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Dec 30, 2024
Uh.. wow.
*Spoiler free*
I decided to start AOT because it was another series I had zero background knowledge in, and had heard mostly good things about it. Admittedly, it took a long time for me to get through the first quarter of AOT, but after I reached a certain point I genuinely couldn't stop myself and was reading at every opportunity.
The art is weak in the beginning of the story, but I've never been one to care about the art in a manga. I enjoy when it's unpolished and sloppy, to be honest. As time went on though, Isayama clearly got more comfortable and experienced
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with drawing. There are some seriously breathtaking pages and spreads that you can tell had a lot of love poured into them. The shady, dark, sometimes-scribbly art sets the tone for the story before you even know anything about it, and makes the setting feel incredibly real. It feels like I can hear the sound effects and smell the locations, they are portrayed pretty damn well, and the paneling is compelling and well done as well. One thing I never got used to was the horses though, they always feel like rubber toys, even up until the end of the story, and for some reason they tend to have giant butts? Idk.
The characters are really real. I won't get into details to avoid spoilers, but the different groups of people in the story convey real life issues pretty well through their characterization. There admittedly is some cliche that comes from the politics of AOT, but I find it hard to fault the story for that when it's still pretty realistic that way. On a smaller scale, the characters themselves are great. It really feels like each person's motivations, inner thoughts, beliefs, and feelings were consciously thought of and conveyed through the subtleties in actions and dialogue, and the story does a great job at making sure no one is introduced without any significance. This is incredibly impressive because all of these moving parts are managed delicately from one story beat to another, that is, characters changing their beliefs, growing mature, straight up losing it, reaching that boiling point, having their world turned upside down.. it's all done very well and it rarely feels overwhelming.
What a story, what a world. I won't say too much but the ups and downs are felt in the heart, man. Every triumph and failure has impact and feels like it will leave a lasting mark on the story, and nothing seems to be forgotten in AOT. This kind of ties back to what I was saying earlier about the characters being convincing. They are shaped by their experiences very convincingly and it really feels like they lived through these events. As for the worldbuilding, it's just so well done to match everything else about the story. Every single thing we learn about the world is a small piece of a bigger piece, which then makes up a bigger piece that finally, at the end, comprises the big picture. The effectiveness of withholding certain information while keeping a realistic amount of exposition is not lost on me. I desperately needed to know more with everything I learned. The lore is incredibly entertaining and I never felt like it distracted from the main story.
The plot structure of AOT is a perfect match for the story itself. Flashbacks and even flash forwards are just so well placed and outline a story where you need to keep reading. Admittedly, near the final arc, I did have to do some retracing and recounting from time to time to make sure my timelines were all in order in my head, and even then I'm not sure I have it all right, but that may just be me. AOT feels like it's a novel with manga visuals at times, with how much thought the structure of the story seems to have put into it, and the effectiveness of it plays into this as well.
Because the characters, setting, and plot of AOT are so convincing, the amazing story hits that much harder.
TLDR: Well done all around, in a way that I can't really believe was pulled off, and uniquely so to AOT. Definitely try!!
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Dec 30, 2024
*Spoiler free*
Throughout all the time I've spent reading manga and watching anime, I never gave Dragon Ball a chance. From what I had seen, it just didn't appeal to me. I dismissed it for a very long time. After Akira Toriyama passed away, I felt more inclined to give his story a chance.
I seriously wish this series was something I had picked up a long, long time ago. If you're getting into it because you've seen some crazy colorful transformations and insane planet-busting fights, the beginning of Db may not appeal to you. Admittedly, I had to ground myself in order to start it,
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and realize that the muscular men flying around with crazy hair and auras won't come for a little while. The beginning of Db is a humble story that never takes too long explaining itself and never takes itself too seriously, but neither of these things are to its fault, as a matter of fact, I would say these two factors contributed the most to my enjoyment of early Db. It may have you rolling your eyes at something that's outright dumb and anticlimactic, but it's hard for me to say I ever expected what I got. It's also hard to say that I wasn't chuckling a lot reading this. From the start, Db is a manga that bleeds with the feeling that the author was enjoying creating it.
Overall, the characters are brilliant. They seem to come so effortlessly, and are so convincing that even when you're just introduced to someone you feel like you already know them. Toriyama played into tropes so well without being cliche, something that I'm not sure how he managed, which just makes it even more impressive. Not to mention that the characters are excellently designed. He conveys a lot through the shape language and subtle appearances of every character and it's just so damn well done every time. I have no doubt he had a lot of scrapped designs hanging around that he went through to get to the perfect depiction of each character he introduced.
The art amazes me still. I always respected Toriyama from what I had seen here and there, but actually reading the manga is so different. I imagine I'll feel a similar feeling when I pick up a physical copy of Db for the first time, and read it on the paper as opposed to on a screen. Toriyama perfectly portrays just about everything he puts on the paper. Weight, impact, fluid movement, timings, everything leaves me feeling like I've just watched an animated clip after I've read a sequence. Seriously, the choreography is so effectively done, which is made even more impressive by the fact that Toriyama's art is made never over-the-top or flashy to drive a point home. The man's pen was as consistent as.. Idk, taxes and death? The art style underwent minor changes as the story went on, obviously the first chapter of Db looks different to the last one of Z, and Toriyama definitely improved over the years, but from the start his skill was impeccable and the vision he had was made crystal clear through his art style, which he effectively stayed true to.
TLDR: Never gave Db a chance, but now I'm floored by every aspect of it. I wish I could read it for the first time again.
Rest in peace Akira Toriyama, you genius.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jul 26, 2024
Spoiler free mostly rambling
Jujutsu appeals to an incredibly broad demographic of viewers, Just about anyone can get into it. The fights (arguably the most important part of a shonen manga) are usually incredibly easy and satisfying to read, and there is no shortness of heavy-hitting emotional beats within and surrounding them. The rest of the story's no slouch, though, despite what you may hear many people say. Intricate setups, very satisfying payoffs, and good twists all make the read enjoyable, and the reread almost more so . Admittedly, go and ask ten people what Jujutsu does well, eight or nine of them will tell you
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it's the fights. But I'll tell you again that that's definitely not all it has going for it though.
Gege's characters are undoubtedly some of the most likable in the recent history of Shonen, and Jujutsu seems to have more mainstream motion nowadays than a lot of manga could've ever boasted. It couldn't have gotten here with just fights.
What's sad though, to me, is that I think Gege leaves a lot unexplored in order to not overwhelm readers. There are so many layers to the story, the characters, the power system, and everything else in Jujutsu Kaisen that are simply never mentioned more than offhandedly by narration, or alluded to otherwise - An example I'd mention is Buddhist influence in the story. One place where this is allowed to shine through is the hand seals characters use, although I wouldn't say it's very explored. We're heading to the tail end of the story, and I can't say I have much faith for Gege to go head first into these scattered bits of intrigue most people don't pay any mind.
A lot of what I think are the ideas Gege'd be most excited to draw go under embellished because it'd push the story further into a niche. It'd alienate a lot of viewers. I can't condemn that, but it does make me wonder what could've been. Of course, I don't know Gege, so I could be totally off the mark here.
One of the only other real gripes I'd say I have is that Gege can be a little ham fisted at times, although this is admittedly rare and I wouldn't be mad if you excused it by citing unrealistic deadlines and overworking.
This might be the most contrary thing I say here, but the artstyle is incredibly effective and I love it. It's what got me to start. I think it's full of life and badass, and the roughness adds a lot of character. I do hear a lot of criticism of it, that it's too sketchy or not detailed enough, but I think it does its job very well and deserves praise.
The other positives have been spoken enough about Jujutsu, I feel, so I'll leave my review at that, but know that I agree with just about all the praise.
One sentence for new readers? Trust the process.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jan 2, 2023
*Spoiler free* The webcomic is better. I don't mean to be some kind of contrarian, but it's the truth. The webcomic, written by ONE, has a story which readers of the manga would not know past a certain point. Whether it was Murata or ONE himself who pedaled these changes, they are bad.
Everything changed in the manga seems to strive to appeal to a younger, or just dumber audience. Any sort of nuance was taken out of the story and the characters fall flat with the omissions and additions in the story.
The artwork, which people love to praise, is good. Undeniably so. However,
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I feel that it's similar to the altered plot in that it exists only to appeal to kids who love the jangling of keys in their face. Extravagantly crafted spreads mean nothing when behind them is a simply bad story. Regardless, the art style feels without a personality, it feels generic, and made to appeal to people who skip over the words in a manga to look at the pictures
TLDR: Changes in the plot from the original webcomic were bad and the art work feels dry and over the top for no reason. Read the webcomic instead.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Jan 2, 2023
*Spoiler free* After hearing constant praise about this manga I wanted to try it, and at the start it was a cool idea. Stories that center around the lofty morals of kids resonate with me and are often enjoyable, but this story felt forced, and incredibly pretentious.
There wasn't a moment that truly had me wanting to read more, but in my mind there had to be something at some point in the story that would make it all worthwhile. It never came. Even the ending felt like it was cutting off what could've came next, it was unsatisfying and left me upset with the author
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for concluding a story he seemingly poured so much into the way that he did.
The visual representation of Onodera felt arbitrary to me and while it is clearly to signify emotional shift within the character, it often felt like the author just drew what first came to his mind when he started moving his hand.
Some of the side characters are endearing or intriguing but never anything more. Nothing is ever truly done with them, even though it feels like so much time is spent with them.
The art is alright, but it really doesn't deserve all of the praise. There is nothing with the art that sets it apart from what else I've seen.
In the end, I don't recommend this work. It could have been 50 chapters shorter without missing anything meaningful, and it doesn't have a coherent idea of what it wants to be, it reads like the author was simply up on his soapbox.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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