Manga Review: Bungo Stray Dogs by Kafka Asagiri

Yen Press
Dec. 13, 2016
192 Pages

Atsushi Nakajima no longer has a home. After being kick out of the orphanage, he saves a man from attempting suicide. At a strange turn of events, the man he saves, Osamu Dazai, is part of a detective agency that employs agents with supernatural powers. So, where does that leave Atsushi?

I really. . . really . . . enjoyed this series. And I was surprised that I did because for me Atsushi was a bit useless. Let’s start from the beginning.

Atsushi is the overall good guy that does two things: jump into a situation without thinking or considers running away when everyone else fails. He does that more than once and after a while I stopped caring about him and cared more about the surround characters, who in my eyes make the book.

Atsushi is like an open book, especially compared to Osamu, who from the beginning is surrounded by mystery, dark humor and secrets. . . lots and lots of secrets. I liked him, even though by volume 2 you see less of him. Osamu had depth and that is what was missing from Atsushi. All the surrounding characters had depth and the author was able to weave the different stories, creating a perfectly complex environment. It was amazing work. I know that I am chalking Atsushi as an average character, which is kind of is, but he is powerful and plays a huge roll in the story.

The art work was great but nothing I am going to go to sleep remembering. No offense to the artist, but the storyline overpowered everything. If there was more art telling the story, then it could compete. Although I enjoyed reading this series, I believe the anime would be better.

Overall,

4 Pickles

 

Manga Review: Devil’s Line by Ryo Hanada

Vertical Comics
Published May 24, 2016
224 Pages

Tsukasa is rescued from a vampire attack, by an unknown vampire blending with the human population. Anzai, her hero is a half-breed that uses his powers to help a shadowy police task force, fight against vampire- related crime in Tokyo. 

As Anzai and Tsukasa become closer, Anzai has to fight harder to keep from breaking his no human blood rule.

Based off the summary, this sounds like a typical vampire human romance. But trust me . . . it is not. I am only two volumes into this (because the other’s have not been posted online) and it is on my top ten for vampire mangas.

Tsukasa is a awkward college student. Although social-able when it comes around men, she doesn’t know what to do or for that matter say no. When she meets Anzai, she finds him fascinating as opposed to a freak (cliche I know). But there is something about Tsukasa that Anzai decides he has to protect her. The romance is there but it isn’t acted upon as easily as one would think. I loved how both didn’t completely understand their feelings but they weren’t avoiding each other either. It was a mature move; instead of running away they just went with it. I enjoyed that.

Beyond the romance, the story is amazing. So many characters are intertwined and complicates everything in the most artistic way. Is there some predictability? Yes. Is there a love triangle? No. (Thank God) But the cliche not everything is what it seems is the case with this one.

I loved the pace of the manga and how detailed it was without dragging. It was intense, dramatic and had some funny points. The art work was far from cliche; everyone looked different and had different personalities. The cliche of beautiful vampires doesn’t exist in this manga. It is mentioned but from my point of view, that vampire wasn’t all that cute.

If you want a vampire romance that doesn’t have the high school drama and is pure action and intensity, this is for you. I am in love with this therefore to the point, I may buy the series, I am impatient for the next volume to be released.

5 Pickles