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Mar 30, 2025
Whether or not you enjoy My Hero Academia will strongly depend on your enjoyment of superhero media in general. Odds are, if you've never enjoyed the adventures on the pages of Western comics or are part of the superhero fatigue fad, this series won't be for you. However, if you're like me--someone who still likes the genre and is eagerly looking forward to the next Superman and Avengers films--then this series may be for you.
Spider-Man, Batman, and all the other heroes from both big and small publishers all suffer from having far too many issues (comic issues, that is), variations, and one-off stories that make
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it seem impossible for a newcomer to get into them. In contrast, the adventures of the hero Deku start out simply at chapter 1, as he gets taken under the wing of his hero All Might and trains to be a superhero, where he meets a whole host of colorful characters with crazy powers. And those powers--along with a lot of jokes and small details--is one of the best things about this manga.
While sometimes very on-the-nose, Kohei Horikoshi's clear love for manga, Western comics, movies, and just pop culture in general add a layer of fun to this story. You'll see a direct reference to Alien, little side jokes referencing the Big Three or Dragon Ball, a mention of Gintama, and loads of superpowers that play off of the heroes of Marvel and DC. In Deku's class alone there's a speedster, various element controllers, several "mutants," and two pastiches of Spider-Man. However, that isn't to say the powersets are just rip-offs. There are plenty of abilities either utilized uniquely, such as Bakugo's explosion powers being produced by his sweat, or ones that only the most diehard comic book fanatics will even know aren't original. Where in the movies--the general public's main source of comics knowledge--will you find someone who can control sticky spheres grown from his head, or someone who turns into what they eat?
Another standout of the series is several of the characters. I won't talk about the Todorokis, because everyone's done it and even people who hate MHA like their story. But a multitude of other characters that receive focus elevate this manga. All Might is a cut above most, with a story about an old hero nearing "retirement" offering plenty of tension and strong moments. Likewise, everyone connected to his adventures as a hero, from his mentors to his former sidekick to that hero's sidekick, introduce new parts of the world and help it expand. The top hero Hawks is another standout, as are his mentee Tokoyami and many of Deku's other classmates. While most are relegated to background status by the second half, they still have plenty of character moments that make the schooltime moments fun and the battletime moments a little more tense. And a lot of the villains are fairly three-dimensional. While there are certainly no Jokers, Kingpins or Magnetos, characters such as Dabi, Spinner, Toga and particularly Twice have surprising moments of depth and tragedy. While there's not much that would make you decide you'd side with them, their motivations are still understandable and believable. Likewise to the rogue killer Stain, who has one of those moments at one point that was so cool, it made him go up in my character rankings. And despite being more one-note and simply selfish, All for One still served as an imposing figure with a memorable, if not somewhat unfortunate, design.
While I liked the beginning of MHA, I would say that it ramps up in the second half. For one, the quality of the art is greatly improved, especially in the fights. So much detail is applied to make impacts, strikes, and damage stand out that it sometimes feels unrecognizable from the simpler times of the earlier chapters. And while you could argue that second half is a bit by-the-numbers, I really liked the period between the semifinal and final Big Conflicts. The public of this world reaches a general consensus that, frankly reminds me greatly of the state of superhero media right now. The failures of the heroes and the sudden backlash is very reminiscent of the sudden wave of overblown criticism and outright hatred thrown at the MCU in particular, just because the follow-up films haven't had the same impact as Infinity War and Endgame. It felt refreshing to see that backlash and the subsequent rise of the protagonists above it all, as opposed to the constant barrage of toxicity you see online. Which is ironic, given how toxic most discourse about this series usually is.
While I liked a lot about the second half, there are a couple elements that didn't suck, but they didn't work quite as well. For one, the ending. Going into the manga, I expected to like the ending, because all the hate was so much that I figured it was the usual Internet overreaction. And I was right. The last chapter, all in all, was pretty good, and it tied into the story's themes about community and togetherness. However, I thought that if it had ended four pages earlier, it would've been a great one, though focusing solely on heroism rather than group work. Likewise, there is a secondary plot that takes place beginning somewhere in the middle of the story. It ties in really well to themes surrounding the main villain while doing its own thing, and again being a great pastiche of certain comics. I just found that its ending was somewhat underwhelming and a little generic and vague, though the epilogue had a brief moment that showed there was actual progress with it. Maybe if the storyline had been started sooner, with more focus given to protagonists that play into it, it would have been a much stronger storyline.
On the note of characters, this is another battle shounen series that suffers from "too-many-characters syndrome." Much like the rest of them, there are a ton of names and faces that get thrown at you, with many side characters having one appearance then coming back later and several of them having a "but why?" factor. This mostly applies to tertiary characters, such as students outside of Class 1-A and professional heroes who take part in the fights. But even within 1-A, there were moments where I had completely forgotten who some people were. Again, this isn't so much a MHA problem as it is a general battle shounen one, as even in the glorious, most amazing One Piece there are times where I'm scratching my head wondering where this person is from.
To talk about a specific character, I'm unsure of how I feel about Deku. On the one hand, I like how he's unsure of himself, quiet, and easily gets emotional. It's very different compared to just about every other protagonist of a big anime. Goku, Luffy Naruto and Natsu are all loud and boisterous, Ichigo and Kenshin are quiet but in a confident way, and all of them are sure of themselves and stick to their beliefs. Tanjiro and Itadori, while a bit more like Deku, still fall more in line with their predecessors than their contemporary. It's refreshing to see such a new take on an archetype, and yet he's also a bit underwhelming. It's not because he's a crybaby. I counted out chapters, and the majority of chapters don't include him breaking into tears. And even then, like I said: it's refreshing to see a hero who's more in touch with his emotions (and don't act like Luffy isn't constantly crying). I would say it's moreso to do with how there are a bunch of characters that were just more interesting and endearing. It's like how people will like Shikamaru over Naruto and wish he was the protagonist. But all in all I think Deku's fine, and he shows growth from start to end. And like I said, that ending was really good.
As for characters who didn't work that well, Bakugo and Shigaraki fall more to the negative. Like Deku, they sound really good on paper, with Bakugo learning to not be such a bully and Shigaraki representing some of the failings of this superhero society. It all comes down to the execution, where some of their growth occasionally takes a backseat. That mainly applies to Bakugo, whose maturing tends to take a backseat to let his hotheadedness play out for comedic effect. And for Shigaraki, while he ends up being a sad character who you can feel more sympathy than hate for, a lot of his dialogue is pretty edgy and he sometimes comes off as more of a whiny child than a hurt, broken, and justifiably angry villain. And while I liked All for One, there were a couple things that happened near the end that didn't really need to be there. I can't be too specific, but I think you'll know them when you see them.
And finally: Mineta. Just... Mineta. To start out with the only two positives: 1. when he's not being a pervert, he can be kind of funny with meta jokes. And 2. he makes all the anime perverts that people actually like, such as Sanji, Jiraiya and Master Roshi, look so much better. Because his character is either just being a pervert or being jealous that the better male characters actually can talk to girls without making it sexual. Believe it or not, I don't actively hate this character. His existence doesn't fill every ounce of my body with rage. But the farther along the manga went and he showed up as part of an emotional crowd yell or group moment, I couldn't help but think, "Why are you still here? Nobody likes you." Like I said, he greatly elevates the pervert characters of other series just by being the worst. Otherwise, I kept wishing for a kick-based superhero to come in and punt him into another dimension. And that hero should have been a dude, just so he couldn't get any satisfaction from it.
To be honest, if you removed Mineta and the last four pages (which again, are not bad by any means), I might have given this series an 8. Compared to its predecessors and contemporaries, it doesn't quite reach the same highs, especially not on emotional reactions, but it also avoids many of their lows. It's a good read with (mostly) likable characters, and like I said, Horikoshi puts his love of other stories into the pages. And at the end of the day, that's one of the most important things a writer can do: show what they love about art and do their best to honor it. And I'd say he honors it well. Maybe our interests just happen to overlap, but what can I say? He has good taste.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Mar 16, 2025
Gintama°, much like the rest of its series, is a serious story hidden in a gag anime. There will be laughs and seemingly pointless arcs for eighty percent of the runtime, then the show will suddenly have an emotional episode or arc. But unlike its longest predecessors, Gintama' and especially Gintama, Gintama° manages to provide just enough laughs before hitting you in the face with seventeen episodes of pure, unadulterated awesomeness.
For the first thirty-four episodes, there are three three-episode arcs, roughly half a dozen two-parters, and sixteen episodes that are self-contained or contain two short stories. All of these vary in terms of comedy, heart,
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and how much they succeed. Like all comedy and particularly this series, there are some jokes that land perfectly, some that got a chuckle out of me, and some that just made me shrug. However, the arcs are spread out just enough so the one-off adventures didn't feel like as much of a drag. In Gintama in particular there would be an arc that I got super invested in, then the series would throw twenty episodes in between it and the next arc of interest. Likewise, all the characters had a nice cycling in and out of the spotlight to keep them relevant before big emotional setpieces they were involved in, something the series has struggled with before (I apologize to the Red Spider arc lovers, but I mean that arc).
And then, after the thirty-four episodes of "filler," we reach the two-part, jaw-dropping, game-changing saga. A saga that shows Gintama is more than just that parody series barely managing to scrape by while the big wigs keep climbing. A saga that disrupted my personal top three arcs, knocking One Piece down from all three to just first and third. The saga of Shogun Assassination and Farewell Shinsengumi.
The Shogun, Lord Shigeshige, has one of my favorite running gags in the show. While the joke of the Odd Jobs bringing him near death could get a little stale in two-parters, Tomokazu Sugita's delivery of "SHOGUN KAIOOOOO" always gets a laugh out of me. At the end of the Courtesan of a Nation arc, Shigeshige rose from just a reactionless straight man for the jokes to someone with, however minimal his screentime, a presence that made both viewers and characters turn their heads to him. After the teasers left there and the Shinigami arc, a coup is finally hatched that aims to kill him, and as such the Odd Jobs and Shinsengumi team up to save his life. And then, once that plot is over, the Shinsengumi must face their greatest challenge as Kondo's life is threatened, leading the series' secondary group of protagonists to take the lead in a fight for their very livelihood.
The greatest thing about this saga is how it manages to elevate three characters that I, previously, had not cared for. The first (and only one for now) is Takasugi. His presence near the top of the MAL rankings confused me for the longest time, because other than brief appearances he seemed like an endgame protagonist that wasn't going to actually do anything until the endgame. But here, his backstory with Gintoki is fleshed out, making you see just where his path diverged from his friends. And that in turn further elevates Gin, as you finally get a solid flashback that culminates in an epic emotional moment.
In addition to Shigeshige, the shinobi Sacchan and especially Zenzo are front and center carrying the story. You get to learn more about each of them and how they ended up in their places in life. In particular, it highlights what makes Zenzo more than just a Naruto wannabe with hemorrhoids. And it all culminates in what I can best describe as a beautiful moment for Shigeshige, showcasing the sort of leader and person he is.
As for the Farewell arc, the show does what it almost always does in its highest highs: focus on the Shinsengumi. With the exception of Four Devas, all of my favorite moments in the show either revolve around or somehow include these goofballs. Except here they shed their clownish outer layer (mostly, this is Gintama after all) and unsheathe their blades in the ultimate showdown against their greatest rivals, the Mimawarigumi. And while it's nothing like a few particular fights they have in the Shogun Assassination arc, they get to show off their stuff against Nobume and Sasaki.
Those are two other characters who grew on me with this arc. Nobume just seemed like a standard kuudere who happened to like doughnuts a lot, and Sasaki's presence often annoyed me due to his elitist behavior. However, when the show gets to the point where their history is revealed, it honestly made both of them go up in my character rankings. One moment in particular left my jaw dropped, as a new setup was suddenly taken in a new direction. However, neither of them come anywhere near the true stars of this show: Isao Kondo and Kotaro Katsura.
Kondo was always my favorite of the gag characters whose gag is otherwise a bit on the, shall we say, questionable side. While most of those other characters are very heavily defined by their gag, Kondo's stalking habit was always balanced out by his leadership of the Shinsengumi. And in this arc he proves himself the general they all claim he is, leading the charge in the fight for his comrades' survival. Likewise, Kotaro "It's-not-Zura-it's" Katsura stepped up from just a rebellious buffoon to an absolute badass. With one moment of hilarious exception, his comedic façade is set aside as he leads his men and duck into battle. His status as a mostly-implied equal to Gintoki and Takasugi loses the "implied" part here. He is a badass. He is the kind of the Joi Rebels. He. Is. Katsura.
If I had to come up with one criticism for this two-part masterpiece, it would likely have to be that an emotional moment for the series at one point gets somewhat retconned. The retcon is apparent, as the scene's dialogue outright says "No, X didn't happen." The retcon in particular took a bit of weight off of the show, and I think a different explanation would have kept that weight while also allowing the events to play out as they happened. But otherwise, this is four hundred and eight minutes of nonstop edge-of-your-seat excitement and storytelling, only pausing for the OPs, EDs, and interlude between the two separate arcs, with the endings to both being masterful and highlighting the strengths of their characters.
Not bad. For a show that has supposedly been scraping by on making fun of its "betters" and filling time with outside shots of the Odd Jobs apartment, I gotta say: not bad at all.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Dec 3, 2024
In my friend group, we like to debate/argue over which work of Shinichiro Watanabe is better: the space adventure Cowboy Bebop, or the wandering ronin story Samurai Champloo. I've always argued for Bebop, solely for two reasons: it annoyed the Champloo fan of our group, and it had been the only one I had seen until recently and therefore better by default. However, now that I have finished both I can safely say that it... is a toss-up. I'll refrain from making too many references between the two, but overall I can say that both are very good.
One benefit that Champloo has over Cowboy Bebop
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is immediately setting up a story. From the first episode, we are given a Point B to get to: a girl named Fuu is looking for someone and recruits two ronin, Mugen and Jin, to escort her. From there a mix of hijinks, adventure, tension, and connection ensue. Along the 26-episode journey you see the three of them play off each other in both humorous and emotional ways, growing from strangers to friends along the way. Often the three will spend the first third of the episode bickering and split up, only to come back together again to fight a common foe whose members all happen to have crossed paths with the three heroes.
And when those fights happen, they are a spectacle to behold. Watanabe has created many a duel that all hold up in quality, even after two decades of breathtaking fights from other anime series. From the fluid motions of Jin's more formal swordplay to Mugen's wild dance-like style that involves his metal-lined sandals to the different rogues, bandits, and other samurai they face, each fighter's movements make them all stand out from each other. It was hard to believe that the first episode had such awesome battles that were only upped as the series continued.
The group dichotomy of Champloo is another plus in its favor. The trio of Mugen, Fuu and Jin work better than the bounty hunters in my opinion. Mugen and Jin have a shared animosity towards each other that leads to the two butting heads in amusing ways, often due to Mugen's unruliness and Jin's more stoic nature. Meanwhile, Fuu will try to be the voice of reason, only to be brushed off for the time being. Even so, she is easily the glue of the group, and without her journey to find the Samurai who Smells of Sunflowers (say that five times fast) the two ronin would likely have killed each other by the second episode. It's difficult to pick a least favorite, but my favorite is easily Jin. His calm, serious-to-a-fault demeanor belies a character with heart to him, as shown in the way he treats his foes. His moments are some of the best in the series by far.
The main criticism I have of the show is that it feels like it could be cut down by at least a few episodes. This is a strength Bebop has, with its episodic nature feeling like the day-to-day life of bounty hunters looking for the next job. In Champloo, an end goal is given right away, and while the series works well as is there are plenty of episodes that could be cut to speed up the pacing. I find it difficult to decide which to exclude, because in hindsight some of my favorite episodes would count as "filler." It's not the same as the filler arcs in old long-running shounen. The best comparison I can make is to Pokemon. The meat of the show is watching Ash fight the gym battles and earn his badges to challenge the Pokemon League. You can cut pretty much all the stuff between them and you would only miss the occasional new Pokemon caught (let's face it, Ash was never going to Catch 'em All) and "Team Rocket is blasting off agaaaaaaaain!" because, let's be honest, the main thing we wanted to see was the big battles. If Champloo was cut to... let's say sixteen, maybe eighteen episodes, I think it would be a 10/10. At the very least if the two before the three-part finale were removed it would help a lot. Those are fun episodes, but they definitely feel like they were added just to pad the show out.
All in all, this is a great experience. It has as much beauty as you'd expect from a samurai aesthetic put in the Cowboy Bebop art style. Fun characters, amazing action, I'd recommend this to anyone looking for an older series.
Now, if you've completed reading this review, I ask that you help me out. One point of contention in my friend group is which OP is better. Please leave your opinion by reacting with one of the following: "Informative" for Cowboy Bebop's, "TANK" by Seatbelts, or "Creative" for "Battlecry" by Nujabes (rest in peace) from Samurai Champloo.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jun 10, 2024
I'm gonna be honest with you: Part 5 is the whole reason why I decided to get into JoJo. Not because of the setting, or the character designs, or because I had heard it was peak. My reason is simple: "Il Vento D'Oro" slaps. Don't know why I read it instead of watching it though, guess I just wanted to enjoy it at my own pace instead of an episode's.
Unfortunately, the meat of Golden Wind does not quite match the beauty of the song it's known for. However, as I've learned, it's best to start with the positives. And yes, there are plenty of positives
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to be found in the fifth installment of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
For one, the setting of Italy makes the pages of Golden Wind stand out compared to its predecessors. The one exception would be the section in Part 2 where Joseph was training in Italy, but even then, that has more wide views of the seaside compared to the more metropolitan look of Part 5. That's one thing I enjoy about all of JoJo: the use of many different countries to truly make each adventure feel as unique as possible. While I can't comment on how well each culture is captured, since I am by no means a veteran anthropologist or anything of the sort, it's something I look forward to seeing carried on as I continue this bizarre series.
While it's become a staple of the series to just have a series of battles one after the other, the story of Golden Wind takes it up a notch by changing the basics of the premise. In Part 3, the heroes were racing against time to save Jotaro's mother; in part 4, everyone was just naturally drawn to each other, as Stand Users are. In Part 5, it becomes an escort mission as the main crew has to take Trish, the daughter of their mafioso boss, to meet said boss, then eventually try to uncover his identity. That lends itself nicely to "Fight 1 Parts 1-X," "Fight 2 Parts 1-Y," etc, as either rogue members of the mafia world chase down the heroes to hurt Trish or the boss’s loyalists hunt them down to keep his identity secret.
Thirdly, most of the characters and their Stands continue to stand out from one another. There are plenty of greatly unique Stands on display, even if their names aren't always the coolest (Zipper Man). And when it comes to the heroes, the supporting cast is maybe the best I've seen so far. Of the four main supporters, three are fantastic. Narancia as the annoying-yet-endearing kid of the group, Abbacchio as the stoic member who comes across like the adult, and Mista as Mista are all great additions to the cast. The only dud is Fugo, who only acts as the dud because he leaves the group suddenly (but with good reason) and never gets brought back into the story before it wraps up. And finally, I liked Trish quite a bit. She was cool, and I liked the little bit of growth she had going from the escortee to a part of the group by the end. It's just a shame that she wasn't included in the final image of the final chapter.
As for the negatives, the first thing that comes to mind... I'll get to in a bit. But first I'll talk about the biggest dud of a character: Giorno Giovanna. He's not bad by any means, he's just... there. Certainly my second least-favorite JoJo, above only Jonathan Joestar. The story starts out on a strong hook, with the reveal that Dio actually had a son, but after the mafia plotline kicks in that just never gets brought up again. Besides that, whenever the group is on the defensive from an enemy Stand, it's almost always Giorno who figures out the ability at play. Granted, the other characters tend to have their victories when it comes to the actual fight, but it just makes him a bit more boring, especially compared to the other JoJos. The only other one who showcased that type of quick thinking in battle was Joseph Joestar. But he was still fun to watch, and his moments of "Guys, this is what the enemy's doing!" were fewer mainly due to the much shorter length of Battle Tendency. Giorno is just somewhat relegated to the exposition-for-victory machine of the group, and usually the one to deal the final blow besides Bucciarati. (Bucciarati is also cool, and his Stand is awesome; I just didn't find him as enjoyable as the other cast members above.)
Another unfortunately boring character was Diavolo. I'll keep it brief, since he had a cool mystery built up around him that made him intriguing. I was just disappointed that he didn't seem to have any motivations beyond just keeping his identity secret and conglomerating power. The stuff with Doppio was interesting at least.
The character who disappoints me most however (and the thing I alluded to above) is Polnareff. I noticed that he was listed as a Part 5 character on MAL and got excited to see him again. But I was not entirely pleased with the way he was handled. He just got introduced with around 30 chapters left, had a pretty cool moment in the Colosseum against the boss, then died. Yes, his soul is in the Turtle Room for now, but his updated design for Part 5 was so cool. I was really looking forward to seeing one of the last Stardust Crusaders again, and the way he was handled here left me dissatisfied.
Finally, it's weird to me how distant this feels from the rest of the JoJo saga. Much like the plotline about Giorno, son of Dio, the series begins with Koichi being sent to Italy by Jotaro to investigate Giorno. And then he never gets brought back into the story. Feels like a massive loose end. I don't expect every JoJo story going forward to have the previous protagonist acting as a mentor to the new one, the way Joseph acted with Jotaro and he acted with Josuke, and I wouldn't even mind it much if this was only loosely connected to the rest of the series. But with such a strong connection at the start, I'm left wondering what Koichi ended up doing while Giorno was busy becoming the new Godfather.
In the end, I don't really regret reading Part 5. At the very least, I got a cool new character in Mista. However, I would probably recommend that my friends skip this part and go right to Stone Ocean. Maybe something will change in a future part, but until then: Arrivederci, Giorno.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jun 10, 2024
In the small town of Morioh, located in Japan, things are quaint. The people go to work, the children go to school, and life is normal. Nothing seems out of the ordinary. Nothing, that is, except for one person: a broadshouldered gigachad named Jotaro Kujo arrives. And from there, the town gets a little more... Bizarre.
The general plot structure of Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable follows the structure of Stardust Crusaders. Groups of chapters cover encounters with other Stand users. The thing that sets these encounters apart is that, instead of seeming like the minions of the main villain are hunting down the heroes, a
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bit of lore is added that Stand users are naturally drawn to each other. While it doesn't have the same urgency, the setting of a small town where these special people run into and conflict with each other still makes for fun and interesting battles. In addition, nearly all of the stands have new and unique abilities compared to the last part. The only Stand with any blatant similarity to a previous one is Shining Diamond, but even then its primary power is new.
One another positive is the cast of heroes present. As much as I like the Stardust Crusaders, the new group inarguably has more personality. Jotaro takes a backseat and lets Josuke Higashikata, his uncle, take over. Josuke's presence is quite a refresher in the series as, unlike his predecessors, he feels a lot more... I dunno, natural? He doesn't have the sheer badassery of Jotaro, but still has his moments of coolness; he has a way of living honorably like his great-grandfather Jonathan, but he's more lenient with it and still gets into mischief; and while he can butt heads and be a bit of a troublemaker like his father Joseph, he doesn't toe a line that makes him unlikeable. On top of that, his friends Koichi and Okuyasu are good foils to him as the nice guy to his delinquent and vice versa, respectively. All of the other new ally Stand Users also stand out in their own ways, but no one can top Rohan Kishibe. Every time this smug mangaka shows up, you're in for some quality entertainment, whether he's twisting Koichi's arm into accompanying him on some manga research or having a staredown with Josuke.
When the story reaches the halfway point, it seems like it's run out of steam. However, that's when the plot kicks back into gear with the introduction of a new villain who is just as intimidating as Dio. From then on, the goal of the crew is to stop them, and the hunt lends to quite a bit of tension as they look for clues. It becomes a bit of a murder mystery, except you know the secret and are waiting for the heroes to learn it, lending to some nice dramatic irony whenever they get close.
As much fun as this series is, there are some problems I have. The main one has to do with character deaths. There are a few times where someone will come close to dying, and while I wasn't rooting for it to happen I feel it would've been more emotional to lose them. On the contrary, there are some times where a new character gets introduced only to die soon after. This isn't to say that you shouldn't get attached to anyone, just that there's a chance you'll get sad. The other complaint I have is a romance that develops partway through not being the healthiest development. I'm just saying: if the genders were reversed, people would probably destroy Part 4 on Twitter.
Even with those problems (or ignoring them), Diamond is Unbreakable does a great job following up Stardust Crusaders. It does a great job keeping up the momentum of Part 3, which is important since it more than doubles the length of the Jojo Stand Saga. Highly recommend, especially if you like Persona 4. They have the same general vibes.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Apr 25, 2024
It's funny that the last part was called "Battle Tendency" when this part is nothing but battles.
Jojo Part 3: Stardust Crusaders is the point in the series that becomes recognizably Jojo. Not only are the iconic Stands introduced, replacing hamon, but this is the part with most of the memes that people know Jojo for. In between all the "ORAORAORAORAORAORAORA"s and "OH NOOOOOO"s, Jotaro Kujo and his grandfather, Part 2's protagonist Joseph Joestar, must race against time to defeat Dio. Along the way, they make a few friends and find themselves in many, many more fights. And that's the part that will make or break
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you on this entry: either you enjoy the nonstop fights against other Stand Users, or you get tired of them all. And personally, I greatly enjoyed each of the fights.
There is a great variation in the battles Jojo and friends face in Stardust Crusaders. Each of the stands has incredibly unique abilities, and even when some have similar attributes Stand Users' strategies still make each fight different. Likewise, each of the ways the characters defeat the respective antagonists vary. It's not always an "ORAORAORA" until victory. Sometimes the team even gets split up, and only half of them are there to face the foe.
While the constant battles leaves little room for characters to sit down and talk, there are still plenty of big moments for characters to grow, shine, and leave an impression on the reader. In particular, the goofy side character Polnareff has several moments that can endear him to the audience. However, my favorite of the group is easily the lead. Jotaro Kujo has earned a privilege that few characters have. Alongside Guts the Black Swordsman, Kenpachi Zaraki, and Sachiko Fujinuma (the mom from Erased), he has become an Anime Gigachad. The moments this man has that are just sheer badassery are perhaps too many to count, and my favorite endings to fights are always because of him. Best Jojo so far.
If I were to make any critiques, it would just be one and two tiny ones. One small is that there's a subplot that kind of just ends at a point. It's not a big part or anything, but it felt weird that there was quite a bit of attention to it and then the character in question just leaves. Tiny number two is that a particularly awesome fight would've been even better, but Joseph decides to not use an ability that he is known to have. I'm not even saying that it would've changed the overall flow, it's just that he uses a different tactic for effectively the same result. The last is that one of the conflicts gets a little uncomfortably weird. Not the fight itself--that was really tense, and it is another moment of Polnareff's that I like. Without putting it into spoilers, I'll just say that it's a fanservice-y scene that gets a bit weird.
Other than those, Stardust Crusaders is a blast. The fights come at you like punches from Star Platinum, and they never let up until the very end. I'm now looking forward a lot more to reading more of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. If you haven't gotten started and are considering skipping the first two parts, feel free. Most of the important details get covered by the usual Jojo exposition, so you can jump in at Jotaro's adventure and just hit the road from there.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Apr 17, 2024
If I could give a piece of advice to people going into this like I did, it would be this: don't expect Berserk. I hyped myself up into thinking that this would be another Berserk, only a lot tamer when it came to violence. That mainly comes from seeing members in the Death Battle community hope for a fight between Clare and Guts (and then being really disappointed when Guts fought Dimitri from Fire Emblem). It's not as good in my opinion, but by no means is Claymore bad.
For starters, and perhaps the largest reason why the Berserk connection was made: this art is PHENOMENAL.
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There is so much detail put into every panel. The landscapes, the character designs, the creature designs, all look amazing. There are few manga I can name with such amazing artwork. I haven't done so as of writing this review, but I plan on making a tab with some panels that I really like from the series (which will be kind of small, but only because there's a surprising amount of boobs in a series readily available on Shounen Jump). Easily the best part of this series is how freaking beautiful it looks, and that extends to the action.
A lot of the series, especially in the latter half, is fight scenes against creatures known as Yoma. With those plentiful fights come plentiful moments of great combat. Each monster has unique ways of attacking the Claymores, and each last for a fair amount of time. They rarely do the trope of nearing defeat before revealing a new form or attack; in fact, I think that only the final antagonist has some variation of it. On top of that, each of the Claymores have distinct face and hairstyles, making them easy to tell apart during the combat.
Finally, there are some really fun characters sprinkled throughout the story. My favorites were the Claymores Helen and Deneve, who have a friendship where they tend to butt heads a lot. I'm glad that the two of them were featured a lot as the series went on. There was one scene I enjoyed where Helen was getting drunk and argumentative, which led to quite a bit of humor.
Unfortunately, not all of the characters were that interesting. I said that the designs were unique, but not many of the personalities were. The premise is this that there are nearly 50 of these warriors, so of course not all of them are going to be featured, but so many names get thrown at you that they all end up blending together. And with that, many of their personalities get lost, especially when compared to other characters.
Also, Clare was pretty disappointing as a central protagonist. She has a good backstory, and a few character moments at the end were interesting, but otherwise she just fell flat. So many other members of the cast stood out over her, whether in personality or in arcs. Even her design was one of the more boring ones. There are several chunks throughout the story that take focus away from her that I found easier to get into because someone else was in the center.
Finally, the story didn't hook me as much as others. There are plenty of cool moments, and when I got to the last stretch it was quick to get through. But when I think of other series I've read, especially my favorites, I think of how gripping they were and how hard it was to set it aside to do something else, even important stuff like eating or sleep. I started Claymore at the end of last year, and there was a point where I put it down and didn't return to it for a couple months. I don't think I ended up forgetting something that is the major difference between liking and loving the series, but I still lost interest for a while and prioritized other stuff. It also doesn't help that Persona 3 Reload came out during this time, a story I ultimately enjoyed a lot more.
Claymore is a bit of a commitment. By no means is it as demanding as, say, One Piece, but if you want to finish it you have to dedicate some time. And there may be things you are dissatisfied with. I also thought that a major element of the world could have been explored some more, but it quickly became a footnote in what was going on. However, if you're a fan of beautiful art and action, and you can put in the time to see it through, then this is something I'd recommend. Especially if you're a fan of intricate monster designs.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Apr 17, 2024
Sand Land is a story that moves very fast, touches on some stuff but never goes too deep, and is over almost as soon as it starts, but is ultimately a lot of fun and worth returning to on a rainy afternoon. And if you've heard the first three before, congratulations. You're more successful in life than 80% of the people on this website, including me.
The story is simple: two demons and a man travel across the desert to find water for a world that has become a desert while facing off against various challenges. With that simplicity comes a very clean artstyle that anyone
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would recognize as Akira Toriyama's. That clean style allows for easy-to-follow action and very distinct characters, especially the main protagonist Beelzebub.
While, as I said, there isn't to the story in terms of deep philosophical debates, there are some interesting character moments with the humans. Sheriff Rao in particular has a few secrets that he keeps to himself, making him my favorite of the main trio. But that isn't to say that Thief and Beelzebub are bad by any means. Each of them have moments of humor and heart that complement Rao's stoic nature. In addition, several side characters have moments that humanize them in one way or another--except for the main antagonists, whose motivations are extremely simple. That's not a complaint, though. Like I said, this single-volume adventure is a quick and easy trip that was a lot of fun.
If I were to nitpick or critique Sand Land, it would just be that Beelzebub doesn't do much in the fights besides punch and kick. His defining features came from his moments of character and his design, not any attacks. Again, just a nitpick. I wasn't expecting him to have anything as iconic as the Kamehameha.
As my first Toriyama story, I was greatly pleased with what I saw. If I wasn't already motivated to read Dragon Ball due to its influence on the Big Three, I certainly am now. Thank you for all you have provided to the world of imagination and entertainment.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Mar 2, 2024
I've been debating whether or not I want to write a review of Attack on Titan ever since reading the manga between The Final Season Parts 2 and 3. There is so much that I like about it, but then one giant flaw that has me scratching my head. I've been trying to find a way to put it for a while. Finally, I can make a comparison that I think will make sense after watching the movie Dune: Part II. With that said, there will be some general spoilers and speculation for Dune. I have not read the book as of writing this review,
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but I have seen the two movies, so if you want to go into those blind I recommend you click away. (I also recommend you go watch them, they're really good.)
Ultimately, Attack on Titan is a series that was shaping up to be amazing. After watching the anime over the years before reading it, I was amazed at the new context provided for so many moments. It absolutely feels like a lot of thought was put into it, from the first moments of Titan fighting to the final stages of global conflict and the threat of humanity's extinction. There were so many interesting characters and perspectives (in spite of some visuals that were maybe a but too heavy-handed) in play--hopeful, angry, just wanting to run away from it all--and many of the best scenes ended up just being characters talking about what they should or should not do. That includes the very end, which has two different meanings depending on how much you include. The initial ending is a sad one; the sight of future generations from the mainland deciding to annihilate the island of Paradis left me with a hollow feeling inside, depicting humanity as a species that always tears itself apart. Meanwhile the last bonus chapter--a miniseries in itself where the characters were placed in a high school setting--felt more hopeful, with Eren, Mikasa, and Armin discussing the end of the film (the ending chapter) they had seen. Here, Eren instead expresses hope for the future alongside his friends. Together, these feelings make the last stretch a bittersweet one, with both pessimism and optimism for the characters.
Where the series shoots itself in the foot is Eren. From the start of the timeskip to the final chapter, he seems to have gone from an edgy but determined hero to a villain with understandable yet reprehensible motivations. He also has plenty of moments in the final stretch that warrant sympathy, such as a scene apologizing to a child for the coming destruction, showing he's acting out of a feeling that he has to do this, rather than wanting to. It makes for a fascinating final antagonist to the series, one the other characters have known through thick and thin and one that the audience had, at one point, rooted for. Then he talks with Armin, and it all just... gets muddled and messy.
A hero vilifying themself and allowing their friends to carry on their noble mission is not new. Case in point: Paul Atreides from Dune. From what I've seen, between his visions in the first movie and his actions at the end of the second, he is also going to go on a tirade of conquest, destruction and death before dying at the hands of a loved one (Chani). The difference between the him and Eren, however, comes down to two factors: the character's previous actions and the timeline.
Eren, until the part that became the Final Season(s), was always extremely rash and acted before thinking. He was never stupid like Patrick Star, but he was never a genius who came up with plans for the far future. That came from everyone else: Erwin, Hange, Levi, Armin, Pyxis, Zeke, they and all the other characters were the planners. Meanwhile, Paul is much more level-headed. Even when moved by emotion, he never acts out. Even when he has so much going for him, including a streak of victories and the trust of the Fremen, he never lets it get to his head and tries to think things through. He may not be a super-genius, but he at least sees beyond the problem.
It also helps that the wording in Dune Part II makes it seem less like a predetermined path Paul must set out on. He says in the movie that there is a "narrow path" he needs to maneuver in order to achieve his goals, similar to the scene in Avengers: Infinity War with the 14 million possible futures. He still has agency in his decisions. The weight of the bloodshed, both already spilt and upcoming, is all on his hands. The timeline in Attack on Titan is described as much more concrete. I at first thought that the scene where Eren is the one who convinces Grisha to kill the royal family was a great moment, but after thinking about it the moment doesn't work as well, if only for making it all one set-in-stone path that the characters must follow. Because of that, Eren's path feels less like his decision, consequences be damned, and more like a child being led by a parent to a place they don't want to go, like church or school.
Of course, every published narrative is a set path, and the illusion of character choice is really the decisions of the author. Luffy sets out on his pirate adventure because Oda wants him to, Hamlet seeks vengeance because of Shakespeare's will, and Paul and Eren both act according to the stories Frank Herbert and Hajime Isayama want to tell. But within the story, Eren's decision to go on this path ends up losing much of the impact it could have had the moment Armin says "So it was all just part of your plan to save the world?" It doesn't help that Armin, who always tries to find a path with the least violence possible and deeply regrets it when he cannot find one without it, thanks Eren for his actions.
If it weren't for that giant flaw in Eren's motivation, this would be a series I'd place in my favorites. There are so many interesting characters, the conflicts are tense, and it's a full story that gets told in less than 150 chapters (ignoring the spin-off manga). I even think the art is great, matching the grittiness and roughness of the story. One thing can be said for certain though: Attack on Titan will be a story people discuss, argue over, and maybe even come to appreciate for many years to come.
Oh yeah--I also don't like Mikasa that much. She tied herself way too much to Eren, regardless of if the Ackerman thing was true or not, and the scene where she kisses his decapitated head is so out of left field it may have come from a different ballpark altogether. Sorry to her 54,651 fans, but I just don't see what you all see in her.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Nov 18, 2023
As I'm writing this, it has been a year to the day of Berserk Volume 41's official international release, and roughly a year and a half since Kentarou Miura's passing. A lot of reviews have praised Berserk. Whether it's here on MAL, video essays on YouTube, or elsewhere, you won't lack when it comes to positive reviews for this series. And I'm no different. Even so, I felt like trying to express my own opinions on this influential story.
I first read Berserk after Miura's passing. Upon reading Volume 1, I was surprised by the very first panel. I knew the series' reputation as dark fantasy
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and expected to see a tall, brooding swordsman clad in black, but I didn't expect to see Guts come across almost as vicious as the monsters he faces. And immediately, every time you see him, he just seems... alone. Like he's by himself everywhere, no matter how many other people are in the room. It all acts as such a good hook, and the first antagonist hasn't even been introduced, nor do we know anything about Guts' past. He's just a lone wolf, wandering, looking for something.
It's been said once, and I'll repeat it here: the artwork is amazing. Every page, every panel, every detail is perfect. The only complaints that could be made are comparing the earlier volumes to the later ones, and even then they still hold up beautifully. The fact that the art just improves from Volume 1 is really saying something. My favorite panels are the ones where Guts is looking up at the sky. There's the iconic image of him leaning against a tree stump, staring towards the sun as well as one later where he's bandaged up and sitting in a window frame with the night sky behind him. I don't even have words to describe them; they just evoke a mix of emotions. I believe that there could be versions of the books released that remove the dialogue from the story, and the artwork would still convey everything that needs to be said.
But that would remove some of the beautiful conversations had between characters and many, many great quotes. Whether they be from Guts, Griffith, Casca, a demon, or someone else, there is a multitude of amazing lines that are just as effective as the art. So many lines hit, whether they be a threat in the midst of battle or a quiet moment of reflection.
Even with all the serious moments, there is plenty of humor as well. Described as "mercilessly funny" in the series description, the comedic bits land as hard as the profound moments. Typically delegated to Puck and Isidro, there are so many moments of one of the two doing something goofy. Puck's jokes especially land whenever he takes on the appearance of a wizened old master and scolds or offers advice to the young Isidro, sometimes even parodying Jedi Master Yoda in his speech. There are also plenty of reactions where the art gets just the tiniest bit simpler as someone gets embarrassed or irritated at a companion. But the funniest moment by far, one that made me burst out in laughter and nearly brought me to tears, was a scene where Guts makes a pun. That's right: Guts, the stoic wanderer with a constant scowl, makes a pun upon seeing a minor character return.
The thing that works best about the humor, though, is that it doesn't compromise all of the dark and serious moments. Guts and his companions all go through some of the most difficult trials anyone can face. They constantly face monsters, both human and demonic, get torn to pieces, rarely get a good moment of rest, and even after all of it still have plenty to deal with mentally. All of it can be pretty depressing, and I'm thankful that I read the series at a good time in my life. However, with all of that hardship comes an inner beauty. Because the protagonists are all survivors. They take the punches and get pushed down hard, yet they still get back up. The images of Guts resting don't just exude the feeling that he's reflecting on life, they feel like moments of triumph as he gets to stop and take a breath. And even then, he looks down the path he's been set upon and pushes onward. If you scroll through the comment section of any video of Guts' theme, you'll find people recounting how they were inspired by Berserk to continue forward. Berserk is a story about how insane and impossible to traverse to the world can be, yet the heroes still find a way, even if it's just by gritting their teeth and soldiering on. And in the later moments, when you see Guts finally open up to others after so long, it's one of the most satisfying experiences I've felt reading anything.
Of course, Berserk isn't for everyone. It more than earns the "Explicit Content" sticker with many, many, many images of blood, gore, and horror. One of its most iconic moments is a massacre with sexual violence involved, and the rest of the series doesn't tone it down in any way. Even those who might consider themselves "made of stronger stuff" will find moments of this series difficult. But if you are willing to endure it, you'll be met with a beautiful story of pain and perseverance. Berserk is a masterpiece, and Miura deserves to go down in history alongside the likes of both writers like Shakespeare and painters and illustrators like van Gogh and da Vinci.
I haven't been reading the newest chapters of Berserk as they've been published. While I enjoy the accessibility of digital manga and have read many series with it, I would prefer to experience this one completely in physical format. And honestly, I may just never finish it. I mean no disrespect to Miura's friend and team, and I believe they are truly continuing Berserk out of love and respect for him above anything else. But the way Volume 41 ends just feels right, somehow. There's an element of mystery and sadness in the way it finishes, yet it doesn't depress me knowing that it's technically the end. And if I do return to it, I think I might wait until the series is completely finished. In the same way that I was able to almost binge read 41 beautiful volumes without then going online and getting spoiled on what would come next, I want to experience the end as free of others' thoughts as possible and forge my own opinion on it.
Thank you for stopping to read my review. I hope that you can continue on in your struggles, traveler.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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