stressedpenguin's manga / #mystery(3)

journalist finds out his friend is vampire. vampire has been in love with the journalist since childhood. uke is lowkey a power bottom. honestly 8/10

I hate to say it but... what a let down. The premise was interesting and the first two cases with the sword and voodoo lady were interesting, sure, but the story doesn't deliver on anything else. It sets up for SOMETHING to happen with the naked guy and MC, but then nothing??? They barely even interact all things considered. The story is also bogged down by a large cast of characters and not enough time to explore any if them. There was a lot of potential that didn't... go anywhere I don't think it's the story's fault. It feels like it got cut off just as it was picking up, so I imagine something happened behind the scenes, which is such a shame. Was really interested in this one and the art is great 6/10.

Years ago, a meteor stuck nearby our MCs home town. Over the course of 20 days, it rained so much the town was completely submerged it what is now the 20 Day Lake. Everyday, our MC dives under the lake, searching for something even though shes not sure what Update now that I've finished it. I feel like there was a more compelling mystery that could have been told with this premise. I was already less invested in whatever memories she was missing when she was four because... that's pretty normal? Lots of people dont remember anything from 4 and earlier. And then the revelation that what she was searching for was her memory of wishing on a star right before the meteor strike... and that doesn't get explored really. Did she blame herself the whole time, and that's why she has this fixation on the town? But that doesn't make sense because she doesnt remember the wish. So why was THIS the memory shes been looking for? Its so... uninteresting to me. I feel like there were two potential stories buried in this premise, neither of which were told. One would be a more episodic story featuring different previous inhabitants of the town and they visit the girl at the lake and tell her stories about the place she didn't get to grow up in. There's less of a mystery and more of a reflection on times past and times present. The end would still be an photo exhibition of the town and it might be more impactful. The second possible story is the insurance guy angle, where we uncover what really happened, that it WAS a satellite, and we debate the worth of dredging up this old tragedy. Do the previous inhabitants deserve compensation for their loss, or is better to leave it as an old tragedy and let people move on. Again the photo exhibition can still happen and be a satisfying conclusion. There's a lot of elements to this story that I like, but regular amnesia about the time you were 4 isn't really compelling to me. Lots of thoughts on this one I guess. 5 or 6/10, just a bit disappointed.