Nem nagyon terveztem a blogon videojátékokon kívül nagyon mással foglalkozni, aminek az a nagyon egyszerű oka, hogy másfajta médiát nem nagyon fogyasztok. Megnézem a nagyobb mozi címeket, illetve elvétve könyvet olvasok vagy animét nézek.
Éppen ezért rendhagyó poszt következik, aminek több oka is van: Egyrészt nem magyarul van, hanem angolul. Másrészt nem videojátékokról fogok beszélni, hanem mangákról. Harmadrészt pedig ezeket a rövid kritikákat eredetileg nem ide szántam.
Azonban, mégis legyen egy kis kontextus ahhoz, hogy miért is fogok oldalakon keresztül, mangákról angolul hablatyolni. Eredetileg egy withceres posztot terveztem írni, amiből amint látható, nem lett semmi. Azonban mivel alig 2 hét alatt 6 különböző játékot játszottam végig (mondjuk nem kifejezetten hosszúakat), úgy éreztem egy kis szünetet kell tartanom, és valami mást csinálni a videojátékozáson kívül. Így hát mangát olvastam, amiről aztán a myanimelist oldalára rövid véleményt írtam angolul. Aztán elolvastam még egy mangát és arról is írtam egy rövid véleményt. Végül az az idő, amit a withceres posztra akartam fordítani, arra ment, hogy rövid véleményeket írogatok. Amiket ugyan nem terveztem ide kitenni, de igazából, miért is ne?
Mégis mi az isekai műfaj? Lényegében az, amikor a főhős, aki csak egy átlagember volt eddig, átkerül egy fantasy világba, ahol általában a fantasy világnak köszönhetően valamilyen mágikus képességre tesz szert (gyakran az RPG-kből ismerős rendszereken keresztül). Konkrétan az összes mangának amit olvastam ez lenne a szinopszisa, kivéve a legutolsót. Az ok pedig hogy ennyi különböző mangát fejeztem be, pedig az, hogy ezek mind futó sorozatok, amik az utóbbi 3-4 évben indultak, és egyiknek sem igazán volt 25-30-nál több elolvasható fejezete. Úgy tűnik, hogy ezek a történetek mind a nagy isekai robbanás következményei, amit leginkább a 2012-es Sword Art Online-nak köszönhetünk.
Most jöhetne egy olyan kérdés, hogy miért nem fordítom le ezeket a véleményeket magyarra. Nos, leginkább azért, mert sok munka lenne, márcsak azért is, mert nem minden angol kifejezés hangzik olyan jól, vagy jön úgy át magyarul, mint ahogy az kívánatos lenne. Ehhez pedig egy jó adagot kéne agyalnom, hogy más magyar kifejezésekkel hidaljam át a problémát, és most már szeretnék végre haladni azzal a witcheres poszttal is.
Akkor viszont csapjunk is bele a lecsóba, abban a sorrendben, amilyenben olvastam őket:
Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari (4/10)
There are two things I have heard about this story. Frist, that this is SAO done right, and secondly, that it's got an interesting main character who, thanks to a betrayal at the beginning of the story, becomes an untrusting bitter person. Unfortunately, the manga failed to live up to my (not particularly high) expectations. I have read 25 chapters, but I have little desire to continue. I would like to advise caution to everyone, who wishes to read it because, in my opinion, this manga is not worth more than 4 overall.
Let's start with the main hero. In light of the synopsis, I've expected him to be a more atypical shonen protagonist, someone who is more of a man of reason, kind of amoral, thanks to what happened to him. Don't be deceived, however, he is as impulsive and as much of a good guy as they come, in the end, he always saves the day. He is just a brooding asshole all the time, outright not listening to reason, which is somewhat understandable, but that doesn't make it less aggravating to watch. Moreover, he isn't all that consistent, he is Ok with some rather suspicious stuff, only to be so untrusting later, that he wouldn't even hear someone out. That's the thing, he seems to be more untrusting when the story needs him to be, more than when it would actually make sense.
This is one of the biggest problems with the story, it reeks of contrivance. Everything has such a convenient explanation. One of the main hooks of the story is the dark and edgy tone set up at the beginning, but funnily enough, that is all but gone by chapter 25. The manga had a strong first few chapter, and I thought: "Well, this might just go somewhere interesting." It didn't, by chapter 25 it became a completely run of the mill fantasy story.
This is where my disappointment stems from, I was more intrigued by the possibilities that all the dark and edgy staff can lead, rather than the actual pain and suffering that it depicts. And with it turning out to be more self-indulgent, it only strengthens the impression that the story just played the ever so convenient (and somewhat cheap) empathy card. I don't personally mind if something is emotionally manipulative, as long as it leads somewhere interesting, after all this is one of the reasons why we read these stories. However without any catharsis, conclusion, or more intriguing plot line to reward my emotional investment, the only thing I am left with is the feeling of being cheated, and ultimately... disappointed.
Just to illustrate my problems with the manga I am going to talk about ch.12 and 13, some spoilers ahead. So in ch. 12 they get attacked by a zombie dragon, and Firo gets crashed in the dragon's jaw, you can see the blood and all, but I am just sitting there unshocked and thinking: "I don't think they have the guts to pull this off, they will probably find a convenient explanation, as to how she survived". In ch.13 we find Firo alive and well, and turns out the blood we saw was actually her lunch, tomatoes... I seriously laughed out loud at that explanation. Also in these chapters when we see Firo "die" and all hope seems lost, the main hero starts hearing an ominous dark voice that offers him power, with which he defeats the dragon, but he momentarily loses himself in the flames of wrath of this newfound power. You mean he has some kind of dark power residing in him, that he can pull out of his ass at critical moments, which offers him immeasurable strength in exchange for his sanity? I wonder where I saw something similar... *cough* Naruto... *cough* Bleach. In these short chapters the manga not only established that it has no guts or intentions of killing any of the characters, which would not necessarily be a problem, if it wouldn't try to lead us to believe otherwise, since the story supposed to have a darker tone, but it also establishes that we can expect random asspull powerups whenever the heroes or the story requires it. In just two short chapters the narrative fucked itself pretty hard, I mean... smashed tomatoes... how am I supposed to take any of this seriously, after something like that?
I consider this manga to be the kind of "turn your brain off" story. Unlike most people, I don't use this label on fun and mindless stories, but on ones where you shouldn't think too hard about the plot. Because the more you think about the plot, the less sense it makes. Did anyone think about why the MC was betrayed in the first place? On how Rapthalia grows a more mature body by leveling up and also becoming more mature in the mind, or why this world needs the heroes when regular residents can level up and become powerful just as fine? Now, I am not someone who couldn’t suspend his disbelief for even a minute, I actually did it at the beginning, but when my overall enjoyment drops significantly, these sort of questions inevitably starts popping up.
I don't really know what went wrong with this manga, I have no idea how faithfully it follows the novel, I didn't read that. Perhaps the author had a good and dark idea about how to kick off the story but didn't know how to follow it up, or maybe he just wanted to create a good old-fashioned fantasy with a unique twist, but couldn't execute it well. The only good thing a can tell about the story is that it moves at a reasonable pace, although it was on the brink of becoming boring by the time I gave up.
As for the upcoming anime adaptation, I think it will flop, it won’t work in a post Re: Zero world. What do I mean by that? The fact that Shield Hero’s main draw, the "unique" twist, is the dark and edgy „sufferporn” that happens at the beginning, means it will inevitably be compared to Re: Zero and that show portrayed the suffering and failure (some would call it sufferporn) much better and more consistently.
I could go on, but to sum it up, Shield Hero has a strong start, that quickly becomes a completely run off the mill shonen action-adventure fantasy. It isn't unique in any notable way, nor its story or its characters are particularly deep and it's misleading dark beginning can easily lead to disappointment.
As for me personally, I think I put it on on-hold and see what the anime will make of it. Depending on that I may or may not pick it up at a later date.
Tsuki ga Michibiku Isekai Douchuu (6/10)
I've read 15 chapters and so far this seems to be a middle of the road fantasy story. A solid, above average 6.
So far the story did some basic, but much welcome world building. I got a general sense where the story is going, but nothing concrete. However, it isn't really in a hurry to get anywhere interesting. Since it is just the beginning of the story I don't want to be too judgmental.
Something I wasn't satisfied with is the characters. The MC is generic but other than that I don't particularly have any problems with him. However, his "servants" Tomoe and Mio really need some fleshing out because so far, they seem to be more defined by the MC, than having their own personality. I mean... they even get their names from him. What is this if not the ultimate power fantasy?
Maybe it is early to make an overall judgment, but my first impressions are as follows: The manga is a simplistic but entertaining read, it really requires some polish in the story and character department, and a bigger story arc that kicks the plot into motion would be nice.
Tensei shitara Slime Datta Ken (6/10)
So far I've read 26 chapters and my opinion is as follows: This seems to be a rather generic isekai, fantasy story.
The main hook of the story is the fact that the MC is reincarnated as a slime. Which is interesting for the first 10 or so chapters, but not so much after. Once the novelty of this idea is gone you are left with a middle of the road fantasy story. I mean it is entertaining while it lasts, I give it that, but it doesn't last that long. Moreover, sometimes they go a little overboard with how OP the main hero is, they don't do it often, but when they do, it is frankly ridiculous.The pace could improve a little too. I give props where it's due however, at least they didn't go for a harem, so we managed to avoid that genre trapping.
My biggest problem with the manga is the utter lack of interesting characters. The MC is as interesting as these overpowered, wish-fulfilling heroes go, fine, but I can not understand why the side characters are so bland. When I was trying to remember off the top of my head any notable side character I couldn't come up with anything. The Oni came to mind, but even in their case, I remember them more as a group rather than individuals. It's not that they are cliche, but that they are not even that, their characterization is almost non-existent. I was willing to give this a pass at the beginning because of the "I became a slime" thing was genuinely interesting, but as that started to run out of steam, it became more and more of an apparent problem.
I was strongly considering giving the manga an overall 5, due to its weak characters and lackluster plot, but since this was just the beginning of the story and it was consistently entertaining, I am willing to give it the benefit of the doubt, and a weaker 6. However, if the story doesn't give the characters some personality or pick up the pace significantly in the near future I will drop the manga.
Konjiki no Word Master: Yuusha Yonin ni Makikomareta Unique Cheat (5/10)
I've read the first 26 chapters and my conclusion is as follows: This is a mediocre shonen action adventure fantasy story. Might just be the definition of an overall 5/10.
Let's start with the best part, the main character. Thanks to his cool demeanor and very pragmatic worldview he is a notch better than his peers, even though he is nothing really special. At least the story spends some time fleshing out his character. Initially his arrogant attitude and constant childish bickering with Arnold (one of his companions) were rather aggravating, but this issue seems to be coming up less as the story goes on, which might just be the signs of character development. The same however can't be said for his companions, who are really a run of the mill bunch, not necessarily bad, but not good either.
Even though the manga has a half decent cast, there is just no chemistry between them. There is Arnold and Muir's father-daughter relationship, which is fine, there is the Mc and Arnold's constant bickering, which is just annoying, Wi's blunt affection for the Mc, which is just obvious fanservice, Muir's strive for self-betterment and her envy and embarrassment over Wi's bluntness is mostly kept to herself, and there is Arnold's pervertedness, which is just being played to make the same joke over and over again, and I basically listed all the character dynamics. Although which of these are dynamics and which are simple gimmicks, is up for debate. There is just no meaningful character interaction or banter between them. And I personally wouldn't mind some more small talk, if it's entertaining or gives to the characters, even a little.
The biggest problem with the manga is the story. Namely that it is just rather boring, well not exactly boring, it is that nothing of real significance happens, just basic fantasy stuff. To put it simply it's just not a particularly exciting read. Not to mention that when things actually happen, it is mostly delivered in a very convenient, contrived manner. And just when the story starts to get better the plot pulls out the secret (synonymous with asspull) powerup card. I wasn't bothered much with its presentation, rather with the fact that the manga managed to trip on another genre trapping. Whenever the story shows any signs of promise a convenient plot point happens, or someone says something out of character, just to revert back to normal within a couple of sentences, and this really holds the whole thing back. It's also worth a mention that the manga has some fanservice, not too much to turn down those who don't like it, but enough to entertain those who do. That seems to be the thing, the manga just really hits the middle of the road with whatever it does.
While I would be lying if I said the manga didn't get any better during its runtime, whether that's actually worth the wait however, is up for debate. Since I can't say that it was completely unenjoyable, and since this is the beginning of the story I am willing to give it some slack. However, I advise caution with it, or at the very least adjusted expectations.
Ore to Kawazu-san no Isekai Hourouki (7/10)
I've read 26 chapters of the manga and there is one thing needs to be cleared about the synopsis: So far this world is rather peaceful, there are no dark forces threatening the world, therefore there is no need to save it, there is not even an overarching plot, the story is rather episodic. The beginning reminded me more of Konosuba, than the most other isekai fantasy stories. I have to admit I am pleasantly surprised about how entertaining the story turned out to be.
The biggest reason for the manga's success is because it doesn't raise the bar too high. It never takes itself too seriously, it is as the title said this is about the adventures in another world, nothing more, nothing less. The story is mostly about the misadventures of our heroes as they discover the world. It focuses on its comedy more than others of its genre. Therefore it's more relaxed pace isn't much of a problem. It is not a parody like Konosuba, its humor not as over the top, and its characters nowhere near as wacky, but perhaps this is the reason why its humor sat so well with me, while Konosuba's not. Although the story seems to be moving towards bigger and more serious arcs, just finishing its first more serious one at chapter 22.
The characters are a mixed bag, nothing you haven't seen before, yet the chemistry between them seems to work. The side characters while not particularly three dimensional, are actually a lovable bunch, and the story seems to be fleshing them out more as it goes on. The MC may not be anything special either, but his laid back, down to earth personality practically guarantees a certain level of entertainment. While it is true that the main hero is extremely overpowered, the story is very aware of that and is mostly serves comedic purposes or for the MC the get creative with it, even when he gets into a battle it is mostly played for laughs.
It is kind of hard to put into words, but since the story is not trying to be so serious and tell another grand, epic tale, coupled with the fact that it manages to trip on less of its genre trappings, leads to a lot more enjoyable read, than most of its contemporaries.
However, if the manga has any great throwbacks, it's the art style. It is extremely bare bones, which can be very well seen in the complete lack of backgrounds, in 80% of the pages the characters are just standing in the void. Even when it decides to show backgrounds, it just nothing pretty to look at. The objects, the effects, and the characters only receive the bare minimum amount of detail. Not to mention that the lack of attention to detail makes the occasional fight scenes and overall movement rather hard to follow. There were moments where I would have had actually no idea what has just happened if they didn't also explain it, because it was just too confusing to look at.
To sum it up, this manga turned out to be a surprisingly enjoyable read. However, don't expect too much from it, while my enjoyment exceeded 7, mostly thanks to its humor clicking with me, my overall score didn't. The rather basic characters and lackluster art style requires some getting used to, and since this is just the beginning of the story there is no saying how it will turn out. I, however, remain cautiously optimistic.
Kumo desu ga, Nani ka? (7/10)
After 19 chapters I have to admit, this might just be the most interesting take on the iskai genre I have ever seen.
However, it is a bit hard to judge by conventional methods, because of its lack of characters and overarching plot, metrics by which most stories are being critiqued.
As for the characters, there is only one: Our main heroine Kumoko, reincarnated as a spider. Any dialogue that the story contains is her internal monologues and commentaries on the world. While she is a sympathetic protagonist, that is the case more because of her unique circumstances, rather than an actually intriguing personality. She doesn't really display any special character trait, other than what you would expect from an average somebody who got reincarnated into a fantasy world. Regardless, she is still plenty entertaining to follow.
Low-level mob simulator: The Grind, would be a less faithful but more accurate translation of the title. The story is entirely focused on the moment to moment plot of Kumoko trying to survive and grind her way up the food chain, in the dungeon she seems to be stuck in. And this is where the manga shines. Although this does not seem to be its main intention, the story's atmosphere has a rather dark and depressive edge to it. When most stories want things to go dark they, they often introduce heart-wrenching drama or tragedies, but this manga is a lot more subtle about it. Kumoko is far from being overpowered, struggling against even opponents of her own level, she is just a small fish in a big pond with a lot of bigger fishes. In a place where high-level monsters constantly roam around, where every victory must be hard earned and a safe spot for sleep is usually a luxury leads to a sense of constant dread, a sense of impending doom, because you just don't know what danger awaits at the next corner. It's a survival story, where the protagonist has to struggle just to stay alive, and it is not uncommon for our heroine to suffer grievous wounds, losing eyes or entire limbs (or just legs, in her case). Thankfully the fact that she heals when she levels up, coupled with her optimistic and resourceful nature and the cutesy art style, the atmosphere is overall well balanced, relieving most of the stress.
As for the art style, while it isn't anything special, it is very expressive. I was surprised how humanlike the artist could make the spider, in regards of its expressions. Making it a rather creative and overall pleasant thing to look at.
What keeps me giving the manga a rather well deserved 8, is the fact that as of now the story seems to be going nowhere, and despite it only having 19 chapters, thanks to the unique numbering, the number of existing chapters is closer to an actual 40. And after almost 40 chapters of dungeon crawling, I can not to do but yearn for a bit more variety. Don't get me wrong it's still a very interesting and compelling read, but since I don't really know where the story is going, at times it feels like a bit of a drag.
All in all, I can wholeheartedly recommend this manga to anyone who is looking for something different, because if nothing else, it is truly a unique experience.
Maou no Hajimekata: The Comic (3/10)
Ez az egyetlen, ami nem az isekai műfajba tartozik, helyette a történet középpontjába egy fantasy világ főgonoszát állítja.
So, this manga has been an interesting read, however not a particularly good one. While the story reveals in its own grimness, it doesn't give me much of a reason to care for it. Just as a warning, let me say this: You will need a level of "sick" curiosity if you want to put up with this manga. As a video gamer who was always intrigued by the possibilities of an evil playthrough, but never had the guts to pull it off, this story peaked my interest.
The biggest problem with the story is its own weightlessness, which is a direct result of the fact that the story never gives me a reason to care. Throughout the story never once is it explained what the motivation of the main character is, which is the driving force of the plot. He likes to bloat about how the things go according to his plans, but it is never explained what these plans are. And since the story never bothered to tell me what the point of this all is, I simply became disinterested. Let's not even mention the fact that the Mc finds the source of ultimate power in the first chapter. Actually, the story doesn't seem to know what it wants to be, it juggles between being a serious story about the villain conquering the world, and between one where it takes itself less seriously treating all the cruelty as more self-indulgent. Nowhere is the story's duality more apparent than in the art style. When it is not the dark and edgy staff the art usually depicts the characters as cutesy chibis, and the tone shifts to an outright comical one. And these extreme tonal shifts are especially jarring when the manga goes from torturing someone to chibi comedy in the time space of a single page. The story's handling of time is also nonsensical, a single chapter can take up from a couple of days to weeks of time and then between chapters entire months can take place. It just becomes confusing, it honestly gave me the feeling that I am watching a montage of the more interesting moment of this villain's life.
Let's take for example the mini arc from ch.8-12, spoilers ahead (skip this paragraph if you don't want them). This arc is basically all about the torture and breaking of that adventuring party that goes to the Mc's dungeon. Not only is it confusing because it takes place over an indeterminate amount of time, but it also completely undercuts the main plot. In just the previous chapter (ch.7) we saw that the Mc started to conquer the land around him, but now it is just been put on the back burner. 5 entire chapters about Mc torturing this random adventuring party and the only thing you are left with is a question: Why? Why go all the trouble of converting them one by one, if he could have simply killed them? Fun fact: After these chapters, these characters completely disappear from the plot, strengthening the feeling that this was completely irrelevant. The only point was for the manga to reveal in its own dark edginess.
That is the thing, all the cruelty is extremely self-indulgent because whenever the story decides to do this, the plot comes to a crawling halt. And if you want me to put up with all the wicked and frankly somewhat disturbing things the Mc does at least give me a reason. But there is no reason, it's all self-serving. Also, if you want to shock me with rape and the Mc making women into his sex slaves, at least have the decency to do it only once, because after the fifth time I can't stop to just roll my eyes and think: "Here we go again."
Let's not even talk about the characters. The side characters personality wise, are pretty much non-existent. And they are not even parts of the plot, they randomly appear and disappear from the story.
Although I give props where its due, it takes a certain amount of balls to create a story like this. It is also clear, that a lot of thought gone into certain aspects of the plot. Especially to the building a dungeon thing, and it can be pretty creative when depicting all the deplorable things the Mc does.
On a short note, just because you fill your story with lots of gore, sex, and cruelty, isn't going to make it a mature examination of the concept. All in all, I wouldn't recommend this manga, if not for the shock value itself. It took an interesting concept and squandered it, 3/10.
