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A review by halfcactus
Fence, Vol. 5: Rise by C.S. Pacat
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
2.5
The first volume was promising, but subsequent volumes felt weirdly slow and uneventful with little character development to make up for it. Even when each volume has some sort of central plot or goal and the days are passing quickly, it feels like nothing really happens, which is... unsatisfying.
This series has the tropes of sports manga and YA romance, but the characters aren't filling them out. To be honest I feel that both the writer and the artist have to read more sports manga in general, lol. The sports aspects feel stuck to the pages, unable to lift off, because the characters aren't bringing the feelings to life and the art isn't dynamic enough to bring out the energy. And you would think that there should have been some sort of payoff by now, some sense of catharsis, from some of the storylines, but there's not much. There aren't really any "arcs" to build any momentum off of, just these slow episodes that are sedately and incrementally rolling up a low incline to some distant peak. So even though volume 5 ends in the middle of an inter-school training camp and it seems like volume 6 should have some things going on, it's hard to look forward to it. :(
This series has the tropes of sports manga and YA romance, but the characters aren't filling them out. To be honest I feel that both the writer and the artist have to read more sports manga in general, lol. The sports aspects feel stuck to the pages, unable to lift off, because the characters aren't bringing the feelings to life and the art isn't dynamic enough to bring out the energy. And you would think that there should have been some sort of payoff by now, some sense of catharsis, from some of the storylines, but there's not much. There aren't really any "arcs" to build any momentum off of, just these slow episodes that are sedately and incrementally rolling up a low incline to some distant peak. So even though volume 5 ends in the middle of an inter-school training camp and it seems like volume 6 should have some things going on, it's hard to look forward to it. :(