Overall Score : 9.07 / 10
Tokyo卍Revengers by Wakui Ken is a weekly action-packed manga dealing with things like gang culture and time traveling. Also, it focuses on typical shonen stuff such as friendship, trauma, perseverance and so on. However, every manga has its own flavor and so does it.
Plot : (8.4 / 10)
1. The manga is mostly coherent, with a few minor plot holes here and there. But they are not very annoying.
2. The pacing is acceptable most of the time. But there are a very few times when it feels like the plot is moving slowly or it is being rushed. Slow pacing
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usually appears after some major conflicts. On the contrary, some portion of the conclusion of the manga feels a bit overlooked and rushed.
3. The manga has several themes. The plot does a decent job at exploring them.
4. There are a very few moments that never got paid off. For instance, in the beginning of the manga, a character says that they (using 'they' to conceal the gender) know karate. But the readers never get to see them performing karate. Since the plot does not get affected by this character's skill in karate, it would be much better if they never spoke about their karate expertise. The manga contains one or two more moments like this.
5. The manga has a number of plot twists and revelations. Most of them worked out very well, with some of them being literally jaw-dropping.
Personal Opinion : A lot of people have problems with the last saga. They insist that the last saga was unnecessary and it was made purely as a cash grab. That could not be further from the truth. There is foreshadowing that the manga will not end without this saga. Plus, this saga connects a bunch of disconnected and confusing bits of the plot. So I personally appreciate the final saga.
Characters : (9.2 / 10)
1. The main character, despite having some similar traits, is different from other typical shonen protagonists. Of course, in the beginning, he is dense and pathetic like some other shonen main characters. However, the thing which sets him apart from some other shonen protagonists is his evolution. He has evolved in a very unique way which is not usually expected of a shonen main character.
2. The side characters, most of them, are also very interesting to read. Almost every character has his/her own personality and motivation. Some of the characters (including the main character) can be relatable too.
3. A small portion of the characters are kind of unidimensional. But this is not a issue since these characters are serving their purpose in the manga nicely.
4. A good chunk of characters remain relevant throughout the manga. Also, they have evolved fairly whenever the plot demands it.
5. The interaction between different characters seems very natural. The dynamic relationship built up among the characters has significantly helped the manga move forward.
6. Sometimes, the power-scaling feels a bit off. There are a handful of instances where a character seems stronger or weaker than usual.
7. Although rare, there are a small number of instances where the author just makes up a trait of a character out of thin air only for plot convenience. These rare instances could have been handled better.
Personal Opinion : The characters are a strong aspect of the manga. A good portion of them are very likable. In my opinion, it is very unlikely that a person will read the whole manga but will not be fond of any character.
Art : (9.6 / 10)
1. The art of this manga is top-notch. Although the panels have a bit of simplicity, they appear visually pleasing because of proper usage of shading, lines, backgrounds and so on. Moreover, the action sequences are really something else. They look so lively and aesthetically pleasing.
2. Due to simple yet clever paneling, the manga is pretty easy to follow through. Even the action sequences are not very difficult to read, with a very few exceptions.
3. A fair job has been done to express the emotions of the characters. Emotive facial expressions along with speeches written in the speech bubbles are adequate to convey the emotional states of the characters. The feelings of the characters are not overly exaggerated or muted altogether.
4. Character designs are good for the most part. Almost every character has a unique look to a certain degree. So they are easily recognizable to some extent. However, there are a few exceptions.
5. The artist usually does not hesitate to illustrate blood. However, there is an exceptional case which has occurred a handful of times when the artist has abstained from displaying blood. The readers do get to see blood later on but never in the panel where it should be present in the first place.
6. Some of the double page spreads feel unnecessary to be honest. Double page spreads should be preserved for special moments.
But not all double page spreads of the manga feel very special or anything.
Personal Opinion : I tend to have different expectations from a weekly manga and a monthly manga in terms of art quality. It is because a weekly manga has tighter deadlines compared to a monthly manga and usually has more pages published in the same time frame compared to a monthly manga. So when I say Tokyo卍Revengers, as a weekly manga, has top-notch art, please do not expect to see Berserk or Vinland Saga level of artwork. Nevertheless, the art is still great and can easily rival a monthly manga which has moderate level of art quality.
Last Words :
Tokyo卍Revengers is a phenomenal piece of fiction. Ken sensei deserves a round of applause for creating this masterpiece. It is recommended for sure.
Aug 31, 2024
Tokyo卍Revengers
(Manga)
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Overall Score : 9.07 / 10
Tokyo卍Revengers by Wakui Ken is a weekly action-packed manga dealing with things like gang culture and time traveling. Also, it focuses on typical shonen stuff such as friendship, trauma, perseverance and so on. However, every manga has its own flavor and so does it. Plot : (8.4 / 10) 1. The manga is mostly coherent, with a few minor plot holes here and there. But they are not very annoying. 2. The pacing is acceptable most of the time. But there are a very few times when it feels like the plot is moving slowly or it is being rushed. Slow pacing ... |