Waffle_Empress14

I don't even remember what life was like without one piece, and I can't imagine what I would do if it doesn't exist (which will be a significant problem in 5 years). That's how good this series is; it has the power to grip you and never let go, because the story is so well told that it makes you desperate to see what's going to happen.

Pros:

The artwork is incredible, and the designs of everything are extremely divers; from islands in bubbles under the ocean, to raging islands that are bombarded by lightning 24/7, to cloud cities in the sky, One Piece feels like a wonderland (filled with the stinky sweat of pirates and the harshness of monarchal governments).

The story itself may very well be the greatest ever told, as the plot is told in a way that twists planned out, 5, or maybe even 10, years prior unfold often and constantly shock you as you read on the toilet (or bidet, if that's what you prefer).

Part of the stories greatness involves the depth of the characters; one piece feels like a living, breathing universe where everything makes sense, and there's very few inconsistency, which is impressive given that Oda has to actively keep track of hundreds of characters that are playing a role within the manga.

Cons:

One of a select few series that I won't place any cons. I guess a single, glaring con could be Oda's perversion, but if you don't care about author's personal lives, and don't plan on reading question corners, then you'll be all set (living pervert free for the rest of your days).

I discovered Koe no Katachi by chance, and within a day had the entire story finished. It’s an absorbing coming-of-age romance, heavy on the drama with hints of comedy to lighten the tone. It jointly focuses on bullying, the issues of friendship and chasing after one’s dreams. Koe no Katachi has a unique twist though: the main romance is between a deaf girl, Nishimiya Shouko, and the guy who bullied her in elementary school, Ishida Shouyo. An odd pairing it is indeed, but the relationship is driven by the insecurities and weaknesses of both characters, questioning the limits and potential of catharsis to heal what was an utterly broken relationship.

One of Koe no Katachi’s most noticeable features is how human the characters seem. The manga, although having started publishing in 2013, relies very little on the tropes that seem to dominate manga and anime today. Although certain characters do appear to fulfil popular archetypes (for example, Ueno Naoka, the classic childhood friend), it is not what defines their personality. It is instead a catalyst for the events that take place in the manga, and the actual plot and the development of the manga are by far more significant contributors to the personalities of the characters. Koe no Katachi displays its characters proudly, and rightly so, as they are a truly exemplary of what happens when a romance story can do things right.

Our main character, Ishida Shouyo, starts the manga as the cast’s most unsympathetic character, a shock for sure. His vile treatment of the eponymous ‘silent voice’ of the manga, Nishimiya Shouko, prompts her to leave the school, spawning hatred from the reader and even his group of friends, who have spent the years since Shouko left the school bullying him. The story of Koe no Katachi is therefore actually split into two: One the one hand, it is a story of Shouyo attempting to repair his ruined relationship with Shouyo, and on the other hand it is about Shouyo finding a place again in society. Through hanging out with Shouyo, Shouko too is helped to overcome her own disability. As many a romance story has done before it, Koe no Katachi portrays the lives of two high-school students who are able to create much a much happier place for themselves by working together and with their friends.

Shouko is the real heart and soul of the manga, her stubborn kindness extending even to the boy who made her elementary school life a living hell. Whether or not her character relies too heavily on this trait is tricky to say. The conclusion I came to was that, had I lived as harsh a life as hers, friendship is something I would crave more than anything else. Her pursuit of catharsis is not so surprising really taken in this light. I would add that it is Shouko’s openness and innocent friendliness that brings out the best in the other characters too.

While not featuring as heavily as Shouyo and Shouko, the support characters are certainly not underdeveloped. The focus is initially placed on the relationships of these characters with Shouya, and how he helps them to get to know Shouka better. By the midpoint of the story though, these characters act independently, contributing heavily to the direction of the manga, in particular the ‘Let’s make a movie!’ storyline that occupies a significant portion of the overall manga. At certain points even, the story focuses entirely on these side characters and their relationships with each other, such that, when Shouya’s and Shouka’s relationship returns to the forefront, the reader notices a much warmer ‘group’ feeling, and more developed relationships between all the characters.

Although the story is not a long one, spanning only 65 volumes, there is a remarkable breadth in the topics Koe no Katachi manages to cover. Early in the story, Shouya nearly resorts to suicide before meeting Shouka, and death is a persistent theme in the manga – Shouka’s younger sister Yuzuru has an uncomfortable obsession with the topic even, going so far as to nearly only take pictures of the dead animals she finds. Being set in a high-school, also addressed are common issues such as the future plans and careers of the cast, and what it means to be ‘normal’. However, Shouko’s deafness really helps set this apart from the way these topics are typically dealt with in the high-school genre. With her disability, the topic of her future is a very important, as is how she is considered an outsider by society. The author deals with the topics in a very capable manner that fully demonstrates his respect for Shouko, her disability, and having to lead her life at a constant disadvantage. Shouko’s deafness is obviously the major theme of the manga. Although I cannot speak for the accuracy of the sign language which is prominently featured in the manga, the author takes great pains not to make Shouko’s deafness a gimmick, but a fully realised and critical aspect of her interaction with the other characters, which anyone who has experience with a hearing impairment will definitely appreciate.

The manga’s art is both detailed and very lifelike, with not a disproportionate head or oversized pair of eyes to be found. This massively helps in reinforcing the drama of the story. One thing I would point is the mangaka’s ingenious visual representation for Shouya’s seclusion from his classmates. The faces of the people Shouya hates are all crossed out, and Shoya’s gradual development as a character is accompanied by the faces slowly being revealed providing a very effective visual means to portray the development of his relationships.

One other technique that popped out was the heavy use of honorifics to signal how the perception of relationships changes. Many of the characters distanced themselves by changing how they would refer to Shouya or Shouka, adding a –san for example. This blatant relationship development suits the manga style well, making situations with several characters and the numerous relationships involved that much easier to follow.

Koe no Katachi takes a very positive and optimistic outlook on handling a hardship which can never be truly overcome, only minimised. It’s a story that is wrought with drama but critically no melodrama. All the conflict is fundamentally human, and is dealt with as though it were a conflict taking place in real-life. I highly recommend Koe no Katachi to people looking for a good romance manga, and also to people looking for a very down to earth and personal story.

May These Leaden Battlegrounds Leave No Trace.

In typical light novel fashion, the long title relates to the overall plot of the story, which one will see immediately upon entering the novel.

This novel series has great potential. It has an interesting story, that, while not unique by any means, can still hold readers invested in the world it takes place in.

Unfortunately, I found the overall writing quality of the book lacking. Events that have little correlation to each other spring up in succession, leaving me feeling a bit confused at what was going on. There doesn't seem to be any plot consistency as continuity errors are numerous. The author writes down one thing as fact and then suddenly blows it away a few pages later without any explanation.

The characters are standard. They don't break any new ground and fit into your classic archetypes. That being said, they aren't terrible and serve as a decent set of eyes for the reader to peer through. The art is also average; it's not particularly memorable, but it gets the job done.

I will also note that despite some early comparisons when the series first came out, Leaden Battlegrounds is quite different than 86. They both share a setting of bloodshed and constant warfare, but that's about it.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this series. For all its faults, I still found myself eager to flip the page and see what happens next in the dreary world our protagonists found themselves in. I look forward to reading the next volumes and hope that as time goes on, the writing quality will improve, and the novel's great potential will be fulfilled.

Considering it was a debut and old as all hell, it was surprisingly well. It was a short one-shot and the kid was pretty cute. There wasn't a lot of comedy and it was really fast-paced. I will admit I'm a bit biased to Akamatsu's work, but I thought it was pretty wholesome and cute. It's nothing to compare to his later works, however, but it was a comprehensive start and it's nice to see how his art and stories have developed over the years and projects and series. All in all, it was decent, good enough for a beginner in that time period, but not good enough to sell on the market solo without hardcore fans these days.

A very good subversive series that explores the life of an gyaru idol who also happens to be a god-gifted karate master. The series has some less-than-tasteful moments, so I wouldn't recommend it to the feint of heart, it deals with some pretty fucked up shit too, like sexual assault, mental illness, family trauma, etc.

One of the things I noticed while reading this series was the influence that the author drew from the Baki series, specifically in the artstyle (many panels are inspired by Baki, specifically in fights), and that leads into the best thing about this series, despite how the MC is often placed in obscene situations, more often than not she overcomes them with her martial arts skill and sheer power. The series truly comes into its own when the tournament arc begins, and a whole cast of female martial artists are introduced. The fights are all amazing and don't drag on with excessive flashbacks or explanations, drawing inspiration from Baki while still managing to have its own style.

Fear Chinese Loli Kuroki, for there is no escape.

Well just finished chapter 1: Until the ice melts and turns to blood, well this manga was on my "on-hold" list for quite some time because I thought that this would be some form of horror manga. Don't know where I got the idea, maybe because of the first chapter's name. Guess I'm too sensitive to the word "blood".


I would give the story a 8 because the author didn't feed you all the information, instead he allow you to explore on your own, hmmmmm...

The art is an 8 too, not the worst but one of the best around.

Guess that's all for now...

It is a reincarnation isekai. A boy reborn in anotherworld.... and grows to be very powerful.

The problem with this manga is that it is incredibly dull, and occasionaly rambles about few recurring ideas only to drop them shortly without getting anywhere. The art isn't bad - it is either average or slightly above it, but neither characters nor story get anywhere, it lacks speed, tension or, well, anything. So, very dull.

Details:

Story: 4/10.
There are some decent and unusual elements there, however, the problem is its dullness. There is neither tension nor amazingly destructive fireworks like in some other isekai. It sorta trudges on and keeps going on somewhere, without any events having much drama or impact. You'll see steretypical elements of all isekai reincarnators here - like adventure guild, rank systems, and so on. The manga occasionally tries to ramble about more complex concepts, like the whole "Daydreamer" thing, but they don't really sound convincing, and usually fall flat.

Art: 5/10
It is not bad, and I'm not sure if I'd rate it 5/10 or 6/10. Designs are fairly standard without anything exceptional, but level of details is a bit higher than usual.

Characters: 4/10.

This manga features incredibly unlikeable and annoying female lead which is called elk. A glasses girl of uncertain type of character whose purpose is apparently to be irritating. Characters have difficulty displaying much of distinct personality and in general bland.

Enjoyment: 4/10.
It is dull. After going through 29 chapters I felt incredible boredom.

Overall: 4/10
I odn't recommend picking it up unless you're really, really, really bored. It is not horrible, but it lacks anything interesting in it. The art is nice, though, but I'm unsure if that would be a good reason to read it.

I found this manga to be amusing and sweet...

Yuuri and Mia are your normal girls. Best friends and all. They show you what can happen when two friends with the same goal get separated by jealousy.

Although Yuuri at first is seen like the bad guy, I think her character was very well portrayed, she shows emotion and reacts to situations.

Both girls passion for modeling made them be better and they didn't want it to get in between their friendship.

The art was nice and their expressions spoke for them.

It also shows you that friendship, if strong enough can survive anything and everything.

This has a plot that has been done to death in various forms of media, with a cast of characters that are boring and unmemorable.

The author relies on shock factor to maintain viewership instead of anything remotely resembling a compelling story or character development.

The only saving grace to this is that the art is fantastic. The scenes are very visual and detailed. I always knew what was going on in any scene and never had to re-read to see what was being rendered.

The story is basically the movie 'Hostel' mixed with -tube video uploading websites. There is no real protagonist. Everyone is a villain. No one is really important enough to keep alive. This is apparently a fantasy world where there are no consequences for violent crime. The more depraved the better and everyone tries to one up each other.

This contains graphic rape and murder, pedophilia, necrophilia, and about anything else related to sex and death that you can imagine. If it wasn't for genital censorship, it would belong in the extreme hentai manga category.

The reason I give this manga a 6 is because the story develops very slowly and when you finally have something going on , it ends abruptly.It had alot of potential and I wish they would have continued further, but unfortunetly there is no questions answered and no development.

The art also was not much of a big deal, it was not bad but not interresting.

Characters were alot of fun, to bad you don't get to know them that much. The main character was original and was fun to watch and had an interresting backround.

My biggest enjoyement is the main character who is, in my opinion very original. They also used some historical figures from 17th century France such as Louis XIII
and Cardinal Richelieu , and also some fictional characters you will recognize if you are familiar with Alexandre Dumas.

Honestly, I wouldn't really recomend this manga if you want a complete story with a good ending with no cliffhangers. But you can enjoy the sense of humor which was entertainning, the main character and how the story was starting to developped, but you might still be dissapointed afterwards.