nathandouglasdavis

Our story follows Neru and takes place in a secluded school in the mountains for martial artists and ninjas. So far, the story is still relatively new, so there have only been a few encounters and mini stories. But I like what I've seen so far and I think the basic premise has potential to create a fun long-term storyline. The school has 18 types of martial arts (like archery, spears, etc.), and Neru intends to try to get the top rank within each of those disciplines and be given the unofficial title of being the ultimate martial artist. When Neru meets someone stronger than femself, feir reaction is to want to compete and improve rather than run away. The style of martial arts fe uses is based on having strong toes, dexterous feet, and sensitive soles. And fe has an ability to be able to reproduce the movements and techniques of others by drawing little stick figures. There's a possibility that some romantic elements will be included as well, though I assume that'll be secondary to the duels and martial arts growth. We also haven't seen what the classes are like, so I'm interested in seeing how that's handled.

The artwork is overall very good. The backgrounds are detailed and beautiful. The linework feels loose, with the line thicknesses bulging and shifting like in calligraphy. Some of the transitional panels are drawn a little sloppier and sometimes the eyes or limbs can feel tacked on rather than naturally connected to the rest of the body. During the duels, we've seen some really cool cross-page spreads showing off the bodily movements and action lines as the characters maneuver through the space. Akebi has skinny, crane legs. 

[Reviewed at chapter 10]