Downtown Khazan: Ice Cold Utopia

[Sub-Zero MKA]

https://rumble.com/v6ujjr-british-la...07aw&mref=ae6w

[Siriel]

^_^

Only way you can turn on a dime like that is on the Ice, man. Need Hockey Fighting.

Side note - I love the character interplay in this manga (again much more than Baki). So many characters are more like people off the mat, and actually have friendly (and grudgingly friendly) encounters with each other.

It becomes obvious in the long term, but the manga really benefits immensely from the fact that despite being a tournament the writer introduced everyone at once and didn't try to keep them in the shadows, so he gets to reveal things over time for some of them. It also helps that the fact that the fighters only acting as proxies means that most of them don't need some sort of great grudge between each other, so they get to just hang out.

Also on the subject of the writer not taking himself too seriously, he really doesn't. He has another manga in more or less the same universe about how to get into shape which is an outright comedy. (All the exercises are real. It's just that everything else doesn't even try to be realistic.)

[Jcogginsa]

[Sharpandpointies]

It becomes obvious in the long term, but the manga really benefits immensely from the fact that despite being a tournament the writer introduced everyone at once and didn't try to keep them in the shadows, so he gets to reveal things over time for some of them. It also helps that the fact that the fighters only acting as proxies means that most of them don't need some sort of great grudge between each other, so they get to just hang out.

I see what you mean on that. Good call. Also, he goes for some varied characters even in groups, like the assassin group (who are all 'same clan' and so forth, but behave dramatically differently from one another, even the ones who only show up a few times). Everyone basically feels unique.

[Siriel]

I see what you mean on that. Good call. Also, he goes for some varied characters even in groups, like the assassin group (who are all 'same clan' and so forth, but behave dramatically differently from one another, even the ones who only show up a few times). Everyone basically feels unique.

The writer is very good at expressions and getting what the characters are thinking across. I think it's most obvious in Gaolang, whose design is very stoic but who manages to be extremely expressive in spite of that.

I like the Kure a fair bit, they're just a nice nod in general to the fact that even a clan of assassin should have other aspects to them than just the killing part.

Edit: I will say looking through it again, I'd forgotten how many weirdos there are in the first round.

[Lord Falcon]

Oh, absolutely. I'm giggling because it's so ridiculous. The writer clearly doesn't take himself too seriously (I mean, it's a semi-serious manga, but not like some of the fight ones out there). And that's fine. It's enjoyable.



I'm Canadian, we don't allow Cruise Missiles.

...apparently, Adam Dudley uses the deadly art of Ice Hockey to win his fights.

While as a Canadian I approve of this fantasy, it's a little...again, someone with a very, very shallow knowledge of something has taken an idea and run with it so far he couldn't see the starting point with a telescope. ^_^

Adam Dudley was a character I started off disliking but who grew on me over time.

A lot of characters get new depths revealed about them. In a few cases (like Gizenga's), the depths are so stark that I have a difficult time reconciling them with the initial impression of them.

I love the silliness of it. It’s part of its charm lol.

One of my favorite things is the misconceptions the characters have about different people. There’s a chapter focusing on that and it’s downright hilarious.

Kazuo is like King from One Punch Man, but even better. And he actually gets a few moments where he shows extraordinary feats, but they're spread out enough (as is his character development) that they feel natural. I just have no idea what gave Nogi any insight into what Kazuo might actually have the latent potential to do.

It becomes obvious in the long term, but the manga really benefits immensely from the fact that despite being a tournament the writer introduced everyone at once and didn't try to keep them in the shadows, so he gets to reveal things over time for some of them. It also helps that the fact that the fighters only acting as proxies means that most of them don't need some sort of great grudge between each other, so they get to just hang out.

Also on the subject of the writer not taking himself too seriously, he really doesn't. He has another manga in more or less the same universe about how to get into shape which is an outright comedy. (All the exercises are real. It's just that everything else doesn't even try to be realistic.)

The writer lays most of his cards on the table and practically roasts himself at the end of every chapter. It's awesome.

[Siriel]

Adam Dudley was a character I started off disliking but who grew on me over time.

A lot of characters get new depths revealed about them. In a few cases (like Gizenga's), the depths are so stark that I have a difficult time reconciling them with the initial impression of them.

spoilers:

I think Muteba got such a stereotypically evil introduction to make people think he'd lose in his first match, instead of getting as far as he did.

end of spoilers

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

https://rumble.com/v6ujjr-british-la...07aw&mref=ae6w

He wanted to fight. Let him fight.

[Sharpandpointies]

The writer is very good at expressions and getting what the characters are thinking across. I think it's most obvious in Gaolang, whose design very stoic but who manages to be extremely expressive in spite of that.

Absolutely, and a good point about Gaolang.

I like the Kure a fair bit, they're just a nice nod in general to the fact that even a clan of assassin should have other aspects to them than just the killing part.

They manage to be...people. Some have good senses of humor, others are just weird (in different ways), but people.

Adam Dudley was a character I started off disliking but who grew on me over time.

I'm curious to see how everyone turns out. ^_^

[Sharpandpointies]

Hah! Kaneda just stepped on Gaolang's foot mid-fight. Awesome. ^_^

[Siriel]

Hah! Kaneda just stepped on Gaolang's foot mid-fight. Awesome. ^_^

Kaneda is great. His fight with Gaolang is one of my favourite because it's one of those that clearly sets Kengan apart from the usual manga; I definitely want to know what you thought of it once you're done.

[Lord Falcon]

spoilers:

I think Muteba got such a stereotypically evil introduction to make people think he'd lose in his first match, instead of getting as far as he did.

end of spoilers

spoilers:

As evil as Gizenga's intro was, he was fighting Meguro, the most irredeemable and flat murderer to be given significant characterization in the manga. So I was cheering for the lesser evil throughout that fight.

end of spoilers

I'm guessing Gensai is your favorite for how he utterly steamrolled the worst shounen tropes he comes across.

[Siriel]

I'm guessing Gensai is your favorite for how he utterly steamrolled the worst shounen tropes he comes across.

I think Gaolang is my favourite overall so far, he has two of my favourite moments in the entire manga, but Gensai was indeed a great surprise to get.

spoilers:

"Since when have 'we' been fighting Gaolang Wongsawat?" is probably my favourite panel in the entire manga thus far, with "I cannot be defeated by improvisation!" as a strong contender.

end of spoilers

[Sharpandpointies]

Kaneda is great. His fight with Gaolang is one of my favourite because it's one of those that clearly sets Kengan apart from the usual manga; I definitely want to know what you thought of it once you're done.

I liked it.

Sure, there were the usual manga tropes SEEMINGLY in play, and Kaneda has this magical ability to predict stuff. But it made the point that when it's a normal human facing a superhuman...that's not enough, even with 'I will become stronger!' and 'I will not lose!' being bandied about.

Plus, Kaneda's emotion felt real and rather compelling, as did Gaolang's chagrin at discovering he had acted 'poorly', given the situation.

Also liked the art, and how the fight was presented. The way they showed Kaneda ALMOST poking Gaolang in the eye during a dodge, that was neat, and stepping on the foot was gold.

Enjoyed it -- one of the better fights so far, for all its brevity.

[Sharpandpointies]

Also, those in my Anima game who are actually at the inn, NOTICE ROLLS PLEAZ.

Post coming tonight.