I've begun this series a few years ago and at one point decided to wait a long time for all the chapters to come out. It's just the type of manga you can't stop reading once it has gripped you. I've thought about it often during my wait, the premise is so unique, the art and the characters didn't leave my mind, I just knew I had to read it in one go with everything fresh in mind.
And boy was that one hell of a ride ! It was just as good as I remembered and going into uncharted territory and it got more and more exciting to see what the author planned out for us.
I don't think I'll ever forget this manga and will definitely come back to this story.
Overall, what I liked the most was the balance of the work. At first, I expected a full on "brawl manga with sprinkle of plot" from this but was pleasantly surprised to see a real delve into the capoeira culture (I'm not an expert so can't say how accurate this is but you can clearly see the author's passion in how he takes the time to put the focus ON all of its aspects) but not only, I really liked how we got to see the links forming between a variety of martial arts and their practicers.
Some of the characters left a huge impression on me, and we got to see some interesting character arc. I thought, the implementation of capoeira as the heart and the "mean" to develop some relationships was fascinating. Furthermore I really liked the efficiency in building some of the existing connection, as part of world building it got me more and more invested.
About the main character, I really took a liking in Ichiri but honestly I just have soft spot for sunshines like her. And you know what they say, the brighter they shine the darker the shadow, I'm glad we got to see her in both her brightest and at her lowest tho it was too little (But i'll get back to that later). I think Ichiri is a very interesting main character, first of all as a female MC in a fighting manga of course she stands out. And I really like how the authors approached this, not every character needs to remind us about the discrepancy between gender strenghts, and at the same time it's also important to point it out to make her way of fighting stand out as she uses strenght as a propeller to make her technique more efficient. She's always treated with respect by the author and her symbiosis with her emotions builds her strenght and her relationships.
She may not be perfect but she's such a rare sight I feel like I have to tresure her.
Her relationship to Jyungo was very strong, ngl the "confession" took me by surprise but it made sense and brought the plot forward in a way that didn't feel forced. It was good to see their characters evolve alternatively and join back at the end.
The other character's from the MC's entourage, all had their moment to shine and weren't forgettable npc with no personnality. Each had their own uniqueness and it was sweet to see each of them finding their place among each other. As "power of friendship-y" it could be, it didn't feel out of place.
When it comes to foes and the "potential" antagonists, tetsu-man was clearly the most fleshed out of the bunch and his fight and focus-arc must have been my favorite for different kind of reason but mostly the sheer menace his nonchalency was.
His fighting scenes with Ichiri was just ON POINT, I don't know I just fell very satisfied to see this immovable force againt this flow of determination.
During the fights, the art communicate amazingly that sheer strenght is not the focus of the fights, but the spirit is ! The care put into each panel and scenes always leave me in awe I always take the time to understand the flow of the movements, it's really amazing.
About those "potential" antagonists that's where we're coming to the least enjoyable parts of the series.
While the first part of the manga focused on defeating foes and opponent to make Ichiri stronger it also built up the "antagonists", the one who really were in control and the real threats to our characters. And they could have been such imposing threats, they had the meand to and were established as such. I was honestly so hyped to think of the scale the manga could have reached at the end, I mean involving the south american mafioso should mean something, right ?
Well... I don't know whether the manga wasn't popular enought or the author just wasn't as interested in continuing the series any longer but I feel like... we were kinda robbed. I feel like this could have gone for much longer and gotten us to much much higher place.
While the balance was there, while the characters, the plot, the stake were all steadily developping it seems like without the necessary time, those aspect couldn't be fully fledge out as non was the only focus. And it's such a shame, I'm not saying I didn't like the ending because, honestly, everything was wrapped up nicely, but the final arc occured too early that's really it. It seems like the author didn't feel like building too much anticipation and finish in a big climax but preferred to organically go over the main thematic closure. So the ending doesn't feel too much out of place imo, but there's still that lingering feeling that there was still more left to say, more characters to introduce, more combats to fight, more pain, more conflicts, more resolution, more of everything.
For example, I especially feel like Jyungo and Ichiri's arcs paralleling each other could have been so much more interesting if they both had the opportunity to delve further into their own conflicts.
There were also the introduction of some plot points that reeeeeaaally felt like they would be developped later on and I was kinda disappointed they weren't, at the same time it doesn't feel unfair to leave some things clouded in mystery especially considering the style of storytelling.
But oh well, I'm not one to ramble too much about "what-if" except when it's about a series I adore, so I guess that means I just really love Batuque at the end of the day. Some pages will live rent free in my mind until I get my hand on those physical volumes and it will for sure go in my recommendation list, so read it ! and read it again !
Oi Sim Sim Sim!!
