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Jun 28, 2020
Edit - I hate having to eat my words but hey, I took a shot. I loved something and I stood by it. I couldn't give 2 sh*ts about what people think so I won't alter my original review. My opinion of the series hasn't changed much. I still believe it could have gone a very long way. It's not my fault that the Japanese r cool will sexualized lolis but when things get real (like plagiarism topic), they cower into their caves. Anyways, I hope jump adds a sports series soon.
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At this moment, I'm merely 7 chapters into the series. And I've already
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given it 9/10. This is the first time I have given such high rating when I'm only 7 chapters in. I've been following this series right from the beginning and it has been amazing; in fact, it is nearly on par with the manga the main character makes!!!
Let me explain the outline - Our main character Teppei Sasaki is a failed manga artist. He has been trying for a long time but owing to his lack of depth, he is not successful; plus he tends to steal ideas from successful works. Just as he was about to give up on his dream of being a mangaka, he gets an Issue of Shonen Jump in his microwave!
As it turns out, its an issue of Jump sent from the future! This leads to great changes in his life, as it takes a whole new direction with new hurdles to overcome.
Our Hero tries to counterfeit a series "White Knight" that appears in the future Shonen Jump and takes it for himself, creating two parallel world lines, one where the manga is originally made, while in the other, our hero is the mangaka of that series. And then, he meets Itsuki Aino, the original mangaka of 'White Knight"!
Microwave Time Machine? Why is that familiar? Oh right, its a direct inspiration from Steins; Gate, the most popular time travel anime. The series is about a mangaka's life. Now before you think this is a second coming of Bakuman, let me stop you. It's not. Its completely different without the elements being a lot different.
One thing that strikes me in particular is how well it is suited to current Weekly Shonen Jump. Right now, Shonen Jump is extremely impatient with it's series and demands a lot too early. They barely let the story bloom before they axe it. This is of course due to the readers, who judge a bit too prematurely. Lets see, I've been following Guardian of the Witch, Tokyo Shinobi Squad, Red Sprite, Zipman, etc. What do they all have in common? They were all axed before they even reached 30 chapters. Lets see what some of the popular series were doing at 30? One Piece, the face of jump, was at Syrup Village arc and back then, it was barely good. Naruto was at Land of Waves, a mediocre arc. Bleach was still busy with Ichigo defeating low tier Yokai with Soul Society far away, so it sucked. Dragon Ball just finished giving panties to Oolong and was setting up the first tournament. So you see, the Big 4 weren't doing so great either and would probably get axed.
In this time of low security, all the starting chapters must be one hell of a banger, creating enough impact for the reader to want more from it. And that is where this series is shining.
- Chapter 1 ends with our hero finally becoming a published mangaka (one-shot) while the original writer in that timeline discovers that someone has beat them to the punch. Fantastic pilot chapter from all angles.
- Chapter 2 leads him to steeling his resolve about drawing the manga for real, whilst wondering why he got it in the first place. Great character writing done here. And then he meets Itsuki Aino! Didn't see that coming, did you?
- Chapter 3 was dedicated to create an amazing chemistry between our leads - slightly weird and funny, a whole lot of tension, a bit of a romantic pull too. It ends with our hero finally starting serialization.
As you can see, every chapter leaves us wanting more. We want to see how this progresses. We don't know if there is some ultimate goal here, we just want to know the near future. Waiting a week for every chapter seems like an eternity. And even then, the chapters don't end on cheap cliffhangers. How about that?
The story has been absolutely amazing. It gets deeper and somewhat darker as it passes. It never drags, but there is no rushing either. Our hero faces issue, he solves them, he moves forward. We see him go through all the stages needed for someone who is trying to create a counterfeit. And there is always the bigger mystery - why is all of this happening and how? So with clear short and medium term goals, the story progresses smoothly. I can't even imagine how it will go on.
SPOILER OF CHAPTER 7 - Skip to next para if you don't want this.
Our Hero has been copying the original work from another timeline well enough. Suddenly, a chapter is skipped. Turns out, the original mangaka has died in the other timeline. Our hero has nothing to do, as he is not capable of maintaining the quality of the series. He then receives a note which says he must keep drawing so that the cause of Itsuki's death can be removed. He now has to deal with his manga, as well as somehow figure out the Itsuki in his own timeline.
The characters department has been great. Our Hero feels surprisingly real. He has a good moral compass and still, he is not a total drudge either. He manages to settle his internal conflict and his resolve to make a superior piece of art only gets stronger. That is quite admirable. Our deuteragonist is a colorful girl as well. She is similar to our hero but dissimilar as well. With immense talent, she keeps working in her own way, trying to surpass our hero. They have a strange Sempai-Kouhai type relationship. Every one of their interactions is beautiful.
The rest of the characters have only received borderline characterization but they are all lively. But its only been 7 chapters, they have a lot of ground to improve on.
But all this was praise for Kenji Ichima, the writer. Now we check out Tsunehiro Date's artwork. Vibrant seems like an appropriate description. The pilot chapter has mindnumbingly beautiful art - clear, sinister and completely realistic. Its digitally made, so the clarity is impressive. The paneling has been great so far, showing us all the events in a way that's easy to follow and understand. The character designs are memorable - our hero is meant to look average and completely normal; that is achieved perfectly and yet, he sticks to the back of our mind. The genius deuteragonist is excessively cute and has an aura of genius and eeriness about her. The time machine looks scary and so realistic! Not to mention the stress, desperation, happiness, etc all emotions are so vivid for us. A truly amazing art.
I ranted so much based on just 7 chapters. I'll return if this makes 30 chapters and update all this. Boy I hope this doesn't get axed. Actually you know what? It wont'. This series can't get axed prematurely.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Feb 7, 2020
The anime-manga pool has a surprising lack of soccer related series. Being a soccer fan, I am so relieved. Out of the 4 soccer series I experienced, this is the second best. I'm someone who prefers a realistic, tangible approach when it comes to sports. For example, if we compare Slam Dunk with Kuroko's Basketball, we can see how SD is realistic and how exaggerated KB is. And yet, a normal audience will definitely like KB more, largely because of the over-the-top thrill and visual appeal it can offer. It is far too cool. And just like that, Blue Lock vs Ao Ashi is like
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the KB vs SD of soccer series!!!
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The concept of high school students having pro-level skills is stupid right at the face of it. But, it makes the series fun to read. I mean come on, it just means we get to see pro play integrated into a high school backdrop.
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I'll break this down:
Story (7/10) :
The main concept looks highly ridiculous at the beginning and yet, I can't help but be curious to see the progress. One thing I'm very glad to see is that it didn't take the cliche high school club setting. That is far too overused in the sports genre. As you can see from the MAL description, its all about bringing up a striker for the Japanese National Team. And so, the selection begins.
Pros -
> elimination system always keeps us on our toes. we constantly get to see a ranking system, incredible competition, a very shonen feel
> creativity of curriculum. due to the unconventional setting, the methods of elimination and their correlation to the actual sports is always so interesting
Cons -
> stupid, unbelievable skill levels and superhuman tropes. the teams are ranked from b to z, by skill. the V team shows pro player level skill. So one can just speculate what the B team might look like; they probably have ronaldo and messi in them
> lack of guidance. the students are there to be polished into better players. but so far, they have recieved little to no coaching. they are on their own. the story is so focused on progressing its main areas, it forgot some very essential side matters
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Art (10/10)
It is ridiculously good. Its close to the artwork shown by Yusuke Murata in OPM. Mind you, I said CLOSE, its not there yet, just in the ballpark.
The art is sharp, vivid and highly engaging. It is largely owing to this stellar art that I enjoyed it so much. The flow is smooth as hell, the character designs are very innovative and it does a tremendous job in showcasing impact.
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Character (6/10)
Due to its plot driven nature, the characters have suffered. While the main character and his constant self discovery is quite interesting, the side characters are quite one dimensional. Most of them are being defined by their supposed "skill". The first 2 volumes had little to no development. The 3rd volume started to shed some more light on the characters. Some of them got well developed. 1 of them even got a backstory, which was mediocre, cliche but still, a start.
This is definitely the weak link and needs a lot of work.
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This series is highly enjoyable. It doesn't matter if its realistic or not, doesn't matter if characters are weak. It delivers immense thrill and its this adrenaline pumping nature which gives it such a wonderful score. Technicalities may be weak but the heart, is strong. Every chapter has you pining for the next. And this is precisely why, despite preferring realistic series, I gave this one such a high score.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jan 24, 2020
The anime-manga pool has a surprising lack of soccer related series. Being a soccer fan, I am so relieved. Prior to this, I watched Captain Tsubasa and Days. CT was aimed at a much younger demographic and it could not interest me (no insult intended; i know its an og series with immense credibility). Days is plain pathetic and wrong.
Ao Ashi is a fresh breath in the sports genre. It is not bound by the highschool sports club cliche. That is far too overused. This series is all about club soccer with direct ties to the sports scene.
A young middle schooler, Ashito, whose
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skills in soccer outshine everyone in his small, no name town is noticed by a renowned coach, who grew up in the area. The coach, Fukuda, is impressed by his raw talents and invites him to a tryout in Tokyo. Ashito is a diehard lover of football and Fukuda gives him a glimpse of his dream; the dream to push Japanese football to the international level and with sufficient preparation, dominate the international leagues. The excited Ashito enters a whole new chapter of life, the chapter of hope, possibilities, struggle and fame.
The artwork is extremely good. We get a clean view of everything and the mangaka has a very nice way of portraying the action. We understand how the game is going on. The clear passes, the impact of charges, the tackles, the missed shots, everything stand out beautifully. The character designs are unique with different hairstyles, plenty of expressions and costumes.
The characters have been the best thing so far. Our hero is clearly inspired by Tsubasa. He used to carry his team back in his town and despite being somewhat selfish, he is painfully self aware. He has the skill of judging everyone's positions and knows his way in the field. He's a treasure trove of potential but has a lot of quirks holding him back. We get to see his incredible mental fortitude and his eagerness to keep playing. Despair, skills, injuries, nothing will stop him from pushing harder. The coach is a decorated player with incredible achievements. Due to a terrible injury, he had to retire prematurely and is now, steadily progressing towards his dream. We get the female lead, a very meticulous and resourceful girl who knows a lot about the sport and helps out greatly. For some reason, she takes a liking to Ashito. Then we get the huge amount of players, some of them shining in a surprisingly small amount of time.
Overall, the 29 chapters we fully packed with so many events. Faced paced yet never rushing, this manga has my full attention.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Dec 24, 2019
Welcome to the Fourth season of Food Wars, or better said, Food Fetish. The best culinary school in Japan just had a change in directors and things are facing an impending revolution. Last season, we saw how the new director is gonna revolutionize the gourmet world by snatching the freedom of chefs and making them adhere to strict defined rules of elite cooking. Our heroes strongly value their ability to experiment on food and strive to achieve new heights of culinary greatness. So, in order to protet themselves and their new tsundere comrade from get stripped of their freedom, they form a rebel group. In
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this verse, everything is decided by a Shokugeki and hence, the Shokugeki tournament in this season.
This season takes everything the anime had built over the past 3 seasons and tarnishes it. For the past 3 seasons, we have been presented with fantastic progress and each event was better or atleast, on par with the previous. However, that set the bar a bit too high. This season, fails to surpass what it had formerly estabilished. It doesn't even try to go high and still, it ends up surprisingly subpar.
Let me elaborate. Until now, we had 3 parts to a Shokugeki: The Preparation, the cooking and the judging. Each part excelled in its own way.
---The preparation helped in showing the character's hardwork and out of the box thinking. We all loved to see Soma rack his brain all night and come up with new, innovative ideas.
---The cooking part lay emphasis on new cooking techniques, be it french, italian or japanese, new technology, sudden pivots to up one's game and ofc, aroma magic. Do not sleep on the aroma factor, aroma defines 50% of taste. Also, we got to see SOma being a sous chef, which is a huge experience in the culinary world. After all, chefs work as a team in restaurants and they properly coordinate their efforts. This is what the internship arc was for.
---The judging part makes food wars one of the most unique anime out there. It is here that we get to see what compliments what, which ingredients change the direction, which ingredient adds extra flair, how arrangement works, how to take atmospheric effects into consideration, etc. And then came the foodgasms; the place where ecchi is so damn delicious. Nearly all the food tastings showed a unique way to please the judges and so many different ecchi postures. Don't get me wrong, the ecchi is food wars is actually enjoyable.
The former seasons gave proper time to these stages and fleshed each of them out carefully. Both the main character and the oppoent got their own screentime, thereby creating a sense of tangibility. Often, they'd interdigit two of these steps and create a seperate, non linear experience. It riled things up and kept everything fresh for the viewers.
Now comes season 4. It is incredibly rushed, mushing in 12 fights in just 8 episodes. Cumulative prep time and cooking time were cut down to nearly less than 8 minutes per episode. So, the positive impact of these got lost. The judging got sufficient time but even then, it fails to impress. The creative ecchi coupled with incredibly delicious sounding, detailed judgments were reduced to bunch of cliched ecchi and ingredient listing/complimenting. They saw that we enjoyed the judging part the most and so, they put all their chips into the judge slot and STILL, lost the bet. As an end result, we got a half assed combination on very short, nearly non existant cook-prep time and another set of longer, still half-assed judge-prep time.
Its a tournament arc but it falls flat. There is no real fear of loss, no proper motivation to win, the battles were completely lacklustre and on top, EVERYTHING is horribly rushed. the first 8 episodes went by in a so quickly that i didnt even realise tht im watching a water down version of what i love. It is at episode 9 when shit slowed down and I got some time to think about what I watched. [If I had watched weekly, I'd have realised sooner. But I binged, so it took me some time.] There is no build up of hype, only milking of former hype. There are only a handful of glory moments. Most fights are lacking in all departments and so, none of them are distinguishable(except 1). I didn't get ANYTHING to cherish. Felt more like a glass of cold water that i gulped down when i excepted hot chocolate to savour.
Lets get to the characters now. A tournament is one of the best methods to flesh out a character. Most of the characters in season 4 are quite developed already. So the anime uses this chance to neglect it. Only 1 character gets decent development, the rest get little to none. Neither sides of the battle are allowed to shine properly, whereas previously, they shined equally. As i mentioned, there is no prep or cook time so the window of further development is very narrow. The antagonists were being built up right from season 1. They were shown as a bunch of legendary figures and boy was I excited to see them. Unfortunately, I got just a teeny tiny portion of what I expected. Their development was simply sidestepped by giving a shallow backstory to each of them that accounted to nothing. None of them were fleshed out properly here. Out of 10, only 3 of them felt somewhat satisfactory because they were already partially developed in the previous seasons. Remember, if the opposition is not good enough, the hero's victory doesn't look half as good as it should.
The animation is still fluid and refreshing to look at but it has lost its dynamic edge. Repetitive shots and unimaginative movements are all over the place. The OP is good, maybe it catches on; i wouldn't know cuz I'm already obsessed with "Toss a coin to your Witcher". Soundtracks weren't bad either, some of them did a remarkable job in compliment the scenes.
In a nutshell, S4 is a big disappointment. The 3 episodes of the stagiare arc had better quality than all 12 episodes of this season. I'd sooner rewatch the first 3 seasons 10 times than rewatch this one.
So that concludes my review. If you feel I'm being biased or wrong in some ways, feel free to comment on my wall. But, before you do anything, try comparing the 5th bout featuring Soma-Erina and Eishi-Rindo with the Triple threat featuring Soma-Hayama-Ryo, you'll probably see why I'm this disappointed.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Feb 4, 2019
Alright !!! As promised, I'm back to update my review since Chainsaw Man has finally reached 25 chapters. Yay??!!! I'll update once more if this reaches 100 chapters. I've been following the series right from chapter 1. Tone has shifted. If you are a horny teenager who loves some bloody actions fashioned with pseudo-echhi moments, congrats, you've picked the perfect manga.
Outline : We find ourselves in a world filled with devils. They range from pretty to cute to pure disgusting abominations. Our hero, Denji, is a poor dude with a pet living a harsh life. His life was isolated and pretty simple until shit happened
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and he died. But wait, he heart merged with his devil pet and he became a pseudo devil-man. He gets a badass new form and now, he's out for more. He gets hired and now he becomes a devil-hunter. Where will his bloody and murderous journey lead him?
Story : Right from the first chapter, the story has never been slow. It has a very nice flow to it and I feel comfortable with the current pace. It doesn't drag out any scene. The fights are gore-filled to the brim(c'mon, its chainsaw man.....pretty flowery highschool romance ain't needed). The short, but rage filled fights are pretty dope to look at. There are wholesome, lovely moments too and there are a few naughty moments here and there. We've already past the arc of Denji's misery. Now we get to see him care for his dick and get some blood.
You see, this has become a pseudo-ecchi action series. Kisses, boobs, sex, crush, etc goes hand in hand with the action. Our hero is great at killing. He's basically a chainsaw that massacres everything in its path. Nothing short of highly mutilated death would stop him. He goes in, he absorbs pain as if he enjoys it and he massacres. You don't see normal superhero actions, not that naruto or dbz style fights. These fights are basically no rules street fights, you kill or get killed in a very messy and unsettling way. BUT, hold up!!! The writer fuels the non-action parts with raunchy stuff. Denji is a horny dude and his sole motivations are touching boobs, kissing, french kissing, sex, licking his crush, etc. Welcome to a virgin's world !!! xD
I must add, the story steadily kept me interested in it and will keep getting better. The current arc is extremely interesting with a very promising villain. Since I'm reading the Masterpiece Wano arc of One Piece and Monster Arc of Onepunch Man side by side, this manga seems mediocre to me, I'm sure that on its own, this is actually better than what I claim here.
Characters : Character development has been quite impressive. We've seen a notable increase in the side cast and so I have stuff to go on.
Denji - So far, we've got quite some character development on Denji's part. His motivations are funny but hey, he's just a simple guy. Denji is a horny virgin who would love to get laid. Turns out, he has integrity; he wants to do the raunchy stuff only with his crush. He usually tries to turn away offers from others but can't help himself. Don't blame him, the guy just got introduced to the world of the pleasure. So Denji's deeds of actions are wholly based around getting some dick action. MINOR SPOILER : He helped his female teammate in fighting a vicious opponent just so that he could touch boobs for the very first time.
Pochita - Denji's loyal devil dog who showed its greatness by saving its master right from the gates of hell. Their bond is truly touching and even though it got very limited exposure in the manga, it won our hearts.
Makima - Denji's crush and his boss as well. She is Denji's main motivation. Denji would do anything to impress her. She is probably a sadist. She is highly manipulative and a total control freak. She'd possibly whore herself to achieve her demands. However, she has the power to capture others' hearts and make them submit to her. She's the character from whom I have the most expectations of development.
Power - She is the funniest of the bunch. She is a potential deuteragonist contender. She has padding on her boobs lmao. She eats a lot and her motivations are funny as well. She is kind of a comic relief. However, at times she shows conviction.
Aki - Another potential deuteragonist contender. He is the most interesting character so far. His motivations and goals are not fully clear. We know he's quite righteous and sticks to his ideals. He is an admirable fellow. He stands by his comrades and his partners tend to like him and vice versa. He has a rivalry with Denji, both in action, leadership as well as over Makima's heart.
Himeno - She is the one who we all loved and hated at the same time. Her actions are pleasing, her motivations and her character is admirable. Her care for her partner is very moving. She is loyal, horny and definitely something to look forwards too. :'(
There are others as well who show promise and will probably become more intesting later on. We have recently encountered two very intriguing villains and the future chapters will possibly go uphill.
Artwork - The art is okayish. I expected it to improve but nah. For a battle series, it is somewhat suitable. Its messy, its convoluted and it reminds me way too much of Tokyo Ghoul fighting panels. In a nutshell, it has a sketchy feeling to it. It lacks intricate details that one might expect from non-action scenes. At times, the sketchy feel is annoying. However, its not enough to throw you off. Its not pretty but during battles, it does depict the adrenaline flow well enough. The messy-ness contributes to the gory scenes in a positive way. I try my best to like this art but fuck it, I repeatedly disappoints me. You don't get to see that one stunning panel that'll move you, that one tiny detail that you'd wanna recheck 10 times. Even the sexually stimulating scenes have a look of disarray, as if the mangaka has to take a shit and so he quickly did the artwork. The character faces are disfigured, the shapes are inconsistent, the backgrounds are bland and so.
So for now,
Story --- 7/10
Character --- 8/10
Art --- 6/10
Enjoyment --- 8/10
Overall --- 7/10
I still have high hopes for this series. I believe the story part is gonna be fantastic. The art art has lost me but I'll try to take it in. Other than that, my believe was right. It has become very interesting. I hope it keeps running, whilst improving its art(plz), broadening its reach.
I'd recommend this to teenage boys. Adults should steer clear and go for seinen or some mainstream shonen. But hey, its always your choice, don't let me discourage you. *PEACE*
P.S --- This is my first review. Hope I did well.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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