Psyren

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Psyren is a series that I feel is often overlooked by a lot of people due to its lack of popularity. There are a few reasons for this, most of which come from the somewhat confusing plot and story setup. For me, it was a rare type of series that really takes the right sort of mindset to appreciate. I’ll first start on my opinion on the story, which is really the only place I feel the series suffers in some ways.

Story: 7/10

I wouldn’t call the story “bad”, however, it does lack in a few areas that hold it back from being above average. The ... problem here is that it’s hard to tell if Psyren identifies as a seinen or a shounen, as it contains familiar story setups from both types of series. You have the typical training arcs and named attacks that those who read shounens are familiar with, however, it has a mature/complex enough plot to be considered seinen-esque. This is a fairly rare mixture, and while I don’t particularly find and fault with it, it does result in some awkward plot sequences. Obviously I can’t get into much here without spoiling the story, but those familiar with it will probably know what I’m talking about.

Art: 8/10

I don’t really have any problems with the art here; there’s no moe blobs, the characters actually resemble human beings, and the art in general is definitely a step above average. This section of the review is going to be short, because other than saying “it’s above average” there’s not much else to say; it looks good.

Characters: 9/10

After reading the series this is where I feel it shines. Psyren’s character development certainly stands out above other manga. First of all, my opinion of romances that are involved in action manga is simple; either do it right, or don’t do it at all. Fortunately Psyren does it right, and the romantic developments actually amount to something. Not much else to say there. In terms of the character development, I’d say it’s great. I don’t think I can pick out a single character that acts the same way at the start of the series as they did at the end of it, and contrary to other popular series, the characters actually learn from their mistakes.

Enjoyment: 9/10

I’d give the enjoyment a 9/10 here, for me it’s not quite a 10 because there were elements of the story where you kind of had to sit there like “What the… OK then…” and keep reading on. Again, I don’t think it detracts much at all from the reading experience, but I feel like it’s something that I had to note.

Overall: 8/10

An average of the above scores, nothing much else to add here. I’d recommend that if you haven’t read Psyren and you’re OK with seinen elements slipping in to your action series, then give it a try. If you’re wary of that and or don’t like any romance in your reading material; look elsewhere.

Popularly, the shounen market is known for being over-saturated with the same kind of average stories and not presenting a whole lot of originality. I hate that kind of view, but I have to agree that the definition of Psyren is average,.

Psyren is a shounen manga serialized between 2007 and 2010. It was created, written and illustrated by Toshiaki Iwashiro.

Ageha Yoshina is a high schooler who frequently gets into fights and always wins. After one of his incursions, he passes by a payphone and it starts ringing. He answers the call but can only hear static. When he hangs up, he finds a calling card ... with "Psyren" written on it. The next day, he goes to school and a visually distressed girl, Sakurako Amamiya, forgets her wallet. Ageha picks it up and sees that the girl has the same card. Both of them end up getting involved with the game "Psyren" and uncover some incredibly distressing mysteries.

The beginning of Psyren is very promising, but, after the initial wonder, it becomes awfully predictable, for the most part. With the introduction and defeat of a character in the world of Psyren, it is made awfully clear that it would become a much more predictable story than it first seemed.

It already starts trailing off by the middle. A lot of different characters and concepts are introduced early on just to be forgotten for about 50 chapters, until they suddenly appear again as if nothing had happened.a I have no idea what happened with Ageha's original friends, they just disappeared.

Towards the ends, the unpredictability comes back, but not in a good way. It becomes almost nonsensical, with asspulls left and right. The impressions it gives is that the author got tired of writing Psyren and rushed to end it without thinking too much about it.

The battles, with a couple of exceptions, don't include any type of strategy, they are only based on who is stronger. That is actually pretty sad, as the abilities themselves are pretty imaginative and created a lot of possibilities for better battles. The main character's ability, "Melchee's Door" is truly original and also had a lot of potential, that wasn't fully used.

The cast is pretty big, but most of the characters are pretty well developed. However, there wasn't a single character that had an original personal arc, everything had already been done before. It was pretty easy to see what would happen with each of the characters from their first appearences.

Which brings me to the character design. It also isn't any different than most of other shounens. It is extremely easy to recognize everything about a character with just their design, from abilities to the personal arc. It makes everything extremely easy to predict, taking away any tension.

The art as a whole is pretty, but doesn't have a hint of originality. It is the traditional art for shounens.

Psyren was an extremely boring read to me. I knew what was coming most of the time because of the predictability of the story, which made it lose its edge. When it tried to be different, it became extremely confusing. The characters and their interactions were also pretty standard.

If you are looking for a new shounen to read, it is exactly what you are looking for. Yet, it doesn't offer anything different from all the other hundred shounens.

Psyren faces overarching issues, primarily stemming from a lack of build-up and the failure to break away from the typical cookie-cutter approach. Moreover, the villains in the series lack depth, seemingly existing solely for the sake of being evil

CHARACTERS:

If you've seen Bleach, Naruto, One Piece, Beelzebub, Gantz, and Akira you have basically seen all these characters before except they are just 2 dimensional, and trope filled copies.

-Yoshina's character bears a striking resemblance to Ichigo,and Yusuke but without the depth of Zangetsu and dynamic with Toguro/Sensui respectively

-Asaga is portrayed as a "noble thug," evoking memories of Kuwabara from YYH. Similarly he dips from the story for ... a long time, so don't get too attached to him

-Kirisaki is introduced as a coward who later learns to confront his fears. Not much else to him

-Unfortunately, Oboro stands out as one of the weakest characters in the series. He has no personality except trying to be insane and edgy, but it fails horribly because his character arc resets at the end of the story.

-Moreover, the main villain, Amagi, raises concerns as he barely interacts with Yoshina and the cast, and his involvement within his own organization is minimal, leaving most duties to Grana, his second in command.


STORY

The story initially shows promise, but ultimately feels like a watered-down version of Gantz. While it engages readers in the beginning and middle, it loses momentum rapidly.

One of the major issues lies in the narrative's development of the main cast. They gradually lose their agency after meeting the kids from Elmer Wood, repeatedly requiring rescue from them during battles in the future world. Consequently, the fights lack strategic depth and devolve into random clashes, with characters utilizing powers seemingly unrelated to the foundation of PSI.
You have Amamiya who the author forgot was supposed to be mentally ill and traumatized until the last stretch of the story so she develops a second personality even though she was pretty much fine and sociable for a good chunk of the story

The story also suffers from a glaring power creep problem. Yoshina and the cast suddenly acquire the NOVA PSI, an ability never previously mentioned.

What's more puzzling is that Yoshina only masters 2/3 of the required PSI powers, yet still gains access to NOVA.

This inconsistent development is hard to justify, especially when others born with PSI or possessing years of experience lack this power. Even more confusing is Yoshina obtaining NOVA from his non-psychic father in the original timeline. This is ends up leading to the final Showdown between Yoshina and Amagi reaching Ichigo vs Aizen levels of disappointing.

Additionally, the villains' motivations raise serious questions. The main villain seeks to eliminate non-psychics due to his traumatic childhood experiences with experiments. While this motive is understandable, his actions contradict his beliefs.

He senselessly kills numerous psychics and non psychics alike whe conducting
experiments on innocent people, turning them into monstrous beings. This inconsistency in his character and actions detracts from the potential impact of the narrative's conflict.

In summary, Psyren presents a forgettable storyline with shallow character development and an underwhelming portrayal of villains.

The lack of depth in both the heroes and antagonists, coupled with the story's unfulfilled potential, diminishes its overall impact, leaving readers craving for a more compelling and thought-provoking experience

Please just read Gantz, Akira, and Yu Yu Hakusho instead.