Hokuto no Ken

Hi guys!
Old time classic and manliest manga I've ever read!!

Thanks for watching!

We Never Learn first impression

Hi guys!
I've just looked at new manga series from Shonen Jump and it has some potential!
Drawing is very cute (even backrounds clean lines made me uncomfortable) and it feels unique but maybe because I've never read someting similar

Thanks for watching!

Boku no Hero Academia Chapter 121-128 Review!!

Hi guys!!
This manga is great as always!! Fangirling over Mirio and Overhaul!!!

Thanks for watching!

Sensei no Bulge

Author: Horikoshi Kouhei

Alternative title: Barrage, Bulge of the Battle Star, Bulge of the War Planet, 戦星のバルジ

Type: Manga

Chapters: 16

Tags: action, shounen, fantasy, sci-fi

Living in Industria which is under constant attack of aliens isn't easy, not for a poor boy Astro who needs to feed a whole bunch of orphan kids because they are his only family. But one day change everything. He meet prince Bulge who looks exactly like him and offers him to became prince instead because he wants freedom.

This story might have a very non-original base (prince and poor boy are swapped) but the thing is that it was done somehow originaly. It was full of nice ideas, like that one about alien invasion in the world which is not so developed was pretty unique. I haven't read much manga with this theme (only Gintama) so this was definately a nice plus and I was trully interested where it will go. Sadly story is just too short for any much deepness or good conclusion but still I enjoyed it so potential was definately there.

Art was very nice, I mean I love art in Boku no Hero Academia and this is from the same author so no surprise. He really does nice smooth lines, characters expressions or designs for clothing and weapons, well he just hit my shounen taste I guess =)

Characters, well as in other shorts which I enjoyed they are pretty good. The main duo Astro and Tiamat had very good chemistry which was nice to watch and I would really love to be with them longer. Astro for a shounen character was very typical but his motivation was something new, sometimes it get bit frustrating that he was all about family here and there but in the end it was still good. Tiamat was great supporting/teaching character, actually I wish Horikoshi will use him somewhere again because he was strong but his awkwardness around women was really funny XD Tico is only main girl here and she too has a lot of interesting traits which was sadly not used fully because of shortness. So yeah characters were done good.

Overall. Very nice story which had a lot of good ideas and interesting characters but sadly wasn't able to pull everything out of it.

Rating: 8/10 

(if the ending wasn't rushed and this was longer I'm sure I would give it better rating)

Red Sprite

Author: Yagi Tomohiro

Alternative title: レッドスプライト

Type: Manga

Chapters: 14

Tags: action, shounen, historical, steampunk, sci-fi

Welcome to Edenia, militant country, which is lead by general Atlas who is not afraid of using slaves or life-human energy source to fulfil his dreams. But in his way stays Tatsu Frampt, leader of Magonia, flying nation of human thundercores, which rebels againts Edenia's slavery and aggression.

I must say idea of this story is freaking genius and I loved it much because it was something new or at least I haven't read much shounen manga with this kind of setting. Steampunkish WWII where people has different lightning powers. That just sounds cool! And even it was short it somehow managed to give the world setting some kind of life because it worked for me very well. There were only two different countries (three if we count the freshly new made Magonia) but their relantionship was pretty real. This would have an amazing potential but sadly it got canceled (why is Jump doing this to me???) so yeah there is not enough details, because there wasn't proper time for that but I'm sure I would love it. I welcome political things if they are balanced and in this it seemed like that's the case. The only thing I didn't like about this was the fact it sometimes felt pretty rushed, still it worked nicely but I would appreciate spending more time here and there (but I guess it was partly because Jump doucheness).

Artwork was great! All the fighting scenes were badass and those powers, damn, I just lowed to look at it! This would have been such an epic shounen fighting manga!!!

Characters. Well there wasn't much place for a development or trying to look at more than one or three characters bit deeply, which is sad, but I liked all the characters. Frampt was unusual shounen hero, he wasn't clumsy instead he was very clever and inteligent and I just fell in love with his fightning, with his planning and even negotiating. And of course Frampt started off pretty overpowered and that was another fun I enjoyed because there is so much ''from zero to hero'' types that find something original in them is very hard. Actualy I didn't mind lack of character development much maybe because Frampt was holding the story all by himself. But despite not gaining any much depth all characters were interesting, villains, Frampt's friends, Queen and I would love to read more about them.

Overall. Extremely potential manga which got me hooked just from the start but got killed by JUMP! Hate those guys!!

Rating: 9/10

Hajimari no Glashma

 

 

Author: Kumiko Suekane

Alternative title: Once Upon a Glashma, はじまりのグラシュマ

Type: Manga

Chapters: 12

Tags: fantasy, magic, comedy

One day all the girls in the world dissapeared and men started to have magical powers. Welcome to a Glashma, world were two agents, Gotanda Takeshi and Nippori Norinori, from The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication are trying to monitor a growing wizard population.

Idea is very interesting and it actually works very well even the fact this manga is so short, but there is not much world building or background involved and that's a bit problematic. Also the story feels bit rushed and 12 chapters really doesn't do any justice. I just felt that this would be way more better and funnier if it would be a bit longer. What I kind of liked was the fact that it started episodic, one case per chapter, but after the half the whole meaning why all dissapearing happend was revealed and it was put kind of nicely. Even though it was rushed.

Artwork is nice and flows good. I didn't have any problems to know where I'm or who is who, which I usually have with this kind of shoujoish style.

Characters are really not deep but because it's comedy I actually weren't minding it so much. Their traits worked and I was smilling through some jokes and ended up interested in some of them more deeper.

Ending. Well I just felt that there needs to be a sequel and not because it has an opened ending.

Overall. I enjoyed it but it was too short. I would love to know more about characters and so on.

Rating: 7/10

GTO: Shonan 14 Days

Author: Fujisawa Tohru

Alternative title: GTO: 14 Days in Shonan, Black Diamond

Type: Manga

Chapters: 77

Tags: action, comedy, shounen, romance, drama, ecchi

Have you ever wondered what happened to Onizuka after he was shot by Teshigawara in original series? Well this spin-off is just ready for you! Because of Onizuka's stupidness he needed to hide himself for a bit so he came to his hometown Shonan. There he accidentally stumbled into facility for problematic kids with two beutifull woman guardians. Of course at first his intentions are very selfish (I mean it's Onizuka, 22 year old virgin) but soon his kidness and big heart force him to help those broken kids by any possible way.

Story of this Onizuka spin-off is kind of fast-paced but problems in this one are really serious matter. Abused children never had it easy so this bunch is very messed up. And it was very satisfying to see how Onizuka solved their problems risking even his own life. Of course it's bit episodic but everything really headed towards an end where everything was connected and made a sense. 

Also Onizuka police officer and bus hijacker are so far the most sexier outfits I've seen on him XD (do I need to mention that I have a crush on him???).

Characters are like always the biggest win in Onizuka universe. Eikichi all alone is one of the best main characters you can meet in manga. He is pervert but you can also say that's kind of healthy attitude for a young man who is still a virgin XD But his biggest trait is that he cares about people in need, especially woman and children. And he is badass, if you find anyone who jump-kicked windshield of car tell me. Simply everyting Onizuka does is badass and he doesn't need any superpowers.

But away from The Greatest Teacher ever this spin-off presents another good and interesting characters (just next to some appearance of Ryuuji, Urumi, Uchiyamada and more old regulars) like Ayame who is really devoted to her job and feels more like a mother than some mere staff. Or Shinomi, the girl from Shonan Junai Gumi who always had a crush on Onizuka and this kind of reveals where she ended. All kids are very original too, Miki doesn't care about using her fathers police power to create ruckus in order to get more of his attention. Seiya helds a such strong grudge against his mother's boyfrined that he is devoted to personaly kill him. Ikuko, shy girl whose mother almost killed her by boiling water or Sakurako who slits her wrist when facing distress because of her abusive and perverted father. And I can't forget about twins using yakuza power to even try to kill Onizuka. All characters work very well together and I love the interactions, Fujisawa is amazingly good at this because he gives soul to his characters. They feel very realistic and that's important for me.

Art is definately better than in Shonan Gumi and even upgraded from original GTO. I really like it especially during fighting scenes because it's just sooo badass. Also amount of facial expressions is huge, sometimes realistic, sometimes totaly creepy or hilarious.

Humour is alwasy the same, hilarious, sometimes immature and it really hit my personal taste. So if you like it in previous mangas there wouldn't be any problem here.

So what I should say? My reading order was kind of very messed, of course I've read original GTO first but I continued with others after like six years. But I think starting with Shonan Junai Gumi was a good thing to do. But doing it I really missed older Onizuka so I really enjoyed this one.

Overall. This spin-off is almost as good as original but sadly everything was a bit fast-forwarded to me. I would really love more of White Swan.

Rating: 8,5/10

Shonan Junai Gumi!

Author: Fujisawa Tohru

Alternative title: GTO: The Early Years, Shonan Pure Love Gang, 湘南純愛組！

Type: Manga

Chapters: 267

Tags: action, comedy, shounen, school, romance, drama, gangs, ecchi

Before Onizuka became great teacher he was deliquent during his own middle school and high school years. But not just some no-name deliquent. He and his best friend Ryuji were part of Oni-Baku, biker gang which once had a big power in Shounan.

Story of this manga might be a little bit repetitive. Onizuka and Danma chasing girls, than find some new punk or enemies, then they fight, their group got more people then the girls and funny stuff again... But everytime it's presented differently, everytime new characters appears, new enemies, Onizuka and Ryuji solve the problem differently, new girls appears etc. it's just like a real life when no day is the same. It varies dispite its repetitive core. Some problems are funny but some are very serious and a lot of dangerous things happens.

Characters are of course very important. The main duo Onizuka-Danma are one of the best characters I've met. They might have been deliquents chasing girls but they are very kind and good-hearted and they would do anything for a pal in troubles. Not to metion that during the whole manga they mature a bit, especially Ryuji. Of course there is plenty of others, everyone of them is different and adds a nice spice to the group and sometimes it was very funny and pleasing to watch how they interact between each other, how the whole group works, how characters acts. There wasn't any character I wouldn't like or feel that there was no need for them because all of them have their important place. And know how to use so many characters and do it well is something I must appreciate.

Art is very oldschool because well this manga started in 1990 but towards the end it gets better and better and no matter how old it is, fight scenes are done greatly and some of them made me shiver.

Humour, of course, is very immature XD This is trully shounen manga for boys so crazy jokes about dicks, boners and other stuff appears a lot but even I'm girl I just laughed like a crazy sometimes.

Overall. It might get a bit repetitive or boring but characters and fights are just amazing! Trully if you loved GTO you must read this!!

Rating: 8/10

Lock On!

Author: Tsuchida Kenta

Alternative title: LOCK ON！ ーロックオンー

Type: Manga

Chapters: 18

Tags: comedy, slice of life, shounen, school, romance, supernatural

Short stories usually have it hard to build up story or became somewhat interesting to me but this one managed it really well. Main protagonist is Utsuru who has photogenic memory, he can simply memorize everything he sees and of course is a photographer. One day at school doing his daily stuff, like chasing and asking girls if he can make a photos of them, he meets Niko a girl who just don't like guys. It sounds pretty simple but the deepness and complexity of the story really got me.

Despite the fact it's shounen it's really more focused on its slice-of-life part than anything and that I loved the most. It's about friendship, trust, love, just normal stuff highchoolers do in life with a bit nice spice here and there. It was something different, something new and I appreciated it a lot because I read so many shounens which ripped each other that I got kind of bored by its repetitiveness so I was really glad to found out this little gem.

Art is nice and of course very shounenish, there is not much to it, it's not much special and it's a bit amateurish but it doesn't matter to me because it really makes the story to shine even more. At least it's not confusing.

Characters. Of course they are the biggest part of this manga. Every character is important, every character has it's flaws, problems, meaning. I really got into them. At first glance Utsuru might look like typical teenage pervert but after few chapters I realised that he really cares about girls, he wants them to be happy and he don't hesitate to help them, especially his friends. Niko looked like typical stubborn tsundere character but actually wasn't because there was so much in her! There was really sweet and naive Yuki which got her own problems too or not so typical deliquent Yamamoto who had the sweetest side I've ever seen. I mean all characters looked like typical shounen characters but were more developed and more realistic then in most of them. Also the interactions between each of them were really well done and I enjoyed them really much. It just felt like I was back at my old school days with my friends. So much nostalgia!

Also I must mention humour which happened to hit my taste so everything was way more better. It's a bit hilarious and sweet and sometimes crazy.

Ending was, well I actualy liked it because it fitted the theme of the story but I did really wish for more. To know more about characters to watch more of their lives, their friendship, their love, so it's really sad that it was canceled by Jump. I think that if author had more time this would be a really great manga but sadly there wasn't much fights I guess =(

Overall. Very good story with very typical tropes but they are handled very originally.

Rating: 8/10 (just wished for more)

Fantastic Tales

Author: Huan Yi

Alternative title: 

Type: Manhua

Chapters: 18

Tags: fantasy, historical, historical-fantasy, martial arts, shoujo

Short manhua which story starts very good and I'm not a big fan of shoujo so it means something. But when the story proceed more and more it was kind of hard for me to follow. There were too many things happening and I wasn't exactly sure what is it about anymore. I just lost the main course, which is bad.

So it starts with Xu Xuan, young boy who is a representative of Hua Yuan Shan in martial arts, because there are contest all over the country. He travels with his senior Xin Moyi. They met with some people which stick to them but then Yue Ling Long appears and it seems that she is the main character dispite the fact she is not with main group all the time. Then it became all political because there are two people which wants to rule over the country. Yue Ling Long wants to kill one because she serves the other also she fells in love with Moyi. Then it became even more complicated when her boss is actually not such a good emperor she thought and so on. So crazily complicated! I mean I don't mind complicated things but this manhua was just too short for soo much political things, so much character development, so much characters, so it felt very rushed after the half of the story. Not to mention some very cheap unoriginal plot twists.

The art is typical shoujo-ish but even it's manhua (chinese equivalent of manga) it has very Japanese-feeling art style. Pannels are also set very well so I didn't lost myself while reading, which sometimes happens to me while reading certain shoujo styled manga (some of them are so damn confusing!).

Characters are portrayed very good, they are interesting and definately not poor but sometimes I felt that they just started to act in completely different way than how they were portrayed at the start. Also their character development was too fast.

Overall, very nice shoujo with some good fights and lovable characters, but which is also bit confusing and fast-forwarded.

Rating: 6/10

Phantom Wizard

 

Author: Ohmori Aoi

Alternative title: ファントム ウィザード

Type: Manga 

Chapters: 20

Tags: fantasy, adventure, magic, action, shounen

This short manga started kind of interesting but sadly the potential wasn't fully used. For me it was old unfortunate kids must fight againts douche superiors which wants their specific power. No wow twists for me.

Artwork isn't bad. It has RPG-like feeling which perfectly fits fantasy theme but sometimes it was kind of hard for me to follow what is happening in certain fighting scenes or distinquish characters.

About characters. They really aren't much special or deep. Both main charaters had some traits but overally things which I saw somwhere else (and done better) dominated. Also side characters were very plain and their background wasn't much developed. For me it's crucial to feel connected with characters, to feel their journey, their pain, their growth etc. and if I don't feel it I can't enjoy the work fully.

Another weird part of this short manga is strong incestuous feeling of one MC towards another. Maybe I wouldn't mind it much but why the hell is that girl alwas half-naked?! It totally destroyed all scenes especially when she was crawling around her own brother. It doesn't seem right!

Ending... I actually really don't care if it is closed or opened ending if everything works out perfectly but it this case it's bit anticlimatic.

Overally, story is not seriously bad but in the end has nothing new to serve...

Rating: 5/10

Manga Reviews

Alphabetically arranged

 

A

B

C

D

E

F

Fantastic Tales (manhua)

G

GTO: Shonan 14 Days (manga)

H

Hokuto no Ken (manga)

Hajimari no Glashma (manga)

I

J

K

L

Lock On! (manga)

M

N

O

P

Phantom Wizard (manga)

Q

R

Red Sprite (manga)

S

Sensei no Bulge (manga)

Shonan Junai Gumi! (manga)

T

The Breaker & The Breaker: New Waves (manhwa)

U

V

W

X

Y

Z