Woop Woop's manga / #Action(46)

Desert Punk

Ongoing | USUNE Masatoshi | 1997 released
2024-11-01 13:45 marked

Best way I could describe this is calling it male gaze. There's a ton of ecchi and uncomfortable sexual harassment jokes in the first part (pre-timeskip) but the male gaze factor is defined by how grunge-y the setting is and how it appeals to the minds of teen boys and 40 year old men. I can imagine that the laser focus on the guns and their features would make the manga immensely enjoyable if I knew of a gun other than an AK 47 The post timeskip arcs are interesting, there's a complete tonal shift from the original 90s action fanservice type arcs to the more complex stealth missions later on. It's not a bizarre change though, the manga is still cemented in the post apocalypse setting but it's a unique change nonetheless. I actually like the female protagonist more than I liked Desert Punk, which is in a way expected since Desert Punk's shtick is being a gigantic asshole. But Koizuri is surprisingly treated with a lot of respect for an ecchi manga. The actual plot is all over the plot, you can tell the author tried to incorporate everything he found cool and while it KIND of works, it just lacks something to bring it all together. The main issue is pacing, some arcs will be very drawn out and contribute nothing to the plot, while other arcs that end up relevant will have a small amount of chapters. There's also a very large gap between a plot points introduction and it's later implementation in a story, which just makes the story rushed. Characters just get forced into the end as a measly resolution, and the actual ending is garbage. Works like these never work because the author puts so much effort in creating this conflict and the resolution is just slapped together in two minutes. Four year war and all it takes to end it is an hour long conversation between two randos. It's so obvious the author gave up The art also severely decreases in quality. You go from these lovingly hand-drawn panels, with thousands of detailed strokes poured into them, and inking that is absolutely beautiful, to a more rudimentary style of drawing. Not to say the art is bad after a while, it's still incredible and could beat thousands of other manga in the looks department, but the downgrade is SO obvious when you compare it. The translator kind of explains the reason for the change with the hiatus but it's still depressing to see. Side note: Chapter 121 is removed from this site

Dear Shimazaki in the Peaceful Land

Ongoing | hamada gouten,seshimo takeshi | 2019 released
2024-11-06 05:47 marked

Kind of like a less funny The Fable. That sounds kind of rude, but a lot of tropes are overtly similar to the plot of The Fable, without the flair and dry humour of Fable. It's not meant to be a criticism, The Fable is a comedy manga and this is supposed to be more of a heartwarming thing, but the similarities are way too obvious.

Black Lagoon

Ongoing | Hiroe | 2002 released
2024-11-25 09:48 marked

Defined solely by the rule of cool Ch 118

From the Red Fog

Complete | Nohara mosae | 2019 released
2022-11-16 09:23 marked

Edgy but art was nice. Got axed probably. None of the arcs had a consistent theme, it felt the author couldn't decide what genre they wanted. First it was a revenge manga, then it turned into shounen, then it turned into a mystery?? It was all over the place.

Konjiki No Gash Bell!

Complete | raiku makoto | 2000 released
2025-04-13 04:05 marked

ch 12

Night Light Hounds

Ongoing | | 2022 released
2025-05-01 15:15 marked

Incredibly interesting. I love the setting and character designs, especially Dorothera's. She's such a captivating villain.