Ajin - Reviews

Haiiii~ (~◠▽◠)~♥

Another manga review! This time it's Ajin.

This particular manga caught my attention for several reasons. One of them is the genre. I kind of wanted to read some messed up manga with a great story where they cut eachother and bleed to death. Long story short, I was looking for something brutal.

And I can tell that Ajin was a great choice, and not some waste of time.

Let's start!

STORY

So the story is based on immortality. Which is an interesting topic. I mean we're all afraid of death and suffering. Ajins are only afraid of suffering.. which is a progress.

Being a super rare human with immortal superpowers is a great thing riiiight? :D . . .

Unless the government finds you and they start experimenting on you and trying to kill you in every single way causing you pain yet you can't die because you're special.

And THAT'S what almost happened to this poor teenage main character. The story follows this god forsaken guy called Kei who gets caught in a accident and finds out he's... a bit more than just an ordinary high school student.

I'd say that the story is kind of unique. I never saw a manga/anime dealing with the theme of immortality so seriously. Usually it's ''temple goddess in a bra'' or ''vixen who looks nothing like a freaking vixen''. Not saying that's bad... it just became boring to me.

Also, the story is sort of elaborate, but very balanced. Not too much detail, not a lot of confusion for the reader. Everything is explained with enough detail. No useless filler stuff...

Therefore it's refreshing to see something like this. In conclusion, the story is interesting and packed with action. I'd give it a 10/10 but it has bits and pieces I dislike.

9/10

ART

Art is nice and polished... most of the times. It doesn't lack detail, especially on characters. 

As for the genre. The story has a lot of action in it. I don't think that art catches up to that. I also don't like how the most gruesome scenes aren't drawn. There's some gore, but not enough to consider the genre horror.

So art is well done, however, it is not on the same level with the story.

7/10

CHARACTERS

There are plenty of characters. From humans/ajins to black spirits.

I really like the main character. He seems plain, but he's really analytical which is awesome. I'm just going to mention his sister. She's ugly. It's rare to see a young ugly character in anime/manga that has a POSITIVE IMPORTANT ROLE (not me) in the storyline.

Character desing is well done. I LOVE how the black spirits are designed (picture below). There is character development, but it's nothing major. I like it though, and I think that developing characters more would ruin the story.

9/10

OVERALL

I really like this manga. Especially because it focuses on themes I'm interested in. 

The story is interesting, art is well done and the characters are great as well. It's not that easy to read, but it is definitely fun.

And that's it! Thanks for reading my review! ^^

I'd reccommend this manga to anyone who finds immortality interesting, or to someone who is looking for sci-fi ''immortality gone wrong'' kind of stuff.

Rate if you found this review helpful, funny, or just like it. I have more anime reviews so check them out if you want!

Thanks and have a nice day! ^^

Ajin is the best alternative to Death Note. I will not bother explaining the plot since it's already written there. There are just 2 things you need to know before reading this.

1. Immortality is not as same as Wolverine. It confused me at first too. Ajin's injuries will only be healed after they are dead. Also they have same life span as normal humans so if they are supposed to die at 40 with heart attack then they will. They do not live for eternity

2. It only gets good after Miura leaves the writing.

This series got pretty mediocre reputation because of cgi anime leading everyone "subconsciously" think that something CGI can't be a masterpiece. Do not be fooled by your instincts cause it is one of the smartest and most badass work in fiction. Of course just making bland statements doesn't amount to anything. I CAN give examples under spoiler tags in case anyone missed those great details but i don't think weebs today have enough attention span to read it so I'll just leave it your experience. If anyone's still curious then I'll be glad to discuss it.

For example (Spoiler): Author foreshadowed that Gen was human from start.

Story: 10/10
Art: 10/10
Fights.: 11/10
Characters: 10/10
Re-Read Value: 10/10
Enjoyment: Puts me in state of Euphoria

Honestly speaking, I cannot say enough about this story so far. Some people put it up next to Tokyo Ghoul but to me there is no real comparison. We could talk about similarities. However, in terms of story and character depth, there is no comparisons. They are like from 2 different worlds. 

The art is okay, but not exceptional. Comparing it to Tokyo Ghoul this is the only place Tokyo Ghoul outshines it at times. However, I also feel it's important to say that like any manga with good art, the creator doesn't skimp on the background art. Although it lacks the type of flare Tokyo Ghoul has, it feels like the art is well matched with the tone of the story and it's main protagonist. 

The characters are exceptional. Saying too much would take away from the experience I think and since this is one I would definately suggest people to try. I will keep it straight and to the point without my usual rambling on and on.

The protagonist is a outward jerk with subtle hints to his true nature that he tries to cover up and actually manages to decieve most people with. You can tell in the 35 chapters that I have had the pleasure of reading that this guy has untold amounts of depth to him. He's not a cardboard cut out anti-hero and people around him generally feel uneasy around him. 

The antagonist in this manga so far seems a bit too strong for such a random guy. At first, it seems like he has a motive and we see what humans are doing to Ajin and you actually begin to think maybe he has good reasons for doing bad things. However, as time goes on he boils down to being just your common psycho with anti-social tendencies (anti-social personality disorder I mean) he knows he cannot die so he is just having fun for the sake of fighting like it's all one big fun game. It is the only thing that irritates me given the depth to this manga otherwise.

I want to believe that he is just the original bad guy and that after things are settled with him we get on to someone more worthy of the antagonist role... but now I have to just wait and see. 

The rest of the characters are also interesting and have their own reasons for doing what they do both on the protagonist's and antagonists side. I don't really feel like solving things with Sado (the antagonist) will bring everything to a close. I want to say this is just the beginning but I cannot be sure. All I can do is hope... so as of now my overall score is 9 and as time goes on I may add a few updates to my review and change the numbers but as of chapter 35. This manga has me seriously hooked. I suggest that people give it a try! 

Ajin. The award winning and critically acclaimed action manga, known best for its unusually striking premise as well as its amazing writing. After hearing tons of people gush over this particular story I decided I needed to check it out for myself. Just to see if it really deserved the hype it was getting. I didn’t have much expectations for it after the first chapter but after reading the second one I realized how wrong I really was. Ajin is a certified page turner, one that is so strong that the act of page turning is almost compulsory. With compelling action, conflicting themes, well developed characters, beautifully drawn panels, shocking plot twists, and amazing worldbuilding you will get sucked into the world of demi humans in no time. Our story starts off with the introduction of the main character Kei Nagai, a highschooler blessed with above average intellect living a seemingly normal life as a teenager. He and the rest of the population bear with the existence of the rare phenomena of demi humans. Rare, but not too rare, demi humans are humans that are gifted with immortality. On one fateful day Nagai gets into an accident, he is run over by a truck instantly killing him. But there he is standing up straight and alive, with the heart sinking realization that he is one of the beings he looked down on. A demi human. The government being half scared of what demi humans can do and half interested in the possibilities they can bring forth to benefit the country, hunt down demi humans to put them into captivity. Most of the population agree that demi humans aren’t even humans, more like rabid wild animals in need of an iron collar. We follow Nagai in his thrilling escape from the people hurting him and desperate seek for asylum as one of the world’s most feared and hated beings, a demi human. From there it goes from zero to one hundred. It was constantly exciting seeing the twists and turns the story takes. There won’t be a moment when you aren’t shocked from the brilliant writing of Gamon Sakurai. Or be shocked from the psychotic events that unfold. Not shying away from blood, mutilation, torture, or gore Ajin is thrillingly dark. Since this manga mixes the supernatural and action, it's only right that this story would be excitingly gritty. And this is what this tale excels at, being exciting. The action and mass carnage is the highlight of this manga, there were so many moments where I got excited because it just looked so badass. This is mostly to do with the show stopping art. The panels were detailed with a certain meticulousness, resulting in beautifully drawn panels adorning every other page. You could feel the tone in each scene, whether it was something sinister, frustrating, anxiety inducing, or sad the art molded it into that way. The art also molded the action, pulling out its full and true potential making Ajin positively exhilarating. To the point where I felt like I was sucked in. Every chapter was phenomenal, the combat, the characters, the plot twists; it felt like I was watching one long amazing movie. It reminded me of Akira a little bit, the whole constant action going on until you get to the big climax. I really enjoyed Akira so to have a shorter version like this made me really love it. I binged it in a day because it was so captivating. I can’t forget about the amazing characters either. This is one of the few mangas that I can truly say almost every character had dimension, depth, and likability. Hell, even the villains which were terrible people had me hooked on their character. The redemption events in the story for these villains really pulled the heartstrings on me, so even with all their destruction I still ended up caving in and liking them a little bit more. I mean sure it was kinda cliche but the execution was really amazing, I’m not gonna go into full detail because of spoilers but both of them ended up doing something good. The redemption arcs weren’t just the only thing that was executed brilliantly. The development and depth that was present in the characters were stunning. Each character that was introduced to us at first seemed a little static because of the lack of background information on them. But as you read along it slowly let’s out key information needed to develop their characters while maintaining perfect pacing. Not once did I feel a background was dropped or rushed as a lazy attempt to give a character depth. Every character that was introduced into the story had a part and their own dimension. No character was just introduced as a plot device and left behind, this happens a lot in other manga I have read so to see this one actually build up and use each character that was introduced was astounding. And just the whole premise of the main characters being immortal is so intriguing. Immortality used in any story has always piqued my interest because of the plethora of ways you can use it. Ajin draws out all that capability. Since most of the main cast can’t die you can have tons of fun with the way you present the story to the audience. Trust me, there are so many things that arise in this manga that are so creative and gripping from this. Like the characters kill themselves constantly and in the most badass as ways. The action and gore is also raised up a notch because of this, making way for constant electrifying bloodbaths. To top this we have crazy plot twists. Not in a too crazy way, the plot twists were curated in a manner that made sense without lacking the shock factor. The foreshadowing behind these was never laid on too thick or too thin either. With this, every chapter was a thrill to read and had me constantly gawking at how much I enjoyed seeing shit go down. Honestly I was shocked at how good Ajin kept getting. Overall this manga deserves all the praise and gushing it gets. I realize now why so many people like this story. Ajin is a top tier action manga. I seriously recommend it.

Story 

A short while ago, people found out that there are immortals among them, who are hunted down because they're dangerous (according to the government, at least) and because people like experimenting. Rumor has it that you get a huge bounty for capturing or giving info on these Ajin. Not the most interesting rumor for Kei Nagai, our main character who seems to be somewhat apathetic - until he discovers that he too is an Ajin.

What follows is an interesting ride on which you encounter other Ajin (who may or may not be friendly), discover more about the Ajin's abilities, and get a look at what the government is doing with Ajin. It's not a ride I want to get off soon, because it manages to stay entertaining. 

Something also worth mentioning is what for lots of people would be the main attraction: the violence, which shines in the dark atmosphere of the manga. Be it torture, murder, or fights against or between Ajin, they're all brutal yet nice to see. It's also cool how the Ajin fight, using their immortality in intelligent ways. 

Characters

Just as important as the story is the way the characters are explored upon: not just the Ajin, but a good deal of regular humans as well. They are largely interesting characters, with a lot of time spent on what kind of people they are and how they develop. Questions like "what does realizing you're immortal do to a human's mind?" are of course important for the Ajin faction, but there's also the humans and the question of "how do you deal with the fact that some people are immortal?". 

A big remark is necessary for our main character, Kei Nagai: some people find his initial "apathy" dull, and even drop the series only for that reason. However, his character does change into something else... but no spoiling from me on that part.

Also of note is Sato, who is a constant source of entertainment - seeing his schemes put into practice is always damn nice.

Art

The artwork in this manga is also quite good - both the designs and the fights are pleasant to see. The artwork also fits well with the atmosphere.

Overall

Ajin delivers a well-thought out story with a strong emphasis on how brutal the world is, but doesn't forego character exploration and development. It's an entertaining read, and definitely one I recommend.