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Why don't they ever write a story about the asshole instead of the 'nice guy' 'loser-kun?' That's essentially what began the process of breaking the mold with Koe no Katachi.

[8] : Art

I'm no art mogul, but I really enjoy the 'feel' of this artwork. The alternating line thickness really stands out to me. Sometimes it's thin and I take in the detailed backgrounds for each panel. Then it's thick and I focus on the astounding facial expressions. Those are two of the biggest high points for me and I truly feel this art is 'very good' on the verge of 'great.'

[10] : Character

Slice of ... life, school setting, romance in the air, you're already waiting for all the cliche characters to show up. Instead you're met with a deaf girl whose been put through the ringer, and the asshole trying to restore the happiness that once belonged to little girl naive of what lies ahead of her and her family. That's right, there's also a family element to this series that adds a layer of depth to both the development and complexity of our main characters. Mom and dad aren't just away on business the entire series *shock*. There's actually writing at work, and it's pretty damn good.

[8] : Story

Outstanding characters and very good art make it hard to file any grievances, but I wasn't that interested in the plot-device they chose to advance the characters and move the story. I felt that the pacing slightly dragged near the beginning, and although I would say the series ending was above average, I didn't get everything I was hoping for. Still, nitpicking aside, just the story's concept alone justifies the score.

[8] : Overall

If half scores existed it would get an 8.5 from me. Admittedly low-balling it a little here. This series will be a mainstay staple in what I recommend to friends in perpetuum. A breath of fresh air. Doesn't overstay it's welcome. Makes you think. Keeps you forgiving of it's flaws, and preaching it's merits. Feels like a classic. It's hard to believe it starting publishing in 2013. That's a damn compliment.

Eyeshied 21 is an American Football themed manga where a few hopefuls try to recruit and mature a team together for their joint goal of becoming the national champions.

[10] : Art

Thankfully the art of Eyeshield 21 is at the top of it's genre. Amazing action sequences, along with detailed shading and unique characters. The art will keep you reading long enough to appreciate the series even if a football-themed manga didn't initially appeal to you. Being a shounen series naturally there are "special moves," which are brought to life in an imaginative manner with this great art style.

[9] : Character

I feel like ... in the Eyeshield 21 universe, each character comes across as unique. The design for each character is well done, and overall very impressive. Where the character department starts to earn more of an 9, as opposed to a 10, is lack of development for certain characters (main characters not on the football team). The motivations for the characters although straight forward are well represented, and there isn't much room for criticism. There are certain areas that could have been expanded on, but despite it's length the series remains very on-task and I feel like some character backgrounds were left short deliberately, which didn't take away from the story as a whole. I felt one well-done and essential element to the characters was how they were introduced. In order for it to feel believable, there was often set-up before they faced each new team. The preview of characters talents or given examples of their notoriety in a natural sensible way, before they came into contact with the main cast, made it so you as a reader could be accepting of their power level (a level you identify that the main characters have worked so hard to achieve).

[9] : Story

The story for Eyeshield 21 is superb. The primary goal for the main characters is to become national champions, and in order to accomplish it they need to assemble a football team. The story follows the characters as they at first merely try to find fillers so they themselves can participate and carry their team. However, it develops as they find individuals with specific talents to compliment a certain role of the team. With each of the characters coming on board for their own reasons in this well-known "join up" style of story building (used in other manga such as One Piece, or Yu-Yu Hakusho) the team is finally given shape. More than just any of the characters individual dreams or motivations alone, they give their all for the sake of each other and the team as they innovate, train, and face opponents on and off the field. If this style of storyline progression appeals to you as it does to me, you're in for a real treat as Eyeshield 21 executes it in impressive and compelling fashion.

[10] : Overall

All in all, Eyeshield 21 is a very well drawn manga that goes far beyond it's underestimated sports-anime genre. It's compelling storytelling coupled with all the bad-ass shounen elements readers have come to love ingrained into these unique characters keeps the series in my personal top 5.

Nana to Kaoru is a series that takes the mature theme of S&M, and masterfully applies it to the relationship between two childhood friends.

[9] : Art

The artwork of Nana to Kaoru is a selling point of the series. One of the main characters (Nana), certainly is drawn with all womanly charm in-tact, and is the subject of a majority of the series ecchi scenes. One thing that makes this artwork really stand out to me is the great use of shading. Due to the focus on a lot of equipment used in S&M, backgrounds are made I believe purposefully plain so that things ... remain coherent, given that many of the artistically busy scenes are also dialogue heavy. The well-done shading makes the panels feel full (but not cluttered), despite being simple.

[8] : Character

The characters in Nana to Kaoru are well developed. The motivations for their actions are clear with good build-up, and add to the romantic feeling embedded in the mature themed scenes. One of the downfalls to the characters of Nana to Kaoru is that they fit very generic models; Nana is the "idol school girl," while Kaoru is the average "loser-kun." Their back-stories are also not exceptionally special or original (as revealed thus far), and they even have the generic "childhood friend" aspect to their relationship. Despite these cliche frames to them, you may be surprised to see that I still award the overall character aspect of the series an "8." The main reason for this is because the interaction between these characters is so unique and well done, with amazing attention and approach to the different levels of tension, embarrassment, excitement, lust, anticipation, and thoughtfulness, that it really brings out the talents of the author / artist in ways not many other series I've experienced have.

[8] : Story

The setting for the series is a combination of more cliches from high school to the apartments where the children are almost always alone. Setting aside, the other aspects to the story are pretty special. The arrangement of the inner-dialogue does a great job at conveying the thought process' of two totally different mindsets in the same scene. It masterfully works the S&M theme of the manga into the story in a very informative way, really explaining the author's viewpoints on S&M, or at least the viewpoints he's decided to use for his work. Aspects that I often find left out of series dealing with S&M are incorporated very well (for example, where does one acquire the props, how are they prepared, what's the stopping-experience like, what kind of up-keep do the items need?).

[8] : Overall

If you're interested in a series that can give you an informative aspect to the mature S&M theme, giving insight to both the S and M mindset, while still providing you with a high school microcosm feel, full of romance and well drawn plot relevant fan-service, all while keeping your heart pounding, then it's only a matter of time before Nana to Kaoru creeps its way into being in your rotation.

With a premise that may sound overdone (male lead in a supernatural environment going through his high school life trying to get stronger), Veritas really separates itself from the pack (I feel that among many things, one key difference in the way Veritas attacked this genre was that it hardly ever focused on the classroom setting, while still maintaining a school atmosphere). Regardless, Veritas excels at many things us manga (or manwha) lovers enjoy.

[10] : Art

The artwork for Veritas is perhaps one of it's highest selling points. I feel it is far above average when it comes to things like anatomy (particularly scaling of ... people's limbs / body parts), strong lines, clear action scenes, and most notably hair. Although hair might seem to be an odd specific to focus on, the hair in Veritas is perhaps the most well drawn of any piece I've read. The way the fight scenes progress makes it easy to understand what's going on, which even good manga sometimes suffer with.

[8] : Story

Don't let this "8" marking discourage you, Veritas is by no means just for show. The story is well written, fairly well flowing, and gives decent motivations for the majority of events. Characters weave in and out of their respective parts of the story very well, which to me is important. For example, when a character pops up into the story they are often revealed to be a certain rank, part of a certain group, or otherwise elaborated on to the point where you don't feel the power level they display is in any way unbelievable, awkward, or that their character is just thrown in for filler. Another part of the story I enjoy is that they DO have multiple "plot-twists," which are in some way alluded to before they happen, not that you would ever guess it.

[9] : Character

The characters in Veritas are nothing short of amazing. Backed by the exquisite artwork, and full of a wide variety of motivations and personalities, it's easy and fun to watch their interactions unfold and realize your favorites. The fighting styles in the story are mostly exclusive to each character which furthers their individual uniqueness. The main reason I don't label this aspect of the manga a 10 is because most characters despite their great design, don't have too much backstory. Childhoods and families are rarely touched on (with a few exceptions), but I don't really feel it takes away from the story overall.


[9] : Overall

Overall I would have to say Veritas is one of the best series I've read. The great character designs and well done fighting scenes really do the genre justice. If you're looking for a top-notch supernatural shounen, you're luckily to have found your way to Veritas.

UxU is by far one of the best, and maybe most addicting, manga I have ever read. This is one of the few series both manga and anime alike that I can safely award a 10/10. In terms of its individual elements, UxU flaunts its superiority. With a story that will keep you in your seat for hours, artwork that will make you wonder have you ever could stand half of the other things you've read, and character development that showcases a romance genre manga at it's best, you'll question how this series has gone so unknown. I myself am usually more interested in action ... oriented anime/manga, but UxU appeals to me greatly. It's the perfect balance of serious romantic development and enough harem/ecchi elements to maintain good fan service without sacrificing any value from the chapters. Another thing that attracted me to UxU was that it's less predictable, and more original than many other series of the genre. For example, the focus around a student/teacher relationship provides for a nice change of pace from your usual slice of life/ school oriented harem/romances. All in all, if you're a veteran to the genre, or you're looking for something that's worth a try, UxU is well worth your attention.

Death Note is certainly an Anime I can't help but touch on. Definitely one of the higher ranking Anime out there, this series comes across as one of the most successful shows that has valued intellect and planning over action and fighting. Judging by its individual characteristics, Death Note has decent art and sound, but an outstanding plotline that makes 37 episodes feel like it's gone the same distance as series such as Yuu Yuu Hakusho or Rurouni Kenshin. The downsides to this Anime IMO with regards to its art/sound, is only that I can't stand the dubbed version voicing(even more-so than most), and the ... lighting is a bit dark(even for an Anime centered around death). The intricacies of all the character actions with their different senses of justice really compel you to not want to stop watching this show until you've figured it all out. The main reason I give Death Note a 9/10 is because I very much disliked the ending, but don't let that discourage you from checking out this series and seeing it all the way through!

One Piece is superb in MANY ways. The quality of both storyline, and production for this series was leaps and bounds over almost any other. Although I admit the artwork for a long stride of the series was only adequate, the epic storyline full of ambition, unique and enjoyable fight scenes, and a display of some of the most unique and down right amazing characters keeps this Anime at the top of the charts. The depth of the plot really only grows throughout the series, and the fact that you only get more interested as time goes on just goes to show how they've managed ... to last 408 episodes thus far(with many more to go). Their are two other great aspects to this, and many of my other favorite Anime, that should be touched on. The power-scale of One Piece is by far one of the most balanced and in check I've ever seen. Each character displays his or her own powers or unique abilities/traits without the sense of repetition. The second "great aspect" to the series is the party-up fashion the story takes. I personally LOVE when an Anime starts with a main character and as the events unfold they establish connections with others and for one reason or another unite. One Piece IMO has encompassed this in their storyline better than any other Anime. However other examples include Yuu Yuu Hakusho, and Rurouni Kenshin. The only negative thing I have to say about this show is the dubbed version. In Summation, for those of you that don't mind subtitles One Piece is a top notch Anime that shows great fight scenes, in depth characters, and a plot that will keep you marking your calendars for the release date of the next episode.

As I'm sure you can tell by my ratings, I absolutely loved this Anime. However, what's more important is why it deserves each and every high mark I award it. When I'm thinking about how great an Anime is, or isn't, there are a few key things I consider. First off, this is one of the FEW Anime I can stand to watch dubbed. The voice acting of many dubbed Anime just doesn't match the characters in more ways than one, at least IMO. Secondly, I have re-watched this series many times and I still find it a good watch, and enjoy experiencing the battles ... and character dialogue(for the most part) again. The character development in this story was not as predictable as most, I'll spare those of you who haven't seen it the details, but it kept me interested. I also love the tough-guy facade of almost every male character throughout the series(with exception to Kurama), and how they all have their emotional struggles to balance with the amount of action in the series. Continuing, I like the art and fighting style that went along with this story. It managed to maintain a pretty good power-scale, which for me is noteworthy. The plot was very enjoyable and progressed with a very involved and intelligent sequence, especially since the main character is all but intellectual. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed going through this Anime multiple times, and for all of you who have yet to see it please do yourselves a favor and give it a look.