Lolzipop99715

Eichiro Oda is a genius.
Quick Summary; One Piece is a story about a pirate named Monkey D. Luffy who travels the world in search of the legendary treasure, One Piece. Such a simple premise, but Oda is able to keep it interesting in every chapter, every volume, and every arc.

The world building of One Piece is just peerless. There is no manga bigger than One Piece in terms of scale and lore running right now. Oda somehow made it possible for islands floating in the sky, islands made of cakes and candy, and an island on top of a gigantic elephant to coexist in the same world seamlessly without making them feel out of place. Despite the sheer size of this world, it is without any empty space; complex politics, centuries worth of history, diverse imaginative creatures, and diverse cultures are sprinkled generously all over this world.

The characters are just so full of personality and well written. They are not just fictional characters, long time readers like myself consider them like real people we share a deep connection with. This might sound cheesy but I truly feel like grew up "with" them, not just grew up reading them.

Do not overlook the art just because it looks cartoonish. The visuals storytelling and paneling are clear. The fights are truly moving and nail-biting. All of Luffy's punches, Zoro's sword swings, Sanji's kicks, and Usopp's bullet shots are drawn in the flashiest way. The comedic moments are enhanced by the expressions and visual cues. The background and geography are beautiful and comprehensive.

You most certainly can binge read the whole series, almost 900 chapters, effortlessly. My second and third times rereading this manga is better than the last. I kept finding new details that Oda prepared beforehand and seeing the iconic memorable moments in a new light. When seeing Coby from chapter 2, I feel so much anticipation and hype for his upcoming growth- His reunion with Luffy after Water7 Arc and his speech from Marineford war are just too good - and this is only a side character from chapter 2. My feelings when seeing Ace, Mihawk, and Robin in their first appearance are all the more overwhelming.

10/10, wish I can give it a higher score.

Although I gave the same 8/10 to Urasawa's other manga 20th Century Boys and Pluto, overall I like Monster the most. I think Urasawa is really good at writing thrillers but he has a bad habit at messing up in some areas that prevents his manga from being super classics. That being said Monster is one of my favorite manga.

I am going to assume everyone already has a basic grasp of the premise to Monster, so I'll skip that introduction. The first thing I would like to talk about is the characters, since they were one of the most notable parts of the manga to me.

I can't really say the character of Kenzo Tenma is unique, I think everyone has seen the kind of depressed and reluctant, yet still kind altruist at heart on a mean mission. Normally seeing such a character archtype play out is really boring to me, but that didn't really bother me in Monster. I don't know exactly what separates him from Kevin Yamagata, and the main dude from 20th Century, but I think it has to do with how he just kind of darker than those characters. Although like I said he is still an altruist and a nice guy at heart, he never gets on the soapbox giving some tearjerker shit that I've seen like 10 times in Billy Bat, Urasawa's latest manga. So that just made Tenma more likeable to me, the way his character played out was just a little bit more mature and that made the difference. But Tenma is actually, in my opinion, one of the least interesting characters in Monster. As in Urasawa's other manga, the characters are all pieces in a really grand plot, and although theres a main character he is not as influential as Johan Liebert, the main antagonist.

Johan was my favorite part of the manga, because he captured a suspense in me. Everytime he appears you know shit is going down. This is really similar to Urasawa's other antagonists, like Friend in 20th Century, but he started doing this archetype with Johan first. Johan is a complicated character, and the mystery of his past dominates most of the plot. Urasawa humanizes him in the middle of the manga, and progressively more so towards the end, specifically in the beginning of the manga he was less of a character and more of a plot device. The reader doesn't know anything about him until later. I'm not going to spoil big stuff, but I enjoyed the backstory of him as well as his twin sister Anna, another important character. Although I liked the jigsaw puzzle of his past, the way events unfolded in revealing it all was kind of sloppy, but I'll talk more about that later. Anyways, Johan is a huge dominating presence and really gets the blood rushing in the reader. In the end of the manga when the reader gets a chance to pry into his character, Urasawa really excells at making him scary but also a guy you can start to figure out a little, like his complexes start to make sense. I enjoyed being able to put those details together, as I think most readers would. Johan is definitely the most mysterious character in this manga, but he isn't super fleshed out, like I said before just enough to make him interesting but not enough that hes just some bitch sap who isn't cool. Then the manga would lose its thrill.

There are tons of side characters in Monster, and I definitely can't go over them all. Some were really boring but thats what side characters are for. Some were pretty good. I liked Wolfgang Grimmer esepcially, and Anna Liebert to a degree. Beyond those two, almost all the other characters were either really one dimensional, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, or they had a dynamic that basically went: (Character is introduced with an objective, has a revelation about something that CHANGES EVERYTHING, character fades into nonimportance as the plot progresses.) I really don't like that formula and it was used quite a many time in Monster. Karl, the lawyer, Peter Capkek or whatever were all examples of these. Granted, the plot is exciting enough to make you not care if these guys fall out of the limelight in a really boring fashion, even if you do pay close attention to characters, but still it could have been better. Thats what happens when the story gets super big like this, things can go out of control, especially towards the end. I've seen the same thing happen in Pluto, and ESPECIALLY 20th Century Boys, but admittably it was handled better in Monster.

So the characters were alright, some were interesting and mature, with alot of cool depth, and others were really stupid throwaways. But the most important thing in Monster is the story, it is a super thriller manga. If Monster can do one thing right, thats ENTERTAIN. It is really entertaining, thats something Urasawa knows well. I never, ever got bored reading Monster, which is one reason I think so highly of it. It was able to largely keep its style intact while doing so, which was also cool. This manga is a flippin roller coaster. However, its not perfect, but that should be obvious just because its a roller coaster kind of story. The biggest issue I have is how the mystery of Liebert twins unfolded. It's like they jumped from one mystery, and then the manga tells you that mystery was just the tip of the iceberg of another huge mystery, and that mystery was only the tip of another HUGE MYSTERY, blah blah blah. This manga really would have been more unified if it had some overarching foreshadowing. For example, the night Johan was shot as a child did not have huge importance for the first 15 volumes, except of course the first one. But then in the last few volumes, Anna starts having flashbacks that unveil crucial plot points that unfolded that night. To me the reader, it was as if these developments were conceived after the first volume was actually published, such was the lack of foreshadowing and overarching material. This doesn't stop there though, Monster is almost COMPLETELY unrecognizeble from the beginning, compared to the end. It goes from a plot about a doctor chasing down a serial killer to some huge conspiracy that unveils book reading experiment and how Johan isn't so bad after all, or it isn't his fault etc. It was obvious from the beginning the Lieberts had a mysterious past, but to continually pile up new mysteries out of thin air really isn't great writing, and it wouldn't hamper the entertainment much except some of the new mysteries unfortunately aren't as interesting as the old ones. The Kinderheim 511 conditioning subplot was made completely irrelevant compared to the bookreading conditioning subplot, and the birth of the twins subplot, and the trauma of Anna subplot, so on so forth. The only factor that remained constant throughout the manga is that Johan is evil, but the unveiling of the mysteries don't particularly enchance this, nor do they excite the reader.

RATHER, the speculation that these mysteries lead to is the real juice. Although Urasawa's answers don't blow your socks off, the mysteries themselves push the plot forward for more entertainment value for the reader. And since its really fun to read, its hard to be so sharply critical of it. Just things could have been better in my opinion, I would have preferred the plot to take the shape of one, thick plotline from beginning to end, with various sub plots branching from it but always returning to the same plotline. In comparison, it was like the manga started with one plotline, then jumped ship to another one at least 3 times.

So I have given a bunch of criticisms of the storyline, but I still give that category a 9. What gives? Well, I think when people get all up on their soapbox about being a super critic like me, they lose sight of some aspects of the manga that you can't comprehend using a microscope. That would be the fun factor, and this manga has alot of it.

Art is pretty good, I like his style. Having a unique art style is always something I like in anime and manga. The technical detail didn't blow my socks off, but this manga is a bit old. One thing I didn't like is that, for side characters, Urasawa seems to have a set number of archetype for character design and faces. Throughout the manga I seem to have only encountered 4 types female face: the child, the bitch, the crone, and the maiden. For example, the various female children in the series, Eva Heinmann, that old prostitue the Red Blimp or whatever, and Anna Liebert, respectively. Similar something going on with the male characters. So 7/10 for the art.

That's about it. I would recommend this manga to anyone who wants to have a fun read that doesn't make you feel like a dumbass. Forget about the hipsters and the extremists, this is a good manga and you'll have a good time reading it.

*note - I did not read the first few chapters of this manga; I picked it up from where the anime left off, but from what I have heard, they are very similar*

I almost dropped this story when I first started it. Yona was an annoying, bratty cry-baby. NO thank you!!! However, I am really glad that I trusted the high ratings and kept with the story. In the end, Yona turned out to be one of my favorite characters of all time. I like a strong female lead, but I LOVE a strong female lead who had to work hard to overcome physical and emotional hardship. I appreciate that Yona didn't just magically transform into a bad-ass girl who earns the respect of other characters. She had to work for it, make difficult choices and sacrifices for it, and ithe manga dedicates a good amount of time to that change, so it didn't feel rushed or contrived.

The supporting characters all felt well-developed to me (sometimes I read mange with a really large cast like this one and have to think to myself "wait, who are you again"). Although the actions and motives of the characters change over time, there is a logical development behind those changes - the characters are growing, not just acting inconsistent. I especially like that the protagonist/antagonist groups are not "good" and "evil" - they are both shown to have good reasons for the actions that they take.

Overall, I felt emotionally attached to the characters, and loved the political backdrop of the story as well as the well-developed fantasy world in which it takes place.

Short, 15 chapters. Room for more stories in the world. Doesn't over stay its welcome
Art is okay. Mostly consistent, but occasionally the mangaka goes all out and makes high quality scenes. However, scenes can get over complicated and become confusing.
Different, more serious take on the isekai genre. Not game nor level based. MC is brutally murdered by his abusive father before being forcible revived in another world. MC goes through a nice, small emotional arc. Slowly learn more about the female lead and her motivations. Female side character doesn't get developed.
Satisfying emotional conclusion.
Few characters.
World is not explored. No world building.
Kinda femdom.
Overall worth a read.

Protagonist abilities are Mediocre average protagonist ability with an antagonist that is the most bastard ever. Even though it is a manga, it does not explain the Protagonist ability clearly and lacking in pages for each chapter. Moreover, the Protagonist is too oblivious and only face the hardship of suffering from success. I would wish if the protagonist is given an actual struggle that is unexpected, as this one is expected to always beat the humongous monster. Would be better if he fought a cunning antagonist and match his power.

I was thinking there would be a good interaction or at least a way of decision making from the character instead of just following his instincts, The Manga really lack in many aspects even the art lack some key feature that bothered me, maybe because of the small nose.

But just the characters relationship and key goal for the protagonist is a letdown. I might have too many expectations because of the 30 chapters it has, but it's so short that the story cannot be rated high. I really dislike this manga, but I just hope there will be a better improvement to this series as I like the cast just not the antagonist and the environment of the world being simple monsters and the power balance.

Cross Epoch is a crossover that completely changes all of the Dragon Ball characters and just shoehorns them into the world of One Piece. They are nothing like the characters we know and love and their roles in the story don't even make any sense and aren't explained. There is no set up and there is no goal. Hell, it's difficult to actually tell what the fuck is going on. It just cuts from one character interaction to the next with no structure whatsoever. The chapter is so dull and has so little effort and thought put into it that not even a fight scene can be worth reading (if there was one)

Cross Account, tbh the title of the manga is quite interesting plus the art itself is good, thats why i gave the mangaka's art a 9. Too bad, that no matter how good the way the mangaka draws, for manga to survive in a
harsh environment in Jump, it needs to have a good story, especially those manga that are in the romance-comedy genre.

Frankly, Cross Account's plot is just in the Ok level. "Normal HS boy who hates normies befriends a random person on SNS, but that person is an actress tired of her life as an actress.. and so on... blah.. blah" then what?!
As a person that has been reading a lot of romance comedy manga, that was the first thing that went through my mind while reading Ch's 1 - 3 of Cross Account.

In my opinion, in order for a romcom manga to survive in JUMP or any shounen manga publishers, a manga should have a very interesting plot, just like Nisekoi, To love Ru, Bakuman and many more. No wonder these manga lasted for 20 volumes and more.

Still, I would praise Date Tsunehiro-sensei, lasting for 4 volumes is a great improvement since his Tokyo wonder Boys that lasted only for 1 volume. Sadly, Cross Account's story is just generic plus it also has a strong competitor on the romcom genre in jump which is "Bokutachi wa Benkyo ga Dekinai" by Taishi TsuTsui.

P.S.

i am reading cross account in Japanese. The English TL for this manga is still at 15 Chapters.

I'll be honest here: I didn't finish the manga. I just read what the library had and didn't bother to finish it online. Not really worth it since it's one of the WORST manga I've ever read.). But, sadly, I read most of it. I just really want to voice my opinion about this series.
(Warning: There is some language and some spoilers.)

Story: 1/10
It's stupid, to say the least. I read it because it was there, but...ugh. I had low expectations, but the reality was worse. So, if you read the description, "Hot Gimmick" is about a girl who's 'forced' to become a rich guy's 'sex' slave. There are too many terrible cliches and unnecessary 'drama' throughout the series. But, I do admit, the side-story with Hatsumi's sister and their childhood friend was good and realistic.

Art: 3/10
The characters were ugly and too many time the backgrounds were pictures of actual parks and whatnot. It's lazy and awkward to see these characters stand in a 'real' picture.

Character: 3/10
I hate most of the characters. Hatsumi is retarded. I am not joking; with Lord knows how many times she's been abused (mentally, physically, and sexually), she doesn't do ANYTHING! We're supposed to like her because she forgives everyone and she's too nice. What a role-model...
Then there's Ryoki and Azusa. These two assholes are...assholes. Ryoki is abusive and constantly tortures Hatsumi to be his 'sex slave.' But it's okay because he loves her. BULLSHIT! Then the mangaka wants us to feel bad and like Azusa. He has a grudge towards Hatsumi's father and tries to get revenge by (attempting to) gang-bang her. Then we get into his 'sob-story'.
Hatsumi's sister is a user and an asshole (until her relationship with their childhood friend, she's okay then).
But I said "most." There are two notable characters: The childhood friend and Shinogu. Both are really nice and I feel bad that they're in this manga. The childhood friend (don't feel like looking up his name, sorry) is good throughout the series. But this damn mangaka WANTED me to hate my favorite character, Shinogu. She did this by having him crush on his sister. I mean, I respect how hard he tries to ignore this feeling, but THIS ISN'T NECESSARY!

Enjoyment: 1/10
Yeah.

Overall: 3/10
Overall, I hate the story, lazy art, and most of the characters; while the only redeeming qualities were the side-story and the two characters I mentioned above. My apologies for the poorly made review, but please stay awy from this series.

This is such a treat! It has a bit of a lul in the middle, but the beginning and end are just fire and none of it is bad. Most of it is just great. The characters are immediately readable. The paneling is incredible. The easy that it conveys emotions is so evocative that it feels animated. The love story is short and somewhat minimal, but it has perfect ingredients.

The manga has trade-offs, don't get me wrong. It's kind of hard to even describe the good aspects without alluding to the lesser ones. It's just that the way it all comes together cut directly in my aesthetic favor every single time. I love domineering girls falling in love with passive, emotional girls. I love band stories where the central thrust of the story isn't whether or not they'll break up (although that is a theme here). I love stories where the main couple doesn't waste a lot of time before revealing their feelings to one another. I love stories where their emotions are conveyed to us artistically, first-and-foremost. If this sounds like a manga you would enjoy, I implore you to give it a shot.

No reviews, huh.

Alright, first thing first - it is an extremely ecchi title, adults only. That's the cue for those under 18 to excuse themselves.

Alright. This work is done by the author of Seikon no Qwaser. And it has the same feitsh. That's the cue for people who didn't like seikon no qwaser to excuse themselves. Same fetish means breasts and breast sucking. I'm not sure why the hell the author is into this, but that's how it is. It'll happen. A lot.

The interesting thing is that the manga has interesting thing going in its art (it has a nice style with heavy use of black), and in the world (there's lore, and it is interesting), but "boob powerup" gets into your way, all the time. Interestingly there isn't actual sex in it, as far as I remember.

Breakdown.

Story: 5/10: It looks like there are some interesting details about the world, like magic history, races, there are conspiracies, plots and so on, but the "boob powerup" gets in the way and detracts from both the story and art.

Art: 6/10: Surprisingly well done, and the style is heavy on use of black ink, which gives it more dynamic look. One work that is somewhat simialr was.... "Tensei shitara Dragon no Tamago datta". Except "dragon no tamago" took the style even further to the point where it was just ink with little outlines.

Character: 3/10 - eh, character? Half of heroes and heroiens are there to fill in some stereotype, and while they can be nice to look at, they are very predictable and stereotypical.

Enjoyment: 5/10 - It was a "Meh". Art was nice, story was messy, ecchi concentrated on a very specific fetish. I got bored and dropped it.

Overall: 4/10 - Proceed at your own risk. I liked the visuals, but the work would've been better if someone steered the artist and script writer away from the fetish they were so fascinated with. If you watched or read Qwaser, however, you'll have rough idea of what you're getting into.