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I didn't expect to enjoy this.

I was already aware of the negative press towards this manga, and decided to read it to see what it was truly like.


I love the original game. Yume Nikki is so visually stimulating. As an artist, I just find that alone to be incredibly intriguing. Besides that, I enjoy the simplicity of actual game play. Exploring the worlds behind each door without story constraints is a calming, but fun experience. I also enjoy that since Yume Nikki lacks a story, it leaves so much for interpretation.

Moving it into the medium of manga takes away all these parts of the "Yume ... Nikki experience". With the lack of interactability, I no longer have an interest in it. The interactability of the game is what makes Yume Nikki "Yume Nikki". Taking that away strips it of its original intent.


The "story" makes almost no sense. It's so difficult to follow that I can't even write spoilers if I wanted to. Maybe that's caused by the writing itself, maybe the art and lack of mouths for characters, maybe the fast pacing in an attempt to put a full story into a volume's worth of pages, or maybe a combination of all 3 (three). But, nonetheless, I can't say I was able to enjoy what story elements were there. I could barely decipher what was happening. The fast pacing also caused it to be incredibly rushed. I don't think more chapters would redeem this manga, but I do think it could help to an extent.
Alongside the rushed story were rushed characters. You (reader) have no time to know the characters, even to the most basic levels. They just seem to appear out of thin air and act as if we have *known* them for years. There's nothing of substance to these characters of their "developement" throughout the story. I can see where it was attempted, but (perhaps due to the short nature of the manga) it didn't pan out properly.
This could be considered a personal nitpick of mine, but I feel like the addition of Madotsuki speaking ruins some of the immersion. The original lacking dialogue was a nice change of pace compared to the many other games I personally play. It works in that sort of 'basic protagonist" way so that you (player) can feel more immersed in the dream world. Madotsuki speaking could've works to an extent if her lines had any sort of substance, but her lines felt more or less shoehorned in and an unnecessary addition.


The art is okay. There's nothing remarkable to say here. I've seen many people make comments on the art itself, but I don't think it's too bad. However, one criticism I do agree with is the 'no mouths'. The lack of a mouth on a single character could've worked (Madotsuki would make sense), but on every important character makes it confusing. While reading, it took me some time to realise the text boxes were different depending on the characters. For the most part, I have no idea who was saying what and just had to give it my best guess.
The panels were confusing to navigate. Yume Nikki is known for it's cluttered visuals, but when putting that into a medium of black and white, it's more work to try and make things stand out. I also think that the framing of shots contributed to this in some way. The general spatial setting and placement of things felt confusing.


Overall, I wouldn't recommend it. This manga doesn't seem to understand what makes Yume Nikki enjoyable. It's poorly paced/rushed, has confusing artwork, and a boring story.

Play the game.

I have played the game.

Overall, this manga doesn't feel special.

The story is, for the most part, the same. It tries not to stray away too much from the source material.

I feel like taking one piece of entertainment to another medium can give you a chance to improve upon the source material, or change it in a way that more suits whatever the new medium is. Though YTTD is a mainly a visual novel, it's more interective parts help to keep the player involved within the story. They get you to think hard about the situation and keeps you on your toes as things are ... slowly explained. By moving over into a manga, you loose that sense of immersion.
This manga is moreso a copy of the game, and doesn't feel like it's trying to make it an interesting *manga*.

IMO it feels like the story was sped through. Maybe that lack of player input is to blame. But nonetheless, the story (thus far) feels rushed. It doesn't give you time to truly get understand each character in the introductions, and swiftly moves into the main story. I feel no sort of attachment to anyone because I don't know anything about them. The manga doesn't try to tell you who they are or really get to know them (you could even do this through subtle dialogue ).

Taking even a slight more time to get you used to everyone besides Joe would have helped.

The art is okay. It's nothing incredible or truly memorable to me, but not horrible at all. But when i look at it, I feel nothing.

YTTD is a story full of rich emotions and character, interesting plot twists and excited mysteries. This manga feels as though it doesn't understand what makes the game so incredible, and thought that just copying the story would work.

Conclusion - It's okay. An unremarkable and unmemorable experience. Almost like a manga for people who are already fans. This lacks that needed passion to make it something special.