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Feb 14, 2022
This manga had a lot going for it. Its story is something that appeals to me a lot. The idea of your friends not being the same people as they were when you left is something I feel like I'd like t see explored more in ways similar to this. I won't say it's the most unique structure, but it definitely is engaging. Not to mention, it even went the whole running away on an adventure to become stronger plotline which is almost like an instant appeal point to me. That said, my overall feelings on this manga were a lot more mixed, sometimes negative.
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I'll start off with positives about this manga first because I want to be able to show that there is value to be found here and it isn't a 6/10 for me because it's mediocre all around.
Edit: actually tbh 4/10 haha after letting it sit in I did not like it.
First of all, the art is very good. There's a certain flare to the expressions of the characters that makes it evident what they're thinking or feeling without any dialogue boxes used. You find something as simple yet effective as this most commonly in larger, more important scenes in most manga, but this is one of the few that does it consistently even during the smaller moments.
Next, I think the general story is good. I explained at the beginning why I feel like this manga ahs story beats that immediately appeal to me. It's still a bit iffy in execution which I'll get to later, but the very structure of the story I think was good and made for some decent developments to occur.
And last notable positive, Sora and Tsugu are good characters. Their struggles, guilts, everything all make sense within the scope of the story and most of the decisions they make (key word being most) are all in line with such.
And on to the negatives, which is conveniently right after I talk about the two good characters in the story, because the other two of the main, sick girl and boxer(can't be bothered to write their names) are downright horribly written. Not only are they horribly written, but their dynamic with the two good characters I mentioned earlier sours my taste for even them, as it sort of muddles the point of their arcs.
Spoilers incoming.
Both the sick girl and boxer are just downright horrendous people. I'll start with boxer first. The concept of his character is that he used to be a nice, upstanding kid, but after he started to get bullied due to his dad getting into a pedo scandal(which btw also makes it hard to sympathize with the dad when that's what they decided to make his scandal. They should've chose something more forgivable or make him a victim of false accusation if they wanted to portray him as sympathetic, but that's very subjective I guess.)
Anyway, in desperation he asks Sora if he wants to go boxing with him, but Sora, not understanding at the time that it was a cry for help, declines. Eventually, when they get to high school, Boxer turns Sora into his and his group of delinquents' punching bag. The guilt Sora feels after realizing that he pushed Boxer away first is a really good motivation that explains why he takes the beatings and literal physical abuse(they throw darts at his back) without any resistance.
However for Boxer, this just makes him all the more look like a bad person. Doesn't help that he was about to throw a rock at an innocent dog that wasn't even attacking him. For me at least that is enough to make him almost irredeemable. Actually when you stack the shit he did to Sora yeah definitely unforgivable.
Even so though, if the author wanted to make it so that the group forgives him, they should've put a lot more effort in doing so. To my memory, not once does he apologize or feel genuine remorse for the things he put Sora through, which may I remind you includes MAKING HIM ATTEMPT TO KILL HIMSELF.
And then there's sick girl. Always jealous everyone got to hang out while she was sick. And eventually by the time we reach present day she starts to bully and go along with the plan to exclude Tsugu from their group because she's jealous that she's getting closer to Boxer when she knows she's in love with him. Eventually when she's left alone in school the other girls start to bully her (for the same reason she bullied Tsugu) whatever whatever. She wasn't just fucking boring but she was also a total prick for no reason. I abhor this character and she gets away with her behavior with even less scratches than Boxer. At least Boxer got socked in the face and his ass handed to him by a pro boxer and his fellow delinquents. This girl gets bullied, yes, which is bad, but she never has to face her sins to the people she wronged. Not in any meaningful way at least.
Which makes the rushed conclusion so much worse. I like the idea of spending more chapters having the characters mend each other's relationships. They don't need to fully forgive but I just need them to be able to develop a bit more instead of accepting things from the get go. Author had the right idea to make Sora dislike Boxer for most of the story and refuse to help him, but it doesn't feel like it pushes through ever.
Overall this manga is a victim of having two severely mishandled characters ruin a lot of the emotional core and developments it had set up. It was too rushed and the destination, while fine in a vacuum, came in far too soon for it to have a genuine positive effect. Do I recommend this manga? Well sure, it has a lot of interesting story beats still. I just personally found it too distasteful in how it treats forgiving two of the characters that it soured most of my experience in the latter half of the manga. 6/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Dec 18, 2020
*Overall score: 8.75*
No spoilers for this season up until I note, so just keep an eye out.
Haikyuu has quickly risen up my rankings ever since, and to be completely honest it seems to just age better. When I first caught up with the series, which was around September, so. before season aired, I made a review on the first cour of this season. It was a passive review wherein I praised stuff but I just felt overall underwhelmed. I still think some of my complaints there are valid, although a large majority of them were remedied once I caught with the manga as well as
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furthermore when I watched this season. While it did have 10/10 peaks, such as the King of the Court's return and the ball boy arc, most of the second half was unfocused, and considering it didn't even end right before the Inarizaki match began I ended up feeling like this half did not have a conclusive enough end point(For reference, the first half of the first two seasons both ended on a satisfying note, so if theoretically they were split in half I would not have found myself underwhelmed by it). Cutting in the middle of the Inarizaki match really made me a bit more hesitant on my enjoyment. Also lol aside from that one moment, the Dateko practice match was a mess. My review on the first season I plan to delete since a lot of my complaints I don't agree with anymore, and any complaints that remained I pretty much mentioned here anyway. That first half is a 7/10 for me now.
So how about this season? How does it hold up? Well, considering by the time it started I was caught up with the manga, I knew what was coming, and had high expectations. My only complaint about Furudate's manga is that the big moments come out of left field without too much buildup, but that's really just because most of Haikyuu's peak moments are just better in motion, so I don't consider it a detriment and I still think the manga is a 10. Though considering that even with that, Inarizaki was filled with hyped up, amazing moments, I was naturally excited to see it elevated even further in motion.
Safe to say, I was definitely satisfied. But just because I was satisfied, and still ended up loving it, doesn't mean I don't have complaints with some things. I am going to be a lot more lenient, because to be completely honest, I don't usually do things this way, but I don't dislike the show for any of the complaints I'll give because most of them are production-wise, and since it was being done during COVID, I can't help but feel like it was out fo their control. Everyone still put the most effort they could during these tough times, so while I won't hold back in saying whether this aspect of production is good or bad, I don't hold any ill will towards it.
The main issue is that the art and animation has a lot of drab moments. The new character models allow the animators to create more dynamic movements and angles, and when the animation peaks, it's miles ahead of anything seasons 1-3 put out. I remember the Hoshiumi scene in the first round during the first half of the season, and it was so dynamic I couldn't wait to see more. Unfortunately, while the most important moments of the story are given the most amount of care(see episode 9, for instance. Peak after peak), a lot of the littler moments aren't given that, and since they're not the most explosive moments, they end up feeling a lot more insignificnt.
---Spoiler mark---
Take for instance, Osamu resetting the ball set to him, or Atsumu doing that one really hard set, and basically all of Aran's attacks. These are not nearly as major moments as say, Hinata's receive or Tanaka's super inner cross shot, but if the production wasn't as shaky as the previous seasons, they would've been just as memorable visually, and thus make much more of an impact, leaving to feel like these players are top tier. Scenes like Tsukki blocking the twin quick and Hinata copying Seijoh's strategy to block him aren't given the treatment they deserved.
---Spoiler mark---
In any case, I am glad they didn't fumble the production on one of the aspects I think truly makes this season still "great". The flashbacks. Haikyuu has always been better than most at utilizing flashbacks. Since the story is predominantly about Karasuno and Hinata, showing the lives of the other teams and rivals outside of their own match just feels out of focus, with the exception of Nekoma, who as a whole honestly count as a deuteragonist/antagonist type of thing to Karasuno's protagonist. Oikawa's, Ushijima's, Tendou's, and Washijo's backstories always came in at the best time in previous seasons and were always presented beautifully. This season took it above and beyond. The Miya Twins, Kinoshita, Nishinoya, and Kita, without spoiling what they were about, were utilized perfectly. They gave further development, which was very much needed for 4 of those 5 people. Kageyama's arc I think was done great, although unfortunately it feels like one of those moments that wasn't as satisfying or amazing as it should have or could have been. Shame, considering he's the deuteragonist of the series, but I still think it was done really well and had its own impact. Tanaka's arc was outstanding. It characterized him perfectly, and had strong visuals too.
Actually, despite productions, I think one of my favorite things about this season is the visuals. I don't really mean the animation, but I'm talking about the visual metaphors and presentations of so many scenes.
---Spoiler Mark---
The Twin's minus tempo reverse quick attack was amazing, but nothing compares to the sheer menacing aura the anime was able to instill. Through the use of the music, as well as the sickly green aura that that is emitted by Inarizaki is amazing. The anime even added this visual effect to the cheer team of Inarizaki, perfectly showing how menacing that entire side of the court is
While that "We Don't Need Memories" bit of Inarizaki will probably be one of my personal favorite moments from how cool and perfectly suited to the scene it is, I love the scene of Hinata's hunger for playing volleyball more. At that point the rotation made it so that Hinata was switched out by Nishinoya, so he wasn't on court, but considering how Tsumu and Samu were both talking about how Hinata's presence still lingered strongly in the team, I love how the side of the court Karasuno was in ended up with this bright, equally menacing orange aura to it.
The anime really knew how to use these colors and applied them to the show perfectly.
---Spoiler Mark---
Speaking of which, did I mention how amazing the characters are? While production issues prevented us from really seeing visually how amazing players like the Twins, Aran, and basically most of Inarizaki are, I still think the very core of their character, and even more so in relation to their team banner, was captured perfectly. You really get a good sense of who they are individually.
I also love all the little callbacks there are to the two preliminary arcs there are. It really shows just how much Karasuno has learned and gone since the first season. The final point's callback to the first Seijoh match in particular was amazing.
Overall, I have to say that despite my issues with the production, I still think that the anime did a good job adapting the material. At times it even went beyond, although if we are looking at it as a whole, I still think the manga did it better. I much prefer Inarizaki's match rather than Shiratorizawa, although while the anime for the Shiraotrizawa match went above and beyond the manga, I can't say the same here, even if I still loved it. This season had pure 10/10 potential, although we've been spoiled by Haikyuu too much. This is still way better than most of the stuff coming out right now. I got a newfound appreciation for many characters. Many characters climbed up my favorites in both Haikyuu characters, and just fictional characters in general. Read the manga after this if you really wanna feel the immense skill of Inarizaki and Kageyama, as they were kind of lost in the anime, but regardless I highly recommend still checking this season out. Considering there were so much strong visuals even during the pandemic, even if there were a ton of more underwhelming moments, I can't help but thank the hard working animators and artists who worked on it for doing the best they could.
Could have been a masterpiece, but outside forces prevented it. Overall, an enjoyable experience that still captures the heart, themes, message, and point of the source material.
8.75/10
Story: 9/10
Art: 7/10
Sound: 8.5/10
Character: 10/10
Enjoyment: 9/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Oct 2, 2020
(Minor spoilers may be present however I will refrain from mentioning spoilers that may remove the "magic" of the story. Additionally, I will be mentioning aspects of the anime as well, specifically Animation, Natural and Origination, and giving insights to a lot of the anime as a point of comparison to the manga. Also, more specifically this a 9.5/10)
Given that I had watched, and loved, the anime of Aria, I knew for a fact that I would be enjoying the manga too. I had no idea that I would end up loving it this much, however. You see, for the most part the Aria anime,
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specifically Natural and Origination, were great on their own, the story and everything in it felt like it was all adding up to one of the best conclusions, with my only really complaint being that some of the episodes dragged a bit too much to my liking. The anime and the manga are pretty much 80% the same in terms of major events, although the anime did omit certain parts of the manga, both pretty minor and pretty major, as well as made major additions that made both versions pretty unique in their own way and overall worth experiencing both.
The manga is definitely a lot faster paced than the anime. The anime took its time in showcasing the world of Neo Venezia and its people, by making strong use of both silence and serenity, and calming music. At the same time, given that an anime has a 24 episode long run time, while the manga's episodic chapters went pretty quickly, the anime added conflict, which ultimately helped develop the characters better, this is something that I feel like the manga lacked that I'm glad the anime had. Although this caused the anime to occasionally drag, I feel like overall it was worth it and it paid off well. The manga could have really benefitted from having longer chapters and having certain "episodes" last perhaps 2 or 3 chapters rather than 1. That said, I still feel like the characters were extremely well developed, even more than most other manga. I just also feel like the emotional investment would be even higher than it is now if it chose to take its time and make each "episode" last longer. It just made for some more heartwarming moments, such as Alice's "self rule" episode. It's not abysmal pacing at all, it's just a bit fast, which is funny considering the anime's slower pace. That said, it didn't bother too much and I understand that my feelings would probably different if I did not have the anime in mind.
I am a bit conflicted with the differences in the anime and manga overall, for example, if you're a fan of Ai-chan, don't get your hopes up. Akari's pen pal is someone completely different(although I will say, who it is in my opinion is a way better fit for the story of the manga, especially with what it decided to focus on). Also, the order at which the episodes take place can make me a bit here and there when it comes to which medium did it better.
The manga's art is great, simply put. It actually makes up for the lack of sound design to help still create its own atmosphere, and the characters always look expressive and it definitely looks and feels more unique than most other manga.
Even so, however, despite lacking in the atmosphere that the anime exuded through its use of calm animation and sound design, the manga does have something that the anime cannot hold a candle to:
WORLD BUILDING! Actually, this is the main reason I chose to review the manga more over the anime. While the anime probably edges the manga over when it comes to how much meat there was in the story, and how it helped make the characters a lot more loveable, I've talked a lot about that already in other shows/manga. Aria(the manga) is probably the only time I've seen such a beautiful use of it's world building to make character's arcs and even the story itself move forward. The mysteries and enigmas within this setting, together with the things that make more logical sense blend together nearly perfectly to further the themes and ideas of the story.
The world of Neo Venezia is shrouded in so much more whimsical mystery than in the anime, especially when concerning the legends of Neo Venezia, even more specifically, those related to Cait Sith. Cait Sith, King of Cats, is one of those enigmatic characters that just appeal to me, and he reminds me of my own childhood. I just love characters like that, and the way the manga presented it is so beautiful and works so well with the overall vibe and tone of the manga. Aria the Natural is the only season that covered things surrounding Cait Sith and the more supernatural aspect of Neo Venezia, and while I did love those parts, I still feel like it never concluded. Actually, the role of Cait Sith here made for an equally strong emotional hook as the ending arc, one that fit perfectly for the personality and arc that our main girl Akari Mizunashi went through.
It doesn't just stop at the magical side of things though, as the manga even perfectly uses the less magical aspects. In a city that's basically a carbon copy of an older city, there is a lot to work with when it comes to themes of culture and history, and boy does it utilize it. Admittedly the anime does an equally good job at it, but in any case the story of Aria perfectly used its setting to create interesting themes about culture and the people of a place, and personally, I actually even found it thought provoking.
Overall, Aria the manga is an amazing work of art, yes, that is right, art. I don't typically like using a term like that, I feel like it's a bit corny to call something a "work of art", but there's no other way to describe it. It feels like a beautiful painting that you are simply meant to "vibe with", which is a similar feeling I have with series such as Kino's Journey or Natsume Yuujinchou. The stories are already fantastic, but the main draw is how it connects to you, how it presents its story and world and how you feel so invested in such an unfamiliar setting or scenario. To combine it with amazing characters and themes you got the work of a near masterpiece. Actually, in the near future I may even bump it to a 10. I'm heavily considering it, it's just as of now it's hard not to do a compare and go "which version did it better" with the anime in mind, but I am sure that if I just looked at them completely separately both have the makings and craft to be a perfect 10/10, so a 9/10 is essentially just a personal thing that is likely to change for the better. Read it, watch it, doesn't matter. Go both, I say, just experience Aria. I won't say I'm sure it will resonate with everyone no matter what one's preference is, although I will say that I believe that it is a unique experience to anyone who decides to pick it up.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jul 6, 2020
Funny story about this, I was just scrolling through twitter and I randomly came across this manga and I decided, hey, this looks interesting and here I am with a new favorite manga.
Anyway, on to the review.
Story: 10/10
Without a doubt the story is fantastic. It took what appeared to be a pretty perverted premise, and turned it into actually something amazing, which could easily have gone the other way around. Whether we like it or not, stuff like masturbation is a legitimate part of any adolescent boy's childhood, and it fits perfectly for a coming of age story like this, however uncomfortable the topic may
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be to some. Like I said, it's easy to turn this into some sort of perverted, ecchi mess, but in reality it used that dirty, dirty act to fuel the story of a boy who's essentially reached his lowest, due to acting on his sense of justice the only way a horny boy like him could.
The twists in the story aren't exactly the most shocking or unpredictable, but the way they are set up and written led me to feel it when it actually happened. I actually felt the exact same as our main character, the pain, the joy, the hope, everything, all within a short 31 chapters, might I add.
Each and every event is set up and arranged so that when certain character developments happen, it works, and it never comes out of the blue( I will expound on this in the characters portion). Also, that ending went exactly as i'd hoped it gone. I'm very satisfied with the outcome because of how it represents our MC's growth.
All in all, this story could've easily been trash, but it managed to become something amazing.
Art: 8/10
The art style is very good. I don't have much complaints since I'm not good at judging this stuff aside from how it compliments the story and characters, and in that field, it does it very well.
The artwork isn't intense and hyper detailed like one you'd see out of an action manga, but rather it's simple, and when needed to, it became dark and disturbing. Reminds me of my previous favorite manga Welcome to the NHK. Both are pretty grim in its tone, but it doesn't feel like it's trying to do that effect. I'm not gonna say any more since this really isnt my forte at critiques, but from my own limited understanding of how artists do the art for a comic, I'd say it's very well done.
Character: 10/10
The characters in this story are great. Not every single character is particularly deep, but they not only serve their purpose well in the story, but they also come across as likeable and interesting. Sugawa, Takigawa and Nagaoka are perfect examples of this. They do have their own fair share of character growth, ones that are earned and make sense in the story, and they are dedicated enough time so that the reader would understand their feelings, but the story also knows that they aren't the main focus of the story. Takigawa's backstory is not meant to be shown to give her more depth, but it's to serve as a way to understand events surrounding her that lead to the development of our main character Kurosawa.
In fact, despite what the last few chapters may make you think, Kitahara is not a protagonist either, she fits similar to Takigawa, whose own story(although in Kitahara's case it wasn't a backstory), served as a catalyst for Kurosawa's development. They not only functioned to add a level of depth to her character, but they also, actually, they mainly served as drive for our MC's development.
That said, the main character himself, Kurosawa Kakeru, is an amazing protagonist. Admittedly, he reminds me a lot about myself(minus his weird fetish). The struggles he goes through throughout the series are ones that relate to me, and I guess subtracting his choice to be alone, I even relate to his slight superiority complex. Many of his situations are just more extreme versions of ones I've found myself in. What I mean is that the situations he finds himself are ones that if you asked yourself what you would do, and took those questions and applied them to a situation in your ow life, chances are it'd still apply. Honestly I love how they go straight to the point with his character. Instead of constantly giving us a back and forth about his feelings and decisions, they make it a point to make sure that we always see some sort of important event that moves the story forward, and it is because of that that Kurosawa's problems never feel tiring, which is a complaint I have with even some of my favorite manga. Even ones I consider near masterpieces suffer from dragging out the issues these characters face for a bit too long, and it damages my investment in them. All in all, I found a character who I can strongly relate to and I find myself always enjoying his development, and watching him learn life lessons and actually applying them put a smile on my face.
Enjoyment: 10/10
My enjoyment of this manga exceeded far beyond my expectations. I was invested in every chapter, none were ever boring, and everything felt necessary. I loved it, and I will reread it again at some point.
Overall: 10/10
Overall, with a strong main character and supporting cast, a perfectly paced story, and a lot of themes and lessons that resonate with me, Onanie Master Kurosawa has become, as of this moment, and likely months or even years to come, my favorite manga.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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