pluckaduck's manga / #adventure(64)

bruh im on ch 45 and the tag "war hero takes a child, etc etc" completely spoiled the plot twist, if it's true. don't put the plot points in the tags. on the other hand, i love how immersive yet informative of the story. it's not told in an info dump type of way, and it's entertaining. the action is quite good, the stakes are pretty high, and the few comedic moments are so funny. the antagonists are so interesting as well, the samurai who wish to recreate a war, the lieutenant who wants to take over hokkaido, and the other convicts with tattooed skin, their plotlines interwoven together by the allure of gold... it's a really goddamn good story. ch 72. LMAO this entire chapter was bizarrely hilarious. who comes up with 'psychopaths bonding over shared hobby of stitching human flesh together into clothing'? there's even a catwalk scene LOL. not to mention a few chapter back about the gay couple?? that was absolutely peak comedy. ch 120. ok the author's either bi, or he just like men's bodies. the scene where the guys got all sexually aroused because of the sea otter meat's smoke? and the sauna scene where the men's muscular bodies were on full display?? jesus damn I'm not complaining tho.

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.

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