Disclaimer: There might be spoilers up to chapter 82, except it probably wouldn't matter mcuh because the story is as linear and straight-forward as it could get. Basically, long story short, an old man gets reincarnated back in time before some war with Dark Heavens Sect and abuses uses his knowledge from the future to save the world. I'm truly surprised at just how smoothly everythinh went for him despite how much things deviated , from preventing his masters death, to making his name known throughout the murim world.
Story and Characters: As you all know, a good story has to keep the readers engaged, but Volcanic Age just doesn't do it for me. There's no plot twists, no mysteries (I'm telling you, diluted colors+undrawn faces does not equal "myterious"), no nothing; just a straight and linear forward story of a kid using the cheat of "being from the future" to become op. Not that there's anything wrong with that; in fact, I enjoy reading straight and linear stories with a clear-cut goal- goal? goal. What was it again? Ah, it was something about saving the world. Why do they need to save the world? Because some evil cult wants to take over the world again (or something along that line). Why do they need to to take over the world?
...
...See, that's what I mean.
There is just so many problems I have with the goal-aka the theme-aka the core of the story and the whole point of everything-so much so that I don't know where to start.
First off: the theme gets lost amongest all of the side activity that the mc is doing. There is nothing wrong with the theme itself, but they failed to emphasize the importance of the mc's desire to save the world. It was almost as if that goal was just a means for the mc to flex his OPness. I mean, he is so op that he literally accomplishes everything without a single drop of sweat, and the only enjoyment I got out of it is was the cannon fodders getting there a** handed to them after looking down on the mc, which soon became repetitive due to lack of variety. At this point, many people would assume the problem is that the mc is way too overpowered, however, I don't think that's the case at all. As a matter of fact, op characters can be extremely benefical to the development of the story when used in the right way (ex. Solo Leveling, Chronicles of HD). My definition of an op character is someone who is unstoppable in terms of power, but that doesn't automatically mean that that character can't have inner conflicts or flaws, which is something that the mc in here greatly lacks. One of my biggest regrets is that the mc became op way to quickly. They could've slowly built up his character and power, which could've made a bigger impact when the mc finally becomes op. But instead, they used the fact that his master was sick to find the power-up fruits (which I'm almost completely sure that will never appear in the story ever again) that 'just so happened' to be nearby. And this is a prime example of the problem that there are just too much unnecassary things going on. As they say, every action will have a cause and effect. Because of all these extra gimicks, I have a feeling that most of the actions will probably be forgotten as the story progresses. It also causes everything to deviate from the original purpose.
Secondly, the villains are bland, which is part of the reason why I had problems with the theme. They give little information about them in attempt to make them more mysterious, but all that it accomplished was making them feel bland and one-dimensional. If they really wanted to add that mystery element, they should feed the readers information little by little, instead of cutting it off all together. You know, they could've put the effort into building the villains instead of those extra gimicks. By handing us just a small amount of info that builds up over time, it could make the readers feel a sense of foreboding and tension.
As of where I'm at right now, the main villain seems like the stereotypical antagonist. Here's a description of him: Ruthless, cruel, bullies his suboordinates, and his wants to take over the world or get revenge. Sounds familar? Yeah, it's the description of a typical third-rate villain that I've seen way too many times in every wuxia C-dramas. (TN: It always profounds me to see so much followers for these types of villians. Just look at how they are treated! Unless they were all blackmailed into doing it, then history proves they should've revolted long ago, or at least went to ask for help. The whole notion is illogical as heck, and yet this trope is still over and over again)
I don't really have much to say about the rest of the cast. At the end of the day, the only character that I had taken a bit of a liking to is Poison Pheonix Tang Hye. I hope she gets more character develop later on.
Art: The art was good. The action scenes were fluid and clean for the most part, though it didn't have that voodoo magic. You know, the type that possesses me to take a screenshot every two panels till my storage pleads uncle. Yeah. that. I'm not sure if I should be happy or not, but my storage is definitley grateful for being spared this time around.
Overall: My overall enjoyment of this manhwa was okay. Nothing about the plot, art, or characters particularly stood out, but it wasn't bad either. If you want something with a more complex and grittier storyline, or intricately weaved characters with flaws, emotions, and complex backstories, this might not be the thing for you. However, if you are just looking for some mindless action manhwa to past time, then by all means, go for this.
I know that many of you probably disagree, and I'm perfectly fine with that, because as of chapter 82, my feeling for this manhwa has only amounted up to a... meh. Just wanted to put my two cents out there.
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