Ryuusa no Ori: Kokoro no Naka no "Kokoro"

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This is one of the few mangas that really hooked me up, didn't know that 20 chapters have gone by, that's how I'm immersed with the story, unlike some mangas I've read in the past, which only contains mostly 15-18 chapters, those mangas took me 2-3 days to finish because the story isn't really engaging but this one, I just read it all in one sit, probably took me only 2-3 hours to finish. The art is good but not very good, there's still some room for improvements and some areas needs polishing, but the action scenes are top notch also the creatures are good, ... but there's a couple of people panel that for me are a bit off, that's why I only said it's good not very good. The story is really the reason why I rated it this high, I like these kinds of stories, kinda like revenge stories but unfortunately it got axed, I was hoping to he could talk to that certain someone from his past (don't want to spoil it), and I'm not really a fan of LN (besides I heard that the LN isn't translated anyways) & the web novel is different from LN & since the manga's reference was the LN, the story we see here is from the LN (which isn't translated) so I won't bother reading the web novel.

Man is it refreshing to read a fantasy as good as this.

Going into this manga, I expected to be met with yet another mediocre light novel adaptation with another generic fantasy storyline that we have all seen, but fortunately, that was not necessarily the case. By the way this review is coming from someone who has also read most of the WN so I'm probably kind of bias but idc cause its my review.

"Ryuusa no Ori" has a very interesting plot with a solid cast of characters that are genuinely interesting and don't feel like they solely exist for the plot sake. The protagonist's writing ... is surprisingly solid, he's super relatable and goes through issues like the rest of us. This manga (or should I say this series) is not afraid to take its time to develop the characters and other aspects of the story.

Nozomu (the protagonist) is not given everything at once but has to work and overcome the hand that was dealt to him. Don't get me wrong, this series has the typical badass moments where everyone is "surprised" and "hype" but it feels so much more impactful and deserved because of the scarcity and work up to these "badass moments". Fantasy animanga love to just give the protagonist all the powers at the start and don't show any sort of work or struggle. It makes it really hard to get invested in the character since the only interesting aspect about them is that they're "OP" which really leads to a predictable and boring story (it doesn't help that they were never interesting to begin with).

Nozomu has this power that he can use but he has to think about the consequences to using it and has past trauma holding him back. It really makes you invested to see how he overcomes all of his struggles. Nozomu is also the perfect example of a character that uses escapism to deal with his problems which leads to his inner struggles not being resolved right away. Side characters also have intersecting relationships and romances with each other as well which I really love and I think that more series should do. Its also more flushed out in the WN.

The "Magic Academy!" troupe is done decently well but is not really one of the strong points that makes this manga stand out. The dynamic between Nozomu and the other students does make the story interesting though. There is a lot of the typical higher up students that look down and bully the students below them but it doesn't get super repetitive and it makes sense. There is an extreme hierarchy in the "Magic Academy!" and classes are separated by skill so everyone is getting bullied and its mostly based on their own discontent.

The power system is not really something to write home about. Its typical magic but there is also qi which is I believe your life force and can be used for weapon or body enhancement and more I believe. But the way the characters try to use this power system to the fullest is quite interesting in some cases. For example, our protagonist is weak in every aspect and has almost no magic at all but he's honed his qi techniques far beyond the limit of what a human can do. This does not mean that he is stronger than anyone else, in fact he has the lowest qi capacity in the whole "Magic Academy!" I believe and he cant even use them on people because they are specifically made for killing. Its his precision and refined skill through rigorous training that he's achieved a level that no one ever could. There is also an example in the WN where a character is trying to develop a technique that's technically impossible but WN stuff.

The biggest gripe that I can see with this series is probably the pacing which is not really a problem for me personally. I can see that some people will just want to see 'the mc get OP" but as I said before this series is not about that. I view this series as a sorta coming of age story. Again, we are not watching a protagonist who is trying to get powerful, we are watching a protagonist trying to overcome his personal problems and inner struggles. That doesn't mean that the pacing is necessarily good. it personally does not effect my enjoyment but some times it does drag on in some parts. The manga also stopped at a very short point in the story which is pretty sad.

In conclusion, I highly recommend this if you like quality fantasy and coming of age stories and I do not recommend this to people who just want the same uninteresting fantasy manga with the "Bad ass OP MC" because that's not what you will necessarily get. If you enjoyed this manga then please check out the Web novel. I give the manga a pretty good rating but I rate the WN even higher. I haven't read the LN but there is also that too but it has less material out.

Anyways I think this is super good and I rate this a 6.5-7/10

The thing that got me very enthusiastic about this manga, and made me finish in one sitting, was: "how will the main character handle grief and trauma?". The characters are well established compared to how short the manga is, and the main cast feel less flat the longer you progress though the story. This makes most of the main characters new acquaintances become more human as the story moves on. A shame it isn't longer since it has the potential to be something bigger.

Look beside your average power fantasy manga, and give this hidden gem a read. It's a short but good experience.