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2.83 AVERAGE
2.83 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Interesting graphic novel, kind of a Japanese take on Modesty Blaise. Problem with this graphic novel is the fact it is artsy. Don't get me wrong I like artsy stuff but sometimes this can come up as a problem because not everyone sees the world in the same way especially when it comes to artistic presentations of inner turmoils.
As a consequence although art is truly one of the better ones I saw in manga sometimes it is so shrouded in darkness and ink blots that it truly takes a lot of concentration to figure out what is going on. As a consequence reader will lose the thread and might be in ??? mode because story is standard Yakuza/Criminal/Revenge opera with great accent on action and movement and not that much on dialogs. So visual presentation counts.
Story wise we follow Ryuko, daughter of deposed Yakuza boss as she fends off the criminal gangs in imaginary Middle Eastern country when suddenly she is told her mother is alive and kept prisoner. Story gets a little bit convoluted because we constantly move between present time and past (1980's and Russia's war in Afghanistan) so it requires the reader to concentrate in order not to miss anything.
In general very interesting graphic novel but slightly affected by artistic touch [in a negative way at least for me].
Recommended to all fans of manga and crime stories in vein of Crying Freeman.
As a consequence although art is truly one of the better ones I saw in manga sometimes it is so shrouded in darkness and ink blots that it truly takes a lot of concentration to figure out what is going on. As a consequence reader will lose the thread and might be in ??? mode because story is standard Yakuza/Criminal/Revenge opera with great accent on action and movement and not that much on dialogs. So visual presentation counts.
Story wise we follow Ryuko, daughter of deposed Yakuza boss as she fends off the criminal gangs in imaginary Middle Eastern country when suddenly she is told her mother is alive and kept prisoner. Story gets a little bit convoluted because we constantly move between present time and past (1980's and Russia's war in Afghanistan) so it requires the reader to concentrate in order not to miss anything.
In general very interesting graphic novel but slightly affected by artistic touch [in a negative way at least for me].
Recommended to all fans of manga and crime stories in vein of Crying Freeman.
Painfully ugly art and incoherent braindead plot.
Please don't let this turn you off of manga if this is your first exposure to the medium. There is some amazing stuff out there... just not this.
Please don't let this turn you off of manga if this is your first exposure to the medium. There is some amazing stuff out there... just not this.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Honestly this was kind of confusing. This had potential but it was hard to follow and I didn’t know what was going on half the time because the story kind of seemed all over the place with different things happening. The art added to the confusion as it wasn’t clear so I couldn’t make out what was actually happening. I’m unsure if I’ll continue with the second volume.
Really great first volume in a short, 2 volume series and I will give this a 3 1/2 out of 5 but rounded down to 3.
If you enjoy Yakuza stories you will probably like this one... it's a fairly short read/easy to get through and has a super cool female protag that I can't help but marvel over.
The main reason this is getting a lower score however, is because there were a few plot threads/moments I had trouble following, as some of the art was a little hard to interpret, although beautiful to look at. But the story itself was great and I look forward to reading the second/final volume.
If you enjoy Yakuza stories you will probably like this one... it's a fairly short read/easy to get through and has a super cool female protag that I can't help but marvel over.
The main reason this is getting a lower score however, is because there were a few plot threads/moments I had trouble following, as some of the art was a little hard to interpret, although beautiful to look at. But the story itself was great and I look forward to reading the second/final volume.
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The art in this books is amazing, breathtaking scenes with high levels of detail. unfortunately the story line is near opposite being too fast where i don’t care if the characters die, which they do a lot. I found it hard to comprehend overall and while i wasn’t bored i didn’t feel engaged or on the edge of my seat like i would expect for a thriller.
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes