Inu to Kuzu

May 22, 2022

Richard-Pham

Recommended

This manga excels at keeping you on edge. While it has the vibes of a soap opera, I was thoroughly entertained by the tenseness of every reveal and would not say it’s melodramatic. Rather, it lacks the dumb twists I anticipated, subverting those expectations in place of ‘adult-like’ drama and suspense that culminated to something satisfying. The biggest mystery is discerning what every character is actually thinking or actually knows, like who’s to blame or who’s the victim, which pairs well with the subtle dialogue you can easily miss while flipping through every page thinking “What the fuck am I reading/is going on?”

Its short runtime ...

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Aug 27, 2021

SomeS0up

Recommended

Preliminary (41/43 chp)

I started reading this manga just as the first chapter came out, and I've keept updating my review as the manga progressed. I have to admidt that I've been reading quite a lot of mangas at the same time, but that said, I still feel like my review accuratelty refelcts my opinion on this manga. At the same time, it might have been a little bit different if I read the whole thing in a shorter time span, so keep that in mind. I won't go that into the story, but I guess there might be a spoiler or two. Here goes.

Story:
The story so far ... has not been the main star of the show. It's not bad, but for me it doesn't do anything very special. There are some exiting parts, but I feel like some of them end up with a rushed ending that doesn't really make the buildup worth it. The male mc gets a more interesting trait further down the line, which makes the manga a bit more mysterious.
Some things are also extremly wierd, like how does loosing your phone in a puddle excuse that you haven't been in touch in a few months? It's a very small thing, but I have to admit that it kinda annoyed me. In my opinion, the ending was good.
Over all it's quite good, but it doesn't reach further than a high 6 for me.

Art:
I really like the art of this manga. The female main is gorgeous and the MC is also well drawn. The surroundings are good, and the panels are well structured. Can't find much more to say tbh, the art is great and I think it deserves a 9.

Character:
The MC has the basic trait of beeing very kind and caring, so not that much special here. He also struggles from beeing compared to his perfect childhood friend all throughout his childhood. Overall the MC isn't very interesting, except a part of his character which is shown a bit later in. the manga. He is still a decent character though.
I find the female main a bit more interesting, but still nothing really outstanding here (at least untill you get to the end of chapter 6).
The side characters are in my opinion a bit annoying. One girl of course has to practically be in love with the female mc and protect her by yelling and hitting the male MC. Holy shit she’s annoying. The other side characters feel a bit bland as well, and having read from the start of publication, I find myself not remembering who they are. It might just be me reading way too many mangas at the same time, but I still feel like it's worth mentioning.
They are quite shallow and are made up of one or two traits. Just lacking in writing.
Still, the main characters are decently well written and makes up for the poor side characters.

Enjoyment:
This is the main part of why I really like this manga. The emotional parts are well written and it can fuck with your heart a bit. The endings to each chapter are usually quite good, and keep me wanting to read further and know what happens next.
The starting chapters were filled with lots of development, then it kinda slowed down, but then it sped back to it's original pace near the end.

Overall:
Over all this manga is a 7/10 for me, heavily carried by the good art and the way it fucks up my heart rate sometimes. That said, I found it more interesting in the beginning, but I want to re-read this some time in the future and see how I find it while reading it in one go. It was perhaps not the best manga I've read, but I'm for sure glad i read it and I hope you will give it a chance as well :)

S0up out

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Mar 3, 2023

xBadxApple

Recommended

Quick note: the manga has 41.5 chapters, not 43 as MAL has noted for some reason.
--
Onto the review: simply said, I feel this is a severely underrated manga. I'm giving it a solid 8.5/10 based on three main factors:

- The constant sense of suspense/eerily-thrilling-feeling
- The simply gorgeous art/drawing style
- How re-reading the first half after getting to the end gives you a completely new perspective on what's happening in the initial chapters

I'd add one more: brevity. The author doesn't milk the story; these 41.5 chapters are fairly short at 18-19 pages each. The story is compact, fillerless and straight to the point. Respect to Asaga ...

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Nov 12, 2021

Nero_Vanetti

Recommended

Preliminary (19/43 chp)

[As of Chapter 20, a review that contains minor spoilers (spoilers will be indicated)]
A common benighted criticism to works like this is that no one's thinking straight. Well, if literally, you are indeed correct to point out such blatant observation. But it does take a *little* empathy to shed a more accomodating liking to the story and appreciate the characters. After all, everyone's got their own means of living the imperfect world. Refusing to bear this in mind and you'd find yourself expectedly desensitized or repulsed by stories like this.

Though I must admit that its story isnt the best, it is the delivery that ... made it immersive, and the full utility of the cast and premise that makes me drawn in to the mystery.
Enter Sakuraba: a not so special MC bearing a reclusive personality stereotype. He's clumsy, and lifeless - all the things you can expect from such a tropey-personality. But he's in love. And has been all this time. But to the wife of his childhood friend. A childhood friend who outclassed him with all sorts of talent, entirely eclipsing his being. The MC learns to live with that humility for the rest of his life, so much so that he has very little self-worth in himself, his existence beleaguered as merely the shadow to his childhood friend.

While all this doesn't sound that very original, what kept this character going for me was how he'd constantly assume himself as this position, a friend of a friend. He knows that he can never be too presumptuous with Reika (the woman he loves), but at times where he can be served as a crutch for her to lean on, he brushes off all feelings momentarily to provide a matured aiding hand for a friend in need. His guilt conscience, in the form of Shuuji, refutes these actions and show why they are morally wrong, at which this presentation of overbearing insecurity shows how simple acts of kindness like this felt hesitative.
Sakuraba's character is a representation of an selfless person who provides a listening ear, one who is easily inspired if let out of the dark closet, a person that we can make good use of. People like him are not bad to have around.
I must agree that this isnt the best representation of altruism, but these characterisations on our dear MC is decent and a good catalyst for the events to unfold.

[This paragraph contains spoilers]
Reika's character is mysterious, and is the most intriguing feature of the story. Once was a girl who was brimming with happiness, she now felt more troubled than ever. It is Reika's motives thats so interesting about her: What are her goals in life? In what direction is she trying to take this? Why is she allowing any of these events to unfold? Or rather, what made her lose control of these events? [Bigger spoilers here] Being with Shuuji has brought about many things to her, most of which are negative realisations of human ambitions. We know that Shuuji is unreadable, and his actions were puzzling enough that it distances the two's worlds apart. But even so knowing this, the chains of love still kept Reika tied to Shuuji, only now the lines are blurred and ambiguous seeming like their relationship cannot transcend anymore than intimacy. As it was revealed that she was robbed of her happiness, she now tends to Sakuraba for his genuinity. After all, a person like him have nothing much to offer, and thus, nothing much to hide. Its easier to confide yourself in them.

As of now, the entire of the main cast has been very relevant to the story. This gives a sense of consistency to the mystery because it provides an enclosed thought premise for viewers to think about which direction the story would take. The events so far are plaussible and realistic, and perhaps a little bit cheesy at times but they're definitely not cutting corners by pulling out contrived twists. The cast are all adults, which is a refreshing setting to embark on as we dont usually have much of these in this medium.

The art is really amazing, boasting a lot of visual cues that admittedly most of my interpretations are derived from. The way how the characters looks soulless; their reactions all so visceral is the best thing about this manga. Without it, this read would be a whole step down to say the least.

This is genuinely such an enjoyable read that gets you hooked on easily. The decisions of the characters, and the feelings behind it, all so reflect the ambiguity of how people choose to live their youths/lives. This journey of dependency between Reika and Sakuraba is jolting, and heartwenching.
P.S: This is my first review ever, and Im sorry if it wasnt really that helpful :(

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Jul 17, 2022

FiddlePie

Recommended

I had no idea what I was going to be expecting when I started reading the manga but after the first chapter, I was instantly hooked. This manga will keep you wanting more and more and the suspense is so intense.

I am someone who loves mystery but not in a dark story but Inu to Kuzu is more than a dark mystery story. It is full of crazy, creepy, and insane plot twists that keep you on the edge and wanting more. The story feels out of place, it just happens all of a sudden that you can't focus on what's happening. Sakuraba's character really ...

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Jan 7, 2022

merope28

Recommended

Preliminary (26/43 chp)

The author already has works that pull you in and are messed up in a way (aka ntr). This does have it but so far, not with the main leads (thankfully not this time like the authors other work). The way the author reveals something new every chapter keeps the readers in because she doesnt give you all the information all at once, and lets you think about. I really enjoyed this story because we begin to doubt everyone at some point (including the leads) and there is good justification for it. I really like the characters as well because it fits the title ...

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Jul 27, 2023

AowlGen

Recommended

I will definitely remember this one. A lot of twists happen in this manga that will shock you and although the premise may not appeal to some I promise that it's not about NTR. It only has 41 chapters and you should give it a try if you're looking for good romance story or thrills, although a flaw I will point out is how they attempted to make Shuuji (the blonde guy) likable towards the end although I do know that this is suppose to very realistic manga and not everyone is just all flaws I would've preferred Shuuji as a complete scumbag.

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Dec 20, 2023

Shunkies

Recommended

My god...Why have I not heard of this series before or hear anybody talking about it? The story is thrilling, the characters more complex than your typical romance manga, and the art is amazing. This story is a real page turner. Every chapter just keeps getting more twisted and more questions are raised...well until the end. Everything is really condensed and it fits nicely into this little story.

If you like dark romance stories, this is a must read. I don't often say a series is underrated but this one is for sure. I'm glad I randomly found this since I never hear anybody talk about ...

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