pluckaduck's manga / #Supernatural(154)

ch 60. "dont underestimate human" hrmm that seems like an awfully misplaced platitude that came out of nowhere. i mean, they were just had this big reveal, the tension was high, mc and ushio tried to counterattack, there was no indication of this theme running in the background... anyhow it felt really random to place this inspiring-sounding platitude in a backdrop of a mystery thriller with creepy monsters.

honestly, the premise is super interesting, like a kindergartener destroying spectres? seems like a cute yet horror story. the art really makes the spectres eerie and creepy-looking in contrast to the cutely drawn humans, which is nice. the psychic and mc, kaya is cute yet also uncannily cold when killing the spectres, which is great as well. however, the teacher is the worst aspect of this story. not only is she slow, but she's also uninteresting and quite boring. annoying at times too. srsly, she'd be just an inconvenience if kaya happen to be older and not reliant on an adult. she's like "i want to protect you, kaya!" and yet she hangs up on mob when he is about to tell her something important about kaya's family... after he told her about the abnormality in kaya's mom's fetus, which poses an actual potential threat to kaya. like, girl. also, tbh, despite all the aforementioned pros of this manga, it is kinda boring, like the chapters unrelated to the main overarching plot are just filler, and it pretty much ends up kaya kicking spectre's butt. yeah, im much more interested about kaya's bizarre possession, her mom's fetus, and her granny's story.

it seemed really interesting, it really did. zombie apocalypse + cold, subdued uke + cheeky brazen seme seems like an interesting combination. but the delivery was meh. the dialogue is meh. the creator should've focused on storytelling and dialogue instead of the art. it's stiff and shallow. there are some scenes that def feel that there is no point being there...like the drunk guy and his 'boulder'... what exactly did that establish that was relevant to the plot? nothing. seemed to only be there for comedy. also, there was no proper buildup for that plot event when the lockdown happen bc there was an adam spotted in the facility. when seme threw uke into safety, making him locked in with the adams... was it supposed to be touching or something? i didnt really feel anything, bc there was little to no rapport between them. while the plot threads- the origins of the virus, the evolving intelligence of the adams, uke's and seme's past- seem interesting, ultimately it fail to keep me hooked... prob bc there were some scenes in between that were just not that interesting or relevent.

ch 42. honestly, i dont care for the romance. mc's PTSD and survivor's guilt is realistic and saddening. i get why the mc is like...a bit dull and fragile-minded, if you will, thus it's reasonable why he's attached to the ml cuz he gives him the affirmation his depressed mind needs and is also the only one actively trying to help him get over it. haha. doesn't mean i like the ml. that manipulative two-faced jerk. it's kinda frustrating to see mc falling for his insincere warmth, especially since he should know he's pretty much pretending to be nice. this manhwa, despite it being bl, describes the dungeons and the battles with more detail than other dungeon manhwas. also the seven wonder of the ancient world thing is pretty unique and interesting too. the other charas also get their time to shine, instead of being mere foils to mc or ml. ch 67. is it just me that think the transition to sex was absurd? he was super pissed that he had to sacrifice his 4 years of work for mc. then he was horny like whaaa...? also, people are pissed that ml considered killing mc to prevent his brother getting his way, which i think is actually reasonable...honestly he's already established as superficial in his affections and is obviously using mc, i really doubt he was gonna change that easily just bc of slight affection and sex. mc is the one who foolishly and naively fell for him. but in the end, ml either still thinks mc is important to his team, or has feelings for him.

ch46. it's not bad, but it's not my niche, so i think ill drop it here. the story, art, and mc is very similar to "return of the disaster-class hero". mc is not as obnoxiously annoying and cocky as the other one tho. he's quite helpful, intrepid, rough with a sense of adventure. but yeah, he is portrayed as the greatest superhuman to ever graced earth, possessing god-like talent, yada yada yada. being op is not annoying in itself, but mc himself is still the exact same arrogant person from the begining up to this point; bascially, character development? nil. the artist always never miss a chance to embelleish how cool and awesome he is, just like the mc of RotDCH. the overarching plot is obviosly about the rise of the underworlders again, but the author drags out giving readers more information regarding them. like, im more interested in their machinations and lore than about the superhuman sports. granted, i commend the author for the details about into the backdrops of the games, utilizing the stats/skills of the players and the terrain; it def made it more interesting however, my interest did wane eventually.

ch16. the lore is interesting, but it's hard to comprehend what's going on bc of the art. ch39. so my current theory is that the whole legend about veleron and the seven ghosts is much more complex than the established story. aya (the antagonist) is the reincarnated veleron, or the vessel of veleron. he wants to revive/find whoever is in pandora's box, be it actually veleron or another person, perhaps to destroy the world and remodel it according to his vision of a just world. even tho he's ruthless and seems heartless, i dont think he can be classified as a evil person. his vendetta against god might have a legit reason. ch43. huh, explains why aya is obsessed with catching him; so is he just gonna be used as a bargaining chip to overthrow the govt, or actually be killed to destroy the world? ch100. welp i was wrong. good story with intricate plot with several plot threads that all ties together. and interesting charas. the ending was a bit rushed tho. ngl the dialogue was a bit cliche and idealistic sometimes, some scenes i had no idea what's transpiring cuz of the art, it wouldve better if some charas and scenes had been more fleshed out. and the reveal that aya was teito's uncle was def so random.

ch59. def interesting. it's a bit sad, charas are quite pitiful, but not angsty. but also quite heartwarming and sweet. mc is so old yet is still immature like a sheltered child. love the dynamic and various charas. it's good, but the artstyle is cute for a slice-of-life fantasy but too simplistic to build up emotional moments/scenes. ive pretty much been reading this with a striaght face the whole time. and the background on flo and lena, it was a bit underwhelming ngl. like, i get her personality, but to hate the only person who helped you when ur parents died, and even nearly lost his life for u, just bc his face resembles the one you hate... alas, that's what being human is, i suppose.

I dropped this less than twenty chapters in, cuz i was annoyed at the love drama, like was it necessary to add a second love interest for mc? but then she turned out to be a much more interesting chara than i thought cuz she is badass and her banter with other charas are fun as well. her friendship with the fmc is touching, and their fights over mc is not to be taken seriously. the mc is so cute, he's nerdy, dorky, and sincere. but my impression of him really cemented when he was jealous of fmc's first love and despite that, he recognized jiji was sincerely friendly and became good friends with him. like, it's rare to make a good-looking chara who looks better than mc visually and the fmc's first love, to boot, a sincerely wholesome dude. anyway, the action scenes and art is amazing. the story, at some moments, bordered on absurd, bc these aliens are wacky (and scary). the worldbuilding/lore is quite interesting, the alien and yokai designs are unique (and for some, creepy), the cast of charas are unique and fun and their chara developments are pretty good (not to mention, they look hot when they transform using their yokai powers).

the first arc was crazy good, so full of suspense and uncertainty, and the second arc (goldy pond) falls a tiny bit short, then it just downhill from there. poor storytelling, norman and ray (esp ray) turning into side charas in favor of emma, due to which the story started turning a bit too contrived, poorly established new charas, lacking chara developments, skipping over the details of how norman escaped the facility, lacking buildup and suspense, etc. sigh, the most interesting thing about this was the psychological, mystery, and horrifying aspects, but it completely just throws that out of the window. the high-ranking demons were handled way too easily compared to the early battles of wit against isabella, and the demons of goldy pond. and even if norman is a genius, it's hard to imagine that he can outsmart demons that lived for 1000 years, esp when he is still a teenager.