Back to ArcadeRice's Profile ArcadeRice's Profile

Will change/remove my review once there are enough chapters, or finished.

Story & Characters: 4/10
Milgram is a story about a group of people kidnapped without any of their memories, as our protagonist is forced into position of power, and able to deem the others as guilty or not.

It's a bit difficult to explain without spoiling it, but a certain non-human in the manga is dragging the points down. It keeps interrupting the characters; making whatever rules it wants, yet pretends to say it's within our MC's rules. Of course, with only 11 chapters, that might change/have a purpose. From my understanding, it's to have the ... MC's focus on the crime, rather than the people. Because of that, the characters suffers a lot. Not to say the characters are devolved from writing, but you don't have enough time to care.
Nevertheless, I can't pretend to like a manga where it feels like the author keeps self-inserting themselves to keep the story going elsewhere.

It reminds me of Danganronpa, but since the manga doesn't allow downtime, you struggle to care about the other characters. You especially notice it, since it somehow makes Danganronpa's characters more developed, depsite Milgram only having 5 active characters (inculding the MC).


Art: 6/10 A cutesy anime style, especially for the characters, but definitely brings the gruesome vibe into it. The facial expressions are also subtle, which I like.

It's a manga that's not easy to recommend, dealing with some topics and characters being written in a way that is extremely controversial, even at times biased. But despite all of that, for an isekai, I believe this to be one of the most unique ones, not much on the story front - but more as a character study.

FYI: There might be changes to the review, seeing as it's starting to build up to something. So for now, take this review with a pinch of salt.


Story: 6/10
A misogynistic/sexist fantasy world, where women can't even register to a guild for adventuring, and women are treated worse ... than less. It doesn't pull any punches, immediately giving us how this world works, and the basic norms surrounding them. The manga has its importance in briefly explaining to us readers about our characters and the situation.
Yes, for anyone with a horny mind, the first chapter might either excite you or piss you off, as it sets the tone for what the manga will be. It's an unusual way of hooking someone into the world, but as the manga progresses - we see why it did so.
With how the story overall follows our protagonist and her mind, we don't get to explore much outside of her perspective, only adding a tidbit of the world from other characters telling her. Magic exists for example, but we rarely get to see it used in a lot of interesting ways, other than what our protagonist sees. It might be exciting for some to receive a story like this, and others not so much. It is definitely intentional, but something that readers should know is that while the overall plot doesn't surround her - it's her story.

Even with that, the story isn't much to write about. It's simply condensed as a misogynistic fantasy/medieval world, with magic that doesn't really get touched about all too much, due to our protagonist's disinterest for a long while. The interesting parts are when our protagonist and other characters are around. In short; the story is the hook, and the characters are the pull.


Characters: 8/10
"This is how the world is, and I can't do anything against that", and "I want to live how I want." These two may seem the complete opposite and mutually exclusive, but these traits are what our protagonist lives by. Our protagonist is calculative, to the point of peering into others in a cold and harsh manner, one that only reads the situation, how they are feeling, and their character - and nothing else.
She speaks in a fashion much like a mythological snake towards the ones she wants to manipulate, and then in a completely honest or even innocent manner with the few she deeply trusts. She never tries to burn any bridges, but to recover that bridge only to put taxes on it. Her outlook upon the world would serve her well in terms of survival, but far from a healthy way; almost self-destructive. Later on, we will see how much of a flaw it would be.
In short, she is not a "good" protagonist. She sees everything through a lens, and if she could, would've insulted anyone she dislikes in sight.

Now, from what I just described her character with two, random quotes where I explained how they're not exclusive to one another, it does not mean that they do not conflict. Her way of living is mostly to serve and protect her at her leisure, even falling into the potholes that she discriminates against. She would seem grounded with how she accepts the world as it is, as from her eyes; any hostile action, or even a minor one that changes the norm, would damage the establishment and the people she cares for. This would force her to barely "live". She mostly only just exists, and to follow this new world's norms. She thinks of herself as the bottom in social status, and therefore she is. That is her mindset, which is almost intertwined with how she naturally thinks, even before the isekai.

There are times when she breaks free, relieving herself from these thoughts, and decides to just enjoy herself. It's short-lived, but something that we know she can do.
As time goes on, we also see her compassionate side. Yes, she doesn't exactly break herself from the mold of some views or always broaden her mind, but we see that she realizes the flaw of her thinking, living how others perceive she should. Breaking the shackles of the norm from another world is a horrible task that most wouldn't, but for her loved ones - is something worth breaking. I find it inspiring, that such a foul-mouthed, mostly self-serving protagonist realizes that she was slowly bound by the worth others speak of her, she finally decides to take action.


The other characters are also interesting. There is another isekai'd male character, one that thinks one-dimensionally, and the irony of thinking he's the protagonist. Very similar to how most isekai male protagonists are and the demographic. Everything revolves around him, what he wants is what he should get. If he's nice or plays the right cards, then he should be the winner. We see how much more flawed this thinking is, as in our modern times, is what we call an "incel".
He, similarly to our protagonist, sees things how he wants, but would take things at face value. He truly believes that with his skills he's gotten from a God, meant that he deserved to be blessed. As a character, he doesn't really change all too much from this mindset. But, we do see how this eventually breaks him, as all the time he did spend trying, realizing that acting as a "nice guy" doesn't give you everything. He's a tragic character in his own right, as he could never truly win the heart of someone.

Then, there are the women working with our protagonists. There isn't all too much to say about them, in the way that they are more than a group rather than an individual, something similar to another group in the town, which I'll explain soon. In general, they're people that our protagonist views very favorably and ones that she could let go of her constant reading.

Another character is somewhat interesting is the innocent chubby man, and the mysterious wanderer. The first character is rather interesting, albeit underused and sadly almost thrown away, despite our protagonist's likeness towards him. She does manipulate him as he's easy to, but does somewhat grow on her, making her realize that her harsh thinking isn't exactly healthy; or at the very least, realizing that all men aren't horrible. He's not exactly a saint nor perfect, as he does unhealthily worship her in a way that makes him an "easy target".
The second character proves our protagonist's contradictions. She sees him at face value, as he's the very few she could read. In this regard, she proves to be similar to even the isekai'd male, as our protagonist was almost willing to ignore everything else around her. But him as a character, we're not given much to play around with.
Lastly, there are the ones that our protagonist heavily criticizes. I won't go into detail as they play a heavy role in our character's "development". Some of them are definitely varied, but there are specific groups that are what our protagonist and this world hates the most.

Overall, I think this manga did well with the characters. There aren't exactly any heroes, but there are definitely many who would be perceived as evil. No characters are particularly likable, with the exception of some that are made to be likable, like the chubby guy and the girls working with our protagonist, while one-dimensional, is definitely a breath of fresh air, and definitely in more need of. The manga is a mix of one-dimensional characters or a more complicated one - both in which our protagonist tries to figure out how to deal with.


Artstyle: 8/10
At the start, the artstyle while somewhat more unique than others, is very boring. But as the manga goes on, it shows how well the artstyle meshed together with the characters, especially our protagonist's perspective.
The paneling, dialogue boxing, and background details could've used some work and definitely did later on. But because of it, the manga did suffer. The manga isn't heavily detailed either and probably could've added more, but definitely works with the plot.


Overall: 7.5/10
If you want genuinely interesting isekai characters, an interesting outlook of a protagonist about this new world, and an isekai that isn't just powering through everything along with a niche topic - this is for you. It is far from perfect, but a much different manga that I can recommend for some that enjoy reading from a protagonist's perspective within their harsh world, and how she deals with it.

I'm a person that never rates romance or similar mangas too highly. It's usually filled with tropes instead of characters, and drama over story.
But this manga, it's such a simple story yet expertly written that most romance never did or never could.


Story: 8/10
The story in itself is simple and overdone, the typical Romeo and Juliet. But the author knows how to use that to their advantage, drawing out the characters to live through these situations and become their own.
People might say that a story's boring without drama, but that's not to say this manga lacks drama at all. It uses drama with care for ... the characters, never forcing the drama down and muddling the characters for cheap plot points.

The story serves almost as a well-oiled machine in a sense, where it doesn't suddenly slow down, stop or rush. The author knows the pacing, carefully planning to set each stage. It's not to say the story doesn't have its rollercoaster moments, but rather the author knows when to place that moment, instead of just putting it in when the characters aren't developing.

The author masterfully shows that they don't need to flip the table and change, but carefully build upon what the author has shown. Even so, it's not a slow process either, nothing that you'd get bored or feel chapters become slow or get boring.
It all feels so natural since it's not the story that's driving the characters - it's the characters driving the story forwards. There has been plenty of stories doing this, but not often do you see something of this quality.

To bring an example like Horimiya, shows why the manga did so well; especially in the earlier parts, due to how the characters drove the drama and overall story forwards. For a romance, this is typically how you write an amazing and classic manga because it's the characters we love, not just the overly dramatized moments - it's the combination of both. Plenty of other mangas have mastered this such as Kaguya-Sama, Maid-Sama, and even Ouran Host Club.
Horimiya abandoned the story later on, primarily and only has characters interacting with each other, but that's not something Kaoru Hana wa Rin to Saku has done. Instead of just focusing on character interactions, instead of abandoning the story, the manga instead consistently lets the story follow along with the characters.

Sorry that I went a bit too deep into the characters in the story section, but that's just to say how well the author used the story to be woven into the characters so well.

Characters: 10/10
While not to say there are zero tropes to this manga, it is not the vocal point of any of the characters at all.
It's not often when I say that every single character written plays a huge role, in one way or another. They all express their doubts, self-worth, mistakes, and so much more without the intent of creating drama for the story. The author treats each character with care, understanding that they are not there to simply serve the plot but to have their own ego.

Another that I think highly of is the characters are actually talking to one another, rather than creating one misunderstanding after another you see often. They might not fully agree with one another, but we see the characters still caring enough to understand the other side. This is why the story of Romeo and Juliet fits so well because the solution was always simple within these stories.
While they have preconceptions of each other and even themselves at first, the manga would take the time for each and every character to break that wall down.


Art: 9/10
The art is nothing less than impressive, enhancing the story and characters further. The author knows how to use paneling, expressiveness towards the face, and camera angles/shots effectively and creatively. This only further improves as the chapters go on, even with things like the background.
While the characters' clothing in itself isn't too overly interesting due to the nature of school uniforms, it uses this fact to their advantage; showing how the "lesser" school, Chidori, gets to express more with their uniforms. One would wear just a white shirt, another wear a hoodie underneath the uniform, and so on, While the other school Kikyo would wear almost the exact same outfit and style for elegance and unity.
It further helps to discern the students with the slight changes of faces despite of artstyle, along with height and simple body proportions that aren't overly extreme.


Overall: 9/10
The only point down is that it's obviously not for everyone along with the simplistic nature of the story. It's a manga that you won't get hooked into immediately, but after reading it through, I truly believe that in all romance or even in general, manga I've read - this one has the most simple yet realistic writing of characters.
I recommend this manga to anyone that loves romance mangas in general, as I believe this to be a hidden gem that I implore many to read.

Despite the manga having such a long title, it is sadly far less interesting than most. While there are parts of decent writing, it is overshadowed by lackluster art, story, and characters. The manga is in the category of being not good or bad; but closer to being mindlessly boring.

Story: 4/10
Let's immediately throw the positives in. The manga does well to present our character's personalities, but also how the overall arc plots affect them. The world, while seemingly bland at first, does touch on the idea of politics. The fighting is also enjoyable at times, due to the story taking a part in it, making ... their fights feel have an emotional impact on these characters.

There are a few issues I have that easily drag the manga down, and I could argue that puts any positives I have towards this manga to shame.
Let's first address what I think is one of the biggest issues in how the story affected the characters poorly, but also meshed with the bland writing. To give an example, there was an entire arc where our protagonist and another student went missing.
While yes, it did definitely affect our protagonist and the student's lives and for these two specific characters are built nicely from it along with attached backstories and backgrounds, did not feel justified to have such a long arc. What also ruins this is our other characters' reactions after this arc. The manga does horribly at writing characters into a story, in the way that the writing completely ignores just to hit story beats. Yes, I'm glad that these few characters got to develop, but why is there almost zero reaction from being away for so long? It's like coming home and your parents went somewhere far without contacting you, and then coming back saying "Oh, nothing happened." You might not be expecting an explanation, but at least a reaction that's not mundane and as if it happens often.

In all, the story feels sometimes dragged on and meaningless in some arcs, even almost episodic due to the lack of overall impact. This is due to the story sometimes having a lackluster ending of an arc, and then suddenly starting another.
I don't want to spoil too much, but this is just one example. There are plenty where once the story focuses on one part, anything else outside is frozen in time until the author decides to bring it back.


Characters: 6/10
While not exactly "smart" and derived from clichés, the characters have a mind of their own and are not always driven by the story, but by their own search for value, self-worth, and ideals. Sadly, as grand as it might've sounded, this is the only positive I could find in the manga. They are pretty much frozen in time until our protagonist interacts with them. Yes, they have backstories, even interesting ones, but so does every living person. Why is this the main way the manga highlights characters? These characters are supposed to have their own values and ideals, but there's no point unless our protagonist is there to do that job for them.
Because of this, the characters are sometimes sidelined and almost forgotten for an entire arc. While yes, this is to develop a few other characters, the issue is how the manga dealt with it. This is explained already in the section above, but this definitely affected the characters in writing, where you don't really believe that they are characters.

Now, to go into our second issue - the protagonist.
His plain expressions should've been given more thought, as he would show some emotions, maybe at some defining moments. But no, his face almost stays exactly the same throughout. The only time he does show somewhat of emotions is when the protagonist is in his inner dialogues along with his actions, which is completely fine to do. Especially for his backstory, it fits him perfectly. But because of this, along with the mix of character design, he doesn't feel like a character that has lived through crappy situations, but an uninspired robot.
But throughout all of this, while I do think that it is a character trait, nevermind how boring he is written, the painful problem is that he's our protagonist. We follow this bland robot that has more inner dialogue than outside and nothing fun like Death Note. It's as if the author wrote notes on what the protagonist's mindset is, but forgot to develop that into a character instead of sticky notes.

While I do think the manga does best with characters in comparison to the other parts, I would reach out to say if it's actually good. While the characters are far from being wasted, it is tainted by storytelling and its neglect.


Art: 3/10
While it might be harsh to say, the artstyle is what brings this manga down the most, and the simple reason is - the artstyle is incredibly boring to look at.
While not awful, you don't feel anything while reading it. The artstyle feels so incredibly uninspired in many ways, that I can't even come up with an emotion like hate or dislike to it - easily the artstyle is the worst part of the manga.
The design choice of guns for our protagonist feels so incredibly out-of-place and forced. But unfortunately, it is the only redeeming thing in the manga; since it at least stands out. Everything else is hard to pay attention to, not because of the clutter and messiness of artstyle; actually the opposite.
The magic is somehow overshadowed by a giant rifle because of how outlandish that idea is in a fantasy setting. The magic in this world, while serving a purpose, is used and looks so uninterestingly. Even the background you just don't feel anything, which I think should've been paid more attention towards.
Even if we derive clothing styles from a fantasy world, there are so many options. But for some reason, the author/artist decided to have most of them wear uniforms. There are a few accessories that help improve character designs, but their general body shape and clothing make it so uninteresting.

Everything's just so bland that you almost forget you're supposed to be reading a manga for fun and/or to delve deeper into.
If we take lower quality artstyles for example, ONE's One Punch-Man webcomic. No, to even go further back to the earliest chapters, because the more recent ones are even better than this.
Yes, the manga does well with proportions, and perspectives, while boring character designs do well with defining them based on their personality traits. But it does not do well with making it interesting. ONE's was interesting because it was also accompanied by great worldbuilding, much better character designs (character proportions, clothing), more interesting perspectives, weight, etc.

I am generally not as critical of art, but I just cannot find any emotions in the manga. It may be due to the writing, and while the manga does shine more when expressing emotions with other characters than our protagonist, it is only enough to be serviceable.


Overall: 4/10
and I can see some enjoying this manga and others find this to be one of the most boring mangas out there, at least for a fantasy world's standard. There are plenty of bad isekais that have degraded the fantasy formula of manga. This manga felt like the result of that.

While it does have a decent potential with character writing, sadly in other departments; this manga lacks. This is not a "bad" manga, but it doesn't excel in anything special. Vanilla still tastes good, water is refreshing. But this manga feels like air without any smell. It exists, you're breathing it, but you're not going to be amazed by it.

What a ride Sachi-iro no One Room was, starting off strong and continuing to do so for a while. It's an emotional ride that doesn't exactly make you sad to the point of crying, but for you to empathize and understand what types of relationships there are. After finishing this manga, I can confidently say... It's good, but almost completely ruined by the ending.
Crazy that other reviewers only read 3 chapters or so and make a full review on a manga, but I'll try to write this diligently.


Story: 7
As I've said, the story starts off in a way that hooks you immediately. You start ... wondering why she's hurt, why he kidnapped her, and why she's fine with it. The story continues in this psychological manner that slowly molds and gives you small pieces both from the inside with the characters, along with the outside world slowly, we see the progression with time from their situation. Especially later on as the story slows down, you get to see these characters changing due to their environment and other, outside interactions. It's not exactly a Stockholm Syndrome kind of setting or story. I won't go too deep into it, but immediately you'll see why.

There are still critiques I'd like to bring up. I'm going to bring up a few early points. The bullying plus abuse doesn't really make much sense and should've been delving deeper into it. They did at some points add a few more characters to help with the "bullying" topic, but felt out-of-place, as if the author wrote themselves against a wall, and needed to add more characters to make the story more engaging. For example, they met one other character in a similar situation purely by coincidence, and also coincidentally helped one of our main character's gather their resolve because of that.
I can't really get into many spoilers, but I think it does a bit poorly around that topic. It also gets a bit shaky at a few plot points where you'd need to suspend your disbelief.

There are also moments of not much happening for a few chapters. Obviously to build things up and to dive deeper into the characters, but sadly didn't always meet expectations.

Hard not to spoil, especially a few chapters toward the ending, but sadly the manga took a nose dive by a certain action in the manga. Luckily, most of the manga has been written remarkably well and entertainingly so. Yet, there was a moment that felt very unjustified, and especially felt like the author wrote themselves into a corner. It wasn't a horrible thing, heck, we expected the manga not to end up in perfectly. Even throughout the early chapters, it was foreshadowed to end in tragedy, and one of our main character would try to lighten that up, no matter what. Despite being foreshadowed, the issue is for me, how it happened. Being foreshadowed should live up to it, not to show a knife in the background multiple times, and have you expect it to be satisfying to have a knife suddenly hit you.
It's as if in Romeo and Juliet, the deaths caused was by one of their families throwing knives at them both. Sure, the theme and metaphor would still make sense. You'd still feel the out-of-place situation if a knife suddenly got thrown. It takes you out of the story, not because it happened, but that there's a knife's existence, and the reason why it was the cause in the first place.

I need to remind this point; it's not the situation of the ending that's the problem - it's how it was handled. The execution, for me, just didn't sit right. And while the author did well in pulling you back in, at the end of the day, it was still a cheap way of doing it.
Despite that, the author did really well trying to wrap it up.

Essentially and to simplify the issues I had, it felt like the author, for all the foreshadowing, had it noted. Sadly, that also wrote themselves into a wall. Despite that, I respect the author for following it through. The idea for the ending is great, but the execution for it is less, as it ruins both a character, somewhat simplify the messages and themes.


Characters: 7.5
Our two protagonists are incredibly interesting with how they're written. They are inseparable due to their situation, but also in the sense of dependence and reliance on each other. We start off seeing how broken these two characters are, slowly getting pieces of puzzles with each chapter what they've gone through, and what they became. We also see how the early chapters; the dependence, and reliance with each other start to become toxic. Having re-read it, you see dialogues that show how much they built it up, in addition to the foreshadowing. It's also fun to read throughout, that the characters cope through comedy. At some level it's a bit unnatural, but it still makes sense and not random.

Their ways of conversing especially makes the manga interesting, as it shows more of the cracks.
In the beginning, it feels childish but somehow fits into this eerie feeling. It builds upon their characters and shows that they are still humans living at the moment, something that they didn't have. Later on, the dialogues and thoughts almost feel philosophical, where they discuss in a deeper and more realistic approach how their relationship and existence impact others and themselves.
As the story progresses, it becomes less "light-hearted", and much more tense. With the mystery unravelling and our kidnapper and girl start changing for the better, we see them able to stand up for themselves and become more genuine with themselves. We get to see other characters as well, which adds more and impacts their relationship dynamic, situations, and decisions.

The other characters have a few clichés, and some that really doesn't really exist much but to serve a purpose. They definitely still bring something into story and especially our two protagonists. It's fun to read how our main characters react and bounce with everything that's happening. Smaller pieces that I found interesting are the public's reactions to it all; how they get used and constantly swayed. Sadly, later on, it does lose a bit of purpose and is relegated to only that, but overall I think it's a nice touch to have.
One of the biggest issues I found, a few characters get a bit side-lined or almost forgotten such as the father, but this is due to both the rushed later chapters of the story, and also because another character that has been secretly revolved around - the mother.
Once they fully introduce the mother, we start to understand just how nasty she is. She starts off incredible, with a weird air of mystery as if she's everywhere watching our victim as if she's an omnipotent being. This might be a bit spoiler-ish, so be careful reading further.

Sadly, it all comes crashing down - the mother as a character, along with the nonsensical death of another character. Portrayed as a smart individual, the mother makes weird decisions in the latter part, that feel rushed along with the story. Then, for some reason as if it was needed, trying to explain why she did such things and why she was like this, in just barely a chapter. Having a grandiose villain, explained in a single chapter for a backstory, is just cheap. No matter how you twist in saying that it makes sense for her actions, there's just no sprinkling of her as a character. Just a sudden drop.
The mother as a character completely twists the story in a way that, while not ruining the theme and story, definitely twists it as well. Her existence is fine; great even for the story. You genuinely get pissed off at her, but also a mysterious and terrifying presence. This illusion is quickly broken, and the fault sadly lies within the rushed writing.
Her actions, later on, felt very much out of place, and sudden. This plays very well into the foreshadowing, you expect that the ending parts not being perfect and beautiful. But the issue is how it happened. I can't give the Characters section more than what it deserves, mostly due to this, as she plays too large of a role later on in how the story cheapen itself by the ending.


Art: 6
The art compliments this eerie feeling with the manga's atmosphere, along with the characters' expressions. While the art style is the typical anime/manga look you've seen before, the artist does pay attention to the character's faces and their subtle expressions that often lead to interpretation, although their inner monologues do help lead and hint at what they were currently feeling.
One large critique I have is towards a "detective". While obviously, they look young for a reason, I really don't think it was needed to make cheap jokes. There is also a little bit of the same face syndrome these characters has, as if to make all of them "handsome" in some way. It doesn't make it so you can't tell which characters are who with the help of distinct characteristics, along with only having a few characters introduced at a time.

Overall: 7
Despite my complaint in the later parts, I can still recommend this manga to those that enjoy an emotional thrill or can relate to such situations. The art, while nothing crazy, does its job and does it well, to compliment the story and characters.
Our two main characters showed how you could find hope in each other, but also ride the line of overreliance, in additions to the themes of self-love, abuse, and much more - which is done well through the conversations and internal monologues.
I'd still recommend this manga to some, but I can completely understand if people get put off later on. Overall, it was an enjoyable ride with really interesting characters put in unique situations.

The manga starts off interesting. You're in a fantasy world that has already achieved world peace. What does that leave our "hero"? To learn and explore the world and characters.
The problem is, throughout this whole manga, you realize that the manga gets incredibly boring, because after 42 chapters it feels like I've read the same thing over and over.


Story: 3/10
The weakest part of the manga. Despite starting off strong, and giving us so much to learn about, sadly the manga gets out of fuel quickly. This is because manga thrives out of small achievements, with very few setbacks. While there are definitely events that have ... been positive to the world, the problem is that there are very few negatives. This makes it so the consequences are minuscule to our characters' actions, and you don't feel characters are in genuine danger. It makes it difficult to be engaged with the story
It becomes especially difficult when the plot points are the same; constantly repeated with the same beats.

The biggest disappointment is the world and world-building.
They live in a fantasy world, now able to actually focus on exploring it since there isn't any immediate danger. While our protagonist does sometimes visit new places, that's really it. You don't get to follow what the races are and their capabilities, only the most basic parts of any fantasy world. They don't explore anything like religion and Gods, maybe the environment and class system. The magic system they sort of touch, but it's nothing incredible, both in-depth and art-wise. The only "new" thing added to the fantasy world are the Kings that practically rule their world. Otherwise, it's the most bare-bone fantasy world you're ever going to read.


Characters: 4/10
The strongest point of the manga, although that's not saying much.
The side characters are varied with different personalities and goals. There are a few characters with great development with some emotional hits, and some shrouded in mystery which keeps you engaged about our characters. Note that there are only a few.

One problem is how much they keep introducing newer characters. Why is introducing newer characters a bad thing, you ask? Because the characters, while not the same in personality, do the same thing every single time. They follow the same notes as you continue reading. You're not feeling any tension either, since most of the time his friends solve it for him, as our hero's existence is only for motivation.
This makes them feel one-noted, as when they're introduced to our protagonist, they are immediately fascinated with him. This would be okay, if the plot points, as mentioned, don't hit the same beats every single time.

This brings me to the last problem; our protagonist.
Most of it has almost zero consequences, as our protagonist deals with obstacles within one or two chapters. He never changes, because why would he need to? The other characters are there, overpowered as heck, willing to help him usually after a few chapters of interactions. Even enemies would be his friends, making every dramatic moment lackluster and predictable.
While he does have some great moments that really show off why he's a good person, that's all he is. He doesn't develop, change or act fully on his own. Most of his "fights" has been actual fight or none at all, before doing a trial because he has no combat abilities or experience. It would've been fine if this isn't his constant solution to anything.
He's the type of character where you ask "So, what drink do you want?" And he'd look at his friends to answer for him. He's an incredibly bland character, suffering from success and sadly, a story that rarely shakes things up for him, for our protagonist to develop.


Art: 6/10
Distinct characters, despite some very similar faces. Their clothing, hair, and such makes it easier to discern that fits with their personalities, so you're not going to really be puzzled. The action while giving context isn't really anything wild or amazing. The artstyle itself is very boring, nothing too flashy, and sometimes incredibly stiff. The panel arrangements are also nothing noteworthy. It's a serviceable artstyle that won't wow you in any way.



Overall: 5/10
People that like isekai, you'll like this manga since it does something different. But if you're planning on reading for the long haul, don't expect much. If you like more action, you'll definitely find the manga boring. Even with slice-of-life standards, for a fantasy world there really isn't much gripping you to it. But if you're not looking for any spice or anything wild, this manga might work for you.

This manga starts off with us following this young boy's loss of a friend, yet nobody knows about it. This is because what our protagonist sees before him is something else completely. I urge you to read it if you love a good mystery with many emotional moments.

Going to get this out of the way because, for some reason, people have problems with this topic. There is boys love in this manga. Not something sadistic/twisted as some, or quirky and over-the-top as others. It doesn't feel fake nor feel like it's used as a hook for readers. It feels natural where you can insert yourself ... or anyone; what would you do if someone you love and care about comes back from the dead, with the same memories and personality, but not the same person?

The manga creates dilemmas that aren't easily answerable, both for the characters and for readers. This also helped with the mystery of this 'creature', as we try to understand its purpose. The hook of it all really is following our bereaved protagonist, as he's being consumed by his loss and yearns to find a replacement for any resemblance.
Sadly, the mystery surrounding them gets slightly ruined due to some characters. There are definitely some characters that heighten this mystery and don't make you less engaged, but another that follows a trope far too much that usually kills off any character's personality remotely deep. But it's only a trope, and hopefully will change as the story progresses. If it does, I'll rewrite/remove the review.

The art is fantastic, not overly subtle but amazing expressions and metaphors using art to express and evoke a certain emotion. While they do use the traditional anime look for characters, the character's facial expressions are incredibly powerful.


It's too early to tell if the manga gets rushed or ruined in some way, as of right now there are only 14 chapters. Writing this review has mostly been to help the manga get more readers.
What I think it's accomplished right now has been thus far, something I think has been exceptionally done well. The story as of right now has been incredibly engaging with its dilemmas, and I hope it'll continue that way.

It may start off something people might put the manga down immediately - but I promise you, this is easily one of the best manga I've read in the fantasy genre, thus far.
For anyone that loves deep characters and a world that actually tries to capture the idea of fantasy, this manga is for you.

Story: 9
The story definitely starts with something generic and slightly slow to something that feels unimaginably fast, a guy from another life; the typical isekai. It does introduce a character that is extremely strong early on that the protagonist defeats, but people drop the manga so quickly without realizing how important ... it is to the overall story and development. The story is far from the generic isekai, not even close - this is an ocean if we compare typical isekai to a puddle.
The story is done amazingly due to how much the author understands the fantasy genre. He doesn't go the "game" route that most do, but instead creates and immerses himself into the concepts of this vast world, and has our protagonist learn and experience it all. Religion as an example is done exceptionally well in a fantasy setting that you can completely believe. I can't stop praising how well the author has thought out the world, but any more would be spoilers.

We also see how races are seen, and often some are an exception to the typical rules. They go in-depth even with each race's history, how it's been affected by the world surrounding and how they are. Nothing in this story is black-and-white, and as the story is slowly building into something amazing, you get to explore and learn so much about cultures that are pure fantasies. Much like the fantasy we've seen, each race also has their own unique quirks, strengths, and weaknesses. It's not shoved down your throat nor is it weirdly sexualized as a typical isekai would.

There is something that people might think is a problem that I need to bring up - magic. From what we understand, most of it is based on prayer, religion, and race. There is also physical strength. This is something we get to see, and I don't have any problems with it. The biggest glaring problem for me is the magic.
There is magic within the world, but I feel like it's underutilized, having mostly been told at the beginning and slowly forgotten. The magic could've definitely been more in-depth, especially the dangers they face. I would have wished to see more of that, but for now, I am very pleased with how they tackled religion in this fantasy world, in a way that gives the same feeling as magic, but without suddenly becoming overpowered. With the religion of this world, it's not exactly as simple as one is worse than the other, which I think makes it much more enjoyable.

As Saihate no Paladin progresses, it slows down for you to both immerse and explore more within the world. The story being slow is not a detriment to the overall plot, I can promise you that. This manga clearly understands how much the fantasy genre can hold and is constantly building up to something major. It doesn't bore you either, as you are continually learning more as I've said, but also the writing isn't incomprehensible or dumps too much exposition to the point where you don't understand. You get to learn the history of the world, the customs of different niche places and people, what has been affected throughout, and more.


Characters: 9.5
Just from the beginning, we're withheld for a sense of adventure the protagonist will go through. He starts off with only learning the customs and such from his caretaker, slowly building up to an emotional point of the story before he begins his travel. The protagonist knows that from his caretaker, he's learned to actually live another life again; learning newer values and such that befit to this new world he now lives in.
While our protagonist is definitely strong, he's not defined by it. Easily he gets affected by anything around him, but vice versa by influencing the world as well. Him being strong doesn't result in the right answers, nor does he create a dynamic of doing everything for others, nor does the protagonist have the influence to change the world and everyone's mind. He would still need to learn about the place's and people's cultures, as from his perspective as a character, they are not to be dismissed, making it so much more enjoyable for us as a reader that wants to know more, and how much of a person he becomes. This is not to say the writing of the character is bad because of these flaws but only enhances it.

Nevertheless, that is not to say there are no flaws in the writing of our protagonist. While he does bring other solutions that are not overpowering the enemies, we as a reader are never really nervous that the story would take the wrong turn due to our protagonist's massive strength and incredible thinking, making the ones he brings along feel like grunts at times. Luckily the writing had built up everything so it doesn't feel out of place, nor does it happen too much that it ruins other characters and their roles.
Also, him being an isekai character will probably put people off this manga. As someone that has read plenty of them and is the main reason why I stopped watching anime for years, this manga brings much more than most isekai combined.

But the protagonist isn't what defines the Saihate no Paladin. Sure, we do get a lot from him as he explores and becomes an amazing character, but the side characters are what truly help him become defined. They hold up by themselves as well as characters, having their own internalized problems that are caused by many things. The side characters are not to serve our protagonist, but their own values, opinions, and goals. They also get to shine a lot, as they are developed alongside our protagonist.

The dialogues I also love, they truly feel like another language with how some of them speak, and you can especially see how every character speaks differently than others; by their culture and/or personality. This brings me to the last chunk of the Characters review, which arguably is one of the best I've read.

I want to bring up the other characters as well. As mentioned, other races play an important role in this manga. They are all intertwined in some ways; either through history, religion, etc. What I find the characters in these different races so unique, is the impact of certain events. I won't go into spoilers, but I want to give examples to give you a better picture - the elves and dwarves.
For elves, we see these confident, often cocky races that are secluded in nature. And dwarves, in a similar fashion are the same in some aspects but are also prideful in combat. But after certain events and a few other characters, they are not the same. They feel like remnants of something horrible that befell, and no longer can they uphold this legacy they once had, nor are capable enough. The only thing that keeps them is togetherness and the will to survive.
What our protagonist does is what I can only describe as a hero. He's not perfect, they see him mentally break, and definitely not strong enough to face everything alone. He has his own will and heart, and we get to see how he affects other characters. But that's not all; our protagonist doesn't do all of the work. He can only help, but never carry the burden of people or their entire race.
What the author does to write these characters is to give them their own chances. Our protagonist isn't going to suddenly save the day, these people that have lived for years longer than him, need to decide to keep going or not. The author writes bravery in such beauty while also capturing the essence of a fantasy world, that I can only describe as masterful.
I was constantly on the edge of my seat, taking in this beautiful world the author has created, and deciding how our characters would interact.

My only problem against this manga for the character section is for a specific character that is brought along with our protagonist later on, in which as cool as he looks, we don't really get to know him. Hopefully, this changes later on, but otherwise, there is not one single character I dislike in this manga. Not just because of biases and playing favorites, but objectively they are all written amazingly.


Art: 8
The art starts off fine, is simple to understand, and shows the characters and world enough. It's not something incredibly stylized or distinct, either. But pretty early on the art gets better, becoming much more detailed. The equipment and background don't feel like an empty space; it's clear the artist cares about the story being interwoven with the art.
The angles and panels the artist brings make it easier not to bore you, the art especially later on becomes much less flat, as you see the depth of what surrounds them. The faces are also very distinct, befitting to their personalities just enough like how they move, how they express themselves; even the character's body language - it's all so very clear.
There are some difficulties understanding the action at times, but nothing that will leave you confused. Just that sometimes, you might need to take a longer moment for a panel.


Overall: 9
What I find the closest comparison from this manga, is to Lord of the Rings. The anime is a big disappointment, but do not miss out on this manga. The story is woven into the characters and into the art so incredibly well, especially when they interact with each other - you get immersed in the world as you continue reading.
I definitely recommend this manga to anyone interested in exploring an actual fantasy world, interested in history and religion that the author has created, along with

A manga that excels at showing the "energy" of dancing, and the emotions that is mixed in a whole different way of reading a manga.

Story: 7.5
It's simplistic and you could get the whole gist of the manga by the synopsis. It's good enough for you to understand, and is more focused on other things. It does well with world-building and explaining different parts of dancing.
But by being "simple", the story feels comprehensible in the way it's structured, making you follow along easily with not only the simple plot points but the explanations and exposition, able to focus on different parts to what makes this manga ... so special.

As an example of what they do, when the characters dance, they recommend a song to play for the readers. This is actually really cool, they don't always pick the most popular or any random songs; they pick the ones the characters or the world would fit into. It feels almost interactive, and for in a world of manga, that's something completely new, at least to me. It's so much fun just looking at the dance moves, and adding the music makes it feel like your mind is dancing along.
It's very similar to what Webtoons do, which I entirely welcome.


Characters: 9
This is one of the reasons why I rate this manga so highly, Wondance isn't too plot or story-driven, it's mostly driven by the characters and art, and the story feels secondary. Not to downplay the story, it's just that the characters are what drives the story along - it's a character-driven manga.
Our protagonist I feel plays his role that befits his personality incredibly well. His "tone" never really changes drastically; as in how he speaks, how he acts, even the way he arches his back or averts eyes from eye contact. I'm not saying he doesn't change as a character, that's completely wrong. It's that in his own nature, being unable to properly speak without at least taking time. Even so, he is still willing to try and change in his own way, and I can see how relatable he is to the readers. He doesn't become a whole new character, he stays true to himself.
While he seems completely "innocent", you get into his intrusive thoughts, his ego, and so much more; changing ever so slightly depending on who he speaks to and how he interacts, exploring himself as a character whom you follow along. I don't want to spoil his whole character, but him as a protagonist, whom I thought would be boring to read, is actually extremely interesting. The author did great with how he writes the protagonist throughout.

The other characters shine in their own ways completely; and you can see that either through personality or dance, sometimes both. There are also a decent variety of characters as well. There's one that is the complete opposite of our protagonist; shining brightly with personality and expressions, yet so mysterious, is one of them. There are many more, but I don't want to explain every single one, since it'd be a spoiler.


Art: 10
What this manga truly excels at is art. While the artstyle for characters isn't too amazing, the thing that pulls you into their world. It very much reminds me of Tokyo Ghoul:re, presenting so much with art and being the vocal point, but what differentiates between them so much, is that Tokyo Ghoul:re does very well with facial expressions and is mainly focused on expressing the characters with art.
Wondance focuses on something else - the characters' movements. The "free-flowing" feeling you get as you read fits completely with the characters, especially when they dance, it all feels so mesmerizing to read, as if you're actually in their world, watching the characters move. It feels so expressive, and you can truly understand how each character moves, and the artstyle feels so "freeing", you'd fill out the spots in your own head of the movements. It feels like animation, just with manga panels.
Not just that, each character has their own way of dancing, their personalities shine so much when the art expresses their dance moves or the moves in general.


Overall: 9
Wondance I think is the closest so far that makes my imagination go wild unwillingly, very much so when the characters dance. There are a few mangas I think do similar, and adding one more to that list is entirely welcomed. While the story and world aren't something grand and mysterious to look at at first glance, you appreciate what it does to help you follow along. The characters aren't exactly groundbreaking or anything to the extreme but benefit from that greatly. All of them have such personalities, and the artstyle helps that so much. I can't complement enough the artstyle and decision of using it in a dancing manga.


On a random tangent, I almost got a heart attack when I started picking up this manga a long while ago, hearing the whispers of it getting axed. I'm so glad it didn't and is even getting an English translation.

If you're Andrew Tate, this is probably the best manga for his cult. You might find some enjoyment in this trash, but I really hope you don't believe in anything this manga is trying to write.
And it's from the same author that wrote "Gyakusatsu Happy End", another manga I reviewed. Oh boy...


Story: 2
The story started off really interesting. A boy convicted of murdering rapists, hoping to find his loved one in a harsh, apocalyptic world. They go deeper into the "sickness", different people with different perspectives of solutions. They do somewhat follow the same repetitiveness and even plot points as other zombie series, which might ... have you rolling your eyes.
As you continue to read though, you realize that men are painted as disgusting vermins or worshipped as gods, the irony within the story is somehow that women are incapable of anything by themselves. While I do understand that it's not like men have disappeared; they've just turned into monsters similar to a zombie and the characters' views are skewed from the harsh world.

The issue with this kind of story, and why it worked for something like The Walking Dead, is that they remind you that "humans are the real monsters". But in this manga, it's not painted that way. From the get-go, it's painted as "men aren't the only problems, women are, too!" And yes, it's obvious both men and women have issues. It's not rocket science. The problem here is how the story tries to put the blame on either gender constantly and presents them as equal problems with shitty examples. I just wanted to read the absurdity that is their world, not have the author weirdly connect political issues with genders, and not even in an entertaining nor fitting manner into the story. I go on deeper in the character section but do take note of this part.
Now, if you think that "Oh, maybe it's still a fun-bad kind of manga." or "At least it might do something interesting"; it does not. The manga still follows tropes and ends without solving or explaining anything. Plot points happen, the characters accept it after a few panels without ever questioning anything, and then the story progresses.

The 2 points given are for one; the start of the manga, and two, it's AT LEAST not completely boring. Nevertheless, these things do not explain nor justify many plot holes the story just dusts off.
But really, anything can be considered not boring if done crazily enough, so it's not much to ask or really considered a positive.


Characters: 1
The protagonist is somewhat interesting, but then as you read, he's revered as a God or like the rest; a monster. In their world, it naturally fits, and he doesn't care as long as he finds his loved one. It's a bit annoying of a trope that the protagonist and kind of hilarious that in the first chapter, they mention him as being a prodigy child with a 200 IQ, people being jealous of him, etc. Nevertheless, I find him to be the only redeemable character. He killed rapists and despises them so much so, he has the trauma of ever touching another girl, finding sex appalling.
The other characters are overly reliant on the protagonist, treating him as the savior. I can see how one of the characters treats him like the potential cure or at least some kind of fix to their situation, the other women are written as if they're clinging onto him as if he is the only one that could defend them, as a strong alpha male, pretty much. Even so, the problem isn't how he is as a personality. He as a character being special feels natural in such a horrid world, being the only male. The problem is how most of the women are written that come around him.

They are written like lunatics, they have no brains or can't think for themselves. I believe in desperation in such a world, but holy crap is the author trying to send some kind of message. A few examples I'd like to give: The protagonist doesn't want to have sex, he finds it disgusting since he'd compare himself to the rapists. Yet in their world, the women there completely disregard that, having naked girls to take his semen. Hm, a guy that doesn't want to have sex, and a woman that needs his semen. I'm not a scientist, but I think something called "masturbation" exists!
A better example is an old lady who talks about her husband as a cheater, a heavy drinker that went on rampages. Then, the old lady said that there would be many inconveniences in her life when men disappeared, examples such as carrying bags, fixing the house, and exterminating vermin that spoil crops, that "perhaps, women were also taking advantage of men". The author, not character-driven, is trying to write that the guy that went on rampages drinking at night and cheating on their spouses, is at the same level of taking advantage of carrying a goddamned bag and fixing a house.
But that's just the cream of the crop. Other girls and women here are written so stupidly, you'd think it was reflected in the author's incapability as well. The manga has the typical crazy yandere girl that's pretending to be meek, only to be batshit insane and doesn't mind people dying and sacrificing others, hinted by the other characters that she might be crazy, and the women around the protagonist don't do anything about it. It feels like the manga's message is "Men might r*pe you, but you wouldn't be able to do anything without them".

As you continue to read, the protagonist somehow actually befits the role of a God in their world or at least a useful person. In actuality, it's because of how the women are written as insane people, making him naturally look normal. There are zero likable characters, as in the end they'd get killed and soon forgotten, or are just horrible people that you just can't relate to nor enjoy reading about.
The manga tries to make you feel bad for him due to the women's actions doing horrible things to him and "men", and the supposed irony from it. But every time, I rolled my eyes, thinking that "is that really how authors see women?" and "is this really the only solution the author could come up with/give for the characters?"

While I wouldn't want to connect a fictional world to the real one, you can see how the author isn't even trying to be subtle. They are either trying to push a sick agenda, or write badly written characters and stories for the shock factor. That's another thing I didn't go much into, how much the manga constantly uses shock factors, for example, likable characters' deaths. You quickly just feel numb to the absurdity, and does not help either that the author just does it haphazardly; even killing off actually interesting characters.

To summarize; The only positive is the protagonist as he's somewhat redeemable and useful. The other characters are written as pathetically as possible for a weird, twisted view of men and women, almost nothing of what they do make sense, and

Art: 6.5
It's edgy and gruesome, and while does sometimes go over the top, the artstyle still has neatly done - as in the artstyle doesn't deviate, feel muddled or change at random. There's nothing much to say about it, as the art does not save/justify the rest of the manga.


Overall: 1
I really tried to look at this manga's perspective as non-biased as I could. But how could you not? This author is probably one of the worst writers in manga, writing the same clichés and edginess, presenting them as story or character writing. But it's not just the author writing the same ideas as the story already told, but makes it so much worse.

It's a manga perfect for incels, nuff said. If you want to just read out of entertainment with how stupid everything is written; especially the characters, you might enjoy this. But don't take any personal messages back to the real world.