Species Domain

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More than I expected, would be how I would summarize this series in brief.

I came to Species Domain looking for cute fantasy girls doing cute things and I was not disappointed, since there are a lot of really cute expressions and some genuinely funny moments. However I was surprised that this manga did seem to go the extra mile whenever the chance, be that through plot twists, attention to detail to secondary characters or just a heartfelt, honest examination of it's characters.

For a non-spoiler example elve/dwarf/other fantasy people are not just born in the world of Species Domain, but swapped with other human babies. This ... is a nod to the changeling stories and fairy tales in our world, but aside from that I felt it was somewhat needlessly complicated, since the premise of fantasy people born into a otherwise realistic world did not require it.
However the manga uses that premise to actually explore the feelings of both the main cast and their families, acknowledging the complicated feelings that come with the main characters all being basically adopted.

At the end of the day, it's a fun read and not a heavy drama, but it's not shallow by any means and also manages to be entertaining on a baseline level throughout.

I've never gotten around to watching 'Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya'. On my list to watch of course, but somebody being that overpowered but never knowing seems utterly frustrating to watch. Of course, it's still on my list to watch so I'll still probably give it a shot.

In any case I picked up this manga for a classic rom-com, but found as I went along that some of the plot runs along an interesting idea reflecting Haruhi's - from the anime/manga mentioned above - power to an extent.

Ohki, one of the two main protagonists - or perhaps deuteragonist - has the ability to bend ... reality to whatever he believes. However, unlike Haruhi he knows about his 'inventions and theories' but only gives power in that which he believes. So for his fantastical creations to work he has to believe in what supposedly makes them work. Basically his stubborness and penchant for twisting science and even psuedo-science to explain his creations and abilities allows him to twist reality. And seeing these impossible results only harden his belief in his own supposed talents and possibilities.

Theoretically, if a lie was posed in a convincing enough way, he'd probably shift reality to accommodate that lie. There's a lot of potential in this altering power he still doesn't believe he has. In his mind it's still science of course, otherwise it wouldn't work. I kind of want to see when he comes to the ultimate conclusion that whatever he believes in will work. It could either free him into becoming something god-like, or diminish him into a simple human depending on if he embraced it or if it broke him.

For right now, up until vol 5, things have seemed relatively lighthearted and funny. But with an ending vague and open ended, I'm wondering exactly how off this manga may go. And am pretty excited for it.

If you've ever watched 'Samurai Flamenco', I'm hoping that it'll take a turn akin to that in the way that things may seriously start changing. Though NOT in the character development and relationships that Samurai Flamenco did. So basically what I'm saying is that as of this moment in the manga vol 5, anything may happen. Anything, with what was implied and the impossible power of Ohki Hatsuhiko.

One of the reasons, I picked up Species Domain was because I really liked the premise of the story. It was a unique kind of premise that had me immediately hooked. Unfortunately, this manga fails to execute its story in an interesting way.

Story:

The basic premise of the story is interesting. It has similar story elements seen in other anime such as "The melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" and "Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid. It combines the idea of "an ordinary life" with a fantasy twist. Unfortunately, "Species Domain" has a hard time balancing the fantasy and realism aspect of the story. The manga spends way too ... much time with the "slice of life" element in the show. The plot has some interesting lore, but not very much is explored or explained. While I do understand that that is the mystery of the manga, the story itself does not do much with the lore. The story has a fairly slow progression and despite the flaws, it is interesting enough to keep the readers attention.

Characters:
The characters are where the story really relies on. Unlike in other similar anime, none of the characters really capture the readers attention. In "The melancholoy of Haruhi Suzumiya" what made that anime great was it's two main characters, Haruhi and Kyon. In Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid, it was Ms. Kobayashi and Tohru, Both main characters had really lovable and dynamic personalities that really complemented each other. In Species Domain, the main characters aren't that flexible. Kazamori is an introverted elf girl. Ohki is an upbeat, bright, and intelligent boy. While these two do complement each other, their personalities aren't very dynamic. (For me, the quiet personality is not the greatest starting point as a main character.) The manga actually does not spend a lot of time with these two together. It also tries to give some time to the other side characters. The side characters are decent. The flying angel girl had some good character development. One of the greatest flaws in the manga, is that not enough time is spent with just Kazamori and Ohki. They are always kinda just lumped together with the other characters and their personalities aren't strong enough to stand out from the rest.

Comedy:

With these kinds of stories, comedy plays an important part. Unfortunately, it's not very funny either. While I do love the running joke of the human being able to perform magic like stunts and the actual fantasy character can't, it gets boring a bit into the manga. Other than the premise, that's the main comedy of this manga.

Overall:

As of this review, I've read 5 volumes of the manga. I haven't read the rest cause it hasn't been translated yet. Species Domain is an interesting manga that spends way too much time with it's "slice of life" element instead of the fantasy element. One of the worst parts of the manga is that questions are never really asked or answered. It's a manga that is similar to "A centaurs Life". Where the fantasy element is just supporting the story and nothing else. I would have loved to see more of the fantasy world and the mystery of the premise being solved. I was hoping that the comedy would have made up for the lack of lore elements but sadly it couldn't last long. The two main characters are also not strong enough to make a real impression on me either. They don't evolve that much and their personalities don't stand out well either. I was really hoping for something better. This manga is like a slice of pizza. It's not terrible, but not outstanding either. All it needs is a little pepperoni and I think it would've done better.