At the time of writing this review, there are only 60 chapters translated, so I will only be covering those. Also, spoilers for the first 10 chapters.
Shiori Experience isn't a groundbreaking manga, nor does it try to avoid overused cliches in it's storytelling, as a matter of fact, it's full of cliches that you would find not only in manga, but in other media as well. A loser main character who suddenly receives the power of a legendary person? Check. A delinquent who purposely avoid their only friend with the intention of not hurting them? Check. A creepy character who is obsessed with the
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supernatural? Check. A student being trained by their rival? Check. The popular kid getting shunned by their classmates for hanging out with the "loser kids"? Check. An evil organization orchestrating behind the curtains of the story? Check. Western media being portrayed from an eastern point of view, but coming off as goofy? Check, and that's not even half of the cliches that this manga has and that's what makes this manga so good. It doesn't try to be different or special, and that authenticity just makes it even more special to me.
Also talking about cliches in characters, the cast, and I mean the whole cast, not just the main cast, growth is this manga's strongest point, and without trying to spoil too much of the story, allow me to introduce you to the first 4 main characters.
Shiori Honda, a plain, forgettable 27 year old teacher that just love to clean and save money to pay her family debts, whose dreams have died with the disappearance of her brother and would gladly settle with the good ol' happy bride and a happy family with her crush, gets a little jealous with the popular teachers in the school, and thinks that music would bring nothing but misfortune to those who are unlucky enough, would start her journey into being a rockstar, the thing her father despises the most, after being cursed by Jimi Hendrix, throwing away her boring dreams, and rekindling her passion of music, from practicing in the school bathroom, and graveyards in the middle of the night while wearing a helm to protect her identity.
Akane Isuzu, a failing member of the school's music band, who after getting kicked out from the band, joins Shiori's light music band as the first member, but would start to question her presence in a rock band as a saxophonist, asked to be trained by her former mentor, who also happens to be Shiori's rival to gain back her place, both sonically and figuratively, in the band, and she goes as far as signing her own resignation paper with her own blood from practicing the saxophones too much.
Hatsunori Daiba, a member of the baseball club that gets mocked for his love of old rock music, who discovered his love for drumming after meeting his school's ex baseball ace, who quit the baseball club and school to pursue his passion for drumming, would throw away his parents expectations of a good student, and would gladly be chastised by his peers, and his own coach, who also happens to be his own father, if it means he could play the drums, to be accepted for what he loves, and meet the person who inspired him to be a drummer once again, not as a fan, but as an equal.
And Prince, yes, Prince, who probably is my favorite character in the story, is a musical genius who could play a lot of instruments, and yet struggles to find his place in the band, and feels like nothing but a replacement for the other members, at one point in the story, would have one of the best character development in the story, and that is without any spoilers whatsoever.
The antagonists in this story is absolutely amazing, and although I won't speak much of them in fear of spoiling the fun for you, just know that they delivers.
The art, despite looking goofy at times, is really dynamic, not just in a music manga standards, but action battle shonens as well. From hyperbole, metaphors, similes, and personification both in the panels, and the art, that enhances the the flow of the story, and paints a vivid picture of how the song sounds, empty panels that shows emotions of the characters and their conflict, to excessive onomatopoeia that fills the entire panels, filling them with energy, and oh boy is the hype delivered every single time.
The story, is the textbook definition of a perfect story, with all the cliches and tropes, but pulled off masterfully without trying too hard, and taking itself too seriously. As a matter of fact, the story is quite comedic as times, from Shiori trying to "seduce" the principal to her cosplaying as Jimi Hendrix to uncover an incident that happened to her band. But the story strongest asset is in its ability to show the struggle that Shiori will face in her journey. It's not all sunshine, where the band's first ever live performance just magically caught everybody's attention, and gets the crowd going with the band. They fail, and they failed miserably. That failure even made me cringe from the second hand embarrassment of being ignored on a live concert. But these are the things that makes the story so damn good. You just want to see them triumph and succeed in their goals, and when it happens, it just feels so sweet and I assure you, you will be shedding a few tears as well.
Overall, this is the best music manga ever, in my personal opinion, and I'm glad it's getting the attention it deserves. I just hope if you just happen to stumble on to this manga from those Kurt Cobain and Jimi Hendrix manga panel posts from Instagram, that you could enjoy this manga not because it has some musical legends in it, but because how great this manga is.
10/10, would reread it again for the 30th time.
May 22, 2022
At the time of writing this review, there are only 60 chapters translated, so I will only be covering those. Also, spoilers for the first 10 chapters.
Shiori Experience isn't a groundbreaking manga, nor does it try to avoid overused cliches in it's storytelling, as a matter of fact, it's full of cliches that you would find not only in manga, but in other media as well. A loser main character who suddenly receives the power of a legendary person? Check. A delinquent who purposely avoid their only friend with the intention of not hurting them? Check. A creepy character who is obsessed with the ... |
