Centuria

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I don't think this is a necessarily bad manga, but I don't think this style of series meshes well with some of the Lovecraftian themes the story initially tries to capture. The art and creature designs are beautiful and convey a sense of horror that is unfortunately missing in the narrative. This is a very light dark-fantasy, which may appeal to some, but isn't really for me. Dark themes are mostly just dabbled in, and then shied away from. It's very early on, so it still has a chance to pivot in a more interesting or different direction. At least worth a look.

It is really early to tell but it is good, it is like a tragic tale with a "lighter" tone to it, unlike something like Berserk. The series presentes a world that needs to be explored and is full of mysteriuos creatures. One really good thing it has is the art, the art is really good for it being a weekly series. Characters have a cute aspect to how they are drawn, like female characters look really cute and "bubbly". If you like tragedy filled stories with a character that has nothing to lose but hope, good drawings and mysterious plot this series is for ... you.

A very promising new gen manga that separates itself from everything else currently publishing right now. We need more manga like this one, a dark gripping story with so many intense moments, a unique interesting setting with awesome creatures, a powerful plot hook that doesn't let you go, and amazing art to top it all off. Despite this manga's dark themes, it also has very wholesome moments and a big emphasis on family that is executed better then most manga. It makes you really care for every character, which adds so much more to the stakes. Why are you reading this review when you could ... be reading this manga?!

Centuria's first few chapters seemed really promising, with it's dark atmosphere, Lovecraftian creatures and unforgiving world, but then characters start acting like they're in a children series, with everything being black and white, villains being comically evil and the heroes being little angels from god, mc is as naive as a toddler, characters win battles with the power of friendship and all.

Very disappointing, this is a generic shonen series trying to pretend it's mature with GORE and over rendered backgrounds, non-powered characters in full armor moving like they're weightless, even the art that felt was incredible in the first couple of chapters started showing cracks, ... clothes look like they're made of stone, odd head/face proportions and expressions, plus the crazy giant hands and bulky forearms, makes everything look odd and the author seems really proud of the way they draw them, it's constantly the focus of some panels.

As i consume more and more manga/anime i realize that 90% of everything coming out is trying to cater to the biggest demographic out there and that's the casual reader that has read five manga or that just doesn't mind reading the same thing over and over again, i'm not saying using stereotypes, archetypes and tried and true formulas are a bad thing, but if you're doing in the most surface level possible, i don't really get what we're supposed to take away from this piece of art called manga, that at this time has nothing interesting to offer.

Overall, Centuria so far is fantastic. It has beautiful art and an engaging story, with a lot of promise for the future. It's a high enough mark of quality that, after finishing what of it is currently out, I wished there was more because I was that engaged.

Narrative - The story is about Julian, a young boy who stows away on a slave ship, who is found by the slavers and cared for by the slaves. Very minor spoilers for the first chapter here, but when all of the slaves are killed by the slavers, a goddess of the sea appears to him and offers ... him power. The story after this point is him trying to live a quiet life with the people who care about him.
Judging the quality of the story is difficult, seeing as it is just getting into its stride, but what I can judge are the characters. They're emotionally engaging and do a fair job of avoiding bland stereotypes. The evil king, for instance, is a noble humanitarian who has advanced the rights of the populace.

Visuals - The art is, taken holistically, fantastic. The scenes of action feel very dynamic, and the aftermath can be gory and inspired in composition and subject. On top of that, the designs given for the monsters and characters are sufficiently intimidating and highly evocative. The only criticism I have of the art at all is some of the scaling. I particularly noticed it with the hands of the characters just seeming too large. Altogether, that's little when compared with all the good, just a little distracting.

I really enjoyed Centuria. It's still early, but this one seems promising. To give an analogy, it's like post-farming arc Thorfinn trying to live with a baby in Berserk but shounen-ized (of course, it's in Jump).

Although I mentioned Berserk, it doesn't dive deeply into the dark fantasy aspect of it, but just dabbles around. It's character designs and artwork are really good which convey the horror of the beings.

Story wise, it's still early but the way it's going is interesting. Visually, the art work is good and the character design has this Lovecraftian vibe to it(I saw a kraken lady so I am saying this ... to look pretentious and fit in with others), which suits the story. If you think this is not for you, Well we have a muscle mommy. Overall it was a nice read.

This is my first review, please forgive any mistakes. (Avoiding unnecessary openers like “This is my first review, please forgive any mistakes.". So I am adding it to the end and also English is not my first language.)

We have Berserk at home.

Story

Centuria is a weird mix of Berserk (dark fantasy), Vinland Saga (healing from trauma), and a bit of Lovecraftian horror. Then you water it down to be less gore-y. It is an interesting attempt to blend those 3 things.

The only issue I have with the reading is the pacing is horrible. Early in (chapter 1-10)a single fight feels like it is less then a chapter. Then later on (chapter 11 onwards) the plot drags on. We stay on a single event for maybe 2.5-3 chapters. Maybe don't binge read it really. IMO, If the mangaka nails down the pacing ... it would be way better and be nice if there was some lighter more comedic bits. Doesn't have to be heavy all the time.

Art

Ok.....Damn. Brother Bear has some arms to create some of panels.

Overall
7/10. A small bit overhyped but still worth the time