sunnyraye7

Frighteningly addictive.
"Monster" is a deep and meaningful psychological thriller one should at least watch/read once in his life.

In this one, Urasawa allows us to explore the most classic theme in all medias: the duality of good and evil. The darkness and light that co-exist in each human being.

As we follow the journey of Dr Tenma, mistakingly convincted for murder, and devoured by his own guilt for saving a kid ,Johan, who turned into the most deranged and manipulative psychopath, we get to know a plethora of characters along the way: each one getting a different backstory, and serving a different purpose, giving a most humane et realistic feeling to the story.

As we delve deeply in the psyche and the memories of the characters, through one sentence "Look at me, the monster inside of me is growing bigger" we get to ask ourselves : who is the real monster ? Is it the loneliness and darkness that devours the heart of the abandoned kids ? Is it the one who choose to brainwash them ? Is it the mother who chooses to sacrifice one of her children ? Is it the one who can't feel compassion but only emptiness ?

And what makes a human 'exist' ? Is it his ability to feel ? Is it his memories ? Or the name he was given that makes him part of the world and be remembered?
In the end, Urasawa lets his readers decide what is the good answer: none and all of these.

To sum it up, except a few minor "flaws", quickly erased by the extraordinarily developed characters and the complex themes explored here, calling "Monster" a masterpiece is an understatement.

Let me start with something unconventional: This manga is started out as a hentai and got serialized later on as a regular manga. The only other manga I know of that started as a hentai is Ane Naru Mono. However, the hentai was wholesome, and this manga is even more wholesome.

With that out of the way, Kitsune no Oyome-chan is quite a regular slice of life manga. Episodic by nature, we follow the daily life of Oyome and her husband, who she refers to as "master". There is no general plotline, just their visits to a zoo, the beach, Oyome's parents, a school and festival and the like. Nothing irregular here. The archaic speech and manners of Oyome and the sweet interaction between her and her husband make this a relaxing manga more than most others.

It is clear that this is a kind of escapism like all the isekai manga that emerge nowadays, albeit in a completely different direction. There is no sense of danger, except that kitsune are afraid of dogs. Rather, this is more a "what if we didn't have cat girls, but kitsune living among us" and in my honest opinion, I cannot wait for the day that may truly happen in this world. However, for now we just have to make do with manga like these. Luckily, Oyome chan is portrayed really well. She is a lovely wife and has even found a job as a storyteller or history lecturer because of her age. It makes her feel better than burdening her husband's finances as a stay at home wife.
Speaking of which, the husband is pretty sweet and caring for Oyome, but a little bland. This might be from the fact that this manga originated as a hentai. Also, a bland character ensures more focus on those the story is based on, if done correctly. And he succeeds quite well in that aspect. He has more than simple lines to say and he has saved Oyome in more ways than one. It is evident that both of them love each other and they show their affection on several occasions.

As of now, there are only 7 chapters translated, but as soon as the scanlations pick up, this might become almost as popular as the similar manga Sewayaki Kitsune no Senko san. It has potential and it only needs to garner a little bit of attention and enough chapters to earn an anime adaptation.

So if you like sweet manga, want to know how it is to live with a kitsune or just have a lovable wife, I highly recommend reading this.

And for those curious ones, here are the magic numbers: 123827. There are only three pages containing nudity.

Esta review también está en español.

It's late. You're finally out of work, school or whatever, and you are going home. Its dark outside, and kind of intimidating. And suddenly, you feel, you think, you're almost certain:

"I'm being followed"

That damn sensation we all feel at one point, in which someone is dangerously close to us... this one shot is about that feeling.

Kaerimichi (or, if you prefer, The Way Home) is a six page story in which this issue is explored. The protagonist, a young adult, feels that he's followed when he passes near an abandoned house. When he got home, he comments that to his little brother (an elementary student) and, to his surprise, he says he feels the same when passing by that place. And not only that: the little one says that what's watching and following the brothers is not a thief, kidnaper or something like that, but a mysterious, ghostly entity.

An interesting thing is that we have two different points of view, as opposite as it could be thanks to the age difference: in one hand, the youngest is convinced that something supernatural is involved... heck, there's even a protocol created by the children of the area to avoid being catched! On the other hand, the oldest analyzes the whole situation in a cold, pragmatic way, believing that the uneasiness is produced because the area is uninhabited and unenlightened. However, to settle doubts, he decides to investigate the next day...

The art is mediocre at best. Very simple and undetailed, with generic characters (with a very ugly design, by the way) and scenarios barely worked. Everything feels empty.... At least, the low quality doesn't prevent to understand and enjoy the story, but, all in all, is pretty bad.

So, as a closing, I say that Kaerimichi, although not the most ambitious (or pretty) project, is a smart and wit one shot, that manage to entertain and being coherent despite its short length. So, if you have a couple of minutes to spare, this little thing is a good choice.
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Es tarde. Salís de trabajar, de cursar, o de donde sea, y por fin te dirigís a casa. Esta oscuro, y no es seguro. Y de golpe, lo sentís, lo pensas, casi que lo sabes:

“Me están siguiendo”

Esa maldita sensación que todos sentimos en algún momento, de que hay alguien peligrosamente cerca de nosotros… este one shot trata sobre eso.

Kaerimichi (que significa “el camino de regreso a casa”) es una historia de solo seis páginas, en la que vemos explorada esta cuestión. El protagonista, un joven adulto, siente que es seguido cuando pasa cerca de una casa abandonada. Cuando llega a su casa, se lo comenta a su hermano menor (un chico que va en primaria) y, para su sorpresa, este le dice que siente lo mismo. Y no solamente eso, si no que le dice que lo que lo sigue no es un ladrón o una persona siquiera, sino que es una misteriosa entidad fantasmal.

Lo interesante es que tenemos dos puntos de vista diametralmente opuestos, tan opuestos como solo podría serlo por la marcada diferencia de edad: por un lado, el más joven está convencido de que hay algo sobrenatural involucrado, que hay algo más allá de su comprensión que lo persigue… incluso hay un protocoló tácito (concebido por todos los niños de la zona) para evitar ser atrapado: hay que mirar hacia atrás en una intersección específica para no ser lastimado… Por el otro, tenemos el frio y analítico análisis de un adulto, que opina que solo se sienten intranquilos porque la zona está abandonada y carente de iluminación. Sin embargo, para zanjar dudas, decide investigar al día siguiente…

El dibujo es de mediocre para abajo. Muy simple y poco detallado, con personajes genéricos (y con un diseño muy feo, dicho sea de paso) y escenarios apenas trabajados. Esta precariedad artística da una sensación de vacío que, en cierta forma, contribuye a la tensión que sienten los personajes por su situación, así que al menos algo positivo puede rescatarse.

Para terminar, quisiera decir que Kaerimichi, a pesar de ser un proyecto poco ambicioso, cuenta con el ingenio de los buenos one shots (ya saben, de esos que se las ingenian para entretener a pesar de su muy corta longitud), así que si tienen un par de minutos libres, este mini manga es una buena opción.

Spoilerfree:

When I first started reading Time Paradox Ghost Writer I couldn't stop. My face was glued to my screen and I was so excited to see where this show would be headed. Well, it tackles a topic many Japanese people - at least so I've heard from people - aren't too keen about.

It stops after 15 chapters and everything really goes downhill those last few chapters. You can tell the writers tried to wrap things up as fast as they could and the story greatly suffered from it.

Now I did still give it 8 stars and that's because I when I started and thought what this show would become I was thrilled. This mix of Bakuman and Steins;Gate was exciting, I was expecting some great twists and reveals.
So even though this series fails to deliver that, the first 9 or so chapters felt amazing and 15 chapters don't take too much of your time so I can only recommend reading it, just to get a glimpse of what could've become a fantastic new serialisation.

Ever since I read Subarashii Sekai, Asano Inio became my favorite mangaka. He has a gift for short and emotional stories, and I love that.

This one-shot is about a neet brother and a fushoji sister, who don't seem to get along. The sister is married to a good man, but he has politic views that differ from that of her brother's, and that's why he can't stand his sister's marriage.

This one-shot focuses on an episode of their life after the brother trashed the house. They have a little chat about politics, her mother's mental state and the sister's husband. What can be so great about it?

What makes this so good is that it is so real. The characters do seem to have a life beyond this one-shot, and Inio makes it seem so with little effort. That is what makes Asano Inio one of the best mangaka I have ever come across, the fact that his characters seem so three-dimensional in a span of one or two chapters.

"Shirokuma Tensei" is a pretty generic isekai story with one exception. And, no it isn't that the MC is reincarnated as a bear.

Amidst all the isekai stories that have been written during the current surge of popularity for the genre, this story sticks out because of the beary good puns. I'm not sure if the source Japanese has the puns in it, or if it was the English translator's work. But, bear puns have been inserted in pretty much every possible spot in the translation I saw, and it was great.

But, yeah. That's pretty much the only thing that stands out about this one. Although if you are a fan of generic isekai, this one won't disappoint.

Note: this review is based purely on the translation from mein kampf to manga kampf (haha I did a funny).

The way that Hitler's design evolves while in the NSDAP party is interesting as it shows him growing from a (not very) humble party member to a megalomaniac by contorting his expressions more and more as the chapters go on. The art style also manages to capture Hitler's grief and anger in an entertaining manner considering how unemotional the OG Mien Kampf is in some places.

One of the few problems I have is some sections being out of place as if to foreshadow what will happen but 99% of people reading Waga Tousou will already know at least a basic version of Hitler's tale so I feel it to be unnecessary even if it does make the manga seem more authentic (as if it was an original story).

Mod Note: This review was initially posted for the one-shot, Kuuki-chan to Yankee-kun, and was subsequently merged into Naisho ja Tarinai yo.

To be honest, the only reason I decided to read this one-shot was because it seemed to be a blatant rip off of Yoshikawa Miki's work, and I wanted to be proven wrong. The concept itself is nearly identical to Yamada and the Seven Witches (girl and misunderstood delinquent fall down the stairs and accidentally kiss, only to find they've switched bodies) and the title itself seems to be a direct reference to Yoshikawa's "Yankee-kun to Megane-chan".

That aside though, Kuuki-chan to Yankee-kun was mediocre at best. Although a shoujo spin to this concept could have been interesting, it was not well suited for a one-shot story. The romance unveiled a little too quickly, even by shoujo standards, and the characters had little time to develop. For example, even though the title of the work implies that the main character's "lack of presence" is an important aspect to the story, there is zero development in this regard. The only way one would even be able to tell she lacks presence is from her opening comments about how she likes to blend in. The delinquent character is also just that: your typical manga delinquent who has a kinder heart than one would expect based on appearances.

The spin at the end was nice, but predictable. Although the plot wasn't awful, it would have greatly benefited from longer story where it could have better developed.

When i found this on this site at first i was like... "this one's a little wierd. I mean come on, really a tapeworm girl?" Then as i started reading it i actually started enjoying the story and by the way this manga has just the right ammount of fan service, it has a nice ending too.

The artstyle is not really the kind that i'm into but it's fine i didn't really mind it too much, the characters' personalities are really well written.

I highly recommend that you read this if you want a manga that has a unique story/plot.

This is a ctrl+c/ctrl+v from what i commented on MD with a few edits. The review is further down.

Interesting manga with a shit ending. 6.5/10 (honestly maybe a 6 is already too much, but i enjoyed it besides the final chapter)
The story wasn't developed enough, they rushed everything after a certain part (more than it already was lol) and the character.. Well, he was an interesting character but wasn't developed enough as well. All i can see is a bunch of potential going to waste here.

Maybe this can be described as a shorter, worse version, of "Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou" ? Both have the same problems but arifureta is a little more developed, has a better character and a more interesting story (imo), this is judging by the current manga ch. btw, i didn't read the novel.

Anyway, Dungeon Seeker ended like a shit movie that was not supposed to get a sequel, i'm quite disappointed.

---Now to the actual review---
You can read the synopsis, so i'll skip that. The manga goes from 0 to a 100 in a matter of a few chapters, and then it falls under a boring part, returns to a interesting part of the story to end with a completely shit conclusion. If you want a quick read, go for it, otherwise don't bother. What you can actually expect from it is the regular isekai thing, with a darker world and a mc that is ok with killing people. Like i said, you can compare it with Arifureta.

Personally i read this thing within a few days while i was in the bus lol