Overall |
7 |
Story |
7 |
Art |
6 |
Character |
7 |
Enjoyment |
7 |
Museum is a tightly structured thriller that follows a rather basic story template of a detective/cop who involves people precious to him in a crime and forces him to stray towards vigilante justice to save them.
Majority of thrillers lives and dies on their execution. The most important aspect of this work is not the story or complex themes but simply the ability to engage and excite the viewer which Museum excels at more than anything. There's a constant sense of tension throughout the three volumes that makes you want to keep turning page after page to find out what happens next.
Is this the
next attack of the serial killer? Will cops arrive in time to protect the victim? Is this person sitting next to them is the criminal? What will happen to the next victim? Museum keeps you on the edge by trying to find the answer to all of these questions that will probably unravel before in just a few pages. While the main plot is steadily rising you get a whole lot of smaller arches along the well with their own rising action and climaxes and this rapid loop is what really gripped me to finish this in almost one sitting. That kind of set-up and payoff structure actually reminds me a bit of Urasawa and that's a bit complement cause I think there are few mangaka that can engage the reader as well as he does. The only gripe I had with it by the end is that the actual ending itself is vague and very much up to interpretation which doesn't add anything of value and feels like a copout.
The short length actually plays into the strengths of this manga cause when there aren't 20 more volumes left there's no sense of anybody being safe, not to say it's unpredictable but the author uses it to mess with the viewer more than once and it works.
Now despite the length, it also manages to give you a lot of info about the characters through occasional quick flashbacks that allow you to get a glimpse into the characters head and help contextualize their feelings.
When it comes to art Museum is solid but not great. I like the designs and the rare action felt weighty but otherwise, it doesn't stand out. The excellent pacing and paneling keeps you from staring at anything for too long but if you do there's not much for you to see.
Worth mentioning is that Museum also includes two unrelated bonus chapters. One about a professional killer meeting an abused girl and helping her out of sympathy and one about a group of friends running over a person while riding to a suicide mountain to see some dead people, that one is a bit more paranormal.
Museum is a rather exciting short read, I recommend you check it out, especially if you're a fan of thrillers.
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