Sep 23, 2011
Ability shop is like an Aesop Fable in manga form.
The main bulk of the story is the 'life lesson' that is to be learned at the end of the story. Being a one-shot, the plot has to move quickly, with the escalating actions leading to the climax compiling quickly one after another. Although the rushed pace is inevitable given the author only had 50 pages to work with, those 50 pages were well spent building rising conflict and leading to an valuable, if obvious, life lesson. The ending was more positive than I anticipated, which prevented the story from driving it's point even further home,
...
but the ending is still acceptable.
The art is fairly decent; there is not much to say about it. The characters are differentiable, although they may not be the most appealing in design. The art does not hinder the flow of the story, and the small action scenes don't need major scrutiny to see what's going on.
Toshiki will not be the most noteworthy character in the manga universe, but he certainly played his part well, undergoing surprisingly rapid "growth" throughout the story culminating in the life lesson that he has learned. Side characters are side characters, they are there to support the main. None of them detract from the main story, though none of them will ever stick in your mind as memorable. Heck I had to look up Toshiki's name when writing this review.
Enjoyment here is definitely the most debatable factor here in this manga between individuals who have read this one-shot. I didn't enjoy in the sense that it was a fun read, but I enjoyed the fact that I came out of feeling like I learned something. That's incorrect; the lesson taught here is rather clichéd. What I truly enjoyed was having the value of a clichéd lesson reaffirmed within me.
Honestly, the greatest strength of this one-shot is it's brevity. There are no extras to this story; no fan service, filler arcs, beach chapters, warped power levels, plot holes, plot twists, or loose ends. It just tells a story of a boy who learns a valuable lesson in life, and will likely teach it to you too.
Questions, comments, criticisms, and compliments are welcomed whether or not you found this review helpful.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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