Ajin
Ajin: Demi-Human

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A psychological character-driven action manga with underlying elements of horror, Ajin is surely not a story for everyone. But for those with suitable leaning it may very well come nothing short of a masterpiece.

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Whilst the anime adaption of this manga did a great job setting the tone, handled their cgi with surprisingly high quality and produced some absolutely outstanding music, they dropped the manga's story only a few episodes in and continued the show with an original plot and ending. For anyone who might still be confused about this and or thus hold preconceptions about Ajin because of that, know simply that beyond the initial ... episodes the two works branch out to become vastly different from one another.
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From the very in your face action scenes varying from a personal scale to the governmental one, the mystery of the demi-humans; what they are and where they come from, to the story onto and behind each character the story revolves around, Ajin plays on a beautiful balance between each element to really tell its full story. Sometimes the scenes are big and bombastic, sometimes they're silent and subtle, but what they all have in common is this eerie feeling that they could be real. Or should I say, that they deal with elements we all carry close to us, all think about and ponder at one point or another, all experience in our own time and ways, that as we read them we know they are real. And that is what makes it so intriguing, so gritty, emotional and scary.

I truly cannot empathise enough the extent Ajin has gone to forge its characters into actual individuals. Characters who are so authentically thought-through and who quite in truth do realistically exist all around us, with real personality-cues which we as a society more often than not shun upon speaking or making mention of. In fact, a large portion of the cast are all like this; individuals with a mask, in one form or another, hiding their true selves away because of society's neglect or even enmity towards what is not seen as normal- despite most of us carrying these very traits or experiences to one degree or another. Despite all of us already knowing this.

When he writes, the author is clearly self-aware, and never inputs a loose string, hint or an element without cause or reason. There is always something to say, always something to be found or to happen, and always a sense of respect towards the readers who are dedicating their time and effort to this piece of work.
Ajin really uses each of its element for a reason; the demi-humans aren't so much a plot point as one might expect; the continous attempts of taking the antagonist down and putting and end to his havoc really isn't what the show is actually about, and the characters' own motivations and history are essentially irrelevant whilst viewed as standalone. It is however precisely because they are all conciously and deliberately woven together, that they are able to create the impact, intrigue and value that they do.


So what's the TLDR, really?
Ajin is an action-packed and deeply psychological manga sure to draw you in and grab you on the hook. Hand to hand combat, guns blazing and explosions? We've got you, fam. Undying humans who restore themselves in the most eerie ways every time they die and spawn violent, inhuman beings who may or may not attack everything they see? Oh you'll like this. And lastly, realistic characters who are all so uniquely real and deal with elements most fiction doesn't even dare to step close to? Oh we've got that too.

- Not to mention the art develops incredibly throughout the span of the series, truly becoming and forging an identity for Ajin of its own.


Altough Ajin might be a masterpiece for a potentially small crowd, I stand by that Ajin is nonetheless a definite masterpiece.

Story
Ajin are humans that cannot die. Seventeen years ago, they first appeared on a battlefield in Africa. Our main character turns out to be a Ajin and gets treated like he is some animal to be experimented on and everyone else sees him as a cash prize like an event being held everybody thinks they will get money if they hand in an Ajin even though Ajin are human other people don't see them as those adults were trying to kill the main character and smirking then they said let's see if he really is an Ajin. Long story short this manga has an interesting ... story. 9/10

Art
The art is great it is very gritty and it portrays the story really well.

Characters
I will just talk about the main character and he is weird he seems like he is going to be that cliché character that's going to try to make peace with the Ajin and Humans but then he comes out as a character that doesn't care about the humans its just weird some may like him some may hate him he is an interesting character to observe. 8/10

Enjoyment
Well, I can say it's good because when someone does something to another person you get REALLY PISSED or maybe that was just me but if I can get pissed about a Manga it means it did well enough to make me feel something about it and when you start reading this manga you will never stop. 8/10

Overall
I give this Manga a 9/10 while it is interesting it's not perfect.

"Why must one die?" Is being immortal a gift or a curse?

One day, our main character Nagai, Kei finds out the wrong way(and only way) that he's an immortal being with supernatural powers, which is not only bad since the government is after all "Ajins"(Immortals) for experimental purposes but because he's one of the few hundred Ajin's in the world.
His head has a price now, and his mysterious abilities make him the perfect target for everyone around him. Who will remain his friend and who will betray him?

Kei is given a quick introduction into a very realistic world.
Ajin is filled with psychological and ... existential issues that question society's morals when dealing with this new "race". How would society react to these immortal people? It has many similarities to our world and it's a way to feel empathy with the characters and that part of the story since we too deal with issues like racism and discrimination.

The main character goes through many ideology changes throughout the manga as he fights for his freedom and "survival". His best friend plays a big part in his new life, and both are given great character development. Other characters are also well developed to show the other side of the coin, the cruel humans and the typical greedy government.

The art is great. The gore elements that are added for shock value are superb. Everything is really well drawn and the style blends well with the story. All designs and especially the Ajin's mysterious "ability" make the story more engaging.

The seriousness of this manga describes very well how we humans act in face of death and pain. People turn selfish and hateful when pushed to the limit, add a mystery and supernatural concept into the mix and you have the story of an immortal kid with a strange power.

People die when they are killed...unless you're a demi-human. Ajin is set in the backdrop of bureaucratic Japan where we follow Nagai Kei as he discovers after nearly being isekai'd by Truck-kun, he's a demi-human and returns from death's door.

Critiques out the way first: Ajin's beginning chapters are ass. They aren't bad by any stretch of the imagination--compared to the vast sea of manga out there, it's a pretty damn good introduction. But compared to the greatness that is the next 80% of the manga, the opening chapters are pretty fucking weak. The issue with the opening chapters is that the author has no idea ... what he wants to do with the characters he wrote out. They all appear one dimensional and lack any coherent sense of depth--much like your average shounen series.

Yet, as time progresses and the chapters move along, you begin to piece together the stories each character is trying to tell. Each character has a very evident sense of motivation and you know what's driving these characters to do what they're doing. They're self-aware of the actions they take may not be the most morally accurate, but its just so painfully human you can't help but empathize with them in the situation.

Unless you're Sato, Ajin's main antagonist. What makes this villain so damn good is not that he is the cleverest motherfucker on the street, no, it's also because he's a gamer. Sato is the personification of those fucked up thoughts--the crazy what-ifs you sometimes catch yourself fantasizing about. Sato's the same reason why people love the Joker so much. Sato takes those what-ifs and embodies them into reality. His violent tendencies paired with his wit makes every one of his preparations so interesting. Its this stark juxtaposition between Sato's chaotic and violent whimsicality and the organized, rational nature that is Nagai Kei that make each conflict so compelling to read.

By the end of the series, you'll see entire stories being conveyed in three textless panels. From facial expressions, to the way the panels are framed, the reader can grasp the rich history from characters they might've only spent very little time with--giving them incredible nuance despite the unfamiliarity.

Ultimately, it's Ajin's ability to convey many things in a single story that makes it such an incredible piece of work. It's never shoving things in your face but it asks the reader to really take the time to understand what's trying to be communicated across the page. Read the series or Imma have to crack out the belt

Ajis is a rather new, and lesser known, manga that offers a good story, interesting characters and solid art.

As some other recent mangas, like Shingeki No Kyojin, it does have an overall "shounen" feeling to it but introducing elements of seinen like and increased use of gore and violence, antagonistic figures that go beyond "I want to rule the world because I am evil" and a reduced focus on the frequently used "friendship is power" theme.


Story:

As the preview on the site indicates, Ajin is about people that can't die.
They look and act like normal humans, and most of them don't even realize they are "ajins" ... until the moment "die" for the first time.

So far, the main focus of the story has been to show that immortality in this case is not a blessing but rather a curse. Most people don't consider "ajins" to be human, they don't have human rights and as soon as one is found goverments from all around the world will hunt them down to capture them and use them as test subjects. As test subject they are victims of brutal experiments and constant torture, a fate that as immortal beings is almost worse than death.

While it's a nice take on immortality I honestly feel this more of a "pessimistic look" on not being able to die rather than a "realistic" look at the issue.
The story shows that before finding out about their power most ajin act as normal humans, they are born, have families, friends and a normal life, it's even said that most of them are not even violent or dangerous even after finding out they are Ajin. Yet we are supposed to believe that no one really feels bad about them and all agree that they are not humans and shouldn't be treated as one. At one point it's even shown that something like 0.0001% of the japanese population seem to be "ajin supporters".

Art:

The art is actually quite good. The overall quality of characters and backgrounds is great and the actions scenes in particular are drawn with a good ammount of detail.

Characters:

The main character feels rather generic but the supporting cast is interesting. The manga is still in early stages so it's hard to talk about character development, but the world is filled with interesting characters of various or unclear motivations that seem to fall on a moral grey zone.

Enjoyment

So far it has been a blast. The story is fun and combines mystery, action and a touch of drama in a world filled with interesting characters. I hardly could finish one chapter without having to start the next one right away

Overall 8/10.

This is showing great promise. like other recent titles it finds a good balance between supernatural, action, drama and mystery all while being presented with a tone that feels a bit more serious and mature than your average shonen manga.
The concept of immortality being a curse is not exactly new and there a few elements I think are not very consisten about the world and how people react to "Ajins". But nothing bad enough to keep me from recommending this.

Ajin is like that one 29-year old cousin who still lives in his mom's basement, but when you actually try to interact with him, he's pretty cool.

I have to start this review by saying that I am not a fan of the anime adaptation of Ajin, the anime was animated poorly, and diverged from the source material, which we all know from experience, is not good.

Let's start with the characters. The mc and the antagonist are really the 2 main characters who stand out as great in this series. The dynamic and relationship these 2 have make every single chapter exciting, suspenseful, and ... entertaining. I especially took a liking to the mc, due to how relatable I found him to be. He grew up with a extremely mature mindset, and took on many responsibilities that even adults wouldn't want, as a child. He was the perfect student, modest, quiet, smart and outstanding. The antagonist however, was quite the opposite. He was psychopathic, cold, absurd, and insane. As these 2 battle it out, exchanging blow for blow, the world shakes, and their ideals clash, resulting in great character development. The side characters aren't bad either. All of them were unique, and felt important enough to the story, so that we would actually care about them. My favorite side character was okabe's edgy stoner twin cousin, who was badass, hilarious, and smart as hell.

Next is the story. This is of course a shonen series, so don't expect much of fantastic storytelling or the use of literary devices. However, the pacing is great, and the arcs don't feel repetitive at all. So unlike another anime that uses the similar power of coming back to life *ahem* I'm looking at you, re:zero, the story is constantly moving forward, and the events feel fresh in your mind.

Finally the art. The art is great in my opinion. You can see clearly the evolution of the artist's style throughout the story, as it changes from a more cartoony, stereotypical character designs to a semi-realistic art style that gives the manga it's own separate identity. The 2 paged panels adds to giving the story a dramatic effect, which adds to the enjoyment of the reader.

Overall, the ajin manga is truly a hidden gem of the animanga community. It's well-paced, enjoyable, and relatively original, despite the main power system being used in other animanga. If you like fast-paced action or modern-warfare mangas, this is definitely the one for you.

If I were to describe Ajin in one word, then it would be: clever. If you like tons of plotting and creative uses of power reminiscent of Death Note or Code Geass, then you will very likely like Ajin. The characters are very relatable, and as long as you stick with the main character's selfishness for the first story arc, you will see him develop wonderfully as somebody who is rational and calculating, but at his core a very driven and caring person. All characters behave believably and have greatly complex motivations for each of their actions, and their subtle emotions are captured well by ... the mangaka. The sob stories aren't painfully drawn out and ideals they hold seem more in line with what real, driven people would likely have. Overall Ajin was a great read for me, and if you enjoy complex multifaceted characters and complex plots (great usage of the immortality power), then you'll likely love Ajin too.

Some people seem to really miss the mark about this manga so I thought I would put my quick share on why this manga is amazing. Lets get one things straight first, the torture/abuse of immortal humans in this manga is a super small part that is mostly glanced over other than 1 character constantly referencing it to affect is personality. The real meat of this manga comes with the villain Sato who might be the most entertaining villain to watch ever. Ever time the author feeds us some of his backstory it becomes a joyous moment, and his overall dynamic with the main character ... is really fun to watch. If you are turned off by the comments about the gore side of this manga I would say to mostly ignore them. It really looks like the reviewers complaining about that side stopped at those chapters. But if you want a fantastic action manga with fantastic art and great world building, constantly talking and figuring out the rules of the powers HxH style then Ajin is the manga for you.

I picked Ajin up perchance one day because I needed something to read while I was at the doctor’s office and boy did I have something to read! Ajin far exceeded my expectations. I am completely enthralled and wrapped in the story. If you like cat and mouse type of stories like Death Note then this is for you. I honestly think this gets compared to Death Note so much for the simple fact that you get the same “ooohh” and “ahhhh” moments when a twist appears and is then explained. Overall, this series is phenomenal and I can’t wait for the next chapter to ... be released!

Only ting i want to say about this manga:
"the MC worth it"
Because of his awesome mc i forgive little things that not make much sense int the story I just love him, i relate to him a lot, though that may be not so good.
Anyways the art is enjoyable it goes great whit the manga, the plot is interesting and untill now it doesn't focus on the mystery of "the heck is an ajin" head on but in the warlike relationship between them and humans- for now at least- but what really got me in this manga is the main character abnormal personality! Kei ... is not a hardworking shonen mc neither a sissy shinji-like, he is lazzy, hateful, genius and totally awesome!

sorry about my english.

Oh Ajin. I just wish you actually had something to say.

As far as plots go, I wouldn't exactly say this manga has the most original concepts ever. Some humans achieve the ability to never die outside of old age. When they are discovered by humanity, they are essentially taken from civilized society and used as seen fit. Usually tortured. No one really seems to care that people just vanish, and general society doesn't seem to think the people being essentially kidnapped are in any sort of danger. Sure. Whatever.

Where the story does shine are the conversations the characters have (usually), and the manga's antagonist. ...

That said, I'm not really sure what the point of this manga is outside of ultraviolence. The humans treat demi-humans like trash, kidnapping and torturing most of them for nothing more then financial gain. Yet the main opposing force to this behavior is a literal nutcase who finds glee out of making his life a waking video game CoD expansion.

So who are we supposed to root for here? No one? Well, our protagonist I guess, but he has no real stakes in this fight either outside of some vague "I want to live life in peace so let me help you I guess" sort of attitude. Yet somehow he never had the bright idea to dye his hair? Change his looks? He hardly tried anything to really lay low, and clearly his face isnt very distinct given the fact the manga says quite a few kids look like him and had been dealing with the consequences of that. Of course, by the time the protagonist does develop a real desire to win, its by the end of the story, but it all could have been avoided.

Speaking of protagonists... he's fine I guess. A mess of contrivances, and he somehow knows literally everything despite being a high schooler, but that's manga! At first he was still in the realm of possibility, as most of his actions were just cold rationalizations, but by the end his sheer amount of knowledge and planning reaches absurd dues ex machina levels.

And this is all without even mentioning the gung-ho jingoism in this story. Politicians are nothing but useless lumps on a log, but the military leaders? Well, clearly they should be the ones in charge. They step up when the others are useless, even somehow managing to assemble task forces of the most considerable fighters. Politicians continue to be dumb as logs and wont even authorize police officers to use /tranquillizer guns/? On what are essentially alien forces terrorizing and murdering thousands? Is this a joke? Of course the military has merit when the people "running" the country have no brain cells.

Oh, and somehow no other countries have gotten involved. Because obviously terrorism done by demi-humans, which is an existential threat to humanity, does not matter and whatever just let Japan deal with it. Uh. Sure. Ok. That's manga for you.

How am I supposed to take these adult, very smart characters seriously when there is just an endless mountain of contrivances that let the manga progress? I dunno.

Normally I could ignore all of this and just enjoy the manga as an action spectacle, but over and over the manga continues to bring up the sheer atrocities humans have committed against the Ajin, yet also tries to get us to think humans are deserving of redemption and something about idiot friends who will always be there to support you or something. Which somehow is supposed to make me root for the humans I guess.

This manga tries to act like it's saying something, and I just don't know why its pretending so hard. Either let us turn our brains off and enjoy this action cartoony violence much like a video game, or /say something/. And sadly, Ajin just has literally nothing at all to say.

This is a amateur's review, so I apologize if I do not do this series justice! I just like it and want to inform others about it.


Story: 8.5/10. It's pretty straight-forward Inexplicable powers originating from Africa awaken in soldiers after they die(?), making them "immortal" and making them something other than human. Eventually this phenomenon spreads across the world and ends up occurring to the main character years later. Suffice it to say that there is a lot of escaping, ridiculously cruel lab experimentation that barely seems to get anywhere, not as much angst as I thought there'd be, annoying turtleneckers/meddlers, and...okay, I'm not ... summarizing it very well. Anyways, the revelations about Ajins are interesting (well-paced, too) and I'd say that there is a somewhat strong emphasis with how "society" reacts, or doesn't react, to these strange entities. I'm still surprised at how realistically it's portrayed.

The most "hypest" thing besides how the protaganist's black ghost (Ajin extension) seems to have a will of its own might be the division of Ajin trying to cause societal upheaval. With all the different abilities that the Ajin have (note: don't expect too much: most of them just have physical attacks), it might prove to be an interesting strategical effort. The counter-organization against them isn't all that cool, though (it has only two noteworthy characters), so I'm not too interested in how the two groups may fight with one another.

Character: 7.5/10. There is some cool developments related to the main character that either will make you applaud him as a unique protagonist, or hate him. Either ways, it does make for an interesting - if not so proactive/passionate - perspective. He isn't all that involved in the gears of the greater conflict...yet. I'm sure he will be eventually.

Other characters and their intents are explored, but in some cases are just used to portray things/happenings greater than themselves (aka, one of the protagonist's old friends being used to explore the Pro-Ajin movement, along with the attitudes keeping people from being apart of it) and in thus are difficult to really care for. At the moment I can honestly say that if anyone - except for Kai - died, I wouldn't feel sad.
The characters and their struggles/dynamics just don't connect to me, although many - including the antagonists - do have relatively reasonable intentions. Whether or not this is a problem with me or the storytelling is up in the air.

Art: 7.5/10. The Ajins are spectacularly portrayed, but everything else tends towards average. It's not exactly an issue, considering that backgrounds and characters well-drawn and aren't a barrier to enjoying this manga. Some action scenes are downright awesome and I don't doubt that this mangaka has talent. If you're into a more muted, semi-realistic style, I'd say that the art would be worth at least a point more. My personal gripe with it is that beyond the Ajin/bloody scenes, the mood/atmosphere of the manga is not well set.


Overall: 8/10. To be frank, it's pretty hard for me to get into a manga so I already consider Ajin to be a rarity. It was such a smooth read that always beckons me forward.
I do hope that I'll be able to set some of my scores higher in the future...it'll be a while until I get more chapters, though.

I´m a huge fan of gore and psychological manga. This manga has both, gory and psychological aspects. I´m not a big fan of lotsa text, but some points in this manga are kinda "chewy". You don´t really feel like reading everything.
But even if this is one negative point, the art makes up for it. I really like the art style and the details, as well as the nice design of the Ajin(Demi-Human).
The characters are all pretty important, and they all appear several times, you learn something new about them everytime they appear. I also like that the characters have a yet so simple, but unique ... design, you can recocnize them pretty well.
In my opinion this manga is lika mix of the manga Pupa and Tokyo Ghoul, but I wouldn´t compare these three manga with each other.

I recommend this manga for people who like a kinda realistic artstyle, with lotsa blood, betraying, screaming, deaths and sure, some sarcastic supernatural creatures.

A literal masterpiece.

One of the best mangas I've ever had the pleasure of reading, the art style is so beautiful yet dark and so satisfying.

The main villain was so hard to predict and wasn't the typical villain, his reasonings are so unique and the way he does things are so shocking. The main character is so dynamic and makes my feelings change for him 24/7 its hard to get a permanent opinion on him. The side cast are so well made that sometimes its hard to tell if they're main characters or side characters.

This manga so was fun to read and I could barely stop ... when I started. Definitely one of my favourite mangas if not my FAVOURITE one. I would highly recommend reading it.

Ajin is a great manga, having mostly one of the best villains in manga in general.
The characters are great and very deep. Each character is very human with their own morality and desires, willing to do wrong for what they believe.

The protagonist, Nagai, is a very fascinating character. Being somebody cold and strategist, but not without having a human side that ends up taking him to the fight with Satou. It's ironic that he's the one who picks a fight with him, not the other way around, which would be the standard for stories like that.
Satou can be considered a co-protagonist, because what really ... moves the plot is he. It's frankly that character! Since de Johan Liebert I have not seen such an interesting and charismatic villain, he is practically a force of nature.

Ajin's story is good. There's not something really deep, but it's a great action plot with great exciting moments that make the story really good to follow. That said, the explanation for the Ajin was somewhat weak and even. Also, about the ending, he's ok, closing the whole plot with Satou in a good way.

The art is great. Full of amazing action moments and also beautifully crafted facial expressions that give a lot of impact to the scenes.

I watched few seconds of the anime and dropped it, but thanks to my bro's recommendation, I pick this manga.

Personally, the story is good, not the best but it's entertaining in it's own way. Ajin is actually being carried by Satou. He's just that amazing of a villain. I read it just to see what Satou did. His exchanges with MC is very fun to read, I really love it to see their interaction. The MC is also a great character, although I prefer Satou than the MC here.

Art is amazing, detailed and very, very good. I have no expectation on the art at ... first, but it gets really good in the end of the story.

There are some parts where I get a little bored (when waiting for new chapters to come out) and I was like "What happen before?"

Anyways, it's completed now, so it's worth reading it.

Ajin was definitely a very interesting ride. The actions scenes where incredibly engaging and filled with emotion. It isn't perfect I wasn't the biggest fan of the ending and the plot was a little redundant at time. Sato is an incredible antagonist although he was unnecessarily overpowered he really seemed to take the stage more than the main character. despite Ajin still remains a somewhat realistic story with the demi-humans simply being humans who can't die. all in all I found Ajin fun to read I love the character building the main character went through although the deeper i went into the story the more ... repetitive it would feel at times but still unique i'm also a fan of the art style

A young man awakens a dangerous supernatural power that has no place in human society. He is effectively an outcast on the run from a government that wants to conduct inhumane experimentation on him and does what he can to survive until he encounters a man that changes everything.

Ajin: Demi-Human's premise is that there are supernatural entities that synergize with mankind, effectively making those who are compatible immortal, highly regenerative, and unkillable under most conventional circumstances. It is a power comparable to Stands in JoJo or to personas in Shin Megami Tensei. The application of these powers are utilized in creative and rational ways.

The story ... is solid and driven by a compelling antagonist that sows chaos in his every unpredictable movement as he is seeking to undermine the government and turn what other Ajin he can against the government. The characters are well-written overall and have clearly defined motives and goals that they are working towards. Their personal growth and development occurs naturally.

The artwork is great, clean, and detailed. The paneling and scene compositions are solid. The pacing is great and the story does not overstay its welcome.

If you are seeking a story with suspense, action, and supernatural elements then I strongly recommend Ajin: Demi-Human. It is a prime example of great execution of used concepts.

Just to get it out of the way, this manga is one million times better than the anime adaption. The two aren't even comparable. So for those thinking "wow I can't wait to watch the anime" don't even bother. In my opinion this is a perfect 10/10 series, and it has probably the greatest villain to ever exist. There is no "pathetic MC" to drag down the story. All the characters are badass even minor ones. This manga is basically all the best parts from 'Blade of the Immortal' re-imagined as a modern action movie. The artwork is phenomenal with hyper realistic character designs and ... backgrounds. I have literally zero complaints for this series and would recommend it to anyone.

How have I never heard of this story until now?

The premise is simple, "what if some humans couldn't die?". I love how the story fleshes out all of the implications and gets super creative with this simple ability; it's very reminiscent of Death Note. Each chapter is filled to the brim with thrilling story which makes it hard to put down. We get to see how society would react to these humans and their treatment of them.

The characters feel unique and likable. It's refreshing to read a story where the characters don't feel like the carbon-copies seen in every other manga. We do have the ... typical "dumb loudmouth" character, but they're only a side character to act as a foil to the MC. Characters are generally fleshed out, and any significant shift in a character's motivations feels organic. I love the inner struggle many characters go through.

The villain(s) are VERY entertaining. I love how I can agree with their motivations even if I don't agree with their methods.

This story isn't perfect though. The ending felt.. underwhelming and messy, especially with how great the rest of the story is. It doesn't ruin the story or anything like that. Also some characters' deaths felt completely contrived and preventable.

If you can get past the first few disturbing chapters, it's a very solid read.