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Aug 16, 2016
Overall: 9.5
Planetes by Makoto Yukimura is one of the more underrated manga I've read. It is by the same creator as Vinland Saga, so it is often overshadowed by the more popular work. However, Planetes displays Yukimura's talents just as well as Vinland Saga. The art is incredible, the characters are very vivid and believable, and it is obvious that a lot of thought and research went into creating the setting. When it comes to Sci-Fi and Fantasy, world building is very important. Planetes has some of the best world-building I've ever seen in a Sci-Fi series. It feels like this really could be what
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life is like in the near future.
Story
The story is very unimportant. This is the case with most slice-of-life series. The driving force of this manga is the character growth. The main character we follow is Hachimaki, but we follow the other crewmates as well. There are life lessons to be learned from each character's story, and they all come together to create a beautiful tale.
Characters
Creating brilliant and believable characters is one of Makoto Yukimura's strong suits. Planetes is no exception. All of the characters are dynamic, unique, and wonderfully human. The different personalities come together to create an interesting group dynamic. Everyone that reads this is sure to find at least one character they can connect with.
P.S. Hachimaki's character growth strongly parallels Thorfinn's in Vinland Saga. I assume that fundamental story is something very personal for Yukimura.
Art
The art is nothing short of amazing. Yukimura excels at drawing people and fluid action sequences. But since this is a sci-fi set in space, it wouldn't work if the technology was drawn poorly. It is drawn very well. He even goes into detail on some of the technology to show that it is scientifically accurate. Very impressive as always from Yukimura.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Aug 10, 2016
Overall: 10
Vinland Saga by Makoto Yukimura is a personal favorite of mine. I think it is widely underrated (in the west at least).The art and the character development are nothing short of masterful.
Story:
Vinland Saga is a historical fiction based on Vikings, the norman conquest of England, and the eventual voyage to Vinland (AKA North America). The story can basically be split up into 3 parts. Without spoiling anything, the first part is about revenge. There is a lot of good, realistic fighting in this part. Most people fall in love with Vinland Saga for its realistic depiction of Viking warfare. The second part is about
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transformation. This is where a lot of people stop reading. In their defense, this part is almost completely different from the first part (at least until it transitions into part 3), but I personally, really enjoyed the character transformation in this part. The ongoing part 3 is the quest to Vinland. The actual “Vinland saga” basically just started, but this isn’t the type of series where the end goal actually matters. This story is all about the journey and Thorfinn’s evolution as a human being.
Characters:
Vinland Saga is really a character driven manga. The characters are what makes it shine. Many of the characters, even minor characters, are well developed and very believable. The main focus is on Thorfinn’s evolution, but it also goes into the difficulties of ruling a kingdom, court politics, the realities of war, and other interesting topics. “The crown does queer things to the heads of the men who wear them.” is a Vinland Saga quote that reminds me of Game of Thrones.
Art:
The art is probably the most interesting thing about this manga for me. Not only would I give it a 10/10 for just how well drawn it is, but it’s also very well researched and thought out. The weapons and wardrobes are all what was actually used during the time period. The first time I noticed how much attention was paid to detail was when I saw the cut, calloused hands of a common woman. Most mangaka wouldn’t put effort into a detail like that, but it is an important aspect of the era. Women who have to do all kinds of house chores with primitive instruments would not have dainty woman hands. It’s small details like this that really help draw you into the time period.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Aug 10, 2016
Overall: 9.5
Goodnight Punpun by Inio Asano is a depressingly accurate coming of age story packed with poignant truths about life. In my opinion, it is one of the best coming of age stories in any medium. It’s no surprise why it’s one of many people’s favorites.
Story:
As I said before, this is a coming of age story. It is about a boy who becomes a man. The story follows Punpun’s life from age 11 to about age 22, and, needless to say, this is not a very fun time in his life. Like every young person, Punpun has to juggle his family life, school life,
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angst and puberty, all while trying to figure out what he wants to do in life or what even is the point of life anyway? Punpun tries to deal with these things among everything else life throws at him, but does he have the skills to cope and become a productive, happy adult? This is a seinen manga, so it deals with some pretty mature themes such as sex and suicide. Reader discretion is advised.
P.S. I think the plot gets a little crazy at the end, but you will just have to read and judge for yourself.
Characters:
The story is great, but it is really the characters that make this manga amazing. This is how most of Asano’s works tend to be. They display normal people in slice of life situations, but the characters are so brilliant and relatable that it makes whatever they are doing interesting in some way. The main characters are some of the most developed and multi-layered characters I’ve seen in manga. Also, (something I found kinda funny/interesting) some of the minor characters, like Punpun’s teacher, are basically caricatures of how a child would see that person. You’ll have to read it to see what I mean.
Art:
The art is very crisp. It is very standard Asano except for one intriguing aspect: the symbolism. Look at the picture I put at the top of this post. That weird white bird looking thing on the cover is Punpun. No he’s not some weird alien, he is a normal boy, but he and his family are portrayed differently based on how Punpun views himself and how he feels inside. Yes, his view of himself changes as he grows up. And yes you do see his actual body in some cases. There is more symbolism besides this throughout the manga, and it really helps to bring you into Punpun’s world.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Aug 10, 2016
Overall: 9.75
Everyone has good things to say about Berserk, but no one really recommends it for what it is. Berserk is an amazing epic fantasy series, just like a A Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones) or Lord of the Rings. Yes the world building is that expansive and the story is that good, and it also has insanely amazing art. If that doesn’t sound like a good series to you, I don’t know what would. The only reason why some people shouldn’t read Berserk is that it is very graphic. There is sex, violence, and sexual violence. There is a lot of
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sexual violence, particularly in the first half or so. Reader discretion is strongly advised. Also, if you prefer to read completed series, you may want to wait a while to read Berserk. It has been going on for about 20 years now and I suspect it could go on for another 15-20 more. This is in part because of the frequent, long hiatuses, and because when it’s not on hiatus it is a monthly, if not an irregular series. However, if you let this deter you, you are missing out on one amazing story.
Story:
I don’t even want to go any further than this MAL summary. It’s best if you just let the story surprise you. (trust me!)
Art: Did I mention the art was insanely good? Because it is. Like I said before, Berserk has been going on now for around 20 years. The art goes from pretty solid -> very good -> 11/10 as the artist improves.
Characters: The protagonist, Guts, is an amazingly well-written character. One of the best in any fiction I’ve ever read. Also, some of the other main characters are also brilliantly written. That being said, later in the series, some side characters get introduced and most of them are pretty one dimensional. This is why some people say Berserk loses some of its luster after the Golden Age arc. In my opinion, it is still just as good but in a different way. You will have to judge that for yourself.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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