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Dec 25, 2024
I’M REALLY GLAD THAT ANIME ADAPTATIONS THESE DAYS ARE LARGELY FAITHFUL TO THEIR MANGA. I was so excited about this special, but unfortunately, it was disappointing.
I knew the TV series deviated from the original harem manga, but I hoped for something different here since this is a standalone Christmas story. Instead, it feels just like the TV series.
If you only know the Love Hina anime, this might be a dream come true thanks to its animation quality, cozy moments, and glimpses of character development. But as someone who fell in love with the manga (even after struggling through a boring first volume), I can’t help
...
feeling let down.
What’s funny—yet sad—is that Ken Akamatsu himself drew a mini Christmas arc (chapters 48-52) that would have made an amazing OVA. That part of the story includes genuine character development, justified drama, a major revelation, and even a few kisses—all wrapped in the melancholic glow of Christmas tree lights. Volume 6, which features this story, was published in February 2000, while the anime special didn’t air until December that same year. I don't get why they preferred an original story over adapting something canon.
In conclusion:
-Love Hina anime fans: Merry Christmas!
-Love Hina manga enthusiasts: Let’s ask Santa for a remake next year!
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Sep 25, 2024
Stop hesitating about whether or not to read 81diver—just dive in, but make sure your mind and heart are fully open.
You do not know anything about shogi? Cool! No problem! NEITHER DO I, and I have read (and kinda cried) this twice, without mentioning the countless times I have reread some passages of it (specially the ending) just for the amazing feeling that Yokusaru Shibata managed to convey in a lot of scenes.
This ain't no manga about just shogi, but rather about growing, maturing and the never-ending chase for our dreams.
*WHAT IS IT REALLY ABOUT?
Have you ever felt that a single moment, within mere seconds,
...
completely changed your life, never to be the same again? That happened to Kentaro Sugata, our main character, whose path to become a pro shogi player was completely cut off when he lost a game during an exam. Now, disappointed and alone, he survives each month through illegal shogi gambling... and he's not half bad. But one day, a serious-looking woman known as The Champion of Akiba (or 'Milk' in her day job as a cleaning maid) crushes him in a few moves. Now, with his pride utterly shattered, what does he have left?
*WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS WITH AN OPEN MIND:
With that base, 81diver starts off in a very down-to-earth scale, introducing a bunch of charismatic (and kinda weird) characters that take part in Kentaro's road to defeat The Champion of Akiba. But, as the story goes on, Yokusaru Shibata's style emerges more and more in each page; if you are familiar with Air Master, the most popular work of him, you may know what I am talking about: creativity with (almost) no limits.
To take a broader well-known example of this without giving in any spoiler, I'd say it's like read Jojo for the first time: "What, this was supposed to be a family tragedy involving two young men over the wealth of the Joestar Family, where did vampires come from?", "wait, what? a cyborg nazi soldier?", "yeah, I get the idea of the stands, but why is that baby a user?" kinda reactions. Of course 81diver never reaches that point in such absurd scale, but it does something similar within its own rules. The way the concept of stands as "a psychic entity or avatar generated and used by its owner" gives an immense world of possibilities, Shibata does the same with the premise "it's a story about people playing shogi"... why do they play? what kind of people play it? what else is happening in the city?
*WHY AM I WRITING THIS?
I consider myself someone with a difficult to satisfy taste in fiction, to the point that 20th Century Boys was my favorite manga of all time for like 5 years straight, then I stumbled upon The World is Mine by Hideki Arai and it became my favorite... but then I realized that only 81diver has made me reread it so many times, always feeling the same emotion as if it was the first time. It might not be as complex or philosophical as the other two, but it feels alive in every aspect; even with all the craziness that a lot of people complain about it, the passion of the situation feels totally real. To me, this is what a manga should be from its very roots: an interesting story, with compelling characters, that give you something useful for your life after the read.
Yokusaru Shibata is a genius of his own kind. I REALLY admire him and all his works.
*BONUS FOR AIR MASTER (OR YOKUSARU SHIBATA'S) FANS:
If you have watched Air Master or read (literally) ANY of his works, then you MUST give this a chance. 81diver is a magnificent piece in a interconected and cohesive universe that nobody is talking about: the "Shibataverse" (term by me, btw). No matter what have you read or watched from this author, you'll find a lot of references (and characters!!!) from previous works, making the read of 81diver a very interesting one. To put an example without saying any name, there is a character that was introduced in "Tani Kamen" as a student, then as a street fighter in "Air Master", and plays an important role in 81diver, completing the circle of the complex developement that Shibata gave it after 3 different titles.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jul 2, 2024
Fact: Blood Lad is an underrated manga that could've become a legend if it had more than one anime season.
After I read the 17 volumes, I felt the urge to write a review, and that's so weird of me. Must be a good reason. I'll make it as short as possible:
PLOT:
The story is about a human named Fuyumi that somehow ended up in the demon world, freaking died there, became a ghost, and an otaku vampire wants to revive her in order to suck her blood because she's japanese. That's all.
I want to warn you that this isn't a dark manga at all. It has
...
some serious moments, but please do not expect this to be Berserk—it's more like Dorohedoro.
CHARACTERS:
The real soul of this work are the characters and their developement. Yuuki Kodama managed to create an ENTIRE WORLD full of interesting individuals with their own problems, contradictions and hopes (even for the ones that were introduced later in the story). This was the real reason why I could not help reading more than a volume each time I decided to read the manga. It's addictive to see what kind of wacky situations Kodama puts them in and how they react. You might feel identified with at least one of them, I'm 100% sure. They're pure gold.
STORY:
This is something truly interesting about Blood Lad. If you're familiar with monthly-released manga, you know perfectly that every single chapter always ends with a cliffhanger to keep you interested in reading the next issue, right? Well, BL (funny abbreviation, huh?) does the same, but here nothing ever feels gratuitous or out of nowhere. Every chapter, no matter what, is a step further in solving this big puzzle.
Unlike the majority of shounen manga, BL has no real arcs where our main cast finishes off a villain and then takes a break until the new antagonist emerges. To me, it feels like an anecdote, something like "you'll never guess what happened to me yesterday" because the story is a non-stop sequence of action and lore, like a really long shot (in cinematic terms).
Also, what I really appreciate about Kodama is that the conflict grows and grows because of the characters' decisions. Nothing happens "just because," but as a consequence of someone's actions. There is always a guilty party behind every plot twist. Using another analogy, BL is like watching the author play chess, where the same characters and conflicts transform depending on how they are combined.
P.S. If you're doubtful about the "pop anime culture references" everyone is pointing out, don't worry. BL doesn't rely too much on them; they're just funny references that only the protagonist uses because it's part of his otaku personality.
FINAL VERDICT:
Blood Lad is a great manga, please give it a try.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Sep 13, 2020
If you wanna read it, I'd recomend you to do just for fun... Grateful Dead does not offer anything new or fresh.
The plot is about a girl slashing chinese zombies and that's all. Every chapter will add few details but almost all of them won't affect the story until the last 2-3 chapters.
The only outstanding aspect in Grateful Dead is its art. It's hella cool, that was the reason I started reading it and it didn't never disappointed me. Besides the good character designs, the mangaka is so cool drawing fights, poses and using black and white to atmospherize the scenary. Too many panels
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are worthly to be printed, really.
If you just want to kill time, it is perfect. Fun, action, ecchi (?) and taoist zombie-killers.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Sep 8, 2020
Ryoko is such a good nekketsu. In fact, I really couldn't believe this was published in Shonen Sunday because is not the usual kind of manga the magazine has.
First of all, the plot has nothing to do with the typical mc's goal. Ryoko does not want to become the strongest person under the heavens or somethin' like that. She just wants to protect her family and provide the enough food for her father and little brother as her mother taught her.
And how she's gonna do that? Well, hunting down the monstruous foodstuffs wandering the streets just wielding a katana. No super powers.
On her way to
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protect her beloved ones, she may encounter allies and enemies... I won't tell any further but both are really worthly. All of them create a very small but great cast.
To end this review, I have to tell I enjoyed Ryoko so much. Plot, drawing, characters, fights and feelings made of this a good read.
I'm not gonna lie, since I finished it I've been searching more info about the mangaka, I think he has a looooot of potential, he just needs to publish a longer manga.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Dec 5, 2019
I decided to write my first review to Love Roma because it's a story that captivated me at first sight.
To begin with, Love Roma is a very rare gem in the industry. I'm pretty sure it isn't the best written one, the best drawn one... even I can't say it's an outstanding title between the genre, but its charming is beyond that.
WHAT MAKES LOVE ROMA SO UNIQUE?
Instead of being a conventional love manga which principal plot is the blossom of love (with the classic love confession almost at the end of story), Love Roma focus on the growth of that love:
"Yeah, these two now
...
are a couple... so what?"
From the very first page, Hoshino and Negishi start to learn a lot of things from each other, their friends, and family, while walking the path of a young love.
ART
Also, I'd like to mention its original artstyle. I've heard many times that Toyoda Minoru's art looks silly or childish, but I actually think it's so refreshing. Even though it may not seem like a "manga style", the designs of literally everything are way distinctive and full of personality... Manga covers and the color pages have beautiful color schemes that fit perfectly with the tone of the story: youth, hope, love, friendship and a bright future.
OVERALL
The story is simple but worthwhile, with funny and charismatic characters. Since LR only has 5 volumes, please don't expect an incredibly deep character development or something. However it's really ok considering its "few" chapters.
This is a story about people, their bonds, love, growing up and life. I really enjoyed it so much. Please read it. I'm sure I will re-read it several times.
(If you liked Love Roma as much as I do, then I'd like to recommend "Takeo-chan Bukkairoku" to you, another work of Toyoda-sensei. Bet you'll love it).
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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