anime_manga4life15

There is a reason that One Piece is the top-selling manga of all time. There is a reason that no other manga is even close. There is a reason that people are willing to follow the story for 20+ years. One Piece is that good. The story is good, the characters are great. There is humor and drama. Sadness and joy. Tension and comic-relief. One Piece can really get you invested and make you feel some powerful emotions.

To start, the world-building in One Piece is unparalleled. The world-building is woven intricately into the story and even details like the geography of the world itself influence the way the story plays out. The people, animals, powers, the nature; pretty much anything in One Piece is so fantastical that it keeps the story fun and always leaves you imagining the possibilities of what might exist in such a world. It really makes the story come to life.

Character development is also very good. One of the reasons the manga is so long is that Oda really takes his time to highlight each character. When so many characters (and it's a lot) are given depth and explored, it makes the story feel very alive. Even independent of the main story that we see, the characters in One Piece are always acting and have on their own individual goals and worldviews. It's amazing how many independent storylines intersect when different characters eventually come together.

If you are wondering if One Piece is worth the time, the answer is a resounding yes! The more you read, the more you will want to read. I've only met a handful of people that didn't like it and many more (including myself) consider it their favorite manga / anime of all time. Personally, I would say the only downside is that sometimes the ecchi humor can be a little over the top and the character designs are sometimes a little egregious. But never once has that taken away from my enjoyment of one piece.

I think there is something for everyone in One Piece and it's definitely worth the read.

This is my first review, and I gotta say first of all, this manga is absolutely OUTSTANDING. It's one of my all time favorites, and for good reasons. This review may contain some small spoilers.

Story 9/10:
At first glance, this manga may seem like your typical shoujo manga, where the female heroine is just a spoiled princess who has all these hot guys protecting her. However, this is definitely not the case. This story is about Yona, a sheltered princess who had everything she wanted - a loving father, food, expensive jewelry - until she gets chased out of the castle with her bodyguard, Hak. She then goes out on an adventure, and along the way, she meets new people and grows as a character. The story starts out a little slow, but it definitely picks up later in story progress. It is an action-packed, comedic, historical, adventurous manga.

Art 10/10:
The art is absolutely stunning. The characters and backgrounds are drawn beautifully in full detail, and I especially love the way the expressions are drawn. There is absolutely nothing, nothing at all, that I could criticize about the art.

Characters 10/10:
All of the characters in this manga are extremely lovable. I was most surprised about my love for Yona. At first, I was expecting her to be one of those annoying female characters who just screams while the people around her protect her. Boy, was I wrong. Yona has the most beautiful character development I have ever seen. You would be absolutely amazed as you watch her change from a spoiled, weak princess who knew nothing of the outside world to a strong, admirable, respectable princess warrior. Because this could be considered a reverse harem, I was also expecting for there to be clingy, annoying guys who try to do all they can to grab Yona's attention. I was totally wrong in this aspect as well. All of the characters have a very appealing, and distinct, personality. I promise you, every single character in this manga, would grow on you.

Enjoyment 10/10:
I enjoyed this manga through and through. The first few chapters were a little slow for me, but now every chapter has me on the edge of my seat.

Overall 10/10:
This manga is a solid 10/10 for me. If you love mangas with comedy (who doesn't?), action, a bit of romance, fantasy, and adventure, this manga is for you. This manga is shoujo and reverse harem, but don't let that turn you away from reading it. This is NOT your typical shoujo manga with a female protagonist with a weak personality. It is most definitely worth the read!

If you have a box that grants any wish, would you use it?
Can you actually believe that something like really could exist?
Actually not, isn't it?

SPOILER FREE!

I assume that I was really anxious to see the end of this novel to know it and write a review. As far as I can concern, The Empty Box and Zeroth Maria (Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria a.k.a HakoMari) is one of the Japanese Novels that touched me most. There is the Japanese masterpiece for 21th century.

Often people who follow something want a STORY to enjoy, or for enjoyable presentation, at least. Instead of deliver it, HakoMari works with epiphanies, metaphors, examples and human questions inside several somewhat big monologues. Actually they are not exactly "funny", but amazingly INTERESTING and good to make you reflect, think about yourself and people around you. The monologues are so fantastic that it can be "simple" but complex. Immature but mature. Irrational but rational. They can fit in most kinds of tastes, however it goes deeper and deeper and author isn't afraid to show the weirdest side of world. Obviously there is a story. However, this is not the most important thing. The "messages beneath the surface" are the most important thing here. Think and look forward to see it! Moreover, suspense on this is great and VERY hard to predict. It will always trick with your mind! Twists are not forced and they are very coherent, and had with little flaws (especially in last volume, as I expected).

Characters are good too! They are humans. They are natural and believable! Every single character have their own personalities and thoughts, except for singular cases here and there that are minor characters. Also the side cast has their space to think, act, appear as main characters sometimes. You can love or hate someone from beginning, but your perspective could change bit a bit as you read. As someone said, "when you know someone, this person couldn't be your enemy anymore". HakoMari works with this line regarding characters and readers. Furthermore, their reactions, thoughts twists and trouble treats are the center of attention for those novels. It could help to understand better how human heads work.

Illustrations are good, sometimes help to clarify some things, especially the characters physical features, but they are not so amazing and there are few pictures as many other light novels... I think it's a good point, though, since it depends heavily on words and readers imagination, so images aren't that needed at all. Because of these elements, my grade is seven for it.

Well, I love it and recommend to all people who want to know more about human beings and enjoy to learn about at same time. It's interesting without any boring parts... Oh, except for second volume. If you would like to give up because of it, forget this stupid idea. Second volume is the major flaw on the series in my opinion, but once you overcome it, you can access the whole potential of this novel. YOU MUST READ IT! XD

Oh, yes. Settings are somehow different too. Situations and plot are somewhat innovative. "Nothing is priceless" is remembered in whole novel, so you have to expect that it can be interesting with almost flawless formula. Finally I can say that this work of fiction is the prove of that depression can be productive.

Do you like documentaries?!

Do you love them?!

Do you love reading them?!

Well, I don't.

I guess they are okay but no way in hell would I care to read a manga, documentary-style.
And (un)fortunately for me, this one is in that style. Let me tell you what's less exciting than this manga...

Being in an airplane for eight hours and finding that all you could watch is documentaries.

It was a major suspense-pooper.

I guess you could say there was character development and I actually felt sorry for the hi-jackers; well, 2/3 of them and if you force yourself to read this manga, you'd know the pansy moronic hi-jacker that got on my nerves.
The main character really got on my nerves as well, and all his chummy helper-friends.

The art was ridiculous, it was just plain ugly. It looked more like caricatures more than anything.

Definitely a no-go.
So yes, go read something else.

Undeadman by Norihiro Yagi is his first published work and it has everything that could be found in his later work, Angel Densetsu. It's a very Yagi-esque work. I know that's a vague thing to say but I can't put it into words that well.
Undeadman is about a boy named Shinanai, who was turned into an immortal or an "undeadman." He escapes from the lab where he was being experimented on and goes to his crush. He then returns to the lab with her to become human once again. Hilarity ensues.
Undeadman's art is rough but clear and good nevertheless. There aren't too many characters in Undeadman, but the ones present are done well.
I quite enjoyed Undeadman. I read his other two works, Angel Densetsu and Claymore, and was interested in reading his debut work, and I wasn't disappointed. If you liked AD, then you'll surely love this.

I love Urusawa's Yawara so I decided to try reading one of his less known works.
I love how all the characters in this are awfully similar to the ones in Yawara which is totally fine. I really like Urusawa's art style. Young policeman Yamashita reminds me a lot of the reporter Matsuda but with a little difference. This guy's a womanizer wannabe and his boss considers him a good-for-nothing jerk but Yamashita's actually a very nice guy who doesn't hesitate to help others in need. This manga is pretty short and a great way how to kill some time when you feel bored or sad.

I thought this was a nice little series, it is just a shame that it has now "completed" but it doesn't seem like it should be.

The art is excellent! 10/10, and the characters are amazing aswell, the two main characters Ikushima and Arie have very different personalities - but that is what makes it a great story. Ikushima being someone who no one gets on with, and Arie who is friends to everyone in the school.

Overall i give this 10/10 because i did enjoy it :) however most of volume 4 goes on to a completely different story with different characters - but afterwards it does go back on to Ikushima and Arie

You will be presented a mystery.
You will see images, meant to disturb and intrigue you.
The story will develop, but not the characters. The sad remain sad. and the helpless remain helpless.
As a result, you might not care much for the characters at all.
You just want a happy end so you can get on with your life with a sense of closure on this story.
You don't get it.
The mystery will be explained. Poorly.
The (entity?) that carried the plot will not be laid to rest.
The cycle goes on.
Why? Who knows?

In a nutshell, if you like satisfying conclusions and well-explained mysteries, stay away from this manga for it will provide you with neither.

If you watched/read They Were 11 (11-nin Iru!) and fell in love with it like me, or if you just found it interesting and want to see more of these characters, I would recommend this sequel, even though it is a stark contrast in genre and tone.

While the original was a sci-fi mystery, focused on a final test taking place on a derelict spaceship, They Were 11: Horizon of the East; Eternity of the West is more akin to Space Opera, with interstellar politics, romance and intrigue. You could almost forget you’re reading a sequel if not for the characters. Tada, Froll and King Mayan are the main players of this manga, while the rest of the eleven are mostly reserved for bit parts or single, heroic actions. I would consider this to be King Mayan’s story however, with Tada and Froll being caught up in a larger plot.

This manga shows you more of the characters and the universe, while being its own, distinctive beast. If you can handle the large-scale shift from the first series, I think you can find something to enjoy here. It’s also only 3 volumes. Hope you check it out 😊

Have you ever cry wanked? - Joey the Anime Man from the Trash Taste Podcast, episode 21.

To start, Yonensei and Gonensei are manga created by Shimoku Kio, who is also the creator of Genshiken. Yonensei is the (a little bit boring, if I'm being honest) first series, and Gonensei is the sequel series. You should read Yonensei before Gonensei, but don't worry, as it is a very short read.

I finished this manga a long time ago, but I held off on a review for so long that I've almost forgotten most things about this series. While it might seem bad that I procrastinated for so long, I actually did this on purpose because I personally don't want to remember this series.

I first caught wind of this manga as a recommendation from Beyond Ghibli's YouTube video titled "DEGENERATE". As with all of Beyond Ghibli's work, it is a masterpiece, and it should definitely be worth your time. In his video he mentions Yonensei/Gonensei as an early work done by the same author of Genshiken, which made the series an immediate high-priority to-read manga for me, as I love Genshiken. Not knowing much about Gonensei, I assumed it would be something similar to the wholesomeness and slice of life comedy of Genshiken.

And how I was wrong. This is the exact opposite of the wholesomeness, slice of life comedy of Genshiken.

Before I start going into specifics, I will say that I did not enjoy reading this manga. However, it kept me hooked throughout the entire series, and although I did not enjoy this manga I think that there is some standard of quality in this series. I think that this series could range anywhere from a 0 to a 10, which is why I personally gave it a perfectly average score of 3/5 (8/10 on MAL). To its credit, this manga has left enough of an imprint in my mind for me to not only write a review, but also still remember it (a bit too clearly) a few months later.

And now onto the specifics.

Is this manga a masterpiece? I don't want to say that it is a masterpiece, but it definitely has quality. Shimoku Kio is a master of creating great characters, and although I don't know if all the characters in Gonensei are likeable, I think that they are compelling and relatable (I personally have acted the exact same way as certain characters). I somehow manage to care for these characters, even if I hate their actions. The series honestly feels like sometimes the characters are just put in an illogical, horrible position, and they are left to deal with the fallout. Of course, they are young and stupid and therefore make stupid mistakes, but every action they take somehow feels real, like this story could and would play out in real life.

And that is where the genius of this series lie. The series revolves around the characters, and none of them are perfect. Early on in the series, the story reaches a climax, and the rest of the series has each character dealing with the fallout, all while aging and learning (albeit slowly) from their mistakes. There is much to be said about the ending, but that involves spoilers, and I personally don't want to go into it either.

But that is also why I hate this series. Some of the things that the characters do are stupid and irresponsible and horrible, but I can see anyone acting this way. The best words I can think to describe this series with are "frighteningly real."

So is this manga recommendable? I'm torn because I love Shimoku Kio's work and I want his work to have more attention, but for this series I do not think that I can recommend this to most people. I am someone who hates NTR and anything to do with cheating and I hated reading this manga, yet the story was so compelling that I just couldn't put it down. I had to force myself to take breaks while reading this, but during those breaks this manga was all I could think about. If you are a masochist and you somehow like NTR and other messy stories (think Scum's Wish), then maybe this is perfect for you. But even with all the criticism, I think it's important to note that the manga is genuinely well written and perfectly executed. This series could be seen as either a 0 or a 10.

There is much, much more that I had planned to talk about this series when I first finished it, but that would take too much time and I don't want to think about this series any more than I have to.

If you want to go read something that won't break your mind and heart for weeks, go read Genshiken, it is so much more worth your time.

Story: 8/10

I both hate and love the story

Art: 8/10

Nothing special, but gets the job done

Character: 10/10

great characters, even if I hate them sometimes

Enjoyment: 0/10

Did not enjoy

Overall: 8/10

An average of how well done the manga was, and how little I enjoyed it.