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There was in fact a time where I went nuts for this manga. Back in 2020 during the quarantine this was actually a pretty entertaining romance comedy; it even had some emotionally powerful scenes. I was genuinely excited for each chapter, and it was a weekly treat, but I can't take it anymore. For the past year this manga has been nothing but absolute garbage, dragged on, with no stakes at all. The mangaka has taken whatever good merit this manga possessed and has thoroughly dragged its dead corpse by the entrails. Its such a shame too because this was the manga that got me ... INTO manga. The art is fantastic, the story at the time I started it was really fun and engaging, and the characters, while a mixed bag were generally a blast to catch up with. Nowadays Kazuya has literally backtracked on any of the self improvement he was working towards and Chizuru simply refuses to come to terms with her feelings as a character. The way these characters are written in context of the plot makes literally no sense. I've lost any hope of this manga finishing on a good note with the sheer amount of BS filler at this point. I won't be coming back until it's announced that this manga is finished. Read up until about chapter 230 and make your own ending after that.

Weekly Shonen Magazine has a heater on its hands, really, this manga is absolute gas.

Coming from the successor to genius mangaka Atsushi Ohkubo, Gachi Akuta bashes its way into Weekly Shonen Magazine's pages, with its incredible world building, loveable characters, and insane potential.

The story (or the 6 chapters of story that we get so far) is great. The premise is unique enough with a world based in trash and filth. It makes for a very grimy aesthetic that I honestly really enjoy. Soul Eater and Fire Force make clear their influence, along with other series like The Promised Neverland. The narrative is very ... much rooted in mystery, as the MC along with the reader unravel the incredibly dense world Urana Sensei has laid out. Speaking of which, the world building is immaculate. I absolutely love how Urana Sensei unravels and paces out her manga; it flows excellently from chapter to chapter and reading weekly is a treat.

The art is absolutely incredible. This is literally some of the most beautiful, dynamic and skilled art I have ever laid eyes on, and it's drawn WEEKLY. The character designs give even the manga that inspire them a run for their money. This world is choc full of spunk, attitude, aggression and grime from the first chapter onward. If you're coming to this manga for anything at all, Urana's art is more than enough of a reason.

Speaking of characters, Urana Kei puts a ton of love into her characters. We've gotten to know 4 or so at the time of this review, and all of them are fantastic, and just as dynamic and aggressive as the art. I can't wait to see how they develop and am excited as all hell for the next chapter.

This manga is filled to the brim with potential, and as a regular reader, I am begging for the next chapter. I'm even more excited for the first volume release. I read all my manga in Japanese, so I'll be able to get my hands on it early, even better.

One of the best parts. It seems that this manga has double the creativity of manga like Soul Eater or Fire Force, with none of the baggage. Urana Kei is also a female creator, so if you're ever so inclined to support female mangaka, that's a great little bonus reason to support this manga.

Seriously, give this manga a try. It's an absolute wallop of flavor from the first page.

Chainsaw Man is a smash hit manga that completely obliterated Shonen Jump's entire catalogue, blew Attack on Titan hype out of the water, and cemented a legacy of incredibly polarizing, but respected existence in the medium of manga. Everyone knows this, I mean, *duh* if you haven't heard of Chainsaw Man at this point, I don't know what to tell you. Get up out from under your rock and maybe pull the crayons out of your nose, and go read the damn thing.

Going into this manga I fully knew about the hype surrounding it, what I didn't know was how weird and almost surreal ... of a journey I was getting into. Chainsaw Man has a degenerate, slimy cast of characters, with balls to the ceiling action, egregious amounts of violence and sex, and an MC who's just as deranged as he is heroic. The action feels messy, yet beautifully choreographed. The plot feels incredibly rushed, yet so well planned, and the characters somehow are equally endearing and detestable. Lemme elaborate

SUPER AWESOME THINGS ABOUT CHAINSAW MAN:

The art is very well done in a lot of aspects. The fights are over the top and egregious in their portrayal of violence and gore. It's a blast basking in the absolute punishment that your eyes receive while reading. The character designs are fantastic, with each devil design distinctly carrying spunk, attitude, and aggression. The tone and style of this manga is incredibly aggressive as well, and is so style-over-substance that I feel like I'm eating a family size box of Oreo's with every fight.

The Characters (that I care about) are also a blast to read. Denji is not a role model (unless you're trying to be really epic). He's a total degenerate, but his actions have context. He has lived an unlivable life, and is treated like an object throughout the entire story. His whole life, he is abused and taken advantage of; sometimes it is because he is a degenerate, sometimes it further contextualizes his degeneracy. Power is another character that I enjoy, she's also incredibly over the top and degenerate in her own right. Seeing the two interact is a blast, and seeing how they handle fights and even basic interaction is a treat. Everyone else in the main cast is equally fruity and *different*; there are washed up agents, people suffering from lifelong trauma, and sadistic freaks who enjoy hurting others. The cast is eccentric to say the least.

The twist is genuinely fantastic. I was very intrigued from chapter 60 onward, and couldn't put chainsaw man down after crossing the point of no return. The art ramps up, the plot literally skyrockets out of nowhere and it feels so well done because so many seeds have been planted previously. The ending makes sense, the climax battle is invigorating. Chainsaw Man shifts from this gratuitous battle manga to one of the most surreal experiences I have ever read.

THINGS THAT AREN'T SO AWESOME ABOUT CHAINSAW MAN

The pacing is pretty mixed for the first 60 or so chapters.The manga moves with such sheer speed and force that arcs end up carrying little to no weight. Entire battles, while incredibly entertaining, aren't very important. During some of the most important fights in the series, I was struggling to figure out what was even going on, and why it held any significance. Fujimoto sets up barely enough for the next big fight to take place, and it ends up leaving the overall weight of the story ringing hollow.

The world building is almost nonexistent. This manga is incredibly style-over-substance and it rings true with this aspect. There is almost no info about the Devils, their existence, why the devil hunting organization exists or how it was formed, or even the lore behind the Chainsaw Man himself. There are certain portions of the manga that feel like literal cheap tricks to keep the plot moving forward (It would literally kill the entire manga if the 6000 mile an hour pacing slowed down just a tad). I would love to be a little more informed as to the context of why all these massive fights take place, rather than just watch them and hope to figure it all out.

The extra characters are straight up just in the way. Fights feel clunky at times, and again, because this manga gives literally no setup to some of it's biggest moments, I'm left confused as to who's who, what's happening and why I should care at certain points. Some characters die before I even have time to really care about them, and again, this leaves the manga ringing a bit hollow.

OVERALL:

This manga isn't for everyone; I mean, there's a scene where a character gets their intestines ripped out, then wears them as a scarf, and proceeds to abduct other characters with the so-called intestine scarf. However, I did enjoy reading Chainsaw Man and would recommend it to someone that's looking for pure energy in a story, and can stomach the over the top sensibilities.

Jujutsu Kaisen was a series I sort of wrote off last year after watching its very good, but ultimately unimportant anime adaptation. There wasn't much going on with the characters, the fight sequences were quite typical of a flagship shonen, and it really seemed very similar to other shonen I was more interested in at the time.

Fast forward a year later and I'm itching to read the next chapter every moment I get.

Keep in mind that I'm only at chapter 121, so I'm a good bit into the Shibuya Incident arc, but I can only imagine the goodies in store later.

Jujutsu Kaisen ... is sort of like eating your vegetables. It's essential components are all done incredibly well, it's incredibly balanced in terms of quality of narrative vs characters vs art; everything about this series is so consistently good, and that's what really impresses me about it. It's not fantastic in the art department and then lacking in the narrative, nor is it inconsistent with the quality of it's arcs. Every time, I am satisfied with the next chapter just enough to keep going, and it really makes for a fulfilling ride.

The art is very functional. It isn't pure eye candy like the art in something like Fire Force; it's very consistent in its sort of DIY, sharpe marker line art and dark, scratchy aesthetics. There are points in the story where the art is a bit lacking, sometimes big moments don't get the justice they deserve due to this style, but there are other times where the art really shines.

The art is aided by the manga's sheer energy. This manga is agile to read; everything moves with so much kinetic energy and speed that I feel like I'm going to miss out on half of the action if I don't stop to digest a panel every once in a while. Akutami really puts his fights in priority, making things move with plenty of that aforementioned agility, with little moments to breathe in between fights. It feels like something is always taking place that I should be paying attention to. The manga is self aware that it is a Shonen series, and as such puts deep existential pondering and meta commentary secondary to the cool character chemistry and satisfying action. The paneling is also a craft in itself as the characters weave in and out of the image for some super stylized goodness.

As far as the characters go, It is also unsurprisingly good. The characters that I care about all have a lot of good chemistry, and they work together very well. It's always very fun to see that each character has a unique ability and seeing them fight each other makes for these creative battles that are, like I said, incredibly satisfying to read. The roster is a bit big leading to some characters that I don't really care about; these extras can also lead to messy fights where it's kind of hard to figure out what's going on. This unfortunately isn't aided by the art. Overall I still think JJK does a great job with it's characters.

I also have to shout out Akutami for his treatment of female and male characters. There's no forced romance here and its great to see that each character, no matter the gender is one that thinks on their feet, has excellent skills in their techniques and can hold their own in a fight of brawn and brains. There isn't a speck of fanservice in this series so far and from what I can tell it comes from a place of efficiency. Akutami knows that you aren't coming to JJK for a cheap panty shot; you want to see your favorite characters kick ass in some sick battles, and Akutami delivers just that.

All in all I must say that JJK is a manga that I am really enjoying simply because it is so consistently good. Every chapter it hits a bar of quality that other Shonen only hit in an arc here or there. I really enjoy this work and find it incredibly easy to recommend. If you have watched the anime and are on the fence about plunging into the manga, I recommend you go ahead and give it a try. That Shibuya Incident Arc is definitely worth it as well.

Let me start by saying that SOUL EATER has a very special place in my dear old heart. I've worked very hard to learn Japanese as a second language, and after years of work I can proudly say that I'm fluent. I would not be quite where I am right now without this anime and the manga. It was my first experience diving straight into a work of fiction in full Japanese, no translations, no help. Just me and the raw language practice. With that said, I've reread Soul Eater with a more matured taste and I've decided to drop this review, more for my ... own personal reasons than anything else.

SOUL EATER is easily one of the most frustrating things I've read to date.

There are plenty of moments where the series hits amazing strides with its characters, where I absolutely loved certain fights and couldn't get enough of the spectacular art direction and atmosphere of the series.

There are also plenty of moments where the series will live in my nightmares forever with incredibly dated jokes, blatant short serving of certain characters and the putrid stain of fan service that everyone and their mother knows about.

SUPER AWESOME THINGS ABOUT SOUL EATER:

The elephant in the room: Ohkubo's art direction. I can't get enough of it! From chapter 1 his manga bursts with creative energy and flavor. It only gets better as his art evolves into a clean, aesthetically pleasing master class of character design, world building and direction. Everything about this series' art screams eccentric and I am 1000% here for it.

The characters (for the most part) are great. They actually like each other, their chemistry is unmatched by similar shonen series and almost all of their actions are driven by compassion, growth and understanding, even if it gets cliche at points. Each dynamic is genuinely a blast to read. Watching Maka grow into an S - Tier Meister is awesome. She takes down some of the baddest villains in the series and each time she does it's a wave of dopamine. Her accomplishments are earned. All of this is backed by support from the other two male leads, Blackstar and Death The Kid, who mature in their own awesome ways. Even side characters have depth to them. You're getting an insane cast that you'll have a hard time forgetting.

The plot is pretty great. Ohkubo does an awesome job of unraveling his super creative world along with the plot. The main cast travels all kinds of places, meeting some excellent side characters as well. Each arc flows very nicely into the next, and each arc also takes time to flesh out the characters involved. The plot moves from A - B very smoothly and there aren't any major plot holes as far as I'm concerned.

The fights are genuinely some of the best I've ever seen. This series has fights that are dramatic, epic, jawdropping even. I legitimately cried at certain points. Characters die, sh!t hits the fan and all you can do is strap in for the insane ride that takes place. The fights are also aided by the fact that characters turn into weapons. Each fight gives an insane amount of room for character development and team work as different meisters and weapons team up on each side. Not a spoiler, but the 3rd fight between two characters from volumes 13 - 14 is legitimately the best fight I have ever seen in a shonen series. The fights are also aided by the insanely dynamic and expressive art. If you're giving this manga a try, you're doing it for the awesome fights.

THINGS THAT AREN'T SO AWESOME ABOUT SOUL EATER:

This series started in 2003, and ended in 2013. It's a 20 year old series at this point, and it shows. SOUL EATER ages like milk in some parts.

The second elephant in the room: The actually horrible fanservice. Oh my goodness. I don't think I've had the displeasure of seeing such intrusive, obstructive fan service in a series. And don't worry, it happens to both genders. No matter what chapter you're reading, you're sure to find the blatant objectification of some character just around the corner, boys included. Soul "Eater" Evans gets sexually assaulted by the end of the first volume. There are panty shots in the same chapter. It's gross!

Chances are people aren't coming to SOUL EATER for this stuff. They're coming for all the other awesome stuff mentioned above.

I mean, if we're being serious, there are parts of SOUL EATER that make certain harem anime look like Fullmetal Alchemist.

The characters, especially the female characters *sigh* are overwhelmed by these nasty bits. They absolutely derail a scene and overwhelm a character. Like, you can be reading a normal conversation, and then boom, there's a giant butt in your face. It's just straight up disturbing at some points. Soul Eater likes to do what a lot of other manga from this point in time liked doing, and that's making SA a joke. It's not a joke, it's traumatizing for everyone affected. Please don't play it off as a joke, because it's NOT FUNNY.

And to be clear, there's a massive differences between characters who are sexy, and whatever the hell this is. Characters who are confident in their sexuality and like being sexy are cool. When there are subtle sexy elements between two CONSENTING PEOPLE OF AGE, it's genuinely great. This is not that. It's overwhelming, immature, always out of place, and just overall distasteful. There's never a single point in the manga where it's good. I know that I never got ANY sexual gratification from it.

To be fair, I understand why it's there, especially for a series that's this old. 12 year old Timmy sees some boobs, his monkey brain goes ooh ooh aah aah and he buys the first volume of SOUL EATER for this reason. It sells copies in the short term. We know that sex sells. However it damages the reputation of this manga in the long run, and means that every time I want to recommend this manga for all of the awesome stuff mentioned previously, I have to put up this extra notice that, if you can't stomach or put up with this stuff (and trust me, it tested my patience plenty) don't bother picking it up.

Other than that there are still some dated views on gender roles and stuff that seep into the series; while Maka is a pretty great main lead, and the female cast *when they aren't put into this sh!t* is generally great, it just shows that Ohkubo writes his female characters with his foot in his mouth sometimes.

FINAL THOUGHTS ON SOUL EATER.

I mean, listen. Upon rereading this series, I've picked up some MASSIVE flaws more acutely than last time. It only makes me appreciate what's done SUPER well in this series even more. I still love (most) of SOUL EATER. It's undoubtedly influenced my taste in art, atmosphere and character design in a manga, and I'll keep it those things in mind when looking for more mature series to read.

My enjoyment is still a net positive, and I'd say that if you're into all of the awesome stuff I've mentioned, I'd give it a shot. This manga scratches a certain itch that I can't describe. If you're not into scratching that itch, and all of the not so awesome stuff really irks you like it irks me, don't bother, and pick a series that's a bit more tasteful in execution.

*as an extra note, Atsushi Ohkubo has cosigned and recognized up and comer URANA KEI as his prodige. All I can say about URANA KEI is that her art is 10 times as dynamic and she has a potential heater on her hands with GACHI AKUTA. If you're like me and you want to get into a SOUL EATER-esc series without the baggage definitely giver her awesome work a try.

Eh? it was alright? This is my second romp into Fate and I really want to get into this series. Started Fate Zero and dropped it after 6 episodes. That wasn't because it was bad, that's because I'm a Japanese learner and it was my first Anime with no English subtitles. I simply couldn't keep up (but I will go back to it one of these days). This was lame. Don't expect much from this movie or whatever it is. I kinda just dinked around on my phone while it played in the background and thought that I could have used my time better. But ... hey, I was able to turn subs off and understand what was going on, so that means I'm probably able to get back into Fate Zero!

Ah Fire Force,

It genuinely has a TON of potential (alot of that potential being realized in the second season), however this season leaves a rather painful first impression with plenty of Bread and Butter shonen tropes mixed with a messy tone and direction.

The characters are a mixed bag, but mostly pretty great. Shinra continues to fascinate me in interesting ways, and while he seems static, I see his potential being realized. Arthur is hands down series Best Girl, being equally loveable as he is dumb. His goofy, Whinny the Pooh attitude brings a rather fresh take on the "main rival character". Tamaki is mostly unnecessary, ... with her whole thing being an excuse for fanservice. I found myself just patiently putting up with her, rather than liking her as a character. In terms of interactions, this is where the characters truly shine. Seeing Shinra and Arthur's dopey, stupid and obscene clashes with each other is fresh. Seeing the Captains of each division work together to unlock the initial "hook" of the plot is also interesting. Seeing the 8th division (Shinra's team) interact amongst each other proves funny, entertaining and even heartwarming at times. The only serious knock I could give would be that some of the villains are comically evil, and it's hard to take them seriously sometimes.

The Art really suffers, as this series reeks of odd and awkward cuts, jokes, and fight sequences. Characters don't move with weight, and fight scenes feel cobbled together. David Productions seems to be allocating its budget in all the wrong places, with stiff character movement and still shots that scream "budget cuts" from a mile away. I absolutely love Atsushi Ohkubo's unique and indescribable art style, but too many times I found myself saying "if only this were animated by Bones". That isn't to say that things are all down bad. By episode 16, David finds a real groove, and fight scenes evolve into everything I hoped they were. By episode 20 I was yelling at my computer as Shinra's quick and powerful kicks sent chills down my spine.

As a whole, Fire Force has some absolutely awesome moments, but too many times it is held back by a poor direction, and lack of focus. The premise is filled to the brim with creativity and potential. Each fire power is distinctly unique, and when done well, the fight scenes are genuinely engaging, fresh, and jaw dropping. I am writing this review after watching Season 2, and I can promise you that almost all of that potential is realized. Atsushi Ohkubo and David Productions are very close to writing a hit, it's just a shame that so many people are going to drop it before it really shows what it has to offer.

If you're coming back from the first season, I encourage you to check out the second season. You're sure to love it. If you're a fan of Soul Eater, and love Atushi Ohkubo's work, then be patient. I promise you that this show has the creativity and imagination to match Soul Eater. It's not for everyone, but it hits a certain sweet spot of goofy, campy, action movie fun that kept me engaged, and left me pleasantly surprised by the end of it all.

NOW THIS IS FRESH.

After a rather lukewarm, almost disappointing first season, Fire Force seriously found its groove. Atsushi Ohkubo wastes no time with developing his plot, and fleshing out his gritty steam punk world. The rather cliche conspiracy plot is flipped on its head, and while I was expecting a rather bread and butter shonen plot for the excuse of cool fight scenes, Fire Force continued to surprise me in clever ways. I loved the pacing, direction, and characters. It is a vast improvement from the choppy, half baked first season, and the characters oml the characters. While they do tend to be a little ... static, that didn't stop me from loving them. Shinra's story continues to expand in fascinating and interesting ways. Arthur continues his role as series Best Girl with absolutely hilarious moments. Obi, Maki, and Hinawa all have their own impressive moments to share, and heck, even Tamaki undergoes some awesome changes. I really hope she moves past her dry, uninteresting fan service role and becomes a tangible person with real emotions and goals.

The change in directors and apparent budget increase allows David Productions to show its true colors, as each fight scene moves with edge, weight and purpose. The sheer amount of eye candy on display kept me entertained till the end, and I was never once bored of watching this season. The crisp, fast movements of Shinra's kicks. The precise accuracy of Arthur's sword. The Agility of Tamaki's cat-like reflexes. It all makes for some of the most entertaining fight scenes I've seen in a good while, even sometimes surpassing (dare I say it) Soul Eater. David also nailed the character designs in almost every single scene they were in. Atsushi Ohkubo's art style still brims with character and personality, and seeing this world and these characters get such high polish treatment is absolutely amazing. Good Job David, you really outdid yourself here. The OP's and even ED's were hand picked, cleanly cut and punk as all things under the sun, hitting each beat with satisfying production quality.

All in all Fire Force season 2 seems like a celebration of all things Shonen, and it knows what it is. Campy action movie fun. However, as campy as it can get, Fire Force still continues to surprise me in interesting, engaging, and even awe inspiring ways. It seems that Atsushi Ohkubo is genuinely having fun writing and illustrating this world, mashing together everything under the sun as he creates something wholly original and fresh. His raw creative energy takes this series beyond the limitations and expectations of "Shonen Anime" and ascends to new heights.

All in all, after reading Atushi Ohkubo's previous works and watching Fire Force's underwhelming first season, I can say that this second season is a much needed return to form. A return that made some of Soul Eater's best moments. If you were patient enough to make it past the first season, then I strongly implore you to check out this jam packed celebration of pure creativity. Give it about 3 episodes, and if you don't like it, drop it; I just cant help but think you're seriously missing out.