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Oct 17, 2021
(This review was written after I read 37 chapters and dropped the series.)
Boring, uninspired shonen that likes to pretend it's anything more than that. Though the designs are cool and the premise is interesting, the story fails to make me wanna keep reading after 37 chapters and I feel like at this point I should be at least a little bit hooked.
The manga seems to try to make some point about morality and redemption with its characters, but it's usually really one dimensional and boring. People talk about this manga like the characters are nuanced, terrible, horrible people who have to deal with their
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guilt every day and struggle with morality and have to make difficult choices on their path to redemption- what it REALLY is is people who killed some other people and who like to pretend they're tough but are actually kinda soft on the inside. That's about the extent of it, and the manga wastes NO time in shoving that fact in your face unceremoniously over and over again. Oh, wow, the main character who's infamous for being a hollow killer is actually a softie who doesn't like to kill and loves his wife! How deep and original! It feels like the author is jiggling keys in front of your face.
The fights are okay, and the ninjutsu the main character has access to seems like it could be kind of interesting, but it doesn't really get expanded upon in any interesting way. The actual power system is basically Haki from One Piece (from what I've seen up to now, maybe it gets deeper or something). Except this manga lacks all of the context which makes Haki interesting in One Piece. The invincible bad guys use this power to... throw invisible projectiles. Like air blasts. And stuff. Very riveting abilities.
The story is just boring. Though the stakes are technically high, from moment to moment, there is zero tension. There's no huge battle with a time limit and people to save. There's no goal that has to be accomplished at all costs as soon as possible. I mean, technically, there is, but the sense of urgency just isn't there and the goal is very vague. The story basically follows our main cast as they aimlessly wander around the island and get into minor fights trying to find an elixir of life. Because of this, we know that every other prisoner is doing the exact same thing. None of them know what's going on. Why should I be worried that someone is gonna get to the elixir before our main character? The bad guys seem content just sitting around and killing people they bump into. They don't really have any overarching goal or purpose. So where exactly is the tension supposed to come from?
Overall a boring generic shonen which doesn't bring anything interesting to the table and fails to make any sort of point about morality even though it's the main theme of the manga.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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May 20, 2021
A boring story with mediocre mindgames and even less interesting characters, making it hard for me to care about the manga at all after reading 41 chapters of it.
The LGT Office is boring, just a bunch of nameless characters wearing masks who don't do anything interesting or unique. Nao is an annoying goody-two-shoes who only serves to take you away from the only part of the story that's sort of interesting, that being the mindgames. She doesn't learn to stop blindly trusting people. She still heavily depends on Akiyama (a Gary Stu) to do everything for her, another character who completely lacks charisma and
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exists only to solve every issue and win every game for her and others. Every other character looks and acts like a background character, similarly completely devoid of charisma and mostly completely dumb, serving only to further prove that Akiyama is smart, offering no challenge.
The games can be sort of interesting due to their simple and open rules, leading to what you would imagine would be a lot of tension and mindgames. However, it's usually quite one-sided and there's never any doubt that Akiyama will pull through with ease for Nao. The mindgames can be kinda cool sometimes in theory but end up being delivered in the lamest way imaginable.
The art is fine. The character design is usually pretty boring and uninspired. A few characters are notable, but generally they're not super memorable either. I can't really say anything is wrong with the artstyle itself, though. It's simplistic, but it does the job and looks good enough to me.
Maybe character development happens later on, maybe the opponents become smarter as time goes on- however, after reading about 20% of this series, I feel like I should be enjoying it at least a little at this point. I'm not. I'm not invested, nor am I interested in continuing it.
It's like Usogui, but without fights, unique characters, tension, amazing art and an interesting story. I recommend reading that instead if you enjoy mindgames.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Apr 17, 2021
A masterpiece that'll have you thinking about it for weeks to come. Fire Punch talks about basically every dark and messed up subject you could think of- but apart from a few exceptions mostly at the beginning, it's not meant to simply shock you. It paints a picture. It gets a message across.
The art is fantastic. The ability to make fire look bright in a black and white world filled with white snow is proof of the mangaka's incredible talents. In the dark or in the light, Agni's fire burns bright. Every character is unique and deeply flawed, offering their own view on the world
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and motives. The characters with regeneration blessings who have lived for hundreds of years contrast especially well with the characters with normal lifespans.
While the overall plot is captivating and filled with interesting, flawed characters, I feel it isn't the main focus of the manga, in a way. Art is to be interpreted, but personally, I feel Fire Punch is about futility, impermanence and finding a reason to live. The plot is pointless. Our lives are pointless. Eventually, everything disappears. But stories are eternal. As long as there's someone to tell them, they'll survive. I feel this ties in with the heavy movie themes the manga has. If you're gonna live in such a cruel, twisted world, you might as well do it to leave an incredible story behind.
Everyone interprets Fire Punch differently. Some people don't think there's a deeper message and love it simply for the story at face value. That's the beauty of it. Everyone sees life and the world differently. Everyone has different reasons to live. For a manga that deals so heavily with themes of life and mortality, it's normal that everyone sees a partial reflection of themselves in it.
It's a must read if you can stomach it and fancy something that gets you thinking.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Apr 17, 2021
A fantastic read which only gets better and better. It starts off kind of slow, but as the mystery deepens and more details get revealed it unravels into something incredible. The characters aren't the best I've ever seen but they are likeable and although some of them are hard to differentiate at times the great characters really stand out.
While some of the twists are predictable, they are still very enjoyable and the unpredictable ones will really surprise you. The awakened Yoma designs are beautiful and filled with detail, forming a fascinating contrast with the more human and simply-designed Claymores. To this day, the
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monster designs are still one of my favorites in any manga.
The world is dark and serves as a perfect backdrop for the plot. The fights are brutal, dismemberment being pretty common. Though there's a fair bit of nudity, it's never very explicit nor is it particularly sexual. It just happens- it's tasteful.
Overall a fantastic read of reasonable length which keeps you hooked the whole time, filled with mystery and violence.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Apr 17, 2021
Absolutely incredible. A masterpiece. Never has something kept me so hooked for so long. Though it starts off slow with a bad first arc and really subpar art, every subsequent arc is amazing and the art steadily evolves throughout the whole series to become fantastic towards the end.
Every arc besides the first one is consistently amazing and offers tons of suspense and foreshadowing, along with insane mindgames and payoffs. It's the kind of manga you need to really pay attention to while you're reading because it's easy to get confused at the crazy stuff that happens. I've often had to reread parts where they
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explain the mindgame in a gamble because they are always several layers deep.
The characters all have unique traits that make them who they are, especially the referees, making them very lovable and enjoyable personalities. The main character is completely insane- never has a degenerate gambler been this badass. The risks he takes are simply ridiculous, and the amount of excitement he gets from taking these aforementioned risks reminds you of what he really is- only to sweep you off your feet again when you realize what his plan was the whole time.
Once more, the art starts off pretty subpar, but eventually becomes stellar. The latter half of the manga is full of screenshot material, simply because of how beautiful some of the panels and spreads are.
This manga also has fights, though the main focus is on gambling. The referees are monsters amongst men who offer consistently over the top fights while still somehow being realistic- it's hard to explain. Their strength and dexterity is nothing close to human, yet they're still no match for bullets. A lot of characters also have pseudo-scientific explanations for their abilities. It doesn't make the most sense, but the fights are so brutal and enjoyable that you quickly learn to not question it.
If you like a complicated story full of foreshadowing, over the top hand-to-hand combat, gambling with life, unique characters, are able to deal with subpar art for a while and aren't put off by a story that starts off a little slow; Usogui will definitely reward you for sticking with it and seeing all the incredible moments and payoffs it has to offer.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Apr 17, 2021
Good, short read with incredible art and a very twisted story. The characters are believable and interesting- they have flaws, and they have pretty grey morality (apart from the obvious evil ones). It'll make you very uncomfortable and still have you completely hooked. The fights can also be pretty entertaining and involve very unique and cool designs. Fighting isn't the focus of the manga, though- it doesn't get in the way of the story.
Be ready to see some pretty disturbing stuff involving gore, minors and nudity. Yes, all 3 at the same time. I'm not really a fan of some of the stuff involving minors,
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but it definitely wouldn't be the same story if it wasn't seen through a child's POV, so I see why they're not adults. Obviously, though, they could've just not shown the aforementioned stuff when it came to them.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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