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Naturally, when you read a manga you expect to be provided with something new whether it be the art style, the characters or the story. Maybe more than that. Let me say this now: UNDEAD by Terashima Masashi lacks all of those except in its art direction. Well... maybe.

I just want to say this right now: Terashima Masashi is an amazing artist. His art style is perfect for the world he's trying to portray. All the evil spirits are extremely unique, detailed and heavily inked. His character designs are strange and appealing.

Although his art is great, it's hard to be forgiving elsewhere. In the ... story you follow the life of Hachiouji Tarou, a high-schooler who loses everyone he loves to spirits. While originally weak--mentally and physically--he absorbs those that he hates and hopes to avenge his mother and save his brother... all the while making some shady connections. To me, this story just seemed beaten and tired. Of course you lost everything you loved, of course you went off and tried to avenge them, of course you gained some help along the way... the list goes on. I expected it all and nothing new was really thrown at me plot-wise.

Unfortunately, even the characters were stale. Each and every one of them could be summed up with one word and their purpose could be easily discerned within a couple seconds. It's a shame, really. The only one who showed true complexity was Tarou. Tarou is thrown into a world where demons roam free, feeding on humans and can seemingly be created from something simple as abandonment. Even the weakest evil spirits are extremely dangerous, enough to obliterate a normal human.

He's stricken with grief over the loss of his family, stressed because he may never see his family ever again, constantly in pain from the trails he must endure. And he expresses all of this through his tears. He's the saving grace for the series, he's the only original person in a world of stand-ins.

Overall, this manga is pretty average. I mean, there's much, much worse out there so I can't hate it too much but it can be extremely unlikeable. Don't jump into this one expecting a masterpiece is what I'm saying.

"It's not wrong to deceive, it's wrong to deceive the wrong target."

Kurosagi is a manga about con artists and its purpose is to educate readers on some of the possible ways a person can get scammed. The main character Kurosagi was a victim, losing his parents and complicating his past as a result. Filled with retribution (and a weird apathy at times), he works to undo other con artist's work.

Now, the story is particularly lacking. It's not meant to be an epic narrative about the moral and ethical implications of swindling others (however sometimes it waxes so) but rather to educate the reader on the ... possibilities. And wow are they vast!

Where the story lacks, I think the character interactions make up for it. It's a sort-of villain-of-the-week format so the characters are the most important. Some of them are particularly interesting like the palm reader or the woman who made away with a man's money through bridal scams. Their characters are pretty flat but still interesting enough to keep me reading.

The art is good enough to convey its points so I believe the art is perfect. I can't imagine the manga being something super artsy.

Overall, I recommend this manga. Don't listen to the other reviewers. Give it a shot and make sure not to burn yourself out on it!