nathandouglasdavis

I'd say that after the first four chapters, this manga seems to have run out of good ideas. It's episodic, with each chapter focusing on a different vengeful spirit or other spiritual manifestation. This manga is at its best when each of the vengeful spirits is portraying a unique facet of otaku culture and geekdom. And unfortunately, from the fifth chapter onward, the vengeful spirits have felt like they're rehashing previous ideas. Part of that might just be that this type of set-up will inevitably start to feel repetitive after a while, but I do think that the author is perhaps falling back on a... See full review

Upon reaching the plot twist, it tickled me so much that I immediately stopped reading and reread from the beginning so that I could better appreciate the moments of foreshadowing. <<< Phrasing it that way, though, makes it sound like this manga was actually good. And I'm not sure if I would go that far. This manga was, at best, pretty mid. I also feel like the ending was just half-assed. Like, the author clearly had the climactic moment planned out, but then it felt like fe just threw a cheap, horror-ish ending together.

This is an absurdist slice-of-life vignette. Slightly amusing. Not worth the read. Also, so you don't get your hopes up like I did, let me warn you that the synopsis grossly overstates the throwing of "crazy ideas at the wall." That line led my to expect a ridiculous climax (which never happened). At most, you could say that one single idea was thrown at the wall. And that idea wasn't really something I'd consider particularly "crazy," especially considering it was abandoned before even really being attempted. I will say that I'm impressed by the small mannerisms used with the... See full review

This is surprisingly decent? I was expecting it to be nothing more than a crappy indulgence in sexual fantasy and adventuring tropes. And I suppose it still is that, but it's also more engaging than I was expecting. The sexual interactions are pretty hot, which is definitely a plus. But, honestly, I think the most interesting part is the fact that Leon's powers don't seem without limits and there's a little bit of creativity and strategizing in the usage of powers. I also appreciate how Leon's powers are mostly used in a support capacity, leaving the finishing blows to other... See full review

My 1,700th Review! This story is a classic for a reason: it's prettty durn good. The realistic and interesting character motives and general aesthetic of a deteriorating futuristic cityscape are probably the highlights. The action scenes are alright, and can be quite intense and adrenaline-pumping when they hit right, but can also feel a bit repetitive at times. There are perhaps too many chase scenes. Sometimes leading to people getting caught, then escaping. Sometimes leading to people getting cornered and engaging in a shoot-out. There are also several scenes of trying to sneak into an... See full review

I've quite liked this so far. It has a melancholic feel to it. There is action and magic, but the main characters are basically just on the run and trying to survive, more than anything. It's somewhat episodic in nature, at least in how the first few chapters have self-contained arcs to them. I appreciate that several of the stories seem to focus more on fleshing out the world or the characters instead of trying to maintain constant adrenaline or something. And the overwhelming scale of their enemies (which have currently been at least somewhat subdued) makes it so I truly have no idea how... See full review

This series basically just compiles a lot of narrative techniques and cliches standard in shounen sports manga. Our protagonist is a largely average person with a single trait that is exceptional (in this case, it's step-speed/agility) and with an intense determination and practice routine. Our protagonist slowly accumulates some additional skills through practice and hard work and we are able to see the results of that effort during matches, where the protagonist plays a pivotal role despite there being other players who have more experience and talent (including, often, one or more... See full review

Hm, it's an interesting enough one-shot. It feels like wetting your feet into a world--where you get some inkling of broader happenings in the world, but don't get full on wet with details. We don't even know why Sir Arnold sided with the rebels, but that lack of knowledge just acts as a reminder that life is much bigger than the small moments of two peoples' lives.

If you've read my review on the prequel/original series, then you won't be surprised by my distaste for this doujinshi here. The artwork is ugly and sloppy--with bad proportions, awkward and stilted body movements, copy-and-pasted imagery, bad blushlines, and a general lack of both cuteness and sexiness. There's also a complete absence of plot or character development, which isn't surprising considering that it's just intended to be a busride to Ecch Town. And it's even lacking the shtick from the... See full review

This manhwa suffers from having some key moments be difficult to digest on first read. Essentially, it doesn't flow super smoothly. Which sorta makes the plot twist at the end have just a little bit of a weaker impact. I think part of the problem is probably with the panel layouts, part of it is with the absence of some narration (especially during transitions between scenes), and there's also a little bit of confusion as to who's talking with the speech bubbles which may have contributed a tad. Anyway, long story short, the story idea is alright enough, though I think there might've been more potential if... See full review

Reviewing pilot chapters is a bit of an odd enterprise since they're basically just an earlier iteration of what eventually came to be. So what I did for the purposes of this review was compare this oneshot panel for panel with the opening chapter of the main series. And for a good while, they're basically identical with only a few minor alterations to angles and facial expressions here and there. But then starting with the interactions with Yotsuba, we start seeing some actual shifts in the panel layouts and some minor changes to substance. The important plot points are still the same, but we see... See full review

In a very real sense, this is worth reading purely because the Frankenstein story is worth reading. But at the same time, if you can find the Frankenstein story on its own and read just that, that's probably all you'd need to do. The other two stories only amount to ten pages combined and are pretty lackluster. The first small story is basically just a set-up for a (very-well drawn) creepy picture and the second small story is an autobiographical snippet about fake poop (slightly funny). I rated the Frankenstein story on its own an 8/10 and since that story still makes up the bulk of... See full review

I am very unimpressed by almost every aspect of this manga. The artwork is good and the fight scenes look decent enough, though honestly they're missing the sort of extended choreography and tension that would make the action truly engaging. But more important than that, the romance and mystery elements (which seem like the core parts of the manga) are very badly written. I do not find myself endeared to Manaka or rooting for this main couple to succeed, which seems like a major failing. And the mystery regarding the nature of what it means to be a sacredblood just feels a bit obnoxious, like the author is... See full review

This is a commercial. Need I say more? There's no drama or tension, and the story is also pretty non-existent. It's an explanation/promotion of a new way to play the game, and consists of the first few turns of a duel, without even showing who eventually won the duel. There's no build-up or resolution. There aren't any character arcs and it's unclear which side I'm supposed to be rooting for, if any (not to mention that the two dueling characters have very similar character designs, especially during the many close-up shots).  The two onlooking characters add nothing to the experience and the manga... See full review

I can genuinely say that I did not expect the story to develop in the way that it did. I also feel that there are probably oodles of ways this locker could've been used that were left entirely unexplored. Of course, I realize that that sort of exploration would've distracted from the core story and wouldn't have necessarily added anything narratively. It sorta reminds me of a moral folktale type of thing, where there're harsh consequences to someone acting in self-absorbed or inconsiderate or reckless ways. And I guess the final line does raise some questions about the nature of identity, though that sort... See full review

I'd say that five out of the twelve stories in this collection are probably worth the read for fans of creepy horror stories, which is a pretty good rate for Junji Ito oneshots. There's "Akai Ito," a story about the red string of fate stitching itself into a heartbroken person's body, and it also includes some information about thousand-stitch belts. Then there's "Chuuko Record," a story about people getting obsessively charmed by the live recording on an old record, which has connections with the afterlife. "Kubi no Nai Choukoku" is a story about mannequins and... See full review

This manga is funny. And cute. And has actually engaging character interactions (starting from chapter five), as well as some excellent flashbacks which add depth to the story. Seeing the exorcist Itsuki getting overwhelmed by Kinako's jealousy and self-hatred and other negative emotions makes it all the more funny that the guy (who's name I don't think is ever given) doesn't notice any of this. A lot of the humor comes from Kinako being able to read the guy's thoughts and from Kinako having a crush on the guy. I also liked the other ghost characters quite a bit, with Gen being pretty chill. The... See full review

STORY: The world-building was well done, with the effects of the curse/disease being visually creepy and the cause of it being acceptable (even if it does include a cliched idea). There are still some questions left unexplained, but not to the level that it feels like there's more questions than answers, if that makes sense. When I finished the story, I felt like it'd reached a satisfying resolution. I liked the narrative choice of the journal. My one sticking point with the storytelling (and this might've just been a translation issue) is with Hideo's line "I haven't seen you in... See full review

I could empathize with Kaya's feelings of being taken for granted and that Sana wasn't putting the amount of effort into their relationship which Kaya needed in order to feel loved. I don't really condone Kaya's passive aggressive way of handling feir emotional needs not being met and I was also saddened at how nothing was really resolved in the end. This couple needs to have better communication and, unfortunately, we don't see any signs that their communication will get better. So it's a sad story, ultimately. The kissing moments were underwhelming, with the lips not interlocking in any... See full review

This is cute. And what I really appreciate about this series over something like Kubo Won't Let Me Be Invisible (other than the ninja stuff) is that it doesn't drag things out for too long. It's only 31 chapters long, and it does have some actual relationship progress that isn't just crammed together in the final few chapters. Like, I was sorta expecting the love confession to occur in the final chapter, but there was a whole storyline after that moment (and a very emotionally moving storyline as well). There are two sources of drama in this story: 1) Chiyoyo's shyness makes it... See full review

Right off the bat, I feel like the underlying promotion of The Patriarchy and its gender roles should be mentioned. Unfortunately, that sort of underlying mentality can be found in a lot of manga, and (almost paradoxically) it's often most prevalent in stories that have a lot of powerful female characters. That's because these sorts of pseudo-harem manga aren't actually trying to shine spotlights on female characters or offset the over-representation of men in the pop culture of decades past or anything like that, but are instead just trying to surround a central male character with a ton of women/girls... See full review

The very first line of narration we encounter is "The first time a laser beam shot out of the tip of Alan's shovel was exactly one hundred years after [fe] had started digging in the mine," perfectly setting expectations for this silly tale about shovels doing absurd and outlandish things. It's a gag manga set around a quest to get the seven dragon balls (though they aren't called that). The humor is largely absurdist irony with a parodic tint to it--making fun of fantasy quests with overpowered main characters. Nearly every chapter introduces at least one new power that Alan can use with feir... See full review

As of the writing of this, I've read 66 Junji Ito one-shots (out of the 111 listed on this website), so I guess I could be considered about half an expert on the topic of such things. And, broadly speaking, I'd say that Junji Ito's one-shots tend to skew more toward the disappointing, mediocre, or meh side of things (like 3/10s or 4/10s), with only a small handful being good. In this collection here, there is a good story (as a 7/10)--"Akai Ito"--and one story which at least rises above the pack (as a 5/10)--"Kakashi." Looking back on the stories in this collection, I notice that... See full review

Literally the last two panels of this manga singlehandedly raised its rating up by several points in my mind. Up to that point, it felt like it was going to end up being another Junji Ito story that was about just showing off some weird phenomenon. The best thing that could've been said about it was that it taught me a bit about Japanese history/culture (regarding the "thousand-stitch belt"). And, for the most part, that's still true. It's a weird and vaguely explained phenomenon regarding the red string and the stitchings. But the final two panels add some extra context, makes Momoko's... See full review

A classic technique with horror and thriller types of stories is to withhold information from the audience. Like, not showing the monster. This has two useful effects: 1) it lets the audience fill in gaps with their own imaginations (which can lead to people assuming the worst, whatever that is to them), and 2) it creates a sense of intrigue and mystery (which can lead to some post-experience pondering and reflection). Junji Ito makes use of this technique within this story, and withholds some vital information as to both the why and the how regarding the weird things that are occurring (with there... See full review

Time and again, I find myself disappointed by Junji Ito oneshots. I think part of this disappointment is because Junji Ito is a well-known horror author, but another part is that I have encountered some Junji Ito stories which are genuinely great. And even feir mediocre and disappointing stories will often still have core elements or ideas which feel like they could've had potential if they had been explored more deeply or if the characters had acted in more believable ways--which honestly probably adds to the sense of disappointment. Like, in the first story, the idea of a bunch of deaths... See full review

A lot of times, stories without any dialogue will rely on either very precise artwork to clearly get across what's going on or will rely on creating a type of narrative which will allow for the reader re-reading panels or pages without too much disruption (in other words, a story which doesn't hinge on individual moments and is instead more of a broad strokes type of thing). I would say that this manga doesn't successfully do either of those things. The artwork is pretty crappy and the panel layout was a little confusing during the first readthrough. While I understood the overall point, I did have to... See full review

I love the artwork and the character design for the goddess. I also thought that the general fickleness and different perspective on time were portrayed very well. That "hush" double-page spread is both sensual and frightening.

First of all, let's talk about the artwork. It has badly proportioned bodies and faces. There's simplifications and a general lack of detail, including some literal stick figures thrown in. The gore is pathetic and the choreography to the battles are horribly done. Most (if not all) of the female characters have large breasts, with panels often being framed in such a way to focus on them (and also on the crotches), but not in a way that looks sensual or anything. The choices for facial expressions (such as the condescending look or the smiling while slaughtering) are obviously just the author trying to play... See full review

Upside--The way the insect world and the real world interact is fun and also a little bit funny. It still allows for some pretty splashy attack moves, but while making the overpoweredness somehow feel less bothersome (possibly because the insects start out by feeling so much weaker). I would call this story a light read with some entertainment value to it. Downside--The power-ups and goals are accomplished far too easily and quickly and the subplots switch far too frequently. Related to this, the rate at which our protagonist is able to gather gold coins grows exponentially, making it so that... See full review