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Jun 23, 2023
For starters, I want to make clear that this story is worth reading even from a purely artistic standpoint, Kamome Shirahama is an excellent artist in the full sense of the word, always searching for ways to bring wonder to the pages and new inventive panelling to accompany it. The way she transmits her story conveys the wonder of magic by itself.
Going a bit more in-depth in the story, is one of the best implementations of a magic world I have seen, taking full consideration of the moral implications it would bring and touching moral dilemmas time and time again, showing both the reasons the
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world is like it is and how much it would improve if it was allowed to change. There are multiple organizations with power in the world, and all of them have an understandable standpoint to support their actions. It's not arbitrary, the world has been fully shaped by magic and all the things it brought to it on the past.
The characters are the simplest part here, reminiscent on some levels to the cast of Little Witch Academia, but with a deeper analysis on the motives behind their behavior and what shaped them to be like they are. It's pretty compelling overall.
The story is pretty well paced, sometimes I feel like it was getting a bit heavyhanded with the messages it tries to portray, but when i put all it's arguments on a scale I can see how deeply the author has thought of the implications of everything she wrote. I would delve on it more on depth, but I want to keep this as spoiler free as possible, I'll just say it's not laser focused neither on the objective of the protagonist nor in the plans of the antagonistic group. It's more than anything an exploration of the different sides a magic world would have, what it could have and all the wonder and pain it would bring.
I feel as if I have said nothing with this review, purely by saying general non-specific stuff, but to be honest, the only important takeaway is that I recommend to anyone of any age and demography. It's a story worth reading.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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May 28, 2021
There are lots of problems here so I'm not sure where to start.
Without any doubt the greatest strength of this manga is it's art. It's not exactly beautiful, it's really dirty looking but really detailed and fitting for it's setting. A pretty good match for the horror atmosphere that it gets into sometimes.
The characters are ok for the most part. Both the protagonists and antagonists are likeable and charismatic enough to keep things fun, but this only covers the first part of the story.
The biggest problem with this, and the one that completely drags it's good points to the mud is the writing of the
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story and the magic system.
In this case, the series works with a really loose magic system that is basically if you want something to be done there's surely someone who can do it, so nothing is off the table and tension pretty much vanishes.
Without getting into spoilers, I can mention that both the protagonists and antagonists are covered in multiple thick layers of plot armor that are slightly shaken sometimes but never really broken because there's not only healing magic that heals anything but also revival magic to solve everything else. To make matters even worse, they end up mixing in time travel magic and even a wish granting magic that breaks the already loose rules in such an horrifying way that it scarred me more that the horrible imagery the manga had shown.
And it's awful, because the manga is not only horror, is mistery. And the mistery is based around this loose, awful, breakable magic system and also solved through it so there isn't much sense in trying to deduce or understand what's going on. ¡It's magic!, the villain literally pulls power creep out of his ass everytime they fight him and if I bothered to analyze the way his power works I'm sure I would find even more rulebreaking stuff that makes the mistery practically pointless.
There is foreshadowing, there is the somewhat poetic nature around it all, but it's covered in so much horrible writing that none of it can be enjoyable. From around chapter 50 the plot thickens and everything gets more serious, but with such heavy plot armor around everyone and nonsensical writing around everything else is impossible to take the story as seriously as it wants to be taken. It gets really bleak, the characters interactions get more far and far inbetween of the plot developments that don't make sense and with them the enjoyment gets mroe far in between too.
If it stayed with a light enough tone like it's first third, most of the things I talk about could be somewhat more forgivable, but it's conflicts get so drawn out and bleak and serious that there is no good way to take it. It would be fine if it kept playing with it's strengths but after the horrible ending all the enjoyment I had in the start was covered with a looming sensation that I had lost my time reading it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Mar 28, 2021
Ok, so, this is a really hard one to talk about.
I'm mostly writing this review because most of the ones published are from earlier points of the story and considering how everything changes through ths story it seemed fitting to do one in it's actual point.
To describe the plot, it's centered on a main character called phosphophilite. In personality is pretty much like Akko Kagari, at least on the start, and it's goal is to find a job that it can do to help the other and find it's own place in the group.
This androginous gem is in a world where they are in constant
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attacks of a strange race called the lunarians that every few days invade the island the inhabit to break them and steal their broken gem bodies. This gives some conflict and a somewhat constant threat considering that when the plot progresses the attacks of the lunarians become more and more bizarre and hard to deal with.
Lore wise is pretty unique, it gives the right amount of information to know and understand it's world while it keeps lots of secrets for the protagonist to solve. The only complaint I could have is that they really take a long time to actually unveil them and it's basically all of them almost at the same time so from some point forward there¿s not much to discover anymore.
All of this is a really nice setup that is maintained for most of the series until things change really drastically from the middle point forward. I won't specify much on it, but I will say that it's a really painful story but that I would recommend because of it's uniqueness and interesting way of developing.
(mild spoilers, nothing specific, but beware)
So, to summarize the hard part to talk about, this is a story that changes it's tone gradually but really, really drastically. The story unfolds in a way that repeats certain patterns in several arcs until everything changes midpoint and it kind of stalls pretty hard. The situation is really interesting but the complexity they end up delving in once the misteries are revealed slow the pace a lot from middle point forward.
The tone, characters, plot, everything is radically different from one half and the other, not a bad thing precisely because this is a consequence of the natural development of the plot they are dealing with, but it can be really jarring if one is not prepared to see the profound lows the characters can get in once things start getting really messed up.
Getting out of that, the art is pretty interesting, simplistic but really adequate to show the physical changes the protagonist goes through. There's some really interesting simbolism and narrative structure based on budhism and narratives they use. In general I would recommend it as a really unique experience that definitely not everyone is going to appreciate because of the strange and particular ways the narrative and the plot end up going to.
In general, a story a lot more interesting than entertaining.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Mar 26, 2020
(Mild spoilers ahead)
Well, It's indeed a saga.
I will start by saying that anyone that wants to read this manga must be prepared for some level of dissapointment, not because it's bad, because is a story that has many changes and that can and will alienate a lot of people.
The overall story, at least without the last arc that is still in progress, can be split in three parts that are almost completely tonally and thematically different. The first one is a revenge story about a young viking that wants to kill on a duel the man who killed his father. This part is actiony and
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has some really profound characters and tension thorough, so evidently is the part that most people like and that becomes evident when the next part arrives.
The second part is almost a 180 degree turn to everything that have been done until then. Instead of a viking, the protagonist ends up as a slave and the fighting is almost reduced to zero. But the thing is that the focus changed from a historically based story about vikings to a growth story about the protagonist searching a purpose, thinking about what he had been doing during the past ten years and following his father footsteps to be a warrior that does not need violence.
A lot of people find it boring and some find it ridiculous considering the time it's set in, that there's no way such a pacifist ideal can work in such a rough time but the story itself recognizes that fact and that's way the protagonist goes through some really hard times to stick to hs ideals and still be of help to the people around him. There's moral dilemmas, some deep introspection and lots of character growth. It's a great part, but evidently, the pace of the story is a lot slower and the lack of action added to the always prsent but now finally applied pacifist ideals alienate the people that started reading for the battles and the war themes.
The last part, is even more alienating that the last one but for different reasons. After the things in the Farmland arc, Thorfinn ends up crossing the baltic sea with a certainly curious group of characters and ends up involved in a war for the leadership of the strongest group of vikings of the time, the jomsvikings. The thing is, that this is clearly a seinen series, evident mostly for the second part, but even that changes when this arrives as it gets more and more shonen characteristics that progressively changes the tone again until is completely different than the other two parts.
I will say, it's certainly a decay. Various new characters are introduced but they are not nearly as profound or developed or interesting as the previously presented ones. Comedy, until that point basically null, becomes fairly common and even the art starts shifting to favor it which makes the serious tone that it had until that point dissapear completely. There's even certain character that was pretty interesting although half-cliche in the first part that comes back and becomes completely cliche and basically a comedy source. In fact, with him there's at least three characters that fill that role and even could be said that a group of characters is almost like a team rocket level of villains. Certainly, is a lot cheaper, easier, less serious, less nuanced and a way less refined story that was being presented until then.
But, in it's favor, I will say that this part is a fucking blast. It becomes basically a shonen, but I will admit that a pretty fun one at it. The comedy, although breaks with the tone of the past stories, is actually funny. The events are interesting, the fighting and war come back and now that the protagonist is following an pacifist ideal figuring a way to get him and all his friends out of the war is certainly a interesting challenge to follow. There are various groups of separated characters doing different things and at the end they all end up contributing to the events so the story and the war progresses. It's certainly an inferior story that the other ones, but again, it's a fun story at least.
Overall Vinland Saga is a really good manga. Certainly decays in the third part and that must be taken into account considering the type of story this is. Is not perfect and certainly someone that is in not for the overall story or to follow the protagonist will be dissapointed at some point in some degree, but even with everything I would say that it deserves a try. Is evident the author has some real talent and it has a lot of passion.
To end it, I will mention that the art is really good, it improves a lot in certain point but becomes simpler in the third part to favour the new tone. So even that is changing, kind of fitting for a story all about the changes and growth of it's protagonist.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Feb 18, 2020
Vinland saga is an example of how great an seinen anime can be when the adaptation actually gives an adequate treatment to the original source and I'm glad that it was made with all this respect and effort.
To start with the strongest point, the characters are the closest thing to an ogre that I have ever seen because they have as many layers as an onion. There are three protagonists in this part of the story and all of them have contradictions, growth, an understandable and rough past that shows how they came to be like they are and generally they are the best that
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the show have to offer. It even manages to make the stereotypical brute who loves fighting into a nuanced character, with it's own goals and thoughts besides fighting, it's just amazing.
The story is not as grand as in characters, but it has a lot of good things too. All the elements are introduced in the adequate moment, it has a lot of tension in moments and the facts of the overarching world like the wars, the princes and the king are based on real people which personally makes it a lot more interesting. Overall, a great part too.
If I had to say which was the weakest part of the series would be that it drags a little in the middle before taking the pace again, that the animation also has a little down on the middle and the sakuga that appeared in the first half almost dissapears, but even then the illustration is pretty good and everything still looks great so is easily forgiven.
This is a great show, recommended for anyone who can appreciate a show for more that it's scenes of action. Because it has some and they are great, but simillarly to other great shows, is not the focus nor the center of attention. Basically, give it a chance, it's a crude and tragic story that is not for everyone but a total delight for those capable of enjoying it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jan 21, 2020
This isn't a bad show at all, it's pretty entertaining but it has some flaws that hinder it too much.
The first one is the CGI, it doens't look too bad most of the time, but there is an specific character with and very notorious and bad CGI that just looks like it's made of plastic and that robs part of the seriousness of some scenes. All the robots are CGI too, but they actually have some good shots and some action scenes are pretty good but in general it doesn't work as well as it could.
The story isn't bad, actually it has a few surprises
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and it's structure allows to unveil it slowly but it feels childish and without tension. There is a nice message about forgiveness but it's taken too far, the extent is taken to makes it seem absurd and stupid. It's events don't have the weight that they should have to tell a story like this correctly.
The characters are ok, there isn't much to say about them. It actually makes an effort to deepen a few of them but they are mostly archetipes so it's not anything amazing. They are characterized enough but not much more.
The soundtrack is ok, a little forgettable, but it does it's work.
In general, it's an amene watching that anyone who isn't expecting much can enjoy. It's short and has some things to say so it has some worth to what it does. Basically, you could watch it as long as you are not bothered by the CGI.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Jan 16, 2020
Before the anime adaptation this was one of the least popular parts, at least in this part of the world, because it was the most appraised in Japan. Now, this is the highest rated part in MyAnimeList, and there is a reason, although is not really a very good one.
For starters, Jojo always had several elements that made it, well, Jojo. A mix of the characters, the stands, the fights, the humor and the interactions and unfortunately this season throws that mix out the window. First, even if it has some pretty fun moments is tone is a lot more serious that usual and humor
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is more scarce.
Second, the characters are a lot less fun and more plain the season. they now have backstories and some motivation but they have a lot less chemistry that in earlier seasons. They lack the charisma that was almost granted in earlier seasons and that's a huge downer.
Third, the fights are some of the fiercest and more extreme of all Jojo. the villains were a lot stronger than a lot of the previous and later ones which is pretty logical as most of them are mafia assasins. In one hand that makes the fights very good and they are really creative, but there are some really heavy inconsistencies with the powers of the protagonist and the resistance that the characters have have escaled to amounts that get to ridiculous even for a series with bizarre in the title. If they can survive almost anything the tension fades even when the danger apparents to be real and heavy.
Fourth, the protagonist is the weakest of them all. It barely has any personality, repeats his phrase like a buzzword and almos is a plot device more than a character. Is really strong, but this is based on some really bad writing decisions I can't mention to avoid spoilers, but his fame was not earned by good reasons.
Fifth, the villain although has a lot of creative concepts appears really late and is pretty plain by himself even when around him there are some interesting ideas and the best character interaction of the season. In character terms, is the weakest until now.
Sixth, fortunately, the nuance and characterization the protagonist lacks is given to another character, Bruno Buciaratti. His characterization, motivation and personality are the strongest of the season and he moves the plot forward even more than the protagonist himself.
Seventh, the animation style has changed. Is detailed but feels stiff in a lot of occasions. the soundtrack is somewhat memorable, and in general the production values are acceptable.
Eighth, the ending is basically solved by an power-up.
When the balance is done most of this remarks are more negative than positive, but even then is the highest rated one. Why? because is centered more on the battles that in the really loose plot or plain characters and as that element is in one of it's strongest points everything else is not that notorious in a superficial viewing.
Is the weakest Jojo season thus far, the weakest protag thus far, but it has the best support character and best fights thus far to make the viewing not as painful as it would have been otherwise. I can recommend it to anyone who wants to see shonen fights as there are some really good ones during all the duration of the season, but for anything else is not really a good option.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Jan 15, 2020
This is a simple and fun show, one of those with the only intention of being a fun ride.
There is not much to explain here because everything is pretty straightforward, there is not many surprises and in writing terms is as simple as it can be but it works pretty well even with that. The commedy is effective, the characters are charismatic, the chemistry between them is hilarious, is perfect to have a good time.
Besides, is from Trigger so the animation has a special expresivity that mesh perfectly with the fun and light tone of the series. There are people who say that the second
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half is not as fun as the first as is plot centered but is not really a big difference. The plot never is the focus until the end and even then most of the elements are pretty predictable so not centering around the weakest element of the series is almost a plus.
The soundtrack is okay, the animation is expressive, fluid and adorable, the characters are really funny and the story is just there. I don't have much to criticize because it suceeds in what it tries but is not something overwhelmingly good. Just an amene show to enjoy yourself.
Recommended for basically anyone who isn't seeking complexity or a plot heavy show.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jan 14, 2020
This is a tricky one.
This is one of the few anime that I can start saying that is not for everyone. It's main problem is the story structure and pacing. The pacing is slow, is good for a story of this kind but can be off-putting for someone who is not used to that kind of narrative. Is not necessarily bad having a slow pacing, but the structure is somewhat problematic.
Many times, in this and other Urasawa works, the point of view can jump from the main character to a new one with apparent no relation to the story in that point and start telling
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it's story for entire chapters before intertwining with the main plot. Everything works out in the end once the plotlines combine and the relevance of the subplot is seen, but it can take a long time to be noticeable and it steals a lot of focus from the amin conflict. It's an manageable narrative tool but it drags the story close to the middle climax.
Other than that narrative trouble, the rest of the this are mainly positive. The story is really interesting and touches some good themes and characters all the way in. There is a considerable amount of character growth and memorable interactions that make the viewing worthy even if sometimes it can feel unfocused. The production is also peculiar, it's rather unique but sometimes it can feel stiff while in other scenes it can create an great inmersion thanks to the really well done atmosphere. In fact, it's biggest strength is how well it combines with the writing to make it an inmersive experience with a lot of slow building tension.
It's a very good recommendation to anyone who likes thrillers and drama, but is surely not adequate for someone who wants fast paced action, or any fast pace in the first place. Is a slow but worthy story with great characters that deserves to be watched by anyone who can stand it's tricky story quirks.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jan 13, 2020
Well, this is hard one.
HxH is legendary, and for very good reasons, but it also commits some sins that can't be forgotten.
The series overall is good, but is hard to describe it as a whole because it changes a lot and with those changes also the quality vary.
The start is pretty simple and even friendly, the music is fun, there is some blood but there is a optimist and cartoonish tone overall. Then, it evolves into a more serious and tension focused tone, stays like that for an decent sized arc and then it goes back to be even more childish than in the start.
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It can be very good and unique in its peaks but really bland and generic in its lows.
Fortunately in this case I can say that the good outweighs the bad pretty decently, the decent to excellent content occupy more than half the show duration and most of it has some pretty good storytelling, characters and story. Even the animation, soundtrack and direction can go up and intertwine with the story to create some incredible scenes that made the series as famous as it is.
It's from MadHouse, the technical aspect is really competent and leaves nothing to be desired.
Overall, even tho it can be generic, it also has some of the best stories that the Shonen has to offer. Plus, it also has one of it's best villains with a great feat of character growth that leaves almost every other villain with similar ideals in shame. It's worth watching to anyone that can tolerate the tropes of it's demographic and basically an obligatory view to Shonen fans.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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