pluckaduck's manga / #Fantasy(315)

honestly i was skeptical about the rating thru out most of the story, but in the end, i find that it's well-deserved. i love how lita is not reduced to simply being "bota's sister" but is actually very central to the plot; i love her and her relationship with bota and she is a great character. i love kana as well, she's a really good character by herself; but the fanservice in the beginning turned me off ngl, tho it does tone down as the story progress. the only other flaws that i can think of is the teasing of sonia and bota when they met; sonia seemed romantically interested in him, and there was even a CPR scene portrayed in a way that raised romantic flags; after which bota even blushed a lot. but that's about it. i think the author probably changed their mind and rewrote sonia as just a crew member instead of a potential romantic interest. and, i like her relationship with brune a lot; their deaths actually made me emotional. clark's characterization also seemed to have changed after the first meeting. at first, he screamed crazy psychopath with the scary faces and arrogance. he seemed like another version of that harpoonist antagonist who cared more about killing kana/bota than humanity's survival, but then he changed subtly. his arrogance and villainization toned down. also, the romantic subplot about kana/bota? there was buildup, such as the implication of bota liking kana, the kiss, but the author did nothing with it?

3.5/5 ch 28. pretty average OI, but decently executed, if you read with suspended disbelief and turn ur brain off. some point/flaws i found: 1) she's an adult, IIRC 23?, but it's only relevant and mentioned in comedic moments to amplify it... it becomes irrelevant when she wallows in self-pity about being abandoned. suddenly she's just a pitiful kid and not an adult. not that i think adults can't wallow, but the way she does it, or rather, how the story demands our pity for her, is too often and too in-your-face for me to care about it. it needs to be more interspersed. she acts too much as a kid for someone who mentions her adult age a fair amount of times. 2) typical bland OI mc, everything comes relatively easy and convenient for her 3)everyone seems to ignore the fact the mc knew how to detoxify the mad disease? like why arent they questioning her? or her identity? who are her parents? no one is fcking questioning her origins 4) ofc the other orphan kids would be jealous of Richard, bc he wears nicer clothing 5) pretty harem-ish, there's like 2 boy love interests around her... why do OI author love to write about kids fighting for a child protagonist with an adult mind. they're barely 10 yo 6) why is mc not questioning why lucilian isn't at his supposed residence (the temple) and was wandering homeless when she found him? 7) she acts too much of an typical OI protagonist for someone who is aware of the tropes. 8) isnt it embarrassing that u need a kid, 10+ yrs younger than u, to rescue u? show some competency that u claim u have god dammit

their relationship is cute and sweet but that's about it. in terms of developments and relationship dynamics, it's kinda cliche. also, it's kinda unrealistic how everyone despises and disdains the girl bc she's unable to fly, but irl, she would be an extremely valuable specimen and treated as such. and why cant people swim? it's just moving your limbs/body in water? is it biological evolution to balance out the flying ability? or is it bc the flyers don't feel a need to practice/train? i think it needs to be touched upon.

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.

i think i would cry the day the manga ends. i need them to all end up together

I hope if tachibana turns back into his original self, jin still love him as much.

it was an entertaining story, there was some parts that felt meandering or were introduced awkwardly (such as the part about the memory loss) and i think there is some pages missing at the chapter where sayeh kills her mom, but overall decent well-written story with relatively fleshed out charas. i find it hard to believe that mc and his sister love Robert in the end, bc the only reasonable explanation for this feeling, after everything he put them thru, is stockholm syndrome. bc how the fuck can they even like him. also, i feel that the truth surrounding how they turned maestros into humans is a plot hole. bc it required taking out a marble (that represented their essense/soul) from their body, and i do not think the maestros would be willing to go thru torture/experimentations for mongliso to discover this truth, even if they were in a dream.

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