This manga is a living example on why you shouldn’t listen to whoever before forming your opinions on a manga — from the low score, I expected an abysmally bad and horrible read that would make my brain rot, but this was just shocking… shocking in blowing my expectations out of the water and making me second-guess my fellow reader’s taste.
Is this manga cliche? Yes. Are there tons of tropes? Absolutely. Are there tons of world-building flaws? Sure. Yet, these flaws are all naturally occurring in any other fantasy manga, so it doesn’t affect much of the enjoyability at all. Instead, I dare say, that some of the cliches and tropes were necessary and makes for a pleasant read.
The plot may be cliche, but it was approached in an engaging way — what I mean is the pacing. Though there are certainly moments of “the power of friendship,” the pacing of this manga was done naturally and was balanced. Nothing is ever handed directly to the mc, and he actually has to struggle a bit for power, albeit with plot armor.
There’s a lot I want to say on the characters: The characters come off bad at times due to how many dumb tropes in a personality there are — mainly villains — but there’s also tons of development and natural personalities in the main cast. The mc is probably one of the best cases of this, as he knows his situation and moves on with it, undergoing more development to catch up to the FML.
As for the side characters, most of them are surprisingly developed and don’t remain as a singular plot point but contribute a small bit into the story even if they will be forgotten. The fmc is also quite likable and undergoes an equal to even greater amount of development and exposition than the mc.
Anyway, I think I ranted enough about how good and natural this manga is despite its flaws and low rated score on MAL. I do recognize some brain-dead moments in plot or character actions, but that doesn’t hinder or take away much from the manga, since it is mostly well-written. If you’re turned off by the score, give it 3 chapters or so, and you’d be surprised how good this actually is.
You guys know this is just my opinion, right?
Reading Rankings (Portnoy inspired + A Huang-Teizan Original)
10 - God’s penmanship
9 - Must-read. Drop everything else.
8 - Instant bookmark
7 - Entertaining
6 - Good to pass time
5 - Why are you reading this?
4 - Bad.
3 - Typical garbage.
2 - My head hurts.
1 - Retirement is a thought.
0 - “Did they even give you a story?!”
