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I've really enjoyed this manga so far. It was confusing at first, but since things have developed enough, I've been able to piece things together. It's still not the easiest story to follow, but many things have been explained, and the revelations are pretty amazing to me. I really just like the overall tone of the series too. With it's mixture of light humor amidst the seriousness of this fucked up, post apocalyptic world, it's a fun, immersive experience. The back and forth between the past and present, while confusing, is still enjoyable. The mystery of it all keeps you reading as well. The art, ... while not amazing, I really enjoy. I like the style, it fits the world very well, as it balances out the bleakness of it with a sort light touch. I don't think there's a ton of tone used, and the line work is clean. Overall I'd say it has a sort of spaced out, open vibe to it, with plenty of small details as well.

My first reaction to Vinland Saga was something like, this is a terrible Berserk rip off. After falling in love with the anime, only after a second watch, I decided to reread it. I still don't love the manga as much as the anime, which is unusual for me but, as even the author has stated, the anime fixes some of the pacing issues in the manga, which feels a little too quick. Also, though the art is amazing in Vinland Saga, really top notch, it can't create feeling just by being stellar, and this is something the anime does manage to do to some ... degree, while the manga does not. The manga, while a decent work, certainly impressive in terms of art, is really nothing special in my opinion. It's a historical epic with humor that often falls completely flat and is not handled well at all. The story, though not without its merits in terms of character development, especially after the first arc, is too fast paced to enjoy all that much. The second arc, the farm arc, is the best in the whole series and really the diamond in the rough. Everything else is overhyped shonen battle stuff with more blood and death. Highly recommend the anime, the manga, I have mixed feelings about. Especially since it's so expensive to buy. It's beautiful but, doesn't serve as much more than an ornament on my shelf. Not something I'm really proud to own. Which is a shame, as the last arc is pretty well done as well, at least so far, and it seems like it will have a pretty decent ending.

The attack on titan story, is a masterpiece, but unfortunately, the manga's art does not do it justice. A rare instance of this in manga. It does improve as the series goes on, however, the style doesn't get that much better, so don't get your hopes up. I'd still recommend it, as the story is just too good to pass up. I recommend both the anime and the manga, so you can the source material as well as the adaption, which are pretty similar though there are of course some differences.

If you don't know anything about attack on titan, it's kind of like a ... political thriller disguised as a horror manga. Things are not at all how they seem where you start off. And there's foreshadowing from the very beginning that you most likely won't catch, though you may be able to guess to some extent what is coming. At the end, you have such a deep story it's simply amazing, and that goes for all of fiction. Some people were not happy with the ending. I can't blame them, it's a bit of a head scratcher, though I think there's a lot of beauty in it personally. It's not one hundred percent perfect, but it's still damn good, and that's about the best you can hope for in a world of imperfections.

Need to reread this one, but, my first read left me with the impression that it was pretty much a masterpiece. I believe the 9 is because the beginning is a bit rocky, and maybe because the ending wasn't great, I can't exactly remember the ending. It compares to Vagabond for me, when I liked Vagabond anyway. The art is amazing, some of the best art in manga. The idea is pretty cool too. It's somewhat based on a real person, though it's not one hundred percent accurate, which sort of leaves you with a strange feeling at the end, almost like you wish you ... hadn't know that and knew it was just a piece of fiction, because it feels so real. It is a realistic manga. I guess it could be classified as a sports manga. Not a huge cast of interesting characters really, the main character really steals the show.

My first read of Dorohedoro left me surprised. It was a slow burn, but I loved it. I only felt like it had one flaw, which was that there was pretty much no romance, even though there could have been. However, when looking at the manga as a whole, the author's decision to end things as they did, makes a lot of sense.

This is a pretty weird manga, and you may immediately be put off by the art style, however, while it does improve some, you also learn to just appreciate it rawness. If you read online, the color pages are really neat too.

On a ... reread, without the surprises, as Dorohedoro is good for a large part because of its mystery, it isn't as good as a manga, and 9 might even be a bit over zealous, but it's still a solid manga. I definitely recommend giving it a try. It's a favorite in the manga community for a reason. It's weird and whacky, but in a good way, with a very odd sense of humor that may not make you laugh out loud, but certainly peaks your interest. The cast of characters is also pretty large, but each one manages to make you like them in some way, to the point where the protagonist may not even been seen for several chapters, and you won't mind.

I really enjoyed this manga. It's informative, teaching you about various martial arts, while also entertaining. Personally I found the main character very likeable, though he does fall into that prodigy trope already heavily used in manga and anime. Still, his skills improve over the course of the series. It does get a bit repetitive by the end, and I feel there was some room for improvement with some of the plot points, but overall it's a really solid manga that I really enjoyed. The ending also pissed me off a bit but, I learned to appreciate enough to not let it ruin the manga ... for me, though I'm not a fan of endings that aren't a bit more obvious as to what the author's intent was.

The art, while maybe looking a bit wonky or different, is really not bad. I even sort of enjoyed it by the end of the series.

So, I wouldn't recommend this manga to everyone. First off, you should probably be at least 18, if not 25 before you read it, because not only is it very mature, it's also very realistic, and these two factors and not a good combo for someone who is not fully developed mentally. It also has the most depressing ending I've ever read. It didn't make me cry so much as it made me feel empty or distraught.

That being said, as much as it is very realistic, to the point where, when you see foggy breath in the cold you can smell the autumn air, ... it is also very surreal, with tons of stuff that's just crazy and would most likely never happen. Herein lies part of its charm though. Asano uses real pictures for his backgrounds, which blend right in except for a couple of times, but also draws the main character as a very simplistic cartoon bird, as well as his close family. The art is fantastic and easily a reason to read this manga without any regard for the story.

The dialogue and monologues used in this manga can sometimes be over the top and might annoy some readers. The key is to not take anything too seriously. If you try too hard to understand the story on your first go, it's going to annoy you, because it's complicated, confusing, and seemingly nonsensical at times.

But, for the more experienced reader, it does also have a ton of stuff going on. I'd say it's density is comparable to Monster by Urasawa, with a lot to unpack and speculate about. Mostly on a philosophical level I'd say. So that can be nice for some readers.

I myself have read the series three times and have had a love hate relationship with it. I really enjoyed my latest read, but could see my next read being negative. It just depends on where your head is at and how you approach it. At it's best, it's a masterpiece, at it's worst, it seems like pointless drivel, or trauma porn, but, I think, that even this, can be part of its charm if the reader doesn't take it too seriously and views it as a piece of art and creative expression.

I think I may need to reread this one. I've read it multiple times but, something changed on my latest reread. The story went from like a 10 to a 7 being generous for me.

The main reason being that the story just felt really immature. Particularly the main character. I guess if you're not into that sort of thing, you're probably going to hate this manga, because, even though Musashi does "mature" it's not exactly clear how. The philosophical musings that he spouts on his journey to become the strongest under the sun, sort of come off as mumbo jumbo or just not really making ... total sense. Maybe I need to have a different perspective and take more time when rereading it, which is what I think I'll try and do.

Anyway, the art is spectacular, some of the best in manga or just period. The story takes an interesting turn about halfway through with a new character being focused on opposed to the one we've followed up to that point. Not something you see done very often, and pretty amazing that it's pulled off really well. I actually find this character to be much more interesting than the Musashi, the main character before him.

Below, I'm going to leave my original review, just so I can come back to it compare, and, you're also welcome to read it and see what you think. But, I want to give this one a fair shake, as I think it deserves it so, I will be rereading it at some point and trying to keep my mind as open as possible, even if it's not exactly my cup of tea.

Vagabond, is an immature manga, about an immature character. Some people may be able to actually appreciate that in some objective way. My subjective feelings will not allow me to enjoy this manga anymore unfortunately. The art, is amazing, and is a big reason I'd give this manga a 7. The art rivals Berserk or anything else I've ever read in manga. The story and characters, do get better, with Kojiro pretty much stealing the manga in the second half but, this can't make up for the stupidity of the beginning. Granted, it makes for strong character development, however, I wouldn't call it, good, character development. I guess mainly because I just didn't enjoy it. It was a bumpy ride, and the pay off doesn't really feel worth it to me. In the end, Musashi still doesn't seem like he knows what the hell he's talking about, and I can't make heads or tails of it. All I see is a deeply wounded man continue his pathway to nowhere for no reason, ignoring anything sensible. If he had a reason I could understand, like Guts in Berserk, that the author elaborated on, if he really gave some thought and put in some time to explore the psychology of Musashi, I would love this manga, but Musashi's motivations seem shallow. Maybe that's human, and while that may be admirable to a realist, I'm a romantic, I like to be shown something I didn't already know, surprised and dazzled in my fiction, Vagabond doesn't do it for me. Even Kojiro, just feels like a flawed kid who got dealt a shitty hand and is just following it, and, I'd say he's even more developed and mature than Musashi, at least I appreciate something about the mystery of Kojiro. Musashi, I just can't sympathize with and don't care for. He rubs me the wrong way. He's a dull muscle head. Kojiro on the other hand can't speak, only speaks with his actions, and I suppose this mystery keeps me intrigued. If the manga was just about Kojiro, I feel like an 8 or 7 would be deserved. Maybe even 9. But with that rocky start, 7 is the best I can give right now. Newer manga readers will probably love this, but beware, you will probably fall out of love with it eventually, if you honestly mature. Or, if you're just not like me and can appreciate something that's less fantastical and more realistic.

Where to even start? I mean, Berserk really shouldn't even need a review or to be analyzed, the story just speaks for itself, however, it is a bit bumpy in the beginning. In fact, I'd really recommend checking out the 1997 anime first, as it gets you into the story while skipping some of the early stuff where Miura hadn't quite found his way yet. If you do go that route, do yourself a favor and skip episode one as well, you can watch it at the end if you like but, it really adds little to nothing to the series, and is a bad ... opener, much like Berserk's intro in the manga. Though the opener in the manga isn't as bad, it's still not nearly as good as what's to come. And, in fact, you could really skip right into Guts' upbringing right before the golden age and then slide into one of the best opening arcs of any piece of literature. After that, you're just hooked and along for the ride, and surprisingly, Berserk doesn't really ever fall off. Loses most of its cast but manages to replace it with even better, more fleshed out characters who join our protagonist on his journey. Unfortunately, Miura passed away only recently, and though the manga is being carried on by his close assistants and friend, we will never get to see what Miura's truest vision would have been. That being said, it's still carrying on fairly strong, and many fans are happy they will at least get to see an ending drawn out, rather than just reading about it in some interview.

Berserk has arguably the best art in manga, with I'd certainly argue by far the best story. It's downside, for some anyway, is that it is very sexually violent at times, not to mention just extremely violent in non sexual ways. This is off-putting for many people. Some even say it glorifies rape, or is just unnecessary. I can somewhat sympathize with the last point, however, I never felt it didn't add something to the story, though it might have been just fine without it. Berserk is a dark and gritty world, and, it'll take some time to adjust to the horrors it brings to the reader's attention. However, I find it's definitely worth it. Not only is top notch in storytelling, it's got psychology and philosophy mixed into it at just about the right degree. Not quite as strong as a Dostoevsky novel, though not as messy either! You know a story is good when just about every side character feels important or relevant, and the ones that don't, don't get much screen time. Just top notch, even if your not into manga, this will certainly get you into it and is a great place to start. You may feel the need to gradually get into it, because of the aforementioned violence, which is fine. Go at your own pace and make sure you keep your mental stability throughout. And remember, it's just a gosh dang story. I know it'll feel like something life altering afterwards, and that's fine but, it's not real, the characters, they're not real. Enjoy the distraction and piece of art for what it is, and don't let it become your whole personality and life. Though, I can't blame you if you do, as it is just an amazing piece of art.

Season 2 is just as beautiful as season one, and would rank just as high if it wasn't for the annoyance known as Arnheid, who, ironically, even manages to stir up trouble far into the future, but that's a manga only thing. Arnheid's arc, while not without its points, is just difficult to watch for me. Maybe it's just a personal thing but, I hate when characters, maybe even especially women, can't make up their mind and do something that would appear obviously dumb to the viewer. Even if it's to make a larger point, it was so hard to sit through. I hated it ... in the manga too, but having it drawn out longer in the anime, damn, really soured the end of season 2. Everything else is great though, with season one just being slightly better I think, even without the whole Arnheid thing. Season one just felt like a historical epic, season 2 gets more into the characters I think, which, is honestly done better in the manga.