Hard-Boiled Cop and Dolphin - Reviews

It's a gag manga that primarily relies on absurdist humor, with transforming sea creatures and nonsensical explanations for things. It also parodies "hard-boiled," violence-prone cops--though that functions less as a way to be funny and more as a way to inject cheap action into the story, with amazing feats of human athleticism. In fact, with its general tone of distaste for the modern police attitude of "compliance" and its heroic portrayals of the cops who disregard that attitude, I have to assume that the author isn't so much parodying "hard-boiled" cop stories as lamenting what fe sees as modern law enforcement methodology.

The characters are okay, but not great; the action sequences aren't engaging; the humor loses its sting after the first chapter; and the idea of the Ocean Gangs feels like an uninspired way to guarantee long-term drama. Basically, this manga isn't all that impressive. It has some funny moments and the general premise functions, but it don't think it'll ever become a must-read in its genre.

[Reviewed at chapter 11]