Feb 4, 2022
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.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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