Juuni Taisen
Juni Taisen: Zodiac War

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Juuni Taisen is a 12 player battle royal where all the players represent different signs of the Chinese zodiac, for me, this is well enough to get me interested. On top of that, it's pretty short, for reference it took me about 3-4 hours to finish it.

I mostly enjoyed it, but I saw that it had some "faults", it didn't really impact my enjoyment of the manga, but it just made it a bit duller.

The premise of the story and the characters was what got me reading, the story turned a little meh at points but the characters were still very enjoyable so I didn't ... really mind. The only fault here that I felt while reading was that we didn't get to know them enough.

For the story, while it started very promising, I felt it got a bit predictable after a couple of chapters, but I will admit that later on ca ch. 15 or so it got more unpredictable. Basically, the story had its meh parts, but it was still very much enjoyable.

Lastly, the art was very nice, I felt it fit the story and the characters and was overall enjoyable. Though in some fights the art felt very "cluttered" (side note on fight scenes: most of them are very short so if you're going into this manga hoping for fights you won't find them).

Juuni Taisen is a twelve man battle royal, where the winner gets their wish fulfilled. Each individual combatant represent a certain Zodiac from the Chinese Zodiac (Dragon, Snake, Boar and etc.). For me, the premise is very interesting and is very well-thought, and is enough for me to be invested. The fact it's short isn't actually a problem, quite the opposite actually, dragging it too long would make some points less.

The characters aren't actually that complex, some aren't as they seem at the beginning and will be pretty likeable laterwards. The art is absolutely great and very fitting, considering it's illustrated by Akatsuki-sensei, I expected ... nothing less.

Finally, the "flaws". Obviously there would be flaws as well, such as the plot twists trite, and the philosophical underpinning a strained attempt at significance. Moreover, certain events are sometimes totally far-fetched and resists even the most strenuous suspensions of disbelief.

Overall, I suggest you should read this manga if you have free time and have nothing to read at the moment.

“Being alive without taking action is the same as being dead.”

- Nezumi, Chapter 14

Juuni Taisen: Zodiac War is a good battle royal style manga that does what it says on the tin. The art doesn’t shy away from the gory nature of the story, and is fairly easy to follow; something that works well with action scenes.

While the plot is predictable, the narrative becomes more about how characters will die and why they are fighting rather than when which works in its favour. The concept is enjoyable and strong enough to carry the manga.

The mix of supernatural abilities and a rather mysterious world that is ... never fully developed leaves a number of questions but whether they are resolved or not doesn’t affect the quality.

The characters themselves are a slightly mixed bag, with some shining more than others; but they are each different enough that they can carry the story.

The biggest flaw with Juuni Taisen, much as with other shorter series that focus on rather grand concepts, is that it can veer from relying heavily on exposition to leaving some intriguing concepts unexplored.

Overall it was a fun read and, if you’re in the mood for a battle royal, or a short and violent series, then this is worth a read.