Kamisama no Iutoori
As the Gods Will

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Well, this manga is an odd one.
It sounds just like another survival manga, the kinda "Everyone around me is dying" type. I can't say that it's totally original, but there's something special here- like the amount of cultural references, maybe it's the bizarreness level of this manga, or maybe it's just the fact that it's so unexpected! I mean, I don't know what this is about this manga, but it's absolutely awesome. Go read
NOTE: Because of the many cultural references, there are so many translator notes, so if you're not up for reading those, don't start.

"Oh my god. My life... is boring."

We have all had this thought at some point throughout our lives, and thanks to the high level of technology today, we are able to escape from our boring life into the amazing world of video games, movies, anime and countless other mediums. Yet we realize that they only provide a momentary relief from our boring life and we soon wish that our life was akin to our favorite movie/book/show or that we could somehow be truly a part of that world. But what if one day you were suddenly thrust into a world of fantasy and ... adventure, yet it is not the one you had hoped for? The old adage holds true: "Be careful of what you wish for."

And so it was for our average black haired MC, Takahata Shun, an average Japanese high-schooler leading an average boring life. That is, until one day his teacher's head blew up during class. And thus the games begins.

The synopsis will tell you a lot about the manga already and thus this review will go into the things that aren't mentioned in the synopsis while (hopefully) being spoiler-free.

While the genre has steadily gained popularity over the past decade with the rise of the Saw franchise and Hunger Games in the West, and bigshots such as Gantz and Battle Royale in Japan, the survival games genre sees its latest incarnation in Kami-sama no Iutoori as a shounen manga. And readers beware, it is a true SHOUNEN manga. With the typically average male MC somehow magically turning into the most suitable person to survive the events happening to him while simultaneously attracting every woman within a ten mile radius, this manga is not suitable for haters of the shounen genre.

The story begins by following the typical formula, the MC steadily picking up allies and rivals as he beats the challenges one by one while the minor characters become expendables... or so we think. Yes the story has unexpected twists and turns up until the very end, which makes the story highly enjoyable, especially for fans of the genre. Keep in mind that this is but the first part of the series, as it's sequel is already out. So do not expect for everything to be explained or for closure of any sort.

The characters are definitely the worst aspect of the manga as they are for the most part generic at best. There is practically no character development with the exception of the MC who actually becomes quite traumatized by the experience. To make up for that, the characters seemingly act out of character to create the appropriate setting needed to move the plot forward.

The art is nothing special. Rather, the first few chapters were somewhat poorly done (especially the facial expressions) yet it improved as the chapters went by. Some might be put-off by how detailed the repulsive parts are compared to the rest but overall, it manages to convey the story well enough.

Now let's all take a breather and realize that as I am writing this review, the views presented here are fairly subjective. Feel free to check my profile to see whether or not this review can be trusted or not. That being said, I highly enjoyed reading this manga and with only 21 chapters it is definitely worth reading. The only question that remains to any of you that decide to read this is the same one asked whenever one delves into the survival game genre:

"Who will survive?"

A survival manga that tells the story of a mass murder that started in a high school, only to be found out on an international scale. Only a few students survive games -revolving around the Japanese culture- thus going to the next stage, in search for the "next god".

Unfortunately, the manga ended in the middle of a game because of a major plot twist. We didn't get to see lots of interesting events or what happened in the actual end. It wasn't satisfying, to say the least.

The characters stayed the same during the story minus minor character developments.

The thrill is there, but so much ... mystery and questions are left unanswered; for hell's sake, the manga ended while the investigation was still ongoing!

Art and Characters: 5/10, 5/10 (Mediocre art, fine when there's gore, characters clichéd sometimes ""driven by friendship"" and as I said earlier little to no development.)
Story: 7/10 (while not very original on the survival aspect, it differentiate itself with the Japanese games mixed in it)
Enjoyment: 8/10 (There was the thrill of finding out who will win, who will die next)

Overall: 6/10

This manga taught me something. Something that is easy to ignore. Don't let your opinions on life close your mind to different possibilities. This is a Manga that does something that most mistery comics fail inmensely to do. If you want a good mistery story you should put all the pieces of the puzzle in front of the reader/viewer, but subvert all of the pieces so they think that the puzzle goes in a way they weren't expecting. hiding information is not a good way to make your readers feel that the other guy is smart, they will fell cheated. You don't even have to ... make it realistic, but everything needs to fall into place.
I dont give it a higher score because at the time of this review the sequel is shit.
just kidding, that would be a bullshit reason, I don't give it more because the last episode has far too much foreshadowing at the start, the start should be in the middle, but still is amazing.

Kamisama no Iutoori is an underrated manga that one would read only by sheer luck, it's not well known but it's better than most popular manga out there.
Having discovered the manga by recommendation, i would never cross paths with this unique and bizarre take on the survival genre. You are not prepared for what the manga brings to the table, but you'll enjoy it more going in blind. So if you are in doubt about reading it, let this review clear some things up.

The story is what keeps you going, a high school survival manga with just enough weird elements that grabs your attention. A ... cautious note, is that the genre leaves a different taste for everyone, some like the thrill and the fantasy of being in that situation, an escapade to the story that's being told. Others feel its just a bizarre action oriented fest.
With just 21 chapters you are going to breeze through it, it doesn't overstay its welcome, and every chapter leaves you pumped to read more, it's fast paced, but not rushed per say. The weakest part is probably the explanation for why the games are occuring, it's left ambiguous, but it's not a huge problem, keeping in mind that a sequel exists (that's not as good) and so some questions are left out unanswered.

The art is good, not that special at first but as you go on it gets much better. Akeji Fujimura's art is really intense as he polishes his style later on, and it suits the dark tone of the series.

The characters are probably the strongest aspect, the thrill and fear for what is going to happen to them are a selling point, because they are all interesting and everyone has a distinct personality. The dynamic between Shun and the rest of the cast is phenomenal, the only thing that lacks is more development, but for the manga's length we get a vast cast that's different enough that keeps things interesting.

Overall this is a fantastic ride from beginning to end, and for a survival manga it doesn't hold your hand and isn't playing it safe. Bizarre enough to keep your attention and the right amount of chapters so it doesn't drag on. The ending is also well executed and keeps you hyped for what's coming next, so don't worry about being disappointed in the end.

I thougt the manga very fun.
Thus, the characters are not very charismatic and do not undergo any major development, but they are pleasant because they look very human and in general are not exaggerated (like having an extremely exaggerated psychopath) as in other stories of the genre they usually have type Mirai Nikki. By the way, it is cool that even when the characters die they are not forgotten by the story, always having their presence marked on top of the surviving characters.

It history that can be quite intriguing because of the games (since the author uses Japanese games) and the mystery that surrounds the ... work, but the answers are not given in this manga.

The art is decent and in no time it becomes something that you say "wow". But it is not ugly either, and it is very functional and even has moments that excite you in the construction of the scenes.

The ending is very cool because it has an analogy that the author makes about the protagonist that happens in a conclusion that take you totally by surprise, despite the ending being open, but that is because was have changed the publisher so it is justifiable. The sequel is called Kamisama no Iutoori ni.

In the end, it is a fun survival game manga, because instead most of the genre it is not extremely exaggerated with crazy characters or a scene of gratuitous violence, but rather it is very fun go along in how the characters will unravel and survive the games that are given

I could write a long piece on Kamisama no Iutoori, but... I think I can summarize it like this.

Take the Squid Game tv series, but make it all seem like alien or otherworldy entities have done it. Then play the killing games on a growing scale, rather than a shrinking one. Avoid giving any explination or any hint of what's really going on, and end it with a completely unsatisfying ending in the middle of the story.

Then reveal there's a second series coming.

Kamisama no Iutoori isn't a bad manga, and if someone told me they liked it, I would understand, in ... that way it's far better than some (Real Account), but Kamisama no Iutoori also isn't a good manga, it's not satisfying, the main character has the same stupid expression on his face for a decent amount of the time because he's "Shocked" and random stuff happens just for the characters having to do something. There's even points where the author just seems to get bored of an idea and just switches the game because he had nothing more to say about one of the killing games.

Hell 80 percent of the way through the story one character reveals she's a "mega hentai" which apparently means she gets excited when she risks death. This is a character who we've know for long enough that it could have come up before, but it's just gets dropped then... and never mentioned again.

This is a series that had potential, the idea of 'killing games" or "Gambling" is always interesting, but none of the characters really evolve or get defined, none of the ideas get fleshed out, none of the puzzles are really that deep or interesting and many are solved entirely too easily.

This is just masturbation. It's a lot of fun, you might enjoy it, but when you're done, you realize "it was a bit pointless, but you still might want to do it again because there's no lasting sense." Kamisama no Iutoori is like that. Fun for the moment but not exactly something that good or something that will leave you fulfilled.

Personally I wish I didn't spent the time reading it, but it really was only a couple days of my life. Now that I've ready it's I'm good to move on quickly.

Check out Gamble Fish or Alice in Borderlands instead of this.

So how I can put this? Well... let's make a quick resume of the plot.
We have a lot of high school students who are trapped in a game... a survival game... make by... God, 'cause He doesn't have much to do at all, apparently. And... they survive? At least someones, others are just completely thrown out before we can give a shit for their. Well, everybody who survives actually are some kind of nuts or perverts... or both, and everybody who's just a sane person just die horribly.
So, surprisedly or not, I actually liked pretty much this manga... at least the first ... 80% of its. The characters was interesting (even if some of they die too soon and I thought they can be more used), the plot was clever, the games was exciting and everything was fine. It wasn't my favorite manga ever, but I was having a pretty good time reading.
BUT! I begun to realize that something it was NOT ok when we saw the creepy otaku's backstory and... THAT THING came. THAT!
The 2-D girl!
I thought "... Wait, what?! No. Nonononononononono. No. Y-You're kidding, right?". It was so pathetic, because I kind of can feel when something like that it's just a joke and when it takes really serious, and HE WAS SERIOUS. Look, I wouldn't freak out just by that if it was a comedy manga or a serious manga who sometimes decides to make a joke (like Bungo Stray Dogs, one of my favorites anime ever), but this is not the case. "Kamisama no Iutoori" have its comic relieve, but nothing like this.
And, how I imagined, its was going worse, when the author included the "Ikuko", who even her name is translated like... "A girl about to come"... Do I need say more?!
At this point, I just wanted to end this manga sooner as possible. I can't just stop now because I spent too much time on this shit for just give up and I was already on the final arc.
What makes me given a pretty bad score for this manga was the end, because I was waited at least something to compensate this... And it was the WORST END I EVER SEE IN MY WHOLE LIFE (by a manga)! Nothing makes any sense, the author just threw on a lot of bullshit, the climax (who was pretty good, I have to say) was ended by a way so frustrating that makes me think the author created a problem who he didn't know how to solves and just give up. And he didn't even give anyone a end, like, their stories are just end on the middle of the way and die there.
And I know it has a "continuation", but by the synopsis, it's a whole new story with differents characters and I don't give a shit anymore, because I'm tired of this author who can't even finish his story properly.

A new contender on my strange list of “What am I even reading?”.

Short manga, death games, gore, batshit insane characters. An author that tortures audience expectations to the point of insensitivity. You get what you ask for, but I just can't get along with the ways it's laid out. Specially since the beginning, we know everything can instantly die at the turn of a page, or right on the next panel. So, it should be a fun, “turn off your brain” sequence of gory events that tickle that monkey bone.

A ball with a face lands on a classroom, and starts killing people in the ... name of a mysterious game. No rules, you gotta figure out how to survive in the very first pages. It's unrelenting, no breaks, no breathing room, nothing. Right from that get go, it feels like an ADHD written story. It tries to get your attention by introducing this new, brutal aspect that gets discarded soon after. It keeps your attention long enough as to tell another, alien invasion story, and we go back and forth really fast to the gore. Maybe this is the kind of juvenile story that loads of people put themselves into, and try to think “¿Would I survive?”. That's where the novelty wears off. Only insane people survive, or the main character, whose insanity is slowly put in the spotlight to analyze, but without meaning.

It feels like a meaningless story, at least as of now. This is the only thing I'll mention about the ending, in that, there's not an ending. The narrative ends in a climax after one of the most important death games finishes. It leaves the audience in a cliffhanger that doesn't really interest me to follow for more. Some allusions are given to the real “something” behind it all, but it's so empty that there's nothing to look forward to.

We don't care for the characters, since the author never gives us time to love anybody. The main character is just this vaguely insane guy, doing mildly intelligent observations to allow his survival without much else. I don't think we're supposed to relate, but we don't care either. Survival isn't something that matters that much when that's all there's to it. Maybe I should've expected that from the premise, and it was entertaining, but not much more than junk food.

I don't think this is a great manga, and the art goes hit or miss. However, I wasn't bored, so I'll give it points for succeeding in the ADHD fueled, and sometimes comedic, gory aesthetic that doesn't exaggerate with its characters. It's not edgy, which is welcomed.

5.5/10. Tolerable, but it doesn't bring anything to the death game table. Mindless entertainment.

A Survival Game with a Twist, or maybe a Half Twist

Right off the bat let's note that this is Part 1 of a Two Part (so far) manga series with the same name, except part two is called Part 2. Pretty simple.

If you enjoyed Kaiji, Squid Game, Battle Royale, Alice in Borderlands, or any other Survival Game, and thought to yourself "I wish they spent less time on the plot and characters, and just spent more time on the games, maybe add in some supernatural elements" then you are absolutely going to love this manga. Otherwise, you will be like most people and probably ... enjoy it well enough, while being more than a little bit confused at times. This is Kamisama no Iutoori or As the Gods Will (Part 1).

To be honest, this manga is a test to see if you will enjoy Part 2, which is much longer, and has exactly the same plot and characters as part 1. This manga will not take long to read, so if anything about Survival Game, psychological horror, and supernatural elements appeal to you then you should give this a read and see if you like it. I can at least promise you that Part 2 improves in every possible way from the 1st one, although maybe not by much. It corrects a lot of the mediocre aspects of this manga, so if you enjoy it you absolutely MUST go on to the 2nd Part.

Otherwise I could go on, but this manga is so short you should just read it instead of reading a long review. I will however do a more in depth review of Part 2!

If you’ve read literally any other work of the death game genre, Kamisama no Iutoori will offer no extra benefit to you.

The story is very, very basic. Very little is actually explained about what is going on, so it seems that the main attraction really is just “people dying stupidly”. Said people being generic mob, with very shallow personalities – and that includes the protagonists too. I was given absolutely zero reason as to why should I care about any of them. There is at least some attempt to differentiate between characters by varying character designs, but that too falls flat as most of them ... are as randomly introduced as they are killed off soon after.

The death games themselves are boring, and beyond the concept of turning children’s games into death games unimaginative. And it gets worse with time, last volume being the most boring of them all. There just isn’t anything to catch your interest unless this is first or among the first more explicit manga you’ve read. And it’s not like the art of that is any great. As is the story, the drawings are also subpar, with maybe one or two pages being alright.

There is also a sort of subplot with moe manga and annoying otaku character and it is the stupidest shit ever that only adds to the story not making much sense together.

Maybe all of this is explained in the sequel, but this part lowered my interest in reading the continuation for it quite lot, so I’m judging it as it stands alone, and it’s standing alone is terrible.