Kimi ga Shine: Tasuuketsu Death Game

First off a warning,this review is written very early on in the manga run so my opinion can change as more chapters come out. However, I think I've read enough games adapted to manga and chapters to formulate an opinion based on what we already have. In addition, I have played the game but I'll try my best to not say A or B is better but rather how does the story of the two differ since I believe that's why most people would be interested in reading this manga in the first place.
I will be separating this review into

-People who have played the games (mainly a comparison)
-People who haven't played the game (overall manga review)

I will also score a bit differently between the two.




People who have played the games

Story/Character(7)
As with most game to manga adaptation,this story does make changes to the original but nothing too different. Moreover, it adds more little moments then takes away by changing how the scenes plays out personally. Seeing the little change does also make the manga feel different for the game rather than you're just reading a carbon copy of the game which for me can get boring but if you like your game to manga adaptations to be 100% faithful with no changes aside from being in a manga format, then you'll be sadly disappointed.

A manga is not structured the same as a game so I expected some changes ,like how optional dialog in the game obviously won't be present here and overall pacing is sped up.

Art(6)
The art is also different from the game, it's not trying to recreate the games art style. In fact it's quite different to the point where I don't really see the characters as the same ones from the manga but rather their own character. In particular ,Keiji and Reko just look off to me, not bad but they just don't feel like they're the same ones present in the games,probably due to the more rounded art style. In addition, very minor changes were made to character’s designs such as Sou not having a spotted scarf ,Sara and Joe’s tie not being checkered ect. Very minor and just to do with pattern then overall design.

Enjoyment (7)
Overall, I'll recommend a read. It's not a 100% percent perfect but definitely much better than other adaptation I've read and it does add new elements so it's not exactly the same as the game.




People who haven't played the game

A quick side note,this manga’s first chapter is a spoiler for the game so if you do wish to play the game I recommend playing the game first or at least to the end of chapter 1. However, I will focus this segment more on people who just wanna read this manga/want a none comparison to the games.

Story/Character(6)
If you've read any death game story, you'll know where we are heading to. Following our protagonist Sara Chidouin after getting taken away forcibly alongside her friends,Joe Tazuna, into a death game where she and 9 others have to vote who they want to kill off. This is a death game by majority vote and who has the most vote will have to die.
As a premise this works quite well and gets you interested very early.

In addition with these kinds of stories,you need a strong cast to feel attached to till their fated moment. With a quickened pace, we don't really get to know many of the characters very well this early, so right now it is more so which characters quirk you like more ect. However,I hopefully expect this to change as the manga expands. But as of now,it's not bad and at least none of the characters are hateable this early on.

Art(5)
Art I have mixed feelings about. Some panels look off where the perspective makes no sense or when characters faces to the side, just something is not right. Background are also rather plain, though I somewhat expected this due to what it had to work off. In addition, there is shading around the hands which has always bugged me as there shouldn’t be shading around the hand when you think of where the light source is .Though I believe this is a stylistic choice, it was one thing that I just couldn't get over.

Most standout part of this art is the expressions which you do need to get right for this kind of story. The facial expressions really do show the character's despair being in this situation and the hardships they’ll have to go through to get out and I'm really excited to see what the artist does in the future with the events to come.

Overall/enjoyment (6)
Honestly nothing really stands out and the art does have some flaws that make it hard to recommend this to just anyone though art is subjective. It's not bad but it's nothing new either. If this premise interests you then I think it could be a quick fun read. However this manga being an adaptation of a game, it is more clearly designed for people who have played the game to there would be more enjoyment reading this if you have played the game. So when it comes to people who haven't played the game it does become harder to recommend this title though give it a go! Got nothing to lose after all, just note that experience will not be the same as someone who may have played the game however in some way I guess that could also be a positive.