Holyland

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Have you ever felt out of place, lost even?

That's what this manga is about—finding your place, no, making it. That’s what Yuu teaches us throughout this series: while life is just that—life—it is also what you make of it. By your will, it becomes what you see of it. With the author’s amazing depiction of real martial arts and realism in the fight scenes, the battles are visceral and well-detailed, leaving little room for complaint.

Yuu, Masaki, Shinichi, and Shougo make up the main cast of the manga, and they are beautifully written—at least for the premise. Yuu struggles with depression and isolation, while Masaki wrestles ... with feeling lost and purposeless. These themes are at the forefront of Holyland, bubbling to the surface almost immediately. Shinichi’s story explores acceptance and love, while Shougo’s narrative is about moving on and becoming a butterfly. (I hope someone understands what I mean by that.)

Bullying is a heavy theme in this manga, and it’s written masterfully. While it includes the classic cheesy bullies we’ve all seen before, the way the author portrays how Yuu is affected is powerful and deeply moving. It’s catharsis, plain and simple.

Many will say it’s boring or dismiss it outright, but here’s my take: this manga is for those who want to savor the journey it offers. If you’re just after a quick read or some mindless action, it might not capture your interest. However, if you’re truly seeking to experience something profound—something that resonates on a deeper level—then take the time to immerse yourself in this manga. It’s a story that rewards patience and reflection, and its greatness lies in the experience it brings.

Also, it has romance!

This was a ride, I went in expecting an action manga and was met with a manga which shows the writer's love of martial arts. 90% of this was amazing, the way different techniques were brought into play and the writer constantly geeking out about them was great.
But, the last arc of the story is one of the worst ways possible to end a story like this. It baffles me that the last story beat was able to be published.
The writer freaking brought up the point that the drug epidemic couldn't be just punched away and then the main character et al just had to ... beat up the drug lord college kid to stop the whole problem??? Its so mind numbingly stupid.
The way the main character's girlfriend was treated is nauseating, they just used her implied gangrape as a way to push the main character. I don't see a way to justify this decision.
I'm sorry that this was a poorly typed out rant but I'm infuriated by the last few chapters so much that I don't wanna revisit this manga to write a better review. aaaaaaaaa

I feel really out of place rating this as low. Holyland is compelling in the areas it sets out to excel in. The fights are well grounded in realism and are quite convincing. Despite not being the necessarily high octane fights with explosive energy, the realisticness of the fights carry a decent amount of engagement. it's convincing that our main character, Yuu, can take on these opponents because the author does a great job articulating the dynamics of a street fight.

But when there aren't fights happening in Holyland, I am bored. While there are quite compelling characters such as our protagonist as well as ... Masaki, I found the dialogue losing my attention time and time again. i think holyland has some great aspects in story and character development, but it's masked by what feels to me as mundane dialogue. I'm reading all of these positive reviews and i feel like i too am seeing the great elements of holyland, but through my eyes I'm only recieving that experience in crumbs, piecing these elements myself past the messy dialogue.

Take a story like Teppu. I am only a few chapters in, and i find a similar amount of "compell-ness" in regards to its characters and it's story. Yet I am far more engaged towards Teppu that contains less fights. Why? The dialogue outside of fights in Teppu sells the story in a cleaner coherent presentation.

I will acknowledge once more that Holyland has some great things going for it, and that it's just me missing out on it as I've read. I recommend anyone to read Holyland for themselves, as while this is an honest review of me disliking it, I can attribute my dislike to this manga more as a visceral feeling that leads me to be distracted. I acknowledge the author is very good at crafting and articulating a fight scene, but when it comes to outside of fights, I'm just skimming through.

Think of it like this: A big MMA pay-per-view fight with many people watching. The fight is great, with the commentators enhancing it even further. But for me, my signal is bad. My Tv goes in and out with the fight coverage, and it's hard to watch. Even though it's a great fight, I'm not getting the best experience. This experience isn't reflected for everyone, as everyone else's TV's are good, and it's not for me to blame on the event itself. Holyland has some great things going for it, but it just didn't resonate my attention for long.