Over the last month or so I've seen a ton of praise for the manga "Shamo" and recently I just read the whole thing and I feel very let down.
Overall the characterization of Ryu just felt like really all over the place and I didn't feel like it was because he was crazy, it just felt like the author didn't know what he was doing exactly with the character and experimented a lot more than he should have.
Then there's the whole constant perspective swaps that end up taking up nearly half of the chapters in the series. Ryu is the protagonist, he's the "interesting"
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 Alternative TitlesJapanese: 軍鶏 InformationType: Manga
Volumes: 34
Chapters: 338
Status: Finished
Published: 1998 to Jan 13, 2015
Demographic:
Seinen
Serialization:
Evening Statistics Ranked: #24032 2 based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded. Popularity: #493
Members: 36,516
Favorites: 924 Resources | Reviews
Filtered Results: 27 / 32
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Jun 4, 2017
I have heard a great deal about Shamo prior to reading it and it left me with the impression that it’s supposed to be one of the most unique manga around. Furthermore, the synopsis certainly did much to cement that impression.
Well, Shamo is a great and unique manga, but readers may find it is also very familiar. To begin, the synopsis is misleading. Everything it says does happen, but it gives the impression that what it says is the primary focus of the manga when I would easily argue that it is a fairly unimportant detail that only serves as an explanatory backstory. Seems crazy to ... 
Jun 10, 2011
If it weren't for the manga being on hiatus, I would consider this the true spiritual successor to Fist of the North Star. (Hokuto Shinken)
One has to only look at the first few panels to wonder why I'm comparing this to something more fantasy based as FotNS. ...and I think this is what makes Shamo a masterpiece if it actually had a legitimate ending. The manga is just pure existentialist material for me. On one hand you had the basic premise. Shamo shattered any doubts I had that a legitimate exciting MMA manga could be made. On the flip side, Shamo's failure in doing that, is something that would ... 
Dec 14, 2021 Mixed Feelings Funny  Well-written 
I don't hate this manga, but I do wish in a way that I never read it.
I picked up Shamo after reading all these MAL reviews calling it a 9 or 10 and praising it as some sort of 'philosophical,' 'existential,' 'masterpiece.' In the reccomendations I see it wrongfully compared to Berserk, Vagabond, Punpun, and...Holyland... I'm not afraid to admit that Shamo has lots of good aspects to it: - (Most of) the fights are technical and lots of strategy goes into them - The art is very appealing - The author does a great job of making you love or hate characters - The characters are pretty ... 
May 3, 2009
Shamo is not something for those light in heart to read. In chapter two the main character is sent to prison were he is raped, not only once, but twice. On top of that, the story if very violent, lost of fights happen as the main character grows.
Good story over all, but not something for people used to Shonen. This is X-rated stuff. 
Mar 26, 2013
Recommendable for anyone looking for an easy to follow, dark, action filled psychological seinen, which follows a young troubled protagonist. It's complimented with a visceral and detailed art style.
The story is an interesting commentary on Japanese underground crime culture, following a twisted anti-hero's struggle. It is mainly martial arts orientated and character/fight driven, so anyone looking for an exceptional or detailed story, maybe should look elsewhere. The manga does flow and read well as an outcome of this though. What it lacks in complexity it makes up for in character development. The mangaka does a great job in engaging the reader with the characters choices, ... 
Jan 27, 2016
"Shamo" I knew this manga by name for a pretty long time now
I began to read it without any expectation, just knowing that it was a violent one. Well, I was disappointed. For me, it's as if I was reading some fighting manga with sex, violence, drug ..... and I laughed hard when I saw people's review about Shamo : deep psychology, deep moral... Let's talk about the beginning which may contain "deep psychology" : A boy - "Ryo" also nicknamed "Shonen A" after, kills its parent with a knife. Precisely, he brutally murdered them. We don't know why, only few moment in the manga explain ... 
Mar 23, 2017
Shamo is one series that is difficult to write a simple review for, but I'll try to keep it brief. I may as well get it out of the way - Shamo has one of the worst endings to a manga series that I've ever seen, There's no resolution, no ultimate lesson, just a strong feeling that the author wanted the series over and done with. Now, there are plenty of mediocre manga series but it is particularly distressing here because of the way Shamo started out. The first several volumes or so were cerebral, dark and well-paced. It took a lot of risks, giving
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Sep 12, 2011
The first story I've read where the main character is raped... Unlike other manga or anime he is not acknowledged for what he can do. He truly is a shamo ( fighting cock).
So what do I think of this... Pure brilliance! This is not for someone with a feint heart, but if you can understand and respect this kind of genre it becomes a great story. It is a shame that this manga is so unknown. For me this is better than Naruto, Bleach, Soul Eater, Daisy, Vampire knight, Death note, Deadman wonderland, hellsing and allot more. Truly this is pure gold. Pitch black gold. ...
Jul 24, 2014
as a writer, one of the basic rules is that your main character has to be either likable, sympathetic, or someone cool enough that readers will admire him. Shamo breaks this rule, and unlike other series *cough*Tenjou Tenge*cough* they do so on purpose. Ryo is a horrible, horrible person. A murderer, rapist, prostituting, violent, insane sociopath, he isnt likable at all. In the beginning he had some sympathy, with the condition of his life, but he quickly loses all of it. Ryo is a monster. his sole redeeming feature is how he does care for his sister and occasionally does random acts of charity, but
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Feb 6, 2024
The series is quite unhinged in an explicit manner, much like its sadomasochistic cousin, Ichi the Killer. It presents a cocktail of brutal violence, graphic injuries, as well as sexual assault/rape, drug use, and disturbing psychological imagery. This serves as both a warning to readers and an invitation to be disturbed. I believe these tags are not superficial but are more substantial.
Whether it's gore or rape, each can be used effectively in a story if executed well to communicate the intended emotions. Shamo avoids using such elements for mere titillation. Shamo follows Ryou Narushima, who, in a visceral breakdown, kills his parents. He is then sent ... 
Apr 14, 2020
As far as I'm concerned, the story ended at chapter 131, and all is well in the world. Seriously I rated the manga 10 until chapter 131 but I'm pretty sure it's going downhill super fast after that. But I wouldn't want to ignore my best manga reading experience just because some editor forced the writer to write 200 more crappy chapters.
Story : 9, captivating from the getgo, as an over anxious kind of "edgy" dude, I totally sympatised with Ryo, the "protagonist" and thus was taken in by the story. I'm honestly placing Shamo131 story's on the same level as Berserk till volume 18 ... 
Feb 24, 2023
To be honest, I have mixed feelings about Shamo. At first, i wasn't very sure about reading this manga but I decided to do anyway , hoping it would turn out to be something like Holyland. But I really couldn't connect with it, specially witht the main character Ryo. Despite that I realized how good it is while I figured that the story was not about redemption of a hero but rise of a villain. It started to remind me of a classic movie named Raging Bull whitch also featured the same main character. I started to enjoy the story and everything was going great
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Mar 22, 2023
Shamo is not a manga you read for fun, although it does have some mindless fights but you are to observe that they weren't so mindless as the story progresses, everything, everyone comes back at some point of time to pay the main character a visit. Those are the moments that hurt the most. Shamo is a piece of art carefully crafted, contrary to popular belief after the 200th chapter the story actually becomes better, the first 200 chapters you are planting the seed for the tree for which you will be later cherishing the fruits of.
Now the best part of this story, for me ... 
Aug 27, 2020
Damn, this was so good, but too damn wasted.
SPPPPOILERS Shamo had a lot of potential, and the posibility of having an espectacullar end, but it didn't. The series had a good start, with Ryo killing his parents and getting into the martial arts world by pure need. The manga is very good, until the Naoto accident happens. When that happens, the manga enters in an arc that leaves all the original tone of the series behind, and it introduces the ki, a fantasy element, breaking all the realism that it previously had. But that's not all, the arc finishes and it has none repercussion, you can ... 
Mar 28, 2022
Shamo is a really hard sell for me. You get this duality in story writing where, on one side, you feel like he's meant to be completely ostracized and despised as a human being, where even the possibility of pitying Ryo is depreciated. He's shown to be self-righteous and delusional in his mental gymnastics of having murdered his parents, yet, on the other side, the author wants us to feel for Ryo even if he shows no real emotional evolution in his character arc, there is no progress in repentance or his internal processing of guilt. The reader is served fac-simile redemption moments with no
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May 27, 2020
Shamo, oh Shamo. So, I decided to read this as per recommended by a reader of Ichi the Killer, the prior story i have read before this. I have many good and bad things to say about this book. Let us start with the good things. So this book has many enjoyable and fun moments. The art is magnificent and the story was looking very intriguing in the early chapters. The dark tones are enjoyable and great at setting the scene. The characters and locations give you much to look at, however it almost feels like they have no real point to the story. I
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Mar 31, 2018
Shamo: A Short Review. THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MASSIVE SPOILERS including the ending.
Shamo is quite difficult to review, so I am only able to create a short summary of my own personal opinion of my journey reading this Manga. The first half of the manga drew me in immediately with Ryo's dark background, his development through the use of martial arts and his delinquent like characteristics. The art was beautifully presented, especially throughout the fight chapters, but as I read further, the writers took an odious and confusing turn. I was quite frustrated with the ending. Despite Ryo being a protagonist with villain like qualities that somehow ... 
Jan 31, 2021
A lot of people want to bash the ending and the "ki arc" of this manga.
Let me say the ki arc, though the ki aspect is dumb the rest of that arc is good with a very interesting villain. As for the ending. The ending is actually PERFECT. This manga is subversive through and through. It's entire point is to highlight that the real world is not like a shounen jump story. In the real world there are characters who cheat to win. And at first you may think "that's pathetic they cheated!" but then you have to remember the ORIGINAL PURPOSE of martial arts and ... 
Jul 26, 2023
I now divide people into people who've read Shamo and those who have not.
This shit is a RIOT of emotions, glazed from head to toe with incomparable, raw, unique art that almost tells the story by itself, accompanied with the most addicting yet investing story ever told in the media. It explores a plethora of topics that come from the irrational within the human being, such as the emotions that cannot be mascaraed by trauma, the forgiveness of self, the societal setting that leads to fear, and the underground; All in a deep, fulfilling, and natural way. Izo Hashimoto and Akio Tanaka have done the unthinkable with ... |
