cooljohnyao14

The first couple of chapters start ordinary, nothing special. We saw normal MC who was at that point really weak trying to survive by being a hunter who was making money killing monsters in the dungeon. Of course, this kind of pitiable MC soon got amazing and for me personally one of the best main characters in Manhwa. After an incident in the dungeon, he got a special kind of power and he started to use it to became stronger.

This MC really adapted well to the situation and started using his power to the maximum. He wasn’t weak anymore. He developed after experiencing a situation which forced him to be strong. It might seem the typical overpowered MC that you saw in a lot of other Manga but nobody is as epic as this guy.

This kind of plot you can see in the countless Korean Manhwas and Novels but for me, the MC is the main reason why I like this so much.

As for the other characters, I must say they blended well with the story. We met some funny ones, some arrogant and then we also saw cute and strong girls and that’s a plus. The one problem I have is that the author has tendencies to forget some characters. For me, that wasn’t something that bothered me that much but still, it would be good to sometimes know what are they doing.

The one thing other than MC that brought Solo Leveling to other dimension is Art. The art in this Manhwa is just AMAZING, it isn't just epic, is cool, beautiful... Like I said the MC was awesome but the art brought this story to the highest level.

in my opinion this is one of the best Manhwa out there because the experience is enjoyable and it's not even closer to ending yet.

Ah, Solo Leveling, basically the front page of r/manga nowadays. The top rated manhwa on MAL (at least at time of writing). It's seemingly everywhere, especially since Season 2 has started.

It's been a while since the start to Season 2, and I feel like I should put my two cents out for this manhwa.

Solo Leveling is a fun series to read. It's a guilty pleasure, a wish fulfillment manhwa. It has a very simple story, with flat characters. That isn't a bad thing. Solo Leveling is a power fantasy, you can't really rate it with something like Vinland Saga. Many people criticize it for it's often repetitive plotline, and very bland characters. Even though I do agree for the most part, you can't argue that the series really did do the concept of "power fantasy" correctly.

Power fantasy is the new battle shonen. A recurring genre in the manga/manhwa industry nowadays. All power fantasies have a very overpowered main character who can practically destroy all the other characters. It's a relatively simple genre to write in, and quite profitable, which is why it's been extremely popular the past few years. Great examples of this are "That Time I got Reincarnated as a Slime" or in a sense "Sword Art Online", who probably started this whole trend in the first place. Solo Leveling did this right. It made the story just interesting enough so that it would feel unique, and it's art only further boosts it's worth.

Many people are criticizing Solo Leveling because of it's characters. And yes, I do agree that most of the characters are very bland. The character designs are really cool, but they do feel repetitive. The faces look really similar to be honest, but this isn't really a criticism, since a lot of manga have the same problem. The problem behind the characters is how they are used. All of them are just conveniently used just to add to the plot, only to disappear, never to be seen again. Of course, a lot of manhwa do this, but it's especially annoying when you find an actual interesting character, but they just get thrown aside.

The protagonist is also a big problem. Sung Jin-Woo is just a really inconsistent character. Most of time, he's a very edgy character who doesn't care about anyone except himself and his family. However he can also seem like a light-hearted and often clueless character. It just doesn't match up. His character just feels very bland, and there isn't a unique trait anywhere. The only time I liked him as a character was in the first few chapters. In the first few chapters, Sung Jun-Woo was genuinely likable. He was polite and determined, despite being the weakest hunter. The story would be a lot more interesting if it was an underdog to hero story, like My Hero Academia or Naruto. Instead, the author trashes his character almost instantly, and he becomes an edge lord for no particular reason. At least Sasuke had an actual reason for being edgy. Sung Jin-Woo just became an edge lord with no reason at all. If he had kept his original personality, I would've liked him a lot more.

I feel really sorry for the other characters, as in the manhwa, they explicitly state that the other characters have no room for growth, except for our protagonist. Think of Krillin from Dragon Ball. Does he have nearly as much screen time as Goku in the later parts of the story? Does he really do anything that important? The same exact thing happens in Solo Leveling. Other characters just become irrelevant, chained down by the story's own rules.

The plot is mediocre. It's trying to be mysterious and complicated when it really isn't. The author continues to try and throw mysteries in your face, but those don't really grab my attention. Basically, it's trying to hard to have an interesting plot. Power fantasies restrict themselves from being too complicated. The stories are designed for people to turn their minds off for a while, and just enjoy the simple story. Solo Leveling tries to be unique in that aspect by introducing a mystery into the plot. Instead of being an attention grabber, it just becomes a minor annoyance to readers. Power fantasies shouldn't have overarching mysteries like other manga. That's just not the appeal of it.

I'll stop criticizing it for now.
The art is fantastic. It's clean and unique, with really awesome moments. I'd say the art itself carries 50% of the entire series. It makes it quite interesting to read, and it sets the series apart from others of the same genre (power fantasy), which usually only have mediocre art. Most of my enjoyment of the series is just admiring the beautiful artwork. The fight scenes are also quite unique, usually composed of glowing eyes and lines that flash around the panels. Other than that, I can't really say much.

Overall, Solo Leveling is a good series. It does what it wants well. Yet I think the rating of the series is a lot higher than it should be. Solo Leveling is not a masterpiece. It's no where near one. The main character is overly edgy, and the other characters are thrown to the side after the author has used them. You can see that this series is specifically targeting those who enjoy these power fantasies, not people who enjoy thought-provoking series. It tries too hard to appeal to both sides, which leaves the plot into a jumbled mess. It isn't a bad series. It's actually good, for a power fantasy that is. The series is still a while from over, so I guess I'll keep reading on for now...

Most people have been bullied in some way shape or form, and some have had it worse then others. Here in Koe no Katachi, we watch as the main character Ishida who bullied the female main character (along with many others), Nishimiya, who is deaf, try to change himself and make up for the childhood that he took away from Nishimiya.

Some of the things that really made me like this manga storywise was how real the actual setting of the show is and how it can be a very controversial thing to cover in a manga. The bullying is realistic, it isn't kiddie bullying that some people get, its the real full on, bullying that can cause many incidents in our world, and the depictions in the manga about the bullying in their world were actually fair and fair the same or even maybe worse then some other cases. Its even worse how its towards a deaf person, where as people with disabilities are the ones who are often times the easiest targets for bullying.

The art of the manga in all honesty isn't that good, in fact the art wasn't really good for most of the series, but the art isn't really the thing about the series that drags you in, its the storyline and the characters. I think the art isn't bad enough to completely drop the show, I think the art fits in most of the situations but is poor in quite a lot of other areas as well.

The characters in this manga we're in all honesty, very good characters. I mean good as in "they're realistic." not "they're amazingly great."

The characters in this series all are pretty much assholes at the start. Even Nishimiya had her fair share of problems, but we understand why she acted that way from basically the start of the manga.

Ishida was by FAR the best character in this manga, and honestly I would read it again for his development as a character in this series. I was simply amazed and inspired watching Ishida grow and mature throughout the series, especially while his former classmates and future people that came into play not wanting to change for a MAJORITY of the series, but they do end up changing, for the better, I think.

I rate the characters so highly in this series because it shows that, really change DOES NOT happen overnight, and you can't expect it to, it shows a very accurate depiction of how humans are and how the teenage years work a number on you and how they shape you as a person, and that if you want to change ONLY you can do that, and Ishida was a prime example of that throughout the entire series.

The series even has the hateable characters for a while but it does a very good job closing and setting the scene for change in them.

My enjoyment level of this series was at a high for a while, I started reading the manga 2 days prior to finishing it. Its a short 64 chapter manga that can really keep you entertained throughout the whole manga.

My only disappointments for this series is a very lackluster, rushed ending with basically a ending that anyone can spin anyway they want to. I'm not really a fan of those types of endings (except for Code Geass) because they have to be executed well, but in this case the closings on the characters were not so great, the ending didn't really give anyone a look into what happened after, or anything of the sort.

So don't read this series if you're looking for a romance-esque type series, I thought that it would be like that going in, but frankly there's no kissing scenes, full on confessions (there are halfassed ones) but I think the manga is definitely better without it because I think the story was more focused on change and how to improve yourself as a person overtime and that more people have these problems then you might think.

Overall I rate this series a 9/10 because of the ending being lackluster, everything else was amazing and its one of the best mangas I've read in the past few years. Be sure to check this out if you're bored and looking for a read.

Who doesn't love a music-based slice of life manga? I always find manga about music so fascinating... I think it's hard to bring that music to life in written word and pictures, but Beck manages to do it (although I now think I have to check out the anime so I can ear this music that's leaving everyone so awestruck). Plus, this is a band manga. Yay bands!

Premise: Loser kid Koyuki meets guitarist extraordinaire Ryuusuke and then gets sucked into the world of music. It's neat to see Koyuki's progression from loser kid to rocking musician. Kind of reminded me of "Almost Famous". I felt myself liking it more and more as I read through it and the ending was just so perfect, I sighed happily. The performances, especially near the end, were .... just incredible. So satisfying.

I actually really want to find another manga just like it. I love stories about bands, the journeys they take, the adventures they go on, the memories they make. Read this! It's amazing.

I'm so glad I suddenly stumbled upon this very entertaining piece of work while browsing through manga section on MAL.

I'll skip over the story/plot part because you can get most of it from reading the manga's synopsis and previous review.

The Green Eyes is a good example of why the 80s were the golden age of Weekly Shounen Jump. From the bizarre powers and excelent art to over the top violence, The Green Eyes has it all.

This manga is full packed with action scenes that are so captivating and intense, you'll just have to keep reading it, and before you even realize, you already read the whole 21 chapters.

Art is a classic 80s art, marvelous, and has a lot of dark colors and details.

The only problem I had with this manga is that it's too short hence some parts felt kinda rushed and some characters didn't really get the time to shine/develop.

All in all, if you can get over that or if you're just looking for something fun to read with no serious plot, definitely check this one out.

Well instead of giving my two cents worth about a series such as Tokyo Ghoul or One Punch Man, I’m going to talk about one a lot less known.
Red Sprite is a manga that ran in Shonen Jump for three months late last year. Unfortunately, for creator Tomohiro Yagi, this was his second serialisation to be cancelled without given the appropriate time needed for complete story fruition.
Before I dive into this review, there is one thing I believe we need to take a minute to think about, and this factor is the only background information I’ll take up your time with providing.
As most of us know, the famous manga Bleach had been on a serious level of decline in the Jump rankings for the last few years. Due to this, creator Tite Kubo was forced to wrap up the final fight and conclusion of the series in only three or four chapters.
What resulted from this was a cringeworthy final battle, and an ending that left out a lot of closure. Oh and of course a tonne of pissed off Bleach fans.
Shonen Jump as of lately has been set on bringing in as many new series’ as possible with Toriko having recently received the Bleach treatment too.
Where does this all tie in? Well Red Sprite was the manga to replace Bleach. The manga that Jump were so quick to shove Bleach out of the equation for its’ arrival.
There is a lesson here and I believe that as much as business is obviously an important factor for Jump, I believe there should be a bit more respect for a mangaka who has shown Jump mostly success for the last 15 years. Come on Jump, at least try not be such dicks in your desperate quest to find the next One Piece.

However, moving on.
Red Sprite was essentially a battle manga.
It based on the concept of the advancement of technology but at a sinister cost. I won’t dive further into the story as I feel that is not what a review is written to provide.
This concept set up for a classic morally right vs morally wrong in fine print, which I will further examine later on.
After reading the first chapter of Red Sprite, I immediately found a few problems.
Don’t get it twisted, it wasn’t a horrible piece of story telling, but the flaws were easily evident.
The debut chapter decided to go via the route of; MC and said side characters share their lives a little differently to the rest of the world but all is okay and manageable. MC and side characters learn that everything they have ever known is wrong and is immensely fucked up. Oh the horror of it all. Ignorance is bliss, right?
New Shonen Jump series, The Promised Neverland delivered a similar first chapter, however with the latter being much more attention grabbing, I found.
The first initial problem that came to mind with Red Sprite was… well, after reading chapter ichi, I probably could have dropped the series and never really reflected back to it.
Unfortunately, shonen battle manga is becoming more and more repetitive with typical clichés, character traits and plot devices.
The series Black Clover, for example, immediately screams Naruto x Fairy Tail.
Red Sprite didn’t so much remind me of another series so bluntly, but it’s set up felt somewhat flat.
Nevertheless, I decided to continue reading.
After fourteen chapters, Red Sprite was removed from Shonen Jump.
I’m going to present some points which I believed caused this cancellation.
By the end of the manga, I had realised two things.
Realisation #1 The MC couldn’t be anymore MC.
To further explain my point: Kentaro Miura’s Berserk is the perfect example of a unique MC because Guts isn’t so self-righteous. The dude has killed an innocent little kid, somewhat accidentally, be that as it may.
And I realise I am comparing a shonen to one of the darkest seinen manga to ever exist. But what I am trying to demonstrate is that with a main character that defies the cliché traits, uniqueness and interest can often immediately be noticed in a refreshing light.
Realisation #2 This is straight up good vs evil.
If there is one thing that mangaka Yoshihiro Tagashi is great at (besides playing Dragon Quest) is his portrayal of villains in his two-well-known series’ Yu Yu Hakusho and Hunter x Hunter. (the ‘x’ is silent, n00bs.)
Villains that cause readers to contemplate if the villains are really even villians, or simply share conflicting interests with the protagonists, creates intellectual rich story telling.

In terms of the side characters, 14 chapters is certainly not enough time to expect any kind of development so I feel it is only fair to leave them unjudged at this point in time.
At times it felt like the story wasn’t really going anywhere in particular, and due to this, cancellation or not, I cannot imagine how the story would have progressed past 20-30 chapters.
A lot more depth would have definitely been necessary for the story to flourish. Interesting world building could have helped dramatically, though again, fourteen chapters simply could not provide this, respectfully.
The conclusion was predictable, but not horrible for a forced ending. I mean, good won over bad, what more can I say.
And that’s just exactly where this manga fell flat. No one will remember it in a year’s time.
The art was itself a metaphor for this manga. Not bad, but nothing to write home about.

At this point, I feel like I’m starting to become repetitive (though not as repetitive as Hiro Mashima’s trolls) so I’ll wrap this up.
If you’ve read this far, I appreciate it. It’s been fun.
Feel free to comment on my profile, we can talk about Red Sprite.
In conclusion, it’s unfortunate to see that mangaka Tomohiro Yagi, can’t quite get it right just yet. With Red Sprite failing for different but still similar reasons to Iron Knight.
I’ll still be looking out for his next try and honestly, I hope his next series passes the yearly mark. Ganbatte, Tomohiro Yagi!

This was: Let’s Talk About Manga #1 Red Sprite

Samurai 8 is one of those series that keeps growing in you chapter after chapter...thanks to the legendary skills of Kishimoto Masashi and the very detailed art-style of Akira Okubo.

Story - until Chapter 15

The story of Samurai 8 could be simple from a fast point of view, however...chapter after chapter, it becomes deeper and way more interesting than the previous chapter.
This also thanks to the addition of famous things and characters from several myths and legends of out world.
This manga will stimulate your curiosity about the myths behind certain characters, Samurai Schools, objects and so on... I won't spoil you anything ;)
Overall an amazing story, with incredible and emotional moments...and it keeps getting better and better after every chapter.


Art - until Chapter 15

In the first 4-5 chapters the art was a bit confusing, even if the level of details of the background was always very good.
But in the chapter 6+ this problem is completely disappeared and everything is perfectly made, without losing the quality of the details.
After all we're talking about Akira Okubo, assistant hired by Kishimoto and worked with him on the Naruto series for nine years, beginning around volume 16. You'll recognize the same amazing art of Naruto in several panels.


Characters - until Chapter 15

The MC is original and realistic, not the same Shonen MC...and after a certain chapter his evolution as a character will be breathaking.
His master is funny, strong and intriguing and the secondary characters are perfectly made with unique personalities that you won't find in other Shonen.
The first real villain is incredible! No spoilers...but rest assured he's amazing!
But a special standing ovation goes to Hachimaru's dad...for many important and emotional factors.


Enjoyment - unitil chapter 15


Absolutely entertaining!


OVERALL --- 9 GREAT
But t

6000 with an intriguing title and cover many people will see something interesting til they see the score and reviews. While having a setting that many can get behind, 6000 suffers from terrible pacing, lackluster characters, and an f-you author ending. The main redeeming factor comes from the art where the artist does a great job of manga's limited colors of black and white to create an atmosphere centered around lighting that makes this quick read at least nice to look at if you find a good source.

Overall, 6000 has plenty of problems while looking good. It's a short 22 chapters so it's entirely up to how you want to use your time.

The basic premise for the manga was interesting in that it was a death game focused on being indirect. However, it felt like the author wasn't smart enough to properly utilize this premise, in that there were never really any moments where the traps, tricks, or twists were enough to shock or amaze the reader. Rather, it felt like things flailed around for most of it, and then it was resolved in a manner that was far too simplistic. There were some good moments outside of that, in terms of characterization and such, but how the fights actually went was weak. Furthermore, there was also the issue in that after the first tournament round, the manga abruptly switches into an escape room plot, where once again, it doesn't feel all that clever. In this arc too, there's strong elements and scenes in terms of the two main characters, but in terms of the puzzles it's still weak. Furthermore, there seemed to be some attempt at creating a philosophical backing to what was going on at this point, but this was somewhat nonsensical and also felt like the author was over their head. The last issue, is that the manga was very clearly axed abruptly, wherein it stops before it even gets to the second round, and hence while there was some good character growth in Nao, as the plot was barely getting started the overall the ending is completely unsatisfying. The art was really good.

tl;dr: A manga with an interesting premise but that isn't clever enough to pull it off. 

A nothing-out-of-the-ordinary manga club president, Yoshimatsu Hotaka, always enjoys his time to take a peek from the club's window to Awaya Niki, the Swimming Club Girl's Ace. Awaya Niki has athletic figure and enchanting face that make her known and admired to all of the students in the school. For being so perfect, Hotaka can't bear to take a step to even greet her, instead he chooses to be a secret admirer of her. But, the fate seems to say otherwise, for both of their longing soul.
Picture
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They encounter each other in the moment when Hotaka isn't ready for it. The minor character, On-chan, his vice president of manga club supports him all the way to make a move for Niki in another time. Somehow, Hotaka finds another chance to talk with Niki and then they are friends. It is clear here that Hotaka is presented with so much love for Niki. In another hand, Niki seems to have their own problem because of trust issues. Hotaka is ignorant enough with his environment, not too much having him in conversation outside from manga club members. Niki is a detached person even with her friends that she thinks only a bunch of people available around. The individual problems affect them in some way they form the relationship with others. This plot develops deeply involving family issues of Hotaka and Niki. This kind of development was predictable for me looking at the clue given earlier. In spite of the predictable event, I felt how heartbreaking it is. My emotions got stir there in the last one-third chapters. The last one-third of Evergreen is the turbulence of emotion. It's freaking me out when they clash on each other. They show their wounded hearts out and let it consume their thoughts and affect daily lives. Their friendship and club activities seem like in the verge of frozen age. The shocking, sad, anger, fed up, loss, disappointment; all of those feelings carefully presented in sensible way. In the end, I'm satisfied enough with the ending between Hotaka and Niki.


What was really good for me is the minor characters. They aren't look like the minor in other series who show up to fill the comedy part or give much more details of the minor characters only. The manga club members, Hotaka's friends, really are there to develop the story and give another bittersweet romance. They are being given role to support the development and also have their own story in love life. So fun to read since they are the source of most comical part.

The illustration has its own charming point. It is wonderful, both the background of it and expression of the characters. The shading is nice, right angle, made me imagine well. It's rare to see the background left blank. Even if the minor characters are given proper scenery. The simple classroom, outdoor activity, clothes, and effect for back up the emotions. The drawing will turn to be chibi often in comedy part and it’s so funny. I like the comedy because of how it is presented and in the way of sarcasm and drawing, especially when it's On-chan.

It's worth 8 in my opinion!
Pros:
The minor characters aren't just normal ones! Eh... (?) Well, for minor characters I like them as much as I was waiting for the development of major characters in their relationship. I like the way the mangaka did make the major characters ending that way since it's suitable with the feelings of the characters there. (FYI, I'm not fond of happy ending or sad ending, I'm neutral in which if the ending is corresponding with the story and characters personality who decide it, then it's good to go. Forcefully making it good or bad is a big no-no.)
Well-earned emotional moments from their romantic circumstances.
A lot of thoughts put in the characters making and how they should appear.
Nice comedy and art

Cons:
I can predict the outline of storyline.