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This is an anime that had so much promise, unfortunately it fails horribly to live up to what it is capable of reaching.

As an anime that is meant to appeal to fans of its source material (Dragon Age franchise) it fails almost immediately in every department.

One of the first things that came to mind when watching this was the art style, it sort of looked like a good old PS2 game, while the graphics itself isn't terrible ( I actually liked the facial animation and some of the motion capture was pretty smooth) the direction was incredibly boring, the fight scenes were poorly directed and ... the environments looked even more dull and boring than the environments of Dragon Age 2.

Another reason why this anime was a complete let down was that the production studio obviously didn't do enough research regarding the rich and complex lore of the source material. I can tell that the developers probably played the opening act of Dragon Age 2 and were given a few pages of paper that briefly explain the lore of the game and maybe a few pages of concept drawings but this was absolutely insufficient.

There were so many things shown in the anime that heavily contrast the lore of the source material. For example in the game the mages were strictly guarded at all times and they are forbidden from ever leaving the tower other than very rare and extremely important events such as a blight but in the anime the mages were given much more leniency, circle mages working outside the tower without any templar supervision would have lead to them being branded as apostates and thereby hunted as very dangerous individuals. Another thing that bothered me was the appearance of Ogres (Darkspawn creatures) alongside golems and the characters didn't even think how strange it is for so many ogres to be working with golems, it just didn't make sense and no explanation was given and if you have ever played the games you will understand why this upsets me very much.

Overall this anime is a terrible waste of potential, it could have been something so much better but instead we are given this cheap mediocre anime that was made by people who had very little idea about the source material and is actually counter productive to what it was meant to be (an anime meant to be enjoyed by fans and introduce people who have never played the games in to the game)

As someone who considers Front Mission 3 to be one of his favorite games of all time I am very disappointed in this manga adaptation.

Story:
Because this is a Front Mission manga I was expecting plenty of awesome Wanzer (Mecg) on Wanzer action but instead the story follows a reporter from Japan who is sent to the Hauffman islands (a key subject in the games) to cover the ongoing territorial disputes between the 2 super power the USN and the OCU both of which are claiming sovereignty over the new island. The story had the potential to be good and interesting but it as a Front ... Mission manga you are expecting lots and lots of awesome metalic mayhem but what we are given is a psychological drama that follows the characters' quick descent into madness.

Art:
The art is pretty good although there are plenty of titles that have arguably better artwork than this it does get the job done, it is however rather difficult to tell the Americans from the OCU (mostly asian) citizens. The Wanzers may look good but you can't really tell them apart from each other without the insignia of whichever country they are from. Finally there are plenty of nudity and gore so if that which is definitely a step away from the video game adaptations.

Characters:
This is where it really fails, the characters are terrible they are all sadistic bastards. This title is obviously saying that war brings out the worse in people however it doesn't show that it also brings out the best in some people (people like those who end up helping strangers such as those people who aided the Jews during the Nazi purges).

The soldiers are insulting to their real life counterparts or even their video game adaptation counterparts because they have absolutely no ounce of honor in them, there was this scene where an enemy helicopter destroys an ally Wanzer and when the helicopter is shot down and the crew surrender the allies of the fallen wanzer executed the pilots not because they were angry but rather they killed for the sake of killing. Another example is that the soldiers commit such atrocities such as raping innocent civilians and hanging the severed heads of their fallen enemies on the barrel of their guns all in the presence of media personnel which in real life would have resulted in some serious court marshals. Compare that to the characters from the game where common ordinary enemy soldiers show signs of remorse such sa saying lines like "I'm sorry it had to end like this" and the soldiers were clearly fighting for what they believed in not for the opportunity to commit mass murder.

Enjoyment:
The manga barely shows any mecha action, at most it shows a few panels of Wanzers shooting at things and blowing up but they hardly play a large role, the manga mostly focuses on bombarding the reader with gruesome scenes of severed limbs and all kinds of innards littering the half the panels of some chapters.

Overall:
This is a missed opportunity the mangaka could have made a great action title but in the end they focused on using the shock factor of war and nothing else, I did not see a single character in this title that was remotely honorable save for the nurse at the reception but other than that everyone else is evil

Very few mangas have a roman setting so this is sort of a gem for fans of the movie "Gladiator".

As a oneshot there is very little room for this title to move around in terms of action and story, but the author manages to admirably make a story that is more driven by the characters' relationship with one another than the actual action itself.

Probably the best selling point for this one shot is the awesome artwork, great detail was resent in every panel and there are also some decent fight scenes that have nothing to do with super powers or special techniques that require their ... names to be shouted before being used. Although it can also get pretty confusing sometimes since the transition from panel to panel is pretty hard to follow sometimes

The biggest letdown aside from it being short is the fact that even though the Roman Legion plays a key part in this setting, they don't actually stand out as well... "Roman" they might as well be a fictitious army similar to those in other fantasy anime and manga, the only resemblance they have to Rome's mighty legion is that they have their uniform but I was hoping to see just a little bit more of their trademark formations and tactics such as the Legendary Testudo formation. But of course this is just a one shot, and I'm hoping for this title to become a full blown manga series in the future similar to Berserk so it can have more room for development and added detail to become a rich Roman / Fantasy hybrid epic.

Ikkitousen is a hit and miss manga, it excels in many areas and fails equally in vital areas.

The pros:
1. Ikkitousen has great artwork, the earlier chapters contain good artwork but the later chapters are outstanding. The girls of Ikkitousen are the major selling point of this title, and as the series progresses the girls begin to be depicted in more and more explicit ways (it went from simple panty shots to down right rape scenes and I'm not saying that's a bad thing). The only bad thing about this is that sometimes its very difficult to identify one character from the other particularly the girls ... since most of them have the same physique and are mostly identifiable only by their hairstyle and it can also get confusing as well

2. There's plenty of fight scenes here and most of it if not all are littered with nipple and panty shots at minimum, the gore level also increases as the series progresses. There are some fight scenes that are hard to follow but the incredible artwork would mostly compensate for it

The cons:
1. The story is extremely confusing. Many people will probably drop this title for this major flaw. If the reader is not an expert of "The Romance of the 3 Kingdoms Saga" then chances are that the reader will be frustrated.

2. There are way too many characters here, sometimes its good but most of the time the characters that get introduced especially the very minor ones only add to the confusion, as stated earlier some of these characters share very similar features which doesn't make it easier to follow the story.

Overall Ikkitousen is aimed at a niche market. If your after plenty of panty shots of some seriously hot manga babes and many intense fight scenes and don't mind a very confusing story and plot then look no further.

If you're after a deep and complex title however, then you will be disappointed despite the mangaka's attempts of making the plot to be as epic as the historical events it was based on.

An incredibly blood thirsty take no prisoners style of manga where no one is safe. This title is incredibly violent and not for the faint of heart. This title is so violent that no one in the story is spared not even the elderly, the women and the children (all of whom share an equal amount of brutality) therefore this is definitely not for the squeamish.

The story is set during a medieval Europe style world and is divided mainly into three major arcs (for now at least since this is an ongoing series and will most likely have more major arcs in the future). ... Each arc is very different from each other for instance the earliest arc is comprised mainly of man on man combat and plenty of castle siege scenes so expect plenty of soldiers and dead bodies littering the pages, while the second arc focuses on Guts killing probably the most disturbing monsters in manga history.

The artwork is exceptional good considering this is a long running series that started during the late 80's. There are plenty of highly detailed scenes and this can be very disturbing since it is extremely graphic with plenty of severed heads, decapitated bodies and exposed intestines. It also contains plenty of hard core sex scenes which gives you the feeling that you are actually reading a manga title. Regardless of the shear brutality within these pages, the reader will be able to appreciate the amount of detail here such as the unique armor sets of individual soldiers, the grotesque individual details on the monsters and the extremely detailed environments that range from small villages to castle dungeons and the city sieges.

Characters are pretty well developed and mostly focuses on the main character Guts and his relationship with other major characters but the rest of the cast also share a fair amount of exposure. All characters have a dark side and it can be difficult to actually determine who the good guys are since the main character himself is sort of like a demon in nature.

For the enjoyment part, if you like a deep story and plenty of action then you'll love it. There are plenty of chapters that only contain battle scenes

Overall if you like an action packed blood thirsty manga with a monster fetish then this title is for you

This manga is pretty much a harem title (expect a descent amount of fan service) with plenty of violence (not nearly as much as other titles though). The story is set during medieval japan so expect plenty of samurai and ninja action and the plot is about Raizou, a boy with a horn on his forehead and this horn has led society to demonize him but the truth is the boy is actually a very warmhearted person and is in fact the illegitimate child and last remaining heir to the noble Katana household. He meets up with several kunoichis who serve under the said household ... and together they plan to revive the house by having Raizou marry a princess of a highly influential house, but along the way they continuosly encounter an organization that plans to eliminate the Katana household as well as several other enemies.

The artwork is very good, the girls look gorgeous and the medieval Japanese theme is pretty well drawn. The characters are very well animated, and their expressions are very well drawn.

Pretty much all of the characters are very likable, and there are plenty of characters who will surprise you. One of the more notable characters here is Raizou's mother who happen to be nothing more than a mortuary tablet, although she doens't have any speaking roles, her presence alone provides plenty of comic relief. All characters have a different personality (not necessarily unique to this title) but you should also expect some stereotypical characters here and Raizou happens to be one of them (he's just the kind of here you'd expect to be in a harem title shy, kind and completely clueless when it comes to romance and girls)

Despite the obvious flaws it has, the good far outnumber the bad and its definitely a joy to read. The plot isn't too deep but the characters more than make up for it. The action scenes are also pretty good and for you Naruto fans out there, I'm sure you'll find a technique or two that sounds very very familiar...

Overall Rappi Rangai is a very entertaining title and that's all that matters. The characters are funny, energetic and likable. The action is intense and there are some fight scenes that haven't been seen before in any other title (I think)... There are also plenty of fan service. The only problem I found in this title is that there aren't plenty of English translated scans available out there but the Rappi Rangai team are working very hard so please be patient

Slam Dunk is probably the best manga ever published and the anime version is one of the best I have ever seen. Even though the series has ended more than a decade ago, many people wiill wholeheartedly agree that this franchise has stood the test of time.

The story is simple but the execution is incredible, each chapter is filled with humor, action, drama, comedy and a whole lot more. The anime series was good and worthy of being considered a landmark anime, but if you have yet to see the anime then you don't know what you're missing. However there are things that ... are not shown in the anime series which is why it is crucial for you to read this manga. The interhigh games are a blast!

Takehiko Inoue certainly knew how to end the series with a bang! The last game is so good, every character is at their best and certainly no other title can rile up the readers emotions like this, it really feels like your watching the NBA finals.

The artwork is simply great even though there are a lot of better looking manga out there, the decade old graphics still manages to go toe to toe with other more recent titles out there.

The characters of this title are by far the most fully developed in any title out in the market and I'm not just talking about the main characters, I'm also talking about the supporting cast even those belonging to rival teams. The character development is so good that it is difficult to choose one character as a favorite. Each character has a well told background even those who appear in just a few chapters have a very detailed and well executed background story. You'll probably remember the names of not only the Shohoku players but also the names of their rivals, most notably "Sendoh".

Overall Slam Dunk is one of the best Manga ever made and I'm sure that once you read it, you will agree with me. I guarantee that you won't be able to resist finishing the manga in a few days if not a few hours because it is that damn good. If you think the anime was great, try reading the manga and I'm sure you'll feel that the anime series could have been better, the interhigh games are one hell of a joyride!

A One Shot that starts with a BANG!!!... but eventually looses its luster. That's probably the best way to sum it up. It's about a T-Rex trapped inside a Japanese high school girls body.

The Good:
The beginning is a wild roller coaster ride that will keep the reader interested for a while.
Funny characters and situations.
Unique story.
Decent artwork.

The Bad:
The layout of the drawings become more and more chaotic.
... Becomes hard to follow halfway along the story.
The pacing is unbalanced, it starts from fast to faster to unbearably fast.
Lots of low brow humor (mostly slapstick comedy).

Overall: It has a lot of funny moments here and there and the fast pace of the first few pages are well executed but it becomes increasingly difficult to follow what exactly is going on.

Want a One Shot title that truly feels like a complete story?


The story is about a young Japanese stunt woman striving to become a Hollywood actress, along the course of the story she ends up being given the chance of playing a small role which she sees as an opportunity to improve her career but before she could accept the role she had to first go back to Japan to attend her brother,s wedding. While in Japan, a hotel near the one she's staying at is set aflame by a freak accident and a couple of kids are stuck at the burning building and ... this is where it gets really interesting...

A compelling story isn't the only thing that stands out in this title, the artwork is no push over as well, it may not be as good as other titles out there but this is still above average. I personally liked the way the characters' expressions are shown, it has an intense look to them.

By far, this title is perhaps the most satisfactory One Shot I have ever read, it has a great unique story, great artwork, great pace, a great leading character and it really feels like a whole story is complete. It's a must read for anyone looking for a great One Shot title... Trust me you won't be disappointed.

This is a One Shot about a teenage girl who is madly in love with one of her schoolmates... but actually there's just a little bit more to it than that, there's also a little bit of incest in here...

Anyway as I just said before, this is about an overly energetic and imaginative teenager who has a huge crush on one of her schoolmates, during the course of this story she will have multiple fantasies about how to get closer to the guy she likes while her brother helps her picture these scenarios.

The artwork is pretty good, similar to titles like Ichigo 100%, there are ... a some of ecchi scenes as well (no complaints there) and the energetic girl is very amusing. Although only a few pages long, like most One Shots, this title does not fail to entertain.

Overall this title is an all right title and I think this is suitable for both boys and girls because it has enough ecchi scenes to keep us intrigued and it has that very PINK girly romance as well.