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Mar 9, 2022
"As long as 'I' remain the same and 'that person' doesn't change, I won't be able to escape this world."
Biological sex. Gender. Sexual Orientation. Three factors that affects a person's self-conceptualization and how they interact with their society. Yet when faced with the need to change oneself, rarely would one think of changing these factors. They are often thought to be set in stone, unchanging, and if even it were possible it is not thought of as desirable or even worthwhile. Indeed, many modern issues regarding these three factors utilizes the language of "truth" rather than "change"; 'discovery', 'reveal', 'coming out', 'correcting', 'real', etc. But
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given how important these three factors are to who you are, what if you were to change them?
This manga is not about those three factors. Rather, it is a manga about despair. Despair at one's interactions with society. Despair, enough to want to fundamentally change oneself. Shizuki Aoi was bullied and after dropping out of high school and living a long period of seclusion, now stares at a pair of scissors in his hands aimed squarely at his own body. Tsumugi Sakura, currently in high school and also being bullied, jumps a flight of stairs with the sole wish of switching places with someone else. And so the two protagonists switch places... with each other. What happens when you change places with someone and yet somehow your issues remains? Join the ride and find out.
The art style of the manga fits the dark themes of the story and conveys both the dark tones and atmosphere as well as the gloomy emotions of the characters. It can be characterized as the typical shoujo manga art style yet it draws enough from some manhwas and BL works to become quite distinct.
So far the overall manga has managed to be interesting without any glaring flaws. Interesting enough that I was driven to write a review once I saw that none was present in MAL. I therefore recommend any curious readers to give at least the first few chapters a try and be your own judge as to the potential this story holds.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Aug 15, 2013
“…and this guy, the leader of…of…” “That’d be… Uhhh…Mm? Hmm…?” “My name is Kazama Kenji!! Remember that!!” “You just said the Kazama Gang!!”
D-Fragments is a comedy manga based around manzai. For those less familiar with Japanese culture, manzai is a type of stand-up comedy in Japan which revolves around two performers: a tsukkomi (straight man) and a boke (funny man). The boke creates a funny situation using misinterpretation or forgetfulness and it’s the tsukkomi’s job to butt in and correct him. Most of the jokes made are based on misunderstandings, puns and other verbal gags.
Kazama Kenji, a wannabe delinquent with ego to spare, inherits
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the job of tsukkomi in a world filled with boke. Yet his job becomes even harder when he is suddenly kidnapped and forced to join the game production club (temp), a club filled with the worst boke imaginable. And thus hilarity ensues. The story progress in the usual slice of life manner we’re well accustomed with (club activities, school festival, competition with other clubs, etc.) but does so with slight twists to them and combined with the manzai creates very funny situations that will keep the readers laughing every chapter. And one of the things that I really appreciate about this manga is that it is faithful to Kenji’s background, dedicating more than a few chapters to his attempts to leave the club and make a name for himself as a delinquent. Something worth mentioning is that this manga is a harem in the strictest sense of the term, with multiple female characters vying for Kenji’s affection (MC joins a club filled with only beautiful girls, check). Yet with the vast amount of female characters, only a couple are actually trying to become romantically involved with Kenji and this manga isn’t chockfull of harem clichés, making it an enjoyable type of harem. And even if you are completely averse to harem romances, the romance plays a minor role in the manga and most of the time it’s used as a way to enhance the comedy rather than being a focus in itself.
As always, the focus of a harem shifts towards the female cast, and here we see more than a few archetypes that we are familiar with: eccentric yet cute female lead, tsundere love interest, cool student council president, little sister character, the ACTUAL little sister and many more. Yet while they are somewhat annoying in a more serious setting, archetypes greatly enhances ones enjoyment in comedies because you can simply laugh at them while also becoming attached to them if you’re a fan of a certain archetype. And having a big number of characters helps in this regard as readers can find their favourite archetype without it seemingly be forced on a certain character. The main character himself is a breath of fresh air as he isn’t lacking in personality like most male leads and doesn’t always succeed in what he attempts to do, becoming a damsel in distress himself more than once. The Kazama family as a whole is probably my favorite set of characters in this manga without even including their tsukkomis. Yes, Kazama Kenji isn’t the tsukkomi simply because he’s the male lead, but because his family is descended from an ancient lineage of tsukkomi…or something (personal speculation section ends here). Thus his family is able to take over for Kenji when he becomes incapacitated enough to be unable to tsukkomi.
The art in D-Frag is great. For the most part it is simple as to enable the readers to focus on the dialogues and jokes made but manage to be detailed as the situation requires. From character expressions to scene appropriate chibis, the art serves as support for the comedy and enhances the jokes, perfect for a fast paced type of comedy such as manzai. Fan service is minimal and as with the romance, is only there to support the comedy rather than being a focus in itself.
Overall, D-Frag is definitely one of the better comedy manga I’ve had the pleasure to come across and it is a definite recommendation to anyone looking for something funny to read. With the recent announcement of an anime, readers will have something to look forward to once they finally caught up to the latest chapter of this amazing manga, which is all the more reason to start reading D-Frag.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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May 12, 2013
"My interest is in observing others."
What is a romantic comedy? Wikipedia states that they are stories with "light-hearted, humorous plotlines, centered on romantic ideals". I find that the contrary is the case more often than not, with most romantic comedies using romance as a comedic device, using the various situations one finds himself in when in love as humor rather than focusing on the love. This leads to half-assed romances whose only relevant factor is how enjoyable the humor was.
Considering all of this, Wa! is a romantic comedy. Yet it goes beyond most and executes it perfectly. Wa! focuses on the many crushes of
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the students of Takamanohara school and in particular this one string of crushes that makes a full circle. The comedy side of Wa! is not restricted to the humorous situations the seven students find themselves in pursuing their crushes but also from a few supporting characters and in particular two very good friends who, much like in Azumanga Daioh, make pop culture references and jokes that requires knowledge of the Japanese culture and language to understand (Or the kindness of the translators to explain them to you). Meanwhile, what makes the romance side of Wa! great is the closure we get. Yes, we get to see how their crushes develops and who ends up with who! Even the supporting characters gets some closure!
The characters are made to fit into archetypes we are now familiar with and thus into certain relationship archetypes we are familiar with. Yet their characteristics are so pronounced that it adds to the humor. The sheer amount of characters makes it easier for readers to identify with or fall in love with at least one of them and adds to the enjoyment. And though the characters are drawn to be somewhat moe, the art of Wa! is very impressive all things considered.
Overall, Wa! is a great manga and if you are a fan of comedy and are not averse to romance, I highly recommend you read it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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May 12, 2013
"I was drowning, in feelings I didn't know the name of."
Here we go again? NOPE. This is a warning for lovers of the yuri genre. This is not a story of how two girl friends (best friends?) become lovers and we get a sexy yuri scene at the end. This is a story... about FRIENDSHIP.
As most western fans know, both the yuri and shoujo ai genres deal with love between women, the former focusing on the sexual aspect while the later focuses on the emotional aspect of it. And so we come into the genre with full expectations that they become lovers at some point.
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Yet one must realize that there are many different kinds of love and it is not limited to the passionate kind of love between lovers.
Alright that was a bit heavy for my liking and so we shall start this review with the art. Beautiful. I was never a fan of the shoujo genre but one thing that no one can deny is that most shoujo mangas are (or at least attempt to be) beautiful due to an art style which can only be described as poetic.
Disclaimer: If you were allergic to Clannad's "big eyes" you will disagree with me.
Although the art was great, the essence of this manga is inevitably the two main characters: Kurihara Ayumu, a very social, well liked person and overall very popular with the girls in her school and Tsukishima Misuzu, an anti-social short tempered person who despite all that is very popular among the boys due to her beauty. At first glance, it seems that the mangaka has fallen into the same trap that many writers of the yuri/shoujo ai fell into; that of creating a manly character and a more feminine character. At some points, short haired Ayumu is made to look like a guy along with some not so subtle hints from her friends while Misuzu reveals her fragile feminine side.
Yet as the story progresses we notice that this isn't a story about two lovers. Rather, it is a story about how two friends support each other with their varying strengths and weaknesses to break free from the chains of their past.
Yes, looking at it again, there is nothing especially ground-breaking in this manga and it is full of cliche themes, yet it remains enjoyable nonetheless due in no small part to the beautiful art.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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May 12, 2013
"Oh my god. My life... is boring."
We have all had this thought at some point throughout our lives, and thanks to the high level of technology today, we are able to escape from our boring life into the amazing world of video games, movies, anime and countless other mediums. Yet we realize that they only provide a momentary relief from our boring life and we soon wish that our life was akin to our favorite movie/book/show or that we could somehow be truly a part of that world. But what if one day you were suddenly thrust into a world of fantasy and
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adventure, yet it is not the one you had hoped for? The old adage holds true: "Be careful of what you wish for."
And so it was for our average black haired MC, Takahata Shun, an average Japanese high-schooler leading an average boring life. That is, until one day his teacher's head blew up during class. And thus the games begins.
The synopsis will tell you a lot about the manga already and thus this review will go into the things that aren't mentioned in the synopsis while (hopefully) being spoiler-free.
While the genre has steadily gained popularity over the past decade with the rise of the Saw franchise and Hunger Games in the West, and bigshots such as Gantz and Battle Royale in Japan, the survival games genre sees its latest incarnation in Kami-sama no Iutoori as a shounen manga. And readers beware, it is a true SHOUNEN manga. With the typically average male MC somehow magically turning into the most suitable person to survive the events happening to him while simultaneously attracting every woman within a ten mile radius, this manga is not suitable for haters of the shounen genre.
The story begins by following the typical formula, the MC steadily picking up allies and rivals as he beats the challenges one by one while the minor characters become expendables... or so we think. Yes the story has unexpected twists and turns up until the very end, which makes the story highly enjoyable, especially for fans of the genre. Keep in mind that this is but the first part of the series, as it's sequel is already out. So do not expect for everything to be explained or for closure of any sort.
The characters are definitely the worst aspect of the manga as they are for the most part generic at best. There is practically no character development with the exception of the MC who actually becomes quite traumatized by the experience. To make up for that, the characters seemingly act out of character to create the appropriate setting needed to move the plot forward.
The art is nothing special. Rather, the first few chapters were somewhat poorly done (especially the facial expressions) yet it improved as the chapters went by. Some might be put-off by how detailed the repulsive parts are compared to the rest but overall, it manages to convey the story well enough.
Now let's all take a breather and realize that as I am writing this review, the views presented here are fairly subjective. Feel free to check my profile to see whether or not this review can be trusted or not. That being said, I highly enjoyed reading this manga and with only 21 chapters it is definitely worth reading. The only question that remains to any of you that decide to read this is the same one asked whenever one delves into the survival game genre:
"Who will survive?"
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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