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.)
Last edited by Siriel; 12-11-2018 at 10:09 AM.
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.
Why are we here?
"Superboy Prime (the yelling guy if he needs clarification)..." - Postmania
"...dropping an orca whale made of fire on your enemies is a pretty strong opening move." - Nik
"Why throw punches when you can be making everyone around you sterile mutant corpses?" - Pendaran, regarding Dr. Fate
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.
Last edited by Siriel; 12-11-2018 at 11:27 AM.
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.
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.
The writer lays most of his cards on the table and practically roasts himself at the end of every chapter. It's awesome.
Yeah, but if you... man, we're getting into weird analogy territory, like if you disintegrated Superman's arms he wouldn't be able to go "fool! Little did you know that my arms and I are one and can be remade from me!" and will his arms back into being from pure nothingness. - Pendaran
Arx Inosaan
Absolutely, and a good point about Gaolang.
They manage to be...people. Some have good senses of humor, others are just weird (in different ways), but people.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.
I'm curious to see how everyone turns out. ^_^
Why are we here?
"Superboy Prime (the yelling guy if he needs clarification)..." - Postmania
"...dropping an orca whale made of fire on your enemies is a pretty strong opening move." - Nik
"Why throw punches when you can be making everyone around you sterile mutant corpses?" - Pendaran, regarding Dr. Fate
Hah! Kaneda just stepped on Gaolang's foot mid-fight. Awesome. ^_^
Why are we here?
"Superboy Prime (the yelling guy if he needs clarification)..." - Postmania
"...dropping an orca whale made of fire on your enemies is a pretty strong opening move." - Nik
"Why throw punches when you can be making everyone around you sterile mutant corpses?" - Pendaran, regarding Dr. Fate
spoilers:end of 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.
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:end of 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.
Last edited by Siriel; 12-11-2018 at 11:46 AM.
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.
Why are we here?
"Superboy Prime (the yelling guy if he needs clarification)..." - Postmania
"...dropping an orca whale made of fire on your enemies is a pretty strong opening move." - Nik
"Why throw punches when you can be making everyone around you sterile mutant corpses?" - Pendaran, regarding Dr. Fate
Also, those in my Anima game who are actually at the inn, NOTICE ROLLS PLEAZ.
Post coming tonight.
Why are we here?
"Superboy Prime (the yelling guy if he needs clarification)..." - Postmania
"...dropping an orca whale made of fire on your enemies is a pretty strong opening move." - Nik
"Why throw punches when you can be making everyone around you sterile mutant corpses?" - Pendaran, regarding Dr. Fate