old key, and Raku is the one with the locket, with a mysterious book that relates all these keys. But then, in chapter 92, the plot ends. In the following 84 chapters, Nisekoi stops all these plot-heavy interactions and mysteries, changing them into episodic encounters. Taking inspiration from JoJo pt.3 each of these have very few plot relevance, but have the strength of building the cast.. Changing from a Romance to a Slice of Life, the characters involved get thrust in situation after situation. In retrospect, these chapters were vital for later development, but upon the first read, they come out as repetitive and milking a series. They each follow a similar formula in which Raku gets forced to help or be alone with one of the girls. They seem to get closer, and they are about to confess someone interrupts, or they get embarrassed and beat up the main character. Maria gets built to be confident in spilling her love to Raku but is slowly getting sicker. Chitoge is starting to enjoy spending time with Raku despite being forced into a fake relationship and starts to think about them more. Onodera stays annoyingly passive and the only kind of cute I consider annoying, as her interactions with the MC just consisted of blushing and annoying pauses. Onodera's sister realizes that Raku is her "prince" and the one she is looking for, but she decided to support her sister's relationship with Raku. His adopted sister, yes you heard right, is the only one who proves to be mature, where she makes active moves despite feeling embarrassed, and "Black Tiger" finds herself in hilarious situation after another with Raku, where each spy invention accidentally happens to them, each more dumb and hilarious than the other. These almost filler chapters build up and make us accustomed to their characters, showing all the characters' relationships. Then the story hits 176, the turning point, and where the story stops being the cliché and an annoying harem story to the emotional rollercoaster. The last 40 chapters are what I was looking for the whole time, as each girl finally became understood and likable. In these harems and slice of life shows, you always wonder how the girls like the main character and how they effortlessly fall in love with them, ignoring the other guys. But here, it makes perfect sense. Taking the overused trope of a backstory and ridding its world Nisekoi makes each of these characters' great parts not from their backstories but the buildup of their characters and their personalities. Using the past 84 chapters of characterizations and showing what each girl was about, the girls were each given some deadline. Whether it was health or work, or some outside force never thought of, a deadline arrived, and during that time, they were forced to confess and be mature. They could no longer hold it back, as it was their last chance, and their love of Raku was then explained. There are 3 confessions, each resonating and build from their characters, revealed in mature and heartbreaking moments their feeling to the main character. What also made these last 40 chapters so good was the main character's change in attitude. As they were now 3rd years and were nearing the time where it would be too late to confess, the main character became self-aware. Instead of being annoyingly dense, he began acknowledging his feelings and acted mature and calm; he didn't blush when speaking to the girls, and he thought of their feelings a lot more. He began observing all the girls that liked him and tried to get close with them, closer than before, while they were still around. He started thinking not about confessing to Onodera, but helping all of them and fulfilling the role he should have done from the beginning. These mature reactions, combined with the newly built and mature conversations between the girls and him, made each confession hit hard and each rejection even harder. This time he understood them, and they understood him. Each confession was created amazingly, and the buildup was done fantastically. Their reactions all felt real, and hit hard, making you root for people you didn’t 30 chapters ago. They each get spotlight time that does amazingly well for its genre. And the final confession was awe inspiring and almost made me tear up. Story 7/10 Art 8/10 Character 9/10 Enjoyment 8/10 Overall 8/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Feb 14, 2021 Not Recommended
The first Re-cap episode I have ever seen... and probably the last recap episode I will ever see.
The Promised Neveland S2 has had nothing but bad reception, as for once, the anime-onlys and manga readers band together to say, "well this sucks." Placed not during a hiatus, or even a timeskip of at least 1 year, this week we got a filler re-cap episode, as if the studio is trying to receive more percentage of filler than Bleach or Naruto. The review episode is what you think, a review episode that holds no weight whatsoever. It simply gives a plot summary with bad cuts and ... recycled animation including both Season 1 and Season 2. That's right, they fit in both seasons somehow, surprising, as we could devote an entire episode to explaining what happened, and the plot about S2. It obviously cut as a way to somehow increase the hype about the latest "reveal" in episode 5, but again fails to deliver. Add some bad CG, a bad narration script, and some good scenes recapped badly, and you have the episode. Honestly a waste of time, as nothing happens, aside from bare basics we learned and knew was going to happen from episode 1. Story- What? Art- Ouch Sound- Meh Character-NO! Enjoyment- How? Overall- Don't watch
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Feb 4, 2021
Yakusoku no Neverland 2nd Season
(Anime)
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Not Recommended Preliminary
(5/11 eps)
This review contains moderate spoilers for the first 3 episodes + shorter review in the last paragraph
The promised neverland returns with a season devoid of any tension, and one full of plot armor. The largest issue with S2 of the Promised Neverland is its pacing. After an intense ending and a first season that was a psychological thriller, the Promised Neverland MANGA switches to more of an exposition and worldbuilding arc, one that takes place over 50 chapters. While not boring, it doesn’t match up to the first arc, as both show has to rebuild the whole world they are currently in, and have slower ... pacing. In theory, this would take place over the entire season, the 11 episodes a lot slower, and focused more on buildup then the first season. However seeing the success and the profit of the first season, Studio Clockwork decided to keep the genres of the first season, despite the second season entailing none of the genres there. The first 23 chapters contain the demons and many important reveals, possible to be contained in 3-4 episodes. However, it is squashed into 1 ½ episodes, which seems only as a plot convenience, not the buildup and setup of the world they live in, their two saviors explored better in the manga. This is followed by a small reveal that is another 27 chapters that build up the next arc, which takes place in less than an episode. They then have the attack on the bunker which doesn’t happen until chapter 98(The show currently on chapter 52, over 40 chapters too soon) and skips over one of the most important arcs in the show which seems to be happening now, the anime jumping back and forth on the linear timeline. The whole season so far has been original, as the studio desperately tries to make it into the thriller it isn't. Now the adaption for the most part isn’t terrible, but definitely lacks the depth and the intrigue of the manga. Omitting more of the pages of the manga than adapted, the adaptation rushes over the integral building blocks and small pieces of development that the manga presents, each vital and interesting parts of the world. The chase scene plays out differently in the manga, showing that the setting is impartial and harms both humans and “demons”. They stay and evade the pursuers for a lot longer, as things like Emma’s fever and the world are slowly shown, rather than forced upon you. Same with the attack. Same with the fish. They take segments of the show that take way to short exploring topics and themes that don't jibe. It forces upon you these themes and the plot, not allowing it to flow fluently. The forest is made into a setting rather than a backdrop of the place, details like the Pen typing in words are original, and it omits some amazing characters who had tragic pasts and futures. Things like the complex history of the divide of the humans and demons is shortened to an offhand remark saying that they are split and the world we so desperately wanted to see now acts as nothing but a backdrop. Cutting and pasting parts from 23 chapters into 2 episodes did not only provide pacing way to fast, but retconned not only the final arc, but two other arcs that happen later on, causing characters to have different motivations, some not even exist (despite being the focus of these arcs), and ruin the characters. Now at this point this is mostly a complaint from a manga reader, but from an anime perspective, this is where it starts to become shaky. What is important to mention is the two demons, the attack on the bunker, and the missing character Yuugo. From the perspective of the anime, the two demons who saved them seemed to not be kind people, demons who were going to eat them but decided not to. They seemed only to be plot devices to allow them to escape from the forest, and get to their destination. However, they are much more important than that. What I am going to say isn’t spoilers, but information that the anime skipped over entirely. These demons seem to follow a religion that makes them not eat meat, separate from all the demons who for some reason HAVE to eat meat. We learn that demons only eat human meat, but there are differing qualities. We learn Grace field farm is one of 4 farms like theirs, and that the rest is low quality meat. It also sets up their characters not as greedy or using them, but kind demons who respect humans for what they are, and not as things to eat(and bringing up the question, why they don’t have to eat human meat). The Vitally important Character of Yuugo is also omitted. Revealed as clinically insane, the kids find him at the bunker holding a gun at them. He is revealed to be an escapee from another farm like theirs and followed William Minerva. However after receiving the phone call that they did, they all went to place, and he was the only one who survived in his group of over 20, leading to 15 years alone reliving the experience of terror in his nightmares. He was the one who wrote “help” all over the wall, and he actually goes with Ray and Emma to the second destination known as Goldie pond. He becomes the main character/focus for a while and is a vital part of the next arc. His character brings up the important point that others have escaped, and that Emma, Ray, and the kids are not special or geniuses, as it has been done before. Its implied that Yuugos group were possibly smarter and other groups had gone there, but they all died. It does a job to showcase that they aren't "the destined ones" or the smartedlst kids ever. His character shows that the world is dangerous and that many people die who escape. Without that, and especially the fact that they have been outsmarting the demons, makes them out to be lesser antagonists, as they hold none of the weight or terror as in the previous season. Iwill refrain from talking about anything past the 4th episode, but things like the attack don’t happen until after they come back over 50 chapters later, where the kids and others live there for a while. We don’t learn things like William Minerva’s name for a lot longer, and the story is extremely riveting, unlike the subpar episodes that aired. Normally I don’t mind when anime omit certain parts or add things, as it helps the product, the mangaka not plotting the whole story in the beginning. But In the promised Neverland, it failed completely, making the manga the only viable option, and unironically worsley adapted than Tokyo ghoul. There are so many little things like the piano that are changed, vital to the story. Underneath the piano was not a tunnel system, but a weapons vault containing hundreds of different weapons. These are also important for the plot later, as well as things that are again omitted. The characters of Emma, Ray and the group, are also cheapened. While they had complex and constantly evolving characters in the first season, they act as 2 dimensional characters having no development. Everything happens too fast for them to develop, their further development lost in the pacing. Emmas scene with the bird has important buildup before, as she just comes off as sad in the anime. She seems to a 2d character who is unrealistically optimistic, and not the genius character who was the source of optimism who was also realistic, constantly developing. Ray seems to be a cynical one as he only asks questions, each non-cannon and leading to the story to have its faster than flash pacing. Again his mostly dark, but sometimes optimist, and smart self holds no shell. Their conversations also lose their clever writing, giving the characters zero development. The author didn't like backstories, so she built them through their writing, but with the anime staff, getting rid of these conversations, it ruins what was built for them, and development that was further to come. Each development that the anime has just comes off as "cringe" as it is blindingly shallow and troped to oblivion. And unlike the first season where the many characters in the group had moments pertaining to their characters that were not plot conveniences, it seems to be backwards here, where literally anything the kids find, and try leads to something new. The amazing antagonist that was Mama already loses her intrigue as her character starts to lose weight in just one interaction. She was nothing more than a regular human, who used her wits and smart mind to outmaneuver and manipulate her foes. While she worked perfectly in the first season, the world is now bigger, and is nothing like the previous place, leaving her character to possibly be destroyed as she chases the children's Even things like the art is ruined in the adaptation. In the manga the demons are portrayed as guttural and creepy, the soft and line filled art style there complementing them. They exude an air of terror, not a random foe for them to run from. However, here they seem to be the typical fantasy monsters, chasing mindlessly behind the people. Unlike the tense pressure you received from the first season, that being of their strength, you feel nothing, as the kids have no trouble outmaneuvering the demons. They also are taken too lightly to be the main antagonist now, as they were nothing but a mindless dog chasing after them. They would fit more with CG like the one in episode 4, however they don’t, the sloppy animators drawing them with simple designs, and using nighttime as an cover to not follow the details that make them look so terrible. Episode 5 was also a failure, as it didn't even try to relate it to the general story or even the last episode that aired. After the giant spider that appeared in episode 4 it immediately cuts to an unrelated scene and a semi time skip, where we have no clue where it was. Without re-cap it skips over to what is presumably a demon town and the area where the kids are yet again running. We have no word what happened to the military people, no word to what happened to the demons that were chasing them, and no word or clarification that is inside the containers. It felt so removed from the narrative of the show, as in each episode, they would appear in a new setting for less then an episode where there is no plot progression. While they are constantly running from people, there has yet to be progression for what they are to do. It has even said that there was a 6 month timeskip in between episode 4 and 5! So far there has been nothing to look forward too as each episode goes the route of: Find new place, relax, bad guys find it, escape, kids surprised expressions at new place. There are hadly any connectors to the first season, and I can't help but see this as a bad side story. Then they do a twist at the end of the 5th episode, ruining the climax of the last sesaon, and now giving all the characters no motivation to continue on their quest. Even the whole subplot that the demons need to save their children is forgotten, as they are brutally killed and forgotten. They were supposed to be pointed out as the righteous evil, and in Emma's character would make some sort of comprise. However they are completely forgotten and the babies are now dead as the parents have no way to go back to them. Its examples of sloppy writing like this, which makes the show feel bad, as it comes off as try-hard shallow, rather than deep. This isn’t a complaint from a Manga reader more so as it is an analysis on the episodes on why they fail in general. Themes are not brought up, the world feels like a backdrop, and the plot moves way to fast. I could probably count the number of chapters adapted on 1 hand, and the amount skipped on more than 10. While I will probably stop watching, the anime is decent, but lacks many important parts. It is paced too fast in general as it seems to force ideas upon, you rather than you figure it out, leaving no depth whatsoever. Now is it watchable as an anime only? Yes. However, it lacks and so far doesn't come close to the first season whatsoever. (Now the anime has decided to go anime original in the following episodes, and that may save the season. It won't hit the highs of what S2 would have been, but it may be able to fix what they just did, and have the next arc back in order, with things possibly fixed. I really hope they fix it) Story 3/10 Art 4/10 Sound 6/10 Characters 3/10 Enjoyment 1/10 Overall 3/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Feb 3, 2021
Solo Leveling
(Manga)
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Recommended Preliminary
(139/201 chp)
Solo leveling was a pretty entertaining and fun read for the first 100 chapters before the main character became an isekai protagonist. The first 50 chapters were a good 8, then the next an average 7, and now it lays at a low 6, the show falling to purely generic instances. Now don't get me wrong, I still read the weekly chapters, but not with the intensity as the previous ones. I'll admit I was considering putting the first season as one of my favorites, as trashy as that is, but the second season was like milking a dead cow and squeezing out content, without
...
the vibrancy or the quality of the first season.
*Season One (Chapters 1-110) With probably one of the most intense beginnings in all of Manga, my thoughts can only immediately go to the story of Solo Leveling. Known worldwide as the “World's weakest hunter”, we follow the tale of the Korean 22 year old and how his life changes. Choosing to become a hunter as a job, he gets the rank of E, and has no powers. However he still goes into gates, portals that open up across the world where monsters reside and dominate, where when the boss is defeated the gate closes. After being left in a particularly dangerous dungeon for dead, with 18 dying before him, an alert box appears in his vision 0.02 seconds before he dies, welcoming him to something mysteriously titled “The system”, saying that he fulfilled the requirements to become a “player”. Call it a generic twist I can agree, but the execution is what makes the manga. We follow the newly re-awakened hunter Sung Jin Woo evolve and grow. Where it is literally impossible for hunters to get stronger, Solo Leveling tells the tale of the one hunter who could get stronger, and all the repercussions that happen because of that allowing for some insane fights and amazing art. One of the things I really liked about the first 100 chapters was the world created. So many Manhwa and power fantasy stories have these generic fantasy worlds, focusing on making the main character stronger, and forgetting all other aspects of the world. However, the Solo Leveling took time to slowly integrate the world, dungeons, and gates throughout the story. Unlike many of these other stories that throw all the information at the beginning and never mention it again, the story gives you just enough in the beginning to make you understand and let you go in blind. The 10 chapter greatness that was the first arc was the perfect setup. It introduced so many things along the way while still having minimal conversation using the first arc's fights and circumstances to make it a riveting introduction to the world. It built a world similar to ours that depends on these gates and these hunters, slowly integrating piece and piece of information that creates these instances and the place around the MC. It sets up lots of chapters in advance, the world functions as a world, and things build up and set in play that only gets explored after two or three arcs. We learn about the various types of hunters, gates, and organizations, hunter or not. The Gates were also fantastic, each a different environment and new horizons to be explored. Despite being portals to magical worlds, they were all different missions that somehow explored more of their world and power systems, providing all of those and some sick fights. They were pseudo "missions" to other worlds and one thing you look forward to in the beginning chapters. The world was fascinating, new things popping up each arc, and was only part of the greatness that was Solo Leveling’s first season. The story also paid careful attention to its power system and characters. While at first, it was the generic "Leveling" power system that you could attribute to many games or isekai, it paid careful attention to the system and added certain attributes, certain kinks, and certain powers that made it the story's focus. The mysteries of the system were slowly unraveled, and the abilities grounded. It became a fully fleshed out power system that had both good and bad, the MC using it actually in a smart way, the way we would. There were some references to other works and sparks of genius, the main character taking advantage of the system, and not the other way around. And while it was the generic "level up" power system, it wasn't used because it was easy to write in but to explore the world and the hunters' powers. The idea of having the Hunters start with a set amount of power and never have it change was great. Just about every show with “powers” allows their participants to get stronger, but it was a great shift on the system where you had the main character with this leveling power, compared to the world where people could not level up. With all the information they added for the power system, we received a complete power system that seemed pretty straightforward but complex enough to match the greats. Same with the characters. While it was more apparent in the first 50 chapters, the characters were actual characters, not the peanut gallery that hyped up villains in the most generic way possible. Characters had unique and fun designs that fit their personalities, and there were no oversexualized characters. The show had various characters ranging from ones with small arcs, purely strong ones, unique personalities, and even waifus. They were all little pieces of the world that told specific stories and helped build up the world and the story in general. They would each represent certain aspects of the world, from the poor hunters to the wealthy hunters, to the crazy hunters to all the thousands of different hunter classes. And while the story soon shifted to have more characters with less screen time focusing on the A and S rank hunters, they still were enjoyable as they acted like a family and rivals. The shadows(will be explained later in the webtoon) were also enjoyable despite having no diagoulge. Amazingly, their emotions and personalities were conveyed purely through still images, and I wouldn't say no to having a chapter that is just the shadows interacting. Before I finish the first season, two more things: the main character and the art, the main reasons people read Solo Leveling. The art in Solo Leveling is some of the best ever made. Usually, I prefer black and white Manga, as art looks better there. Many movement blurs, movement lines in the background, and starburst that symbolize hitting, are left out in the colored versions, looking out of place there. These colored comics usually look like still pictures, with the majority of the colored ones making me wish it was in black and white with uneven coloring, shading, and bad fight art. However, none of these complaints apply to Solo leveling. If Vinland Saga's Manga is the king of black and white art, Solo levelings Color is the king of all colored art. Period. While it does start a bit "meh" in the first 30 chapters, it gets so good after that. The fights here are also phenomenal on par with the taijutsu you see in Naruto. Technical to a fault, it's not about who can make the bigger explosion, but how to outsmart and beat your opponents, each character showcasing different and colorful abilities. In the first half, the main character is still the weakest hunter, and he is forced to utilize almost every skill he has, making some fantastic fights and pay-offs that make you sigh in relief or terror. Each fight will leave you on the edge of your seat, the hype constantly increasing the moments that blow your mind. This is one of the few works(Like Vinland Saga) where I only will read the Manga, the art never able to be fully replicated in an animation, Madhouse, Ufotable, or not. The main character also had a good development as he acclimated to his surroundings and became a top tier chad. While he didn't have a character arc on the level as the best characters in anime/manga, it did exceptionally well for the series it was in and made you root for him. His humble beginnings make you feel nostalgic as he almost grew up. You easily rooted for him, and he changed from the not so confident isekai protag to a more edgy refined man. Now "character development" is probably an overstatement, as all he did is become an edgy badass, but in the series favor, it did fit the change. However, it was this change into a cool older character where the story begins to crumble apart. *Season two(Chapter 111 and beyond) Spoilers for Season One and Season two are here, even as vague I describe them. I suggest you read some of the chapters of the story before reading this segment. But here is a spoiler-free 10-word version: Too overpowered, no tension, mysteries bad, characters bad/gone, isekai tier. Disregarding the epic and hype-filled finale of the last season, the story begins to break apart from here, the small cracks in the first season now more prominent and more evident in the second. The story seems to forget what made the first season so great, and it wasn't an overpowered character one shot every monster. It was when he surpassed his limits, the moments where he made a new discovery, where there was a twist in the gate where the characters had their moments, and where his powers had personalities and were fun to watch. The second season disregarded those factors and decided to power up the main character so that he could beat Goku. To be fair, the series tries to shed light on how the mysteries and unsolved cases that the first one does and the first 15 chapters were pretty okay. It gave some good buildup, good fights, and decent answers, however after "The Architect," it then began to fall. Cool reveal, but a lousy way of resolving the issue. Despite being only a "Player" of "The System," he somehow overrules the creator and comes out unscathed. The world stops revolving around the sun and revolves around him, as every event has to do with him. While there are still those pieces of information strewn across some chapters and the scenarios different, it doesn't capture the charm as it focuses purely on the fights, ignoring everything else. While the author continued with less information there, the artist didn't allow it, focusing only on the battles that lose their creativity. Devolving into who can make the bigger explosion or one-shotting the villain, it quickly became hard to enjoy the fights now gone. While I try not to criticize a series due to its art, I have to when it's the main thing it's enjoyed for. The fights lose most of the choreography as Sung Jin Woo is just on a different level to his opponents, and he always soloes the bosses in two seconds. Because of this, tension now rarely appears, as I know that whatever Sung Jin-Woo encounters will be defeated with no problems. Now the series has become smart with handling that, as it targets other people, but the antagonists are usually always beaten as he arrives, which is always before important people die. The characters aside from Sung JIn woo, Beru, and Igris are forgotten, holding no character in their scenes. The series seems to forget about characters and their roles, focusing purely on Sung Jin-Woo, which doesn't work anymore. His screen time seems boring, edgy in the Manga, being equivalent to having no personality. He had no room left to grow that feels genuine anymore, as it jumps and does power boosts happening too quickly. His vibrant personality disappears, and choosing to be a one-man army allows for no characters to fill in the void. In season two, many chapters of the Manga entail him talking to himself, which with his now bland personality make them hard to read. There has yet to be a single character from the last season who had adequate screen time that was on the same level as last time. In conclusion, Solo Leveling was a fun and interesting manga that was a self-fulfillment power fantasy that first coated itself with a great world, writing, and characters. However, as time went by, the paint wore off, and we received a hype but shallow webtoon that stand on the face of webtoons, but nowhere near the top 12 manga. While the second season wasn't as enjoyable as the first, it still did the job well, and if you have time to binge a manga, this should be the first one on your list. Story: 7.5/10 Art 10/10 Character: 6.7 /10 Enjoyment 9/10 Overall 8/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jan 31, 2021
Eden no Ori
(Manga)
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Recommended
Eden no Ori is a masterpiece of a tale that falls short due to its overwhelming amount of fanservice and cancelled ending. With amazing characters, art, pacing, story and emotions, it is one of the best pieces of fiction ever written, disappointment shifting many peoples views. So now, Ignore all the 4s and 5s you see in the ratings, and I'll show you why this is one of the best pieces of fiction ever.
Like many of the classics, Eden no Ori is heavily plot-based, depending on its riveting narrative to counter its first weak and uninspired characters. After crash landing from a trip back ... from the Caribbean, the various Japanese passengers of the plane find themselves scattered across this impossible island, all communications tech simply "not working." It doesn’ take more than 5 seconds for the people to realise what resides on the island. Dinosaurs. After being viciously attacked and separated, we follow Sengoku Akira and the passengers on their journey to survive the island, as well as finding everyone else. Time goes by, and after more than enough time has passed for a rescue mission they realise they are on their own. And it soon becomes apparent that if they want to leave the island, they first have to find all its secrets. However, the mystery doesn't end there, as each seemingly answered question adding to more. Unraveling masterfully, the story presents us with obstacle after obstacle, new mysteries surfacing each time they seem to complete one. They are constantly dwarfed and outclassed by the island, as they don't get a single time to rest, the island always holding something new to keep them on their toes. Shown through the different groups and different people scattered across the island, it slowly unravels the mystery, almost taking its time, as each clue and mystery are not easily solved. One thing this manga does extremely well is the suspension of belief. If I picked up a manga with regular high school students battling dinosaurs in the first chapter, I would want answers straight away, as they were just previously in a plane. However, the story does well in allowing you to believe and not focus on it, using the mysterious island as its scapegoat. Again and again, they seem to get in what seems impossible situations, each mystery different and more unique than the last. Each time they seem scarier and more impossible, but easily explained, each missing those one or two pieces of information. Each thing the manga introduces appears to be not of the earth, but in the moment, another mystery to solve. The evolving threats are another part that the manga does amazingly. Even with Dinosaurs, it gets pretty old and repetitive fast, as all they need to do is avoid them and find ways to beat their unpredictable nature. And unlike Dragonball, which triples the enemies' powers each arc, the show uses the setting to raise the stakes. The setting is phenomenal as it just seems to defy logic. Dinosaurs from different times are all there, a nonexistent island they are on, evidence that it could be fake, and 4 structures that seem to have answers. The setting also appears to be their enemy, as it is a foreign land. Plants we never knew existed, each having different consequences good and bad appear, traps and terrain these dinosaurs seem to know, continually changing geography, as they move across the island. Each set of chapters somehow bring a new threat more unique and different than the last, leading to new things for them to watch out for. Each builds upon the other and triggers so many things as they make up the setting. For example, while the poisonous plants aren't mentioned after their first misdemeanor, they subtly hint and take actions to avoid poisonous plants, learning from their mistakes. Constantly adapting and changing, the characters bump into problem after problem as each solution to a problem opens up another can of worms. The setting is one of the main antagonists, second to the characters themselves. Many people (correctly) consider that man's greatest enemy is itself, mankind, which is shown amazingly through its characters. While you might think that their main enemies are the animals, plants, or million of dangerous things on the island, the manga makes clear that their greatest enemy is themselves. Diving into the depth of human psychology, it adds upon books such as Lord of the Flies and other classics, as it shows the cruel and manipulative nature of human beings. They explore it in each mini-arc, the antagonist and very often friends acting in ways you would never think, often the antagonist being that friend they all trusted. They focus on six characters, each leaders and essential characters in the story. Each change drastically, their ideals regularly tested with each "trial." You have the friend of the main character who just keeps falling deeper and deeper. While he started good, he gets forced into circumstances and situations that slowly take a toll on his mental state. The once dependable and loved by everyone character becomes a mentally unstable paranoid killer who constantly keeps getting lower. Constantly flip-flopping, he helps and harms the group, constantly wavering every other chapter. You have the nobody medical assistant who creates a police state in one of the camps, using his medical knowledge as leverage. Just wanting to be noticed, he quickly morphs and turns into a horrible person, maybe not his real personality, but one representing the human sin of greed. Characters Like Zac and Yarai show themselves to be flawed characters who were picked on by society. But when it comes to others and their friends' safety, they sacrifice themselves for the greater good. And we have the main character, like many shonen main characters, a completely moral guy who is the compass and our point of reference. And the story also points his way as wrong, as many times, it is naivety, his willingness to help and trust people that harms him and many others later. Even the characters who don't ascribe to a particular belief or mindset impact the story. They each have literal and figurative roles, as they are each essential parts of their society and have jobs in general. They unconsciously reflect and oppose ideals while still being characters. They each bring different things to the table, their personalities and abilities random, and expected of the characters. Somehow they feel like average highschoolers, the incredible feats they perform seeming natural. Using conversations and emotions conveyed, they somehow feel like they would fit in a high school, each acting as you would think. The boys act rambunctious and sometimes pervy, playing like bro's. Some like other girls and get in fights, and some deepen bonds with each other. The girls also feel like girls, getting in conversations that you might expect from them. While the author uses them mostly for fanservice, one or two of them shine hard as they are great characters, even without having a backstory. The adults also act how adults would, and the ones heavily involved in the story fit amazingly and are fun to watch upon the screen, and others not. The story also dabbles in romance, the majority failing aside from one. Like many of these shonen, there is a main couple, and despite not being a wholesome manga, their moments are so wholesome. While they don’t have all the development that all these specifically geared to romance anime/manga, it comes pretty close, their interactions each wholesome and that of a couple. The mangaka even seems to care, as he takes time to flesh it out from all sides, giving them small backstories and moments between the two. With a series like Eden no Ori, it is guaranteed to have plenty of character deaths. While I won't count every death, it is safe to say that at least 30-70 people die. The deaths in the series are handled quite well, however a lot predictable and somewhat deserved. Around half of the deaths are handled greatly, each a reminder that they are never safe. Just whenever they thought they were safe, another threat would appear, causing some more people to die, sometimes dying in anticlimactic ways, as someone was just a tiny bit careless about a past problem they solved. While it was the generic death per 2 chapters, it was handled in a way that subverted it, and made them feel like character deaths, not the scheduled ones that they were. The other half of the deaths are decently handled and still had impact, leaving the 1% of extraordinary deaths. There were about 2 or 3 deaths in the manga that are amazing and unpredictable. A small problem with the series is that the characters (Of course) have huge plot armor, as realistically, so many people would die in the beginning, and in all the attacks. There are often deaths of people expected, but two of them are dealt amazingly. As mentioned, many characters go through mini character arcs, not always being the story's focus. When a show can enhance their main cast with small pieces of backstory and development that happens on the side, it makes their characters much stronger. Fear of death seems to be what keeps the characters on their toes and constantly adapting, many dying in total fear or without even knowing it; the worst part that they never got fulfillment, never wanting it. However, death completes people. It ends our cycle. The 5 main characters go through more than what seems possible, having so many experiences that it sometimes drives them insane. However, like said, death completes us, and for 2 of these characters, the completion of their arcs. And seeing them accept their death with no struggle, feeling fulfilled what they have done, with their original characters completely different, makes their death impactful, mixed in, with the reaction of their friends. The art, while not on the same level of realism as Vinland Saga, does exceedingly well. The Dinosaur designs are flawlessly choreographed, each panel looking like their dinosaur counterpart while still fitting in with the manga 2d art style. They each move in fascinating ways, sometimes contradicting what scientists thought. Instead of a terrifying power, they ooze an air of the joker, crazy, unpredictable, and the definition of creepy. The setting and backgrounds are also filled with detail, with plants, trees, and wildlife looking that of 65 million years back. Each plant and tree seems different and prehistoric. And while not gory or full of blood, the deaths are still shown enough for the shock factor. Their deaths happen in different and more expanding ways; their final expressions are always that of shock, horror, or even a last smile. I suggest you find the most official or even the official scans as they are amazing, the illegal scans all terrible compared to the actual art. The panels are also amazing; some panels giving you scary jump scares and sometimes goosebumps. There are amazing 10/10 panels that will stay in your mind, but the art isn't only used for good. The biggest problem with the manga is the amount of fanservice. The artist seems to be worse than a Horny teen, the girls sexualized in increasing ways. The amount of times the girls take a bath, wash their clothes, skirts lift, or the dinosaurs rip their clothes apart is unironically in the thousands. While there are 2 amazing female characters(and 2 decent ones), the rest are living fanservice. And to those intellectuals who say that there is no such thing as too much fanservice, I say there is. As a person who has read the modern classic Tu-Love-Ru, I can safely say that Tu-Love-Ru was a kid's show compared to the number of shots this author displays. The fanservice is so abundant that you get annoyed at the female characters and half the time hate them, their fanservice happening almost every PAGE of the manga. The camera angles were literally designed to sexulaise them, and detract from the stories genius. Combined with the fact that the author censors certain parts, it allows him to draw their watermelons without having branches cover things. The manga also has one other fatal flaw that makes people rate it a lot lower. Despite this flaw(Which I am about to mention) and the staggering amount of fanservice, I would still rate it a nine and even consider it ten, the manga's greatness causing a bias—the ending. In December of 2012, Eden no Ori was cancelled and was instructed to end before January 23rd, allowing for one of the worst conclusions ever. It wasn't a bad ending so much as an ending that tried to wrap up the hundreds of mysteries involved in 3 chapters, a physically impossible feat. It would be like ending One piece after chapter 956 or episode 957, impossible, even considering the info added in the last 4 volumes. Using a flashback ignored half the mysteries involved and solved the others by incorporating a fantasy element in what was a wholly realistic and survivalist manga that took place in the same world, it then ends on a time skip. Overall the manga had quite a long runtime that helped you get close to the characters. While at first, the situation seemed a bit forced and the characters bland, you grew to love the characters, and closer than other manga that were triple the runtime. While it was shaping up to be a 10/10, the last 4 chapters' impact hurts people's experiences of the manga and hurts all the island's mysteries and experiences. Factoring in the last 4 chapters can easily make it a bad mystery with way too much fanservice. However, knowing that the author intended something completely different will allow you to look past those chapters and see it for the amazing journey, and thriller, it was. Story 10/10 Art 8/10 (-2 because of all the fanservice) Character 9/10 Enjoyment 10/10 Overall 10/10 (Objective 8/10)
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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