May 25, 2020
As of writing this review, Mashle is still in it's very early infancy, so this is by no means a complete opinion, simply a work in progress.
I think so far this is an enjoyable manga, it's funny in a very One type of way, the main character being clearly inspired by the likes of Saitama and Mob, however, the depth of Mash as well as the other characters in the story feel a little flat to me, and definitely lack the nuance it takes to completely pull off a One Punch Man type manga.
Mashle wears its influences very clearly on its sleeve, from the aforementioned
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One Punch Man/Mob-Psycho connection, to Harry Potter, to modern shonen like My Hero and Black Clover, which is not a bad thing, but it does seem hard to find an original idea among-st the influences, which detracts a little from the story.
It also lacks stakes so far, in stories like One Punch Man, it doesn't matter that no antagonist presents a threat to our heroes, because it's a seinen manga, the point of the story is to witness Saitama battle with his own mind, it's about mental growth as opposed to physical. On the other hand, Mash's goal is to get to the top in a physical sense, so the fact that up until now he has steamrolled through everyone that has stepped in his way, even after the manga tries to tell us that he's about to encounter a challenge only for him to one punch the supposed challenge, makes the consequences feel completely null. I hope a real challenge is introduced to him in the near future.
It's pretty much a by the numbers shonen with a One comedy style, it's enjoyable but didn't leave a mark on me.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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