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Dec 28, 2024
As someone who's reading Blue Lock weekly, I've had mixed feelings on Blue Lock season 2 as I've been watching it, but these feelings slowly started to organize themselves as we approached the finish line. In contrast to the common reaction and very logical conclusion that Blue Lock season 2 animation is... lackluster, I find that if anything it's brutally minimalistic, rather than lazy.
This season still manages to flow with the dramatic moments just as well as before, and the action, while presented through a lot of stills, still has the pacing that makes each offensive exciting to watch unravel. And, putting the animation topic
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aside, all the drawings and illustrations of the characters in the season look incredible, it's absolutely spot-on and fully realized visually, it's the characters I know and love from the manga. One big improvement I find from season 1 is that now they've spliced in split-second shots of much better CGi movement to properly visualize the dribbles and tricks that players do to get past each other, compared to season 1's either pathetic or shoddily presented attempts.
As a dedicated Blue Lock fan, I've gone from lamenting this season, to finding a mutual understanding with it instead. It's still Blue Lock to me, and I feel like it can still be Blue Lock to a lot of people if you give it a chance. There's still love in this adaption, which can be seen in the effort put into the most exciting parts of the arc.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Apr 14, 2024
Look, we've all seen the memes, we were all there for it. People joked about it left and right, Aleks Le voiced an edit, so on and so forth. I'm here to set things straight, as people are still primarily joking about the manga, and I wanna shed some real light on it. This manga is fun, really fun. It's still very early, as chapter 29 came out the day I'm writing this, but so far the story has been really enjoyable.
The action is incredibly on point, and the paneling helps to elevate it though how snappy and creative it is in the ways it
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leads you through the page and onto the next one. There's some times it gets a bit cluttered, but those moments are very much overshadowed by the countless times I've been in awe at how simply cool the manga's presentation is. There's many, many panels or specific poses and shots that serve to reflect and contrast the other throughout or between chapters as well, supremely cinematic and unapologetically cool to look at. It's the definition of watching a really solid action flick, you know what you're getting and you're having one hell of a time with it.
The art quality is very often outstanding, but I have my issues with the current style on the characters expression-wise. Most of the expressions the main cast have are either closed mouthes or giant, square-shaped maws, there's no real in-between. This has progressively been getting a bit better, but it's still a present pet peeve with the art-style.
The characters are also a surprising amount of fun to watch. Chihiro's deadpan attitude meshes very well against the colorful types he has around him, it makes him stand out, which also serves for some effective levity at times. The standout to me so far is probably the main antagonist of the first arc, Sojo, who is simply a straight-up menace that serves perfectly as a foil to Chihiro and as a trend-setter for the manga's intentions. He's awesome to see in action and is the first example of what makes Kagurabachi enjoyable to me: pure, effective and classic shonen. Also shout-out to Hiyuki, a newer character who potentially might be one of the coolest women in modern shonen, if she truly gets to shine.
I very much want to relate this manga to Sakamoto Days, almost like a sibling to it in how it's presented. Both are action-focused series that really trim the fat in relation to how they get to the action, making sure the reader gets the maximum amount of time reading action over anything else. The main difference is that Sakamoto Days is much sillier in it's presentation in-between the action, compared to Kagurabachi's more serious and straightforward approach.
I do implore you to give Kagurabachi a chance if you haven't, regardless of why. Not everything needs to reinvent the wheel, sometimes it's just a matter of making a wheel that rolls really damn good, and that's what Kagurabachi is to me, nothing that breaks the mold, but something incredibly solid that's extremely enjoyable and fun to read.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Feb 6, 2024
It's undeniable that Nagatoro as a manga and as a character has had quite the history. For the uninitiated, Nagatoro first came to be as a webcomic back in 2011, a webcomic where her sole reason for existing was to sadistically punish, berate and bully the self-insert MC that is with her in the webcomic.
Going into the manga, I was personally morbidly curious to see what this would lead to. I was not surprised to see that the status quo hadn't changed, and didn't change for a few dozen chapters in the manga. She was still sadistic, she was still pretty damn evil, over-bearing and
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scary. This is why Nagatoro had quite the contentious era around the time the first season came out, since she really just was a bully.
But, as time went on and the story continued, Nagatoro as a manga really steers away from it's past, re-invents itself and comes out the other side as something totally new. Nanashi as an author knows the history this character has had, and has gone all the way to ensure that history is remembered, but the purpose is different this time around. The change in dynamic in the manga is a very day-brightening thing to see every week a chapter comes out.
The character development is palpable for a rom-com. The main character and Nagatoro both grow exponentially as people, to an extremely clear degree. The side-characters also get their fair share of time to gain visualized personalities to understand and enjoy. One of my favorites is Yoshi, one of Nagatoro's friends, an airhead that mostly nods along to what anyone says, with an ahoge that keeps growing every time she shows up.
The evolution of the art in Nagatoro is also great. Nagatoro has always had great expressions since the start, but as the story's emotions and theme changed, so did the expressions possible for the characters to do. The variety of emotions that Nanashi manages to express through the way the characters emote are very vivid and really elevates the experience as the reader.
It's incredible to think about that Nagatoro started 13 years ago as purely a sadistic bullying fetish, and today the series has become a genuine rom-com. The more you're aware of the history, the sweeter the journey will become for you if you decide to read this manga. I duly recommend it, it presents a one-of-a-kind experience when it comes to rom-com, as Nagatoro's redemption story as a character grows from just in-universe to a level of meta outside of the manga itself.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jan 28, 2024
Never has the phrase "let them cook" had more relevance.
Undead Unluck is a series that flew under mine, as well as way too many other's radars, for way too long. And with the anime's release I gave it a shot, since I couldn't contain my excitement about seeing more of the story. I could not stop reading. Before I knew it it was tomorrow, and I was caught up.
As you may have heard, the beginning is admittedly very rocky, it takes a while for the ball to truly start rolling for the story, which happens at around chapter 40. But when I reached that point
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it was over for me.
As an avid shonen fanatic that consumes all from mid to peak shonen, I've come to gain a taste for what makes a shonen more enjoyable and consistent in it's enjoyment. Fights, characters and third is story. The better these three, the better the shonen. Undead Unluck's fights cut out a unique style of their own, in regards to the incredibly creative power system of the series, only chained down by the person's own perception of reality, as well as their own creative vision. This makes combat a crucible for new possibilities, where the reader can follow and try to imagine what will come next alongside the author, it's incredibly fun. The power-scaling and growth of the respective characters is also very well-paced and consistent, extremely satisfying.
Then, the characters. In many shonen I've read, there comes a point where the roster of characters lose relevance, some of them always fall off or lag behind as others excel due to their own narrative circumstances. In Undead Unluck, this doesn't happen. Every character is respected and given the time to be developed as people, fully with proper backstories and motivations for who they are as people and why they've become who they are. The author doesn't forget a single important point. And if a character hasn't had their time yet, then it's definitely coming in the future chapters of your read.
Most important is naturally the dynamic duo of the story, Andy and Fuuko, who have risen from characters I've left on the backburner to some of the most well-developed new-age shonen protagonists on the block, rising up to take the spot of Nr.1 in my eyes. Their development as characters to themselves and towards each other is incredible to read each step of the way and the catharsis is palpable.
And then, the story. Undead Unluck might have the most enjoyable story I've read in a shonen as of the recent years. The way the story is built up and designed has become one of my new favorite narrative angles to read. I will keep it spoiler-free, but the story twist that comes in Undead Unluck (you'll know what it is when you experience it, dear reader) solidifies itself as one of the most intense and investing hooks of my shonen reading life. And the story utterly soars after this point. If you can put down this story after this point, you are superhuman.
I also must mention, the world-building of Undead Unluck is stellar. The tools that characters use, the locations, the entire world and the rules that govern it, it all has an impact that flows throughout the entire world, far outside of exclusively where our characters are. If something happens, the effects of it possibly echo throughout the entire world, and the applications of powers and tools serve to enrich the world itself and how the characters approach it. Once again, the powers serve to become a tool where the reader can clearly follow and theorize the coming story while the author creates it, the participation as a reader is so much fun.
To summarize, this manga is incredibly slept on. It doesn't have a solid opener, but if you give it the time, and LET IT COOK, I can guarantee you that the time you've spent will be paid back to you multiple times over. If you keep reading through the opening bore, you'll be hooked. If you keep reading after that, you'll suddenly realize you will stay with this manga until the end, no matter what.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jun 19, 2023
I'll leave this short and sweet, so you people swinging by from the commotion or the curious interest can get a take that isn't jaded by the first season, as can be seen by many other reviews on this second season.
I've read the manga, and followed it diligently for years at this, and this arc that season 2 covers is one of the most transformative and grand experiences I've ever had as someone who consumes media. It's profound, it's emotional, it's heartfelt and it's filled with philosophies that have practically forced growth and maturity into me as a person.
...And the anime somehow elevates what I
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deem to be one of the greatest arcs of all time, in ways I couldn't even dare predict. The team behind this production have a boundless love for Vinland Saga for the story that just unabashedly exudes from every story beat and piece of script written and enacted. How they play with the story and refurnish and refine it even further is awe-inspiring, it filled my heart as a long-time fan with joy beyond compare. There's so many new, sometimes insanely ballsy call-backs that weren't in the manga, so much original content that fits like as if it was Makoto Yukimura himself making it, it's beyond impressive.
There is naturally a lack of violence in this season, and that's the point, the people that clamor for blood and guts only ironically prove the point this season wants to bring home.
What is that point? Well, at this point I hope I've at least moderately managed to clear up your choice on whether to watch this or not, and perhaps you'll understand this message for yourself.
All love to you, dear reader.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Nov 12, 2022
I'll try to keep this short, as the anime is still ongoing.
Arknights will demand patience from you for the first few episodes, it's the main fear I've had as an avid player of the game for months, because the early story is essentially something along the lines of a mix between a long prologue and laying out the groundworks for everything else. This anime is to my understanding gonna cover chapter 0 to 3, which is all of act 1. At the current rate that makes sense to me given the amount of story that exists, as with the end of episode 3 we're about
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to enter chapter 2.
Here's the important part, with the perspective of knowing the story they're trying to adapt, they've added a great amount of logic, lore and generally meat on the bones to the PAINFULLY exposition-heavy and meager experience chapter 0 and 1 is. It's hard to expect anything but an exposition dump from a story that was only made to be an exposition dump in the game. Yet despite that they made something serviceable out of it.
Please bear with Arknights as it makes it's way to more entertaining story, as more characters are introduced and especially, when the Arknights writers for the game realized that they were sitting on something good, which I would personally say is about chapter 4 or 5, but chapter 3 can be seen as a prelude to that.
If you have at least a smidge of enjoyment for what you've seen so far, have my word for that the coming content will constantly improve on what you have seen.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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May 15, 2022
Dandadan is probably the manga that has intrigued me the most over the last months. Ever since the first chapter that so harrowingly introduced me to the occult and supernatural elements of this world, I've been intrigued to see how far Yukinobu Tatsu can reach in this in relation to creativity. And I'll say, I am not disappointed in the slightest.
Story 8/10
The story so far had a bit of a rough start after the first few chapters, as it flung itself between interactions like a very rapid succession of mini-arcs. Naturally, these were to establish the world, but the pacing made me feel a bit
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flustered at times while reading week-by-week. As we've approached and broken the 50 chapter mark, the story has taken a more solid form, with the latest arc being a genuinely exciting and action-packed arc that I thoroughly enjoyed. Despite that, I cannot give the story more than an 8 because of the somewhat stressful pacing it had in it's earlier chapters.
Art 9.5/10
The art in Dandadan is outstanding. The art-style is consistent and the panelling is fantastic in guiding your eyes and keeping interest, without wasting time on. It is very effective, yet doesn't spare expense in displaying what's happening in full effect. The manga has a few rare massive 2-page spreads that allows the mangaka to truly flex his artistic skills. Character expressions are fantastic and the action scenes are exciting to witness. The supernatural entities are also both horrifying and interesting to look at, with designs that vary extremely, as well as their origins.
Characters 10/10
This is where I feel that the manga shines the most, in it's characters. Our main characters Okarun (Ken) and Momo Ayase start off at totally opposite sets of the spectrum. The former's displayed as your usual scrawny, nerdy kid, whereas the latter's the more cool, gyaru-style kinda girl. Dandadan quickly diverts from tropes though, as we learn that there's more to these characters than the preconceived notions of their design. Over the manga's current run, their chemistry is fantastic, as Okarun has the guts to retaliate against Momo's more abrasive attitude, and Momo reciprocates Okarun's gentle nature. The side characters are also very enjoyable and have great chemistry with the main cast, but as to avoid spoilers, I will not divulge in them further.
Enjoyment 9/10
Overall, I enjoy the manga a lot. It manages to thread through multiple genres very effectively, as it can go from a silly slice-of-life style comedy to a terrifying horror manga at a moment's notice thanks to it's occult persuasion. It then intermingles this with astounding action set-pieces as well as some very neatly sprinkled romance that pops up from time to time, making sure we don't forget that the undertone exists.
Overall 9/10
In conclusion, I deeply suggest you to read Dandadan, or at least give the first chapter a chance. It's an incredibly enjoyable and smoothly fluctuating read, that has some trouble finding it's identity, but has at this point started solidifying itself onto a solid path. I can only see it going upward from here, as the characters grow and more of the world is divulged to us readers.
Not to cry wolf, but I can feel the anime adaption just waiting to happen once there's enough content for one.
The entire thing is available to read on MangaPlus, for free! It's frankly unbelievable for the quality of this manga
Tl;dr
I have a feeling this is potentially of the next big shonens. Probably not in the big three for the foreseeable future, but it's no slouch either
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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