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Aug 19, 2018
At the moment, only 307 people on MAL have read Ozanari-kun and 58 are reading it right now.
And that's a shame, because Ozanari-kun is a hidden gem.
What's most jarring, at first glance, is the art style.
The deranged Osomatsu-kun-esque character designs, which Asano Inio uses for joke characters in some of his other manga, are used here for every single character, and coupled with the often surreal backgrounds, they don't exactly make this manga accessible to people who aren't used to this sort of thing.
I, personally, love it, though. The same story could've been told with "normal" art, but that would just lessen the impact
...
of it.
Because of that, these characters might seem simplistic, but after reading a bit more, you'll find that they have as much depth as any others from Asano Inio's manga.
And, while the plot description on MAL is accurate, Ozanari-kun is much more than a gag manga or a gag manga parody. It does start off as a traditional, and particularly nonsensical, gag manga, but, gradually, the tone changes and the plot picks up, until it turns into a completely different story.
The two main characters, who start off one-dimensional, also begin to show their complexities, as they deepen to the point of the reader being able to care about them, despite their simple looks and blank expressions.
I won't spoil the plot, but it deals with some themes typical for Asano's manga, like searching for meaning in one's life and the cluelessness of youth.
And, if what I've already written wasn't enough for you to check Ozanari-kun out, each "chapter", except the final four, is only two pages long, so there's really no excuse not to spend an hour or so on reading this.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Apr 30, 2017
I'll just get into it.
Story: 4
Amon: Devilman Mokushiroku is supposed to be a retelling of the last arc of the original Devilman manga, so I don't recommend reading this if you haven't read the first one, because Amon doesn't explain anything about the previous plot at all.
Not only that, but it barely even explains its own plot.
The plot of Amon is all over the place. It jumps between different time periods and stories, so it actually ends up being just a bunch of episodes that don't really add up to a whole all that well.
For example, volumes 2-4 comprise one big three-volume
...
arc explaining the demons' origins, but it doesn't influence the rest of the story at all. It's just there.
The story as a whole I'd describe as mostly tedious, with some interesting parts that make you keep reading. There are also lots of fight scenes, of course, but most of them somehow seem lackluster and not worth talking about too much. The only redeeming feature are the great monster designs.
Art: 8
The best thing about Amon by far is its art. I'd go as far as saying that it's the only part that's well done and the reason I started reading it in the first place.
The art is very gritty and detailed, complementing the story very well. The character and especially the monster designs look great and are frequently shown off in beautiful single page or two-page panels. The backgrounds are also elaborately drawn, although they're often monotonous, showing mostly ruins and scorched earth.
Also, this is a very visual manga without much dialogue explaining what's going on, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. The artist builds atmosphere and expresses the characters' (mostly Akira's and Ryou's, though) psychological states visually, without much exposition. This works very well, but also makes for some confusing parts of the story, mostly regarding the characters' motivations, which are pretty unclear (at least if you ask me).
Character: 6
The characters are mostly redesigns of established characters from the original Devilman manga, some of them having been promoted to more important roles, but mostly staying the same, which is not necessarily a bad thing.
Just like in the original manga, Akira and Ryou are the most interesting characters here and Akira's character arc, revolving around him questioning his humanity, is, in my opinion, the best part of Amon.
The contrast between his demon side and his human side is done even better than in the original manga.
Amon also adds some new major villains to the Devilman lore, but they're completely forgettable and unnecessary, as are their story arcs.
Enjoyment and Overall: 5
There certainly were parts of Amon that I've enjoyed, but they're sadly burried under the bad storytelling. The reader might get a few kicks from the fighting, but that isn't very varied, either.
In conclusion, read this if you're a hardcore Devilman fan, but don't expect much more than good art, some fighting and a few moments of interesting character drama. It's a quick read, if anything.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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