Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
one of the most brutal and intriguing story ideas. Tatsuki Fujimoto is a troll who quickly makes you fall in love
p.s. another book to add to the “I wish I had read this when I was 12” list. and then I would become a mangaka
p.s. another book to add to the “I wish I had read this when I was 12” list. and then I would become a mangaka
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Cannibalism
Minor: Animal cruelty, Incest, Pedophilia, Slavery
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Entré por mera curiosidad y no esperaba la adictiva tormenta emocional que me esperaba. Fujimoto demuestra una vez más que sabe hacer personajes reales, y que no teme hacerles sufrir.
Esta es una de las historias mas crudas y duras que he leido, y sin embargo, es una historia de esperanza por la vida. Los personajes no son ni simplemente buenos ni malos, todos tienen sus intereses propios y luchan por rozar la felicidad en un mundo asolado por el frio y la locura.
El protagonista acaba tomando una serie de decisiones cuestionables, pero comprendes como acaba en ese problema y no es capaz de salir, no tiene los medios, y solo quiere ser feliz, y que aquellos que quiere sean felices tambien.
Como unica pega el sexismo y la violencia sexual son en muchos casos innecesarios, se podria haber cortado un poco.
Esta es una de las historias mas crudas y duras que he leido, y sin embargo, es una historia de esperanza por la vida. Los personajes no son ni simplemente buenos ni malos, todos tienen sus intereses propios y luchan por rozar la felicidad en un mundo asolado por el frio y la locura.
El protagonista acaba tomando una serie de decisiones cuestionables, pero comprendes como acaba en ese problema y no es capaz de salir, no tiene los medios, y solo quiere ser feliz, y que aquellos que quiere sean felices tambien.
Como unica pega el sexismo y la violencia sexual son en muchos casos innecesarios, se podria haber cortado un poco.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Dementia, Trafficking, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment
Bleak dystopian revenge story, not for the faint of heart. A young man with regenerative powers goes hunting the fire-powered man who destroyed his village.
Lots of uncomfortable (to say the least) themes come up including slavery, cannibalism, rape, incest, pretty much all forms of violence and abuse. There is a coherent storyline underneath all that, but it really doesn't feel good wading through all the horribleness. Might appeal to readers who like a gritty, dark setting, but it was a bit much for me.
Lots of uncomfortable (to say the least) themes come up including slavery, cannibalism, rape, incest, pretty much all forms of violence and abuse. There is a coherent storyline underneath all that, but it really doesn't feel good wading through all the horribleness. Might appeal to readers who like a gritty, dark setting, but it was a bit much for me.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Read at our own risk
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Cannibalism
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Fire Punch digs into two questions that I feel are best explored in fiction— how much can one man suffer, and how does he live despite that?
From the very first chapter, readers are introduced to an unforgiving world. Protagonist Agni, a child “blessed” with strong regenerative abilities, is set on fire with magical flames that will not go out until they’ve fully consumed their “fuel.” This leaves Agni in a perpetual cycle of breathing smoke and burnt flesh. To top it all off, for some reason, he won’t let himself die.
I think this concept expands outside of its own narrative purposes by exploring Agni on a human level. Agni has become a strange creature who appears on the outside to be a hulking monster, whereas on the inside, readers are made aware that he’s essentially a kid. His mind was unable to develop as a consequence of spending every waking minute focused on the searing pain of the flames enveloping him. As a result of this, Agni is essentially incapable of thinking anything through fully.
His reasons for even being alive despite such suffering are so ambiguous that he must constantly throw himself at anything that feels remotely like “meaning.”Whether this be mindlessly murdering the man who set him on fire and his numerous children ,or treating an amnesiac woman as his sister then FALLING IN LOVE WITH HER (it makes sense in the story), Agni is on a tireless search for meaning. All of this is encapsulated in moments where he literally questions why he’s still alive.
Overall, the messaging is pretty insightful. When Agni does something good, like liberating slaves, we want him alive— and so does he. When he does something evil, like the spoilers mentioned above, we start to want him dead— and so does he. He doe such bad things that it’s hard to ever forgive him, not just for us, but for him. Even when he’s surrounded by people who know some or most of the evil that he’s done yet still accept him, he cannot accept himself. He cannot lower the fist.
In a way, this almost connects to generational trauma. Doma, the man who originally lit Agni on fire, probably forgot he ever did it, much like abusive fathers who hit their children in the midst of a drunken rage. Yet that hit has impact, and Doma’s one decision led to so much death and destruction, lots of which at the hands of Agni. In cases of generational trauma, we do not need to forgive the aggressor. But we do need to understand why. Agni, Doma, these people are victims of their situation. While they made their choices and deserve any punishment that comes. But sometimes we need to accept that they really didn’t know any better.
The only issue I somewhat have with the manga is the ending. It’s very interpretative, leaving the reader to decipher how it recontextualizes the story we’ve just read. This isn’t an entirely bad thing, the reader should be expected to do some of the heavy lifting. However, given that the majority of the story is filled with scenes we are somewhat expected to understand, it’s strange to end on such an intentionally ambiguous note.
5/5
From the very first chapter, readers are introduced to an unforgiving world. Protagonist Agni, a child “blessed” with strong regenerative abilities, is set on fire with magical flames that will not go out until they’ve fully consumed their “fuel.” This leaves Agni in a perpetual cycle of breathing smoke and burnt flesh. To top it all off, for some reason, he won’t let himself die.
I think this concept expands outside of its own narrative purposes by exploring Agni on a human level. Agni has become a strange creature who appears on the outside to be a hulking monster, whereas on the inside, readers are made aware that he’s essentially a kid. His mind was unable to develop as a consequence of spending every waking minute focused on the searing pain of the flames enveloping him. As a result of this, Agni is essentially incapable of thinking anything through fully.
His reasons for even being alive despite such suffering are so ambiguous that he must constantly throw himself at anything that feels remotely like “meaning.”
Overall, the messaging is pretty insightful. When Agni does something good, like liberating slaves, we want him alive— and so does he. When he does something evil, like the spoilers mentioned above, we start to want him dead— and so does he. He doe such bad things that it’s hard to ever forgive him, not just for us, but for him. Even when he’s surrounded by people who know some or most of the evil that he’s done yet still accept him, he cannot accept himself. He cannot lower the fist.
In a way, this almost connects to generational trauma. Doma, the man who originally lit Agni on fire, probably forgot he ever did it, much like abusive fathers who hit their children in the midst of a drunken rage. Yet that hit has impact, and Doma’s one decision led to so much death and destruction, lots of which at the hands of Agni. In cases of generational trauma, we do not need to forgive the aggressor. But we do need to understand why. Agni, Doma, these people are victims of their situation. While they made their choices and deserve any punishment that comes. But sometimes we need to accept that they really didn’t know any better.
The only issue I somewhat have with the manga is the ending. It’s very interpretative, leaving the reader to decipher how it recontextualizes the story we’ve just read. This isn’t an entirely bad thing, the reader should be expected to do some of the heavy lifting. However, given that the majority of the story is filled with scenes we are somewhat expected to understand, it’s strange to end on such an intentionally ambiguous note.
5/5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury