Akatsuki (3.5 stars)

Akatsuki
info taken from mangafox
scans by Hitsugaara

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Author: Koide Motoki
Artist: Koide Motoki
Genres: shounen, action, adventure
Summary:
Akatsuki: a powerful demon of illness which spread into victims, turning their eyes red, and slowly killing them. Usually, they take form of a strong monster connected to the victim's body. The only way to cure the victims infected with Akatsuki is to slash the victim's body with special anti-Akatsuki weapons, known as "Crave." The people who possess and use these weapons are called "Kiri-Isha" (Slash Doctors). Hibiki, the protagonist of this story, is a Kiri-isha. He is partnered with Kirisa, another Kiri-Isha. Their mission is to cure people infected with Akatsuki.

(Source: Ju-da-su)

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Art: 4
Art Comments:
The art is relatively clean. It's not as consistent and snapass defined, but it's pretty much acceptable for a shounen. However, the reason why I deducted a point was because the author has some trouble overall with the matching of the eyes/how they are positioned on the face. He also has some trouble with proportions for the face in general. I see several instances in this work where he draws the ears too big.


Story: 3 stars
Story Comments:
The story is, once again, another slightly twisted cliche. In fact, I see a little of Naruto, Bleach, D.grayman, Double Arts (I mean seriously, the main character is so Naruto looking, and the main girl character is a freakin Byakuya in drag). I'm not saying this as a good thing. The mundane is mundane, no matter how you see it. "Well, whaddya know, demon hunters. Where have we heard that before?" The author also did only an "okay" job with portraying the plotline. So we have the problem: sickness in the form of demons. And we have the demon hunters. And the badass protagonist who of course, along with his partner, is an underdog. And we have the tragic past. Whoopdeedoo.

Oh yeah I forgot to ask, where's the antagonist? Cause so far there doesn't seem to be a definite one...Please don't make this manga into a bunch of one-shots (like another fuckin One Piece).

Another thing, what I do not understand, out of all of this mess, is the definition of a Kiri-Isha. The manga does not specifically detail how this job came to be about, how it is organized, or what you do on the job. The protagonist does say for a moment that extreme measures have to be taken in order to kill the demon, and that you must have a burning desire to win in order to be a true Kiri-Isha. But what the hell? Where's the history in all of this? Where's the sustenance? What I'm saying is that there's no real depth yet, so I'm rating it only average.

Characters: 3
Character Comments:

The characters are not well developed yet, nor are their personalities particularily charming. The most I can rate this is average.

So we have the main character, Narut--oops wait I mean the spikey haired dude that looks nothing like Naruto and just happens to talk like him. His name is Hibiki, and he has a badass earring. Other than that, I'm confused as to what he really does. He fights monsters with a weapon that is never really focused on, and he seems to be strong but not really.

The other main character, Kirisa, whose name I keep getting mixed up with "Kiri-Isha" (what they call demon hunters in this story). She basically controls is the killjoy of the partnership, always admonishing Hibiki for being too reckless and stupid, but then getting basically pushed away and pwned in the real action. Seriously though, why do all the typical shounen authors make the stupid kid the cool guy and the smart girl the wuss? I guess they just want to promote dumbasses?

Flow: 4
Flow Comments:

I don't really want to say much on this. The panels are okay, at times awkward, but it's barely noticeable unless you're really trying to critique it. But, the story moves too fast, and that's why I'm deducting a point.

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Additional Info:

Can be read at http://www.mangafox.com/page/manga/series/5202/akatsuki/

The Beginning Word (2 stars)

The Beginning Word (Hajimari no Kotoba)
info from baka-updates (mangaupdates.com)
all scans used courtesy of Perfect Illusions

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Author: Furukawa, Shiori
Artist: Furukawa, Shiori
Genres: Drama, Romance, Shoujo
Summary:
From Perfect Illusions:

Momo and Hinata got along so well together that people around them asked if they were going out. Momo really likes Hinata and can’t wait to break down the wall of ‘friendship’. “It’d be great if Hinata feels the same way”… Momo wishes. However, she accidentally said that she liked someone else in front of everyone and their relationship heads off in an unexpected direction… A title work that illustrates the two enduring pain while advancing in love with 5 other documented chapters.

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Art: 1.5 stars
Art Comments:

The art is not that great at all. Firstly, the faces are weird: the eyes too big and eyelashy (its annoying), the mouth awkward with an oversized lip (looks like everyone got an Angelina Jolie treatment), the foreheads too small (but I guess only in a few panels). Sometimes the eyes look weird, like one eye would look very unequal compared with the other eye. The faces are too wide and the cheekbones too high. Secondly, the bodies are unproportional, especially the hands and legs. The fingers are too skinny and long in all panels, and in this one panel, one hand's fingers were fatter than the other hand's. In several panels, the legs were too long and skinny, making the character look grossly unnatural. The art itself gives you a very thin feeling, with very cliche backgrounds and stuff. I strongly recommend the artist take an art class for a year or two, because I felt like the art was detracting from the story while reading it.

Story: 3 stars
Story Comments:

A very cliche one-shot. The girl does something stupid, and the boy gets jealous over it. The boy does something stupid, and the whole manga plot is based on a lot of stupidity. In this breakout, the girl finally confesses and the boy confesses that he was faking the meanness, and then they are both happy happy, laddeedadeeda. I don't even want to put a spoiler alert on this because from the moment you begin the story and see the conflict, you can tell right away how this is going to end.

Characters: 1 star
Character Comments:

Characters are all stupid and annoying. Their actions make no sense to me at all. And because the art is so bad, I almost didn't want to put up their pictures.

(Momo Hinata)
look how ugly they are ^

Main Character - Momo (typical name, even)

She's stupid, and she's those typical high school girls in japanese shoujo mangas that are all obsessed with their love. Woohoo. She's not even cheerful or cutie shy...she's just stupid. I dunno, I just can't express her stupidity enough. Her personality, on a less biased note, seems to be non-existent and cliche cliche cliche ditzy japanese high school girl. Did I mention that all she thinks of is how she loves this guy? It's like she doesn't have a life.

Main Guy character - Hinata
He's also stupid. He's those shoujo manga guys that seem like they don't give a shit about the girl until the very last second, where they profess their undying love. Basically, he's cliche and unsweet. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Also, like Momo, untrue to himself.

Other characters:
The guy and girl that Momo and Hinata get together with briefly because of the usual misunderstanding ("Momo accidentally says she likes this other guy because she's afraid of confessing, so Hinata hooks up with another girl"). These two cameo characters are just there, and even though they are essential to the plot, they don't have personalities at all. Like, not even cliche personalities like Hinata and Momo. Just none.

Flow: 3 stars
Flow Comments:

Well, to put it simply, the story goes way too fast. Everything is rushed, and the mangaka is not reallly good at the whole panel-thingy. She also can't draw people that well, so it's obvious that she tries to cover that fact by drawing the main character with one eye for most of the time.

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Additional Info:

I really disliked this manga, but I've only read the first chapter. This manga is up on mangafox, but it's under the wrong name (Hairstyle Amanojaku Shiyou). Go ahead and read it if you want, but I'm not giving the link.

Oresama Teacher (5 stars)

info taken from mangafox
Oresama Teacher (俺様ティーチャー)

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Author: Tsubaki Izumi
Artist: Tsubaki Izumi
Genres: comedy, romance, shoujo, school life
Summary:
Summary from Intercross:

Kurosaki Mafuyu was a juvenile delinquent and head of her gang before her subsequent arrest got her expelled from high school. Now that she’s transferred to a new high school, she’s determined to become an “ultra-shiny, super feminine high school student.” But with a new friend like Hayasaka-kun and a homeroom teacher like Saeki Takaomi (who may be more than he seems), will Mafuyu really be able to live a girly-girl high school life!?
[A joint project with Osuwari Team & Serenus-Dreamers]

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Art: 5 stars
Art Comments:
The art is extremely well drawn...everything is clean, nice, and proportional. The bodies are natural looking, and no distortions take your mind off the actual story. I am very pleased with this art. At times, she draws Takaomi's neck a bit too thick, but that can be forgiven, really. What is most extraordinary is the expressiveness of the eyes, which are not the typical shoujo ones (large, shiny, unchanging), but still complement the character in a way that makes them cute or sexy, as in a shoujo manga.

Some examples of their eyes (taken from Osuwari Team & Serenus-Dreamers scans):


Story: 4.5 stars
Story Comments:
The story is nothing special. A girl is a former delinquent and wants to reform. Consequently, she goes to a school where her childhood horror teaches at (her eventual love interest I think). It's basically the usual shoujo, and if it was, I would've given it at most 4 stars. But, I think what made it better than other mangas was its depth. There is a sense of depth about the story because the author is very careful to add as many details as possible to keep the story consistent and full. Why does Mafuyu become a delinquent? That is explained. Why is she so adamant about making real, normal friends? That is also explained.

Another reason why this story deserves a 4.5 is because of the uniqueness of the relationships between each of the three main characters. Most shoujo mangas unrealistically have every guy that appears in the story fall in love with the girl, and the whole story is about a love competition or whatever. But, in this story, I think the main purpose of Hayasaka, the delinquent in Mafuyu's new school that she befriends, is just to provide a friend and fellow comic relief (their interaction between each other is pretty funny) in the story (so far). There have been no indications that Hayasaka will serve anything more than this role, and I think that's what makes the whole story a very unique and pretty sweet one. I mean, what's better than a Yankee, over-cautious, kind-of-afraid-of-you guy friend?

Basically, the story is well thought out, and not full of loop holes. It really takes the whole delinquent cliche thing to a well-polished, nicely tuned level.

Characters: 5 stars
Character Comments:

The characters are sweet, fun, and active. All of them have really funny, quirky personalities which enhance the rather funny story. Observe: pics from Osuwari Team & Serenus-Dreamers scans, (SPOILER ALERT)

Mafuyu- the main girl character

She's formerly a delinquent, so she acts violent at times. This quirk becomes especially true when she encounters situations where she thinks the fight is unfair towards a certain party. But of course, she only fights when she "blows up," but she actually retains a very reluctant, easily-spooked personality most of the time. Her tendency to get into fights and stuff causes her old school to expel her, and her mother (in an especially violent scene; we see where Mafuyu gets her fiery nature) sends her to a new school where entrance is determined by nothing other than money. Mafuyu is determined to follow her mother's instructions and become a very bright, happy, clean girl. But of course, it's not that easy, especially when she inexperienced in normal human communication. Mafuyu's really not annoying at all, unlike other shoujo characters. I think what leads people in is her straight-forwardness and boyish persona, and she doesn't like cry or blush in every scene. Also, she's really funny.

Takaomi AKA Saeki-sensei-main guy character
He's also formerly a delinquent, especially during Mafuyu's second/third grade when he lived beside her. Now, he's a teacher (how did that happen?! Maybe we'll find out..). He's very evil and mean, and loves ordering Mafuyu around. Poor Mafuyu was led into his delinquent activities when she was just a kid, and he trained her for a couple of years until he moved.





Hayasaka-kun - other main guy character
He's a delinquent, a fellow classmate of Mafuyu. Mafuyu, in a series of misinterpreted actions on both parties, decides that he's her best friend. Hayasaka is deathly afraid of Mafuyu ever since she first came into the classroom, apparently displaying an intense killing aura that she wasn't aware of. He thinks of Mafuyu's every move as a challenge at first, but then we see that they have lunch together on the rooftop. He also gets dragged by Mafuyu to help her find information on Takaomi.


Flow: 5
Flow Comments:

Normally, most mangas flow pretty well. The author this time did a really great job with the comedy; all of it is all well-timed and executed. Actually, now that I think about it, everything is pretty much funny, especially every scene with Mafuyu.

The drawings themselves complement each other, and you basically don't notice any weird panel transitions or anything. You really get caught up in the story, so you don't even realize that all you're looking at is a series of pictures. Flow is perfect, is what I'm saying.

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Additional Info:

I feel like in this manga, there aren't enough girly blushing moments, simply because the main character isn't that kind of girl. She does get really flustered when Takaomi grabs her or something, but the scene is turned comedic when she shouts out something like, "WHY IS MY CHEST HURTING" and stuff (she has a tendency to loudly voice her thoughts without knowing it). So so far, no shoujo-ey moments. Maybe a couple of predatorial advancements on Takaomi's part (mostly the cornering/hand on the wall thing, etc.), but the story doesn't focus on it too much. This is also coupled with the fact that the main character really doesn't think about love or stuff like that.

Preview//read this at http://www.mangafox.com/page/manga/series/3094/oresama_teacher/

Intro to Blog

There are three ULTIMATE things that I'm going to do on this blog:

1. Read all the manga in the world
2. Review all the manga in the world


okay so maybe those were only two things...but you get the point. Here's the template that I'm going to use for each manga, because I know everyone has different standards, and I want to review everything in the most unbiased way possible.

Subject: Most Common Manga Name (however many stars/5 based on my opinion)

Name of Manga (Alternative names)

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Author:
Artist:
Genres:
Summary:

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Art:
Art Comments:
Story:
Story Comments:
Characters:
Character Comments:
Flow:
Flow Comments:
Sexy? (if need be):
Sexy? comments:

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Additional Info:

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