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Oct 12, 2022
[Spoiler free review]
Pupa, widely known as a shit show on the anime side. But when we look at the manga side of things, it becomes immediately obvious that it isn't your average bad manga, but rather something in a different tier of itself.
Pupa is a horror/psychological manga that delves into the messed up life of 2 siblings. It is filled with gore, and the story itself is excruciatingly bleak and full of nauseating concepts.
I'll be honest, I really didn't like Pupa, it was a very exhausting read; the only reason I managed to force myself to read through it is because of it's small size
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of 34 chapters. But even if I personally didn't like it, I can't deny its originality and uniqueness. This makes Pupa a special read among the countless mangas out there, it's something you can never forget after reading it once.
⚪ Art:
One of the main parts of the manga that makes it what it is. The art itself isn't that good, but the way it presents its gore is what makes it unique. The paneling also invokes feelings similar to reading a Junji Ito manga, yet while being a completely different style of art.
The art is grotesque when it needs to be, and I can confidently say the last few chapter’s panels will certainly leave a mark on your mind after you finish reading them.
⚪ Writing/ Story/ Characters:
To describe it in one word…’bad’ is the word I’d have to use. But under the bad writing there is a certain art to be found, especially when the story delves into the depths of any of the characters' minds. As you read through the story, even though the writing and story itself is bad, you’ll ultimately find yourself oddly sympathizing with the main characters and just wishing for a happy ending (you’ll also find yourself praying for the manga to ‘just end already’).
⚪ Conclusion:
This manga will be worth a read (not a waste of time) if you like unique reads, especially something that delves into madness like Junji Ito or Haruki Murakami (don’t go expecting anything of their level though). Don’t expect any solid base to the story, it’s just a jumbled mess of the author’s nightmares/dreams (that’s honestly what it felt like reading it). Just expect an overall experience of ‘wtf did I just read?’, because the manga only gets crazier the further you go.
*Disclaimer: If you start reading this manga, you WILL have the urge to finish it, or it’ll haunt you until you do. Once you go in, there is no escape until the end.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Jul 15, 2021
{The art rating in the rating list: I believe that art doesn't matter in the quality of Light Novels, so I rather rated it in regards to the Writing & Prose}
The Monogatari series is a set of stories which makes up an overall story.
And it is this overall story which is highly praised as the Monogatari series.
First, I should give my ratings of all the stories individually presented in the Monogatari Series: First Season.
Bakemonogatari: 7/10
Kizumonogatari: 9/10
Nisemonogatari: 8/10
...
Nekomonogatari: 9/10
Now to critique the story, characters, and writing style.
The individual stories can be divided into parts of 2 types.
Idle Conversation, consisting of Araragi talking with a girl over idle matters.
Action, parts that progresses or brings an end to the story; consisting of fight scenes, Oshino Meme giving lectures, and resolution to the story.
The main problem I had was with the idle conversations. The silly conversations Araragi had with the other characters; on some parts I couldn't fully grasp the joke because of its cultural nature, and on others I simply couldn't find it funny; most of the word plays also turned out a little stale.
An important thing to note here is that I believe these problems mostly arose because I read the translated version (the official English one). As people often say, "The Monogatari series can never be properly translated"; the intricate word plays of the Japanese language that Nisio Isin does and the cultural parts of the book are what makes it so difficult to translate.
But as I kept reading and reading, the silly jokes and unique conversations that Araragi has with the characters started to grow into me, and I ended up liking them by the end of the 5th book.
Now the best part of the Novels, the action parts.
Monogatari series has some of the best fighting scenes I've read. They are very well portrayed, and has the perfect pace and intensity.
Oshino's lectures can sometimes get a bit confusing because of all the cultural and language parts (Kanji characters and stuff), but overall they can be understood by the end.
All the stories itself here are good. Some of them can be very simple, but its the simplicity which makes them good.
It's easy to get confused and question the past of some characters, that's because the novels are not in chronological order. You shouldn't think too much about the parts that you don't know, and enjoy the main story that the book is telling, because little by little the series reveals everything.
All the characters here are unique in their own way and most of them are pretty interesting.
It's a character driven story, so you can expect there to be good characters. And by the end you could find a character you very much like. (Meme's my favourite so far)
And lastly, I presume you already probably know, Monogatari has very good writing.
No problem with the conversations and understanding who's talking when (as with a lot of other Light Novels).
Also uh, I'll add that the translation was done really well too; I didn't find any grammatical problems or weird lines.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jun 4, 2021
[This is a short (spoiler free) review with the target to make the reader watch/read or avoid the subject of the review, while conveying my opinion on the fiction]
(The art rating in the rating list: I believe that art doesn't matter in the quality of Light Novels, so I rather rated it in regards to the Writing & Prose)
Writing/Prose/Sentence Structure: 4/5
Story/Portrayal/Detailing/Characters: 4/5
Final Rating: 9/10 (+1 for enjoyment)
First of all, the story.
This book tells the story of an angered princess, when the Demon Lord mistakes her younger brother for the most beautiful girl in the kingdom. She journeys through the Kingdom to the Demon Lord's castle
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in order to beat some sense into him.
The story is short, hilarious, and fast. It doesn't bother with boring things, it doesn't go into useless details; the story has an energetic burst throughout the entire book.
The comedy in it, has the right bit of everything. It doesn't get obnoxious with any jokes, or too bland. And damn, was it a hilarious read.
The story itself is nothing original, in-fact it is set in a very common fantasy setting and story style, but that's what makes the story able to be told so fast without going into too much background details.
The characters are the best part. They are funny and engrossing.
Each of them has their unique personalities which makes them grow into you as the story progresses.
Now, for the writing and prose (I am going to take this being a translation into consideration).
The writing was easy to digest, the sentences were structured nicely, and it gave the story its proper flair. The translation was also very good and I found no problem whatsoever.
This Novel doesn't face the problem of who's talking when (as a lot of other translated Light Novel does), because of its paragraph and conversation structure following the general rule.
This was a very enjoyable read overall.
Highly recommended if you want a fast, funny, fantasy setting story.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jun 1, 2021
[This is a short (spoiler free) review with the target to make the reader watch/read or avoid the subject of the review, while conveying my opinion on the fiction]
Art/Panel: 4/5
Story/Portrayal/Detailing/Characters: 4/5
Final Rating: 8/10
Read through the tragic realistic story of Ishida Shoya.
A boy who regrets the actions of his past, as he struggles to get over them, as he struggles to resolve them.
A boy who had rejected everyone around him, as he struggles to understand those close to him, as he struggles to understand himself.
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A story which portrays what a jumbled mess life can be; how hard people can be, to understand, and to be with.
The story shows the complex emotions of humans, and at some point you start to wonder yourself, exactly what is actually right and what is actually wrong.
What would you have done in the same situation?
Would it have been the right decision, or the wrong one? And even if ultimately your actions were cruel, would you have been able to justify doing it?
The deeper you read into it, the more you realize how tightly the story ties into reality.
The art is done with care, and with every panel you can look into the character's state.
Their expressions, their actions, their thoughts, their words, the author beautifully portrayed all of them.
With all the good things expressed, I will now appraise it critically for the reason I gave it a 8/10.
Some elements of the story was a bit exaggerated (the author herself stated as such), which made them more dramatic (and somewhat more engaging using the 'urge to know what comes next') but a little distasteful.
The author failed to give a strong ending, but it was ok nonetheless.
Recommended if you want to read a tragic psychological story.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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May 31, 2021
This is a messy review of my love-hate relationship with Tokyo Ghoul Re.
First of all, the story; I'll sum it up in one sentence.
"I hate RE because it killed off all the plot developed in Tokyo Ghoul".
Now for the characters.
The main thing I really find amazing about Tokyo Ghoul is how the author made so so so so so MANY characters and managed to make all of them an individual.
Making and dealing with characters are hard, and the author managed to make 100 of characters whose death would at least make you feel something.
But the huge amount of characters was also a big problem.
You'll keep
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forgetting half of the characters that randomly get brought up in the story and have to google them up to trigger your memory.
I legit had to google the same character twice in one reading session.
Now for the art.
The art was good, it gave a dark atmosphere when required. But the main problem with the art lies in the fight scenes.
Like half of the time you won't understand what's going on. You need to analyze the art in depth to keep up with the fight.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Apr 9, 2021
[This is a short (spoiler free) review with the target to make the reader watch/read or avoid the subject of the review, while conveying my opinion on the fiction]
Art/Animation/Soundtrack/VA: 5/5
Story/Portrayal/Detailing/Characters: 4/5
Final Rating: 9/10
Firstly, the animation.
Jujutsu Kaisen had peak level animation. The fight scenes are so well animated, that they blow out most shounen anime fight scenes (I've seen) out of the water. You'll find yourself engaged and appreciating every single fight scene while you watch the anime.
The soundtrack was good, and the art portrayed the scenes and other things (ex: curse energy) quite well.
...
The story was good. It wasn't a masterpiece, it wasn't anything amazing; but it was good.
If you like shounen anime then you'll find the story in this quite engaging. The story isn't quite like your typical shounen anime, it has its originality.
The characters are the strongest point in the story, they all have their traits and (good) backstory which makes them stand out individually; you'll end up liking a lot of them by the end.
If you want to watch a good shounen anime with insanely well animated fight scenes;
then give this one a try.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Apr 6, 2021
[This is a short (spoiler free) review with the target to make the reader watch/read or avoid the subject of the review, while conveying my opinion on the fiction]
Animation/Soundtrack/VA: 6/5
Story/Portrayal/Detailing/Characters: 4/5
Final Rating: 10/10
Words can not describe the Art, Animation, and Soundtrack.
How beautifully the music complimented the scene, and how enchantingly the scenes were portrayed; words can not describe them.
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The story was good, and the way it was presented in the episodic fashion is something to be praised upon.
But the story did fall short in a few places (especially towards the end), yet! it was strong enough to leave an impression upon me.
I have to give it to the author. S/He really did make a magnificent story.
If you want to see a show as stunning as a starry sky, and as marvelous as the rising sun;
then give this one a try.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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