pluckaduck's manga / #Action(185)

my only regret is reading it before it's completed. and the update schedule is also hella slow, so ill probably forget the chara's name in the meantime. sigh. the story is phenomenal, and there's no shortage of smart charas beside the glasses mc. he;s definitely not the strongest, or the smartest, but he sometimes come up with great plans/scehemes that could be pulled off with luck and boldness. the plethora of relevant likable side charas with their own personalities and strengths/weaknesses and interpersonal relationships and team dynamics creates a sense of realism and community, and i applauded the author for juggling all of that while creating logical and creative strategies using the world's power system. and need i mention the power system and battle play? the power system is relatively easy to understand, it's more sci-fi than fantasy. and there are so many ways to utilize triggers. the battles are always unpredictable, bc every chara is reasonable smart, with their own talents, it's very common for initial strategies to fail, forcing charas to come up with more various clever strategies that utilizes and boisters the team ace or make up for the weakest's weaknesses. also, i like how low the stakes are for the story, there's plenty of action but it also feels rather slice-of-life bc of a relative lack of intensity.

the art is great. the detailed background conveys a sense of surrounding. danger lurks at every side, and the paneling conveys the intensity and fast-paced action well. this is one of the best action/thriller/horror webtoon.

the worldbuilding is great, the law of magic is well-established and reasonable yet also imaginative. the collision of modern times is also great. the story's somewhat philosophical and the charas are likable and unique. the subdued tone and non-grisly art lacks intensity, and the developments, whilst unpredictable, is not wild so i get why this isn't everyone's cup of tea, especially if you're seeking cathartic mindless wish-fulfillment food.

ch 27 very silly and unserious manhwa with funny fourth wall breaks

pretty good. solid plot with decent pacing. side charas are compelling, so i was disappointed when the main villain fell short of them. all that buildup just to be reduced to a weak basic nonintimidating villain without much depth when mc arrives on the scene. how did they become an archdemon in the first place? expanding on their backstory and how blackwing betrayed god would've done so much to their story, and give the plot more depth. and i find it hard to believe he was the only one capable enough to beat him, in lieu of the high-level angels. i also felt mc's only friend-ish, the guy with the biker helment had potential to get his own chara arc, cuz of his chara design, but like, i guess not. the subplot with pong and her rehab subject ending was tied too loosely? the potential and themes about religion, god's will, and redemption were def there, but it just fell short of it. it's still pretty good tho, with likable charas and romance and a relatable chara arc for mc.

I tried to like it, i really did. bc this is different from the typical wish-fulshillment stories written by straight male authors, but the story is painfully mid. the concepts had a lot of potential, but the execution is really lackluster and boring. which is also attributed by the ok art and wonky translation sometimes. first off is the severe lack of worldbuilding, power system, and power scaling. we know nothing about the so-called most powerful organization and the only thing to note is that the oper is of the highest rank. the instructors are also quite unintimidating and the training regime is irrelevant except to show some corrupt politicking. and then, what the heck is mentri?? at times like these when the power system is not the regurgitated cliche 'magic' 'aura' etc high fantasy stuff, we need context narrated to us to fill in the info. the monsters lack a lot of info on them, with no proper ranking system for them either. i understand if the author wanted to write a chara-focused plot than action/adventure driven, but there are not enough tidbits to keep the readers intrigued. next on is the mc. why does he seem more autistic than emotionless?? just bc he cant feel emotions himself doesnt mean he cant interpret other people's emotions via body language or smth. he's beyond socially inept. the drama he caused bc of his autistic ass sometimes feel so forced, for example, when jad died and he was asked if he killed her, he could've just said no. wtf was that long ass answer. JUST SAY NO. he also doesnt have an ounce of caution in hid body either. bc why would he go into an abandoned house barricaded by a barrier all by himself? this guy is just not charming or smart enough to overlook all the trouble he caused to others and himself bc of his stupidity. the rest of the cast is fine, they all have their own personalities, but their backstories are barely even touched upon. which is fine since we just finished the first arc, but their interactions are not interesting enough, esp since one just likes to beat and slap mc for dumb reasons. also, the mom's disappearance is not even pondered over by the mc until nearly ch 50. it's so weird how he would think about her thru out the story, but not even think about why she's not with him, bc he mentioned he was in a group with her when they signed up for the organization, yet she clearly was not there. if that was supposed to be a plot point in itself, then it was delivered very poorly

holy shit that plot twist on ch 37 rendered me breathless. did not need to feel sadder than i already did for those two. it also finally gives a rough timeline of both settings.

contemplated dropping this on the first chapter bc of lazy writing: relying on random assholes to progress a plot point. it's illogical for someone to bully a rumored murderer, esp one with mental issues. on ch 15 red head is suddenly pouring out her heart to mc after hating him for several chapters. if that was her backstory, it was not well-written enough. it's weird that she's so affected by people calling her black blood disgusting bc she's vital to the survival of humankind so logically her supporters would far outstrip her haters and it would make more sense if she was to have an inflated ego instead of whatever superficial "angsty" backstory that was. mc gave no indication of admiring her on tv or whatever before their conversation. idk. i just think her backstory should've been more paced out and given more nuance (such as leaning on her sense of duty vs struggles being a hero conflict. and actually flesh it out.) so her hatred for mc would make more sense.

the art screams shoujo/josei. which is cemented by the heartwarmingly cliche aspects, and obviously, the crossdressing male friend helping him find love (which is a relatively common trope in bl). but the solid relationships with other women, seem to be written by a male author. i am confused. is this bl or not?

so, we got an abused and innocent kid who hates the world, an arrogant adult with main-chara complex, a gay drug addict prisoner, a high schooler with a severe sex addiction, a adult relatively normal but in love with a reflection, and an adult with crippling dependency issues. overall good story. they were all more or less fucked in the head, but good story. the art was pretty mid, but the story was excellent, especially in the beginning. it did begin to drag and the ending might not classify as a happy ending but the themes were consistent. it was never a story about the positive effects of human growth and connections. azuma is a very interesting character. she fundamentally never changed, as someone who is still childlike and ignorant and generally apathetic to people and morals. i feel bad for seki, who wanted her to become happy, and thus more "humane" after experiencing a lot and forming bonds with others, but well she's already a bit too fucked in the head after all that abuse to spare any emotions for strangers.