I remember seeing ad's for this back in the day when I'd go to the library and check out manga but I never actually bothered to give it a shot that is until today and pardon my french but MY FUCKING GOD!

Story:

Beck is a simple coming of age tale of Yukio Tanaka and the struggles he faces chasing his dream and over the course of this 30+ Vol 102 chapter read you're taken on a wild ride that'll make you feel every possible emotion under the son as they go through struggle after struggle in order to try and reach out their dreams.


This for the most part wasn't a complicated tale in all honesty but it's the simple things that matter and at no point did this not leave me wanting to take a break or stop as I found myself staying up late constantly saying one more chapter.

10/10

Art:

This is one of those areas I'm having a hard time to explain because this is an early 00's manga so the art has a certain look to it that draws inspiration from western comics with the fact that the character designs are simple but somewhat realistic if not looking kind of dated in a way that may draw some people off if they only care for newer anime which I understand does exist but even if that is the case you need to get over that because the second you see the motion of the concert scenes trust me even without the audio you'll feel something especially if you're a music person like me because just seeing the motion of a stage show on the page has a certain movement and glow to it that literally sent shivers down my spine.

Also the nods to various Album covers all through out were just a wonderful touch especially if you're a music nerd to any capacity.

8/10

Character:

Here's one of the few instances that I can think of where every single character in a story actually got just the right amount of time to grow and become something special and the ending really hammers that point home truly one of the best cast I've ever seen.

I guess if I were to point out any flaw here it'd be that I kind of wish Tanaka's and Minami's relationship would have gotten more time to really show but even so it was still a coupling I was rooting for all the way through.

10/10

Enjoyment/Overall:

I've always kind of powered through manga that's my thing and this is one of those few instances where powering through it didn't ruing the experience for me in any capacity because it was a story that I just could truly not put down I missed work because I just had to know what was going to happen next and that's not something I've been able to say about any form of literature in quite some time.

You owe it to yourself to read this story at least once it's a truly excellent coming of age tale that's just the right blend of romance, drama, comedy, and that special something that sets stories above all others and while I was hesitant to give it that perfect score after finishing it I just couldn't and since this website only deals with whole numbers I guess I have no other option that to award it such.

10/10