One Piece- Eiichrio Oda- Shonen Jump
Artwork: 3
While not a traditional artwork style for a manga, One Piece’s fanciful and fun artwork enhances the overall feeling conveyed by author Eiichrio Oda. The characters are simple, but fun; and the battles are wonderfully detailed.
Characters: 5
Oda struck gold in the character department for One Piece. Providing sufficient back-story for all the mains, you really feel for them. Luffy and his crew are both comedic and serious. The villains are wonderfully menacing (even Buggy the Clown). By-the-way, Captain Shanks is by far my favorite character in this series.
Story: 4
Luffy and his crew are in search of the legendary treasure, One Piece; however, so is every other pirate in the seas. Their adventures take all sorts of twists and turns, enough to keep it interesting. There is a brilliant mix of comedic elements mixed in with moments of extreme seriousness.
Overall: 4
Bravo Oda Sempai, you have really created a masterpiece. There are few things one will find that they do not like about this series. It is well worth the read.
Shaman King- Hiroyuki Takei- Shonen Jump
Artwork: 4
Characters are highly detailed, and very expressive. Action sequences are some of the best I have seen in a manga to date. And all the ghosts have cool wavy spectral lower halves.
Characters: 3
The main character, Yoh, is the only one who has a full history in this series. Many of the other mains have pieces of their story missing, which may distract from the story at times. However, most of the characters are deep. It’s a give and take situation.
Story: 4
Yoh is trying to become the King of all Shamans, and with the help of his friends he just may do it. The story is fun, and easy to follow. There is a very good mix of comedy and violence.
Overall: 3.6
Takei has created a very good series. While some may not be fond of the religious references (all supreme beings [God, Buddha, Zeus] are the same entity), it’s a fun and exciting series to read.
Jing, King of Bandits- Yuichi Kumakura- Tokyo Pop
Artwork: 5
Brilliantly detailed characters and environments abound in this series. The artwork almost seems to take life while you are reading it.
Characters: 3
An overconfident thief and a sex-crazed bird, what’s not to like? Plus, there is a different babe in every story arc, hotties abound!
Story: 2
While the artwork and characters are decent, the story is severely lacking. Each story arc is surprisingly similar to the last one- Jing goes to a place, learns about treasure, takes treasure. Also, at times it seems like Jing is too good for his opponents, giving no room for real conflict.
Overall: 3.3
I’ve only read through the first graphic novel in this series, so I am hoping it will get better as it goes on. If so, I’ll update this review at that time.
Love Hina- Ken Akamatsu- Tokyo Pop
Artwork: 3
The art in this series is very realistic, with highly detailed and expressive characters. The settings are beautiful, and the physical comedy is great.
Characters: 5
The characters in Love Hina are what make this manga. There are quite a few mains, but enough time is spent with each character so you get a real feel and understanding of them. Plus, the chicks are hot…
Story: 3
Who knew that a sexually frustrated 20 year old trying to get into college while managing an all girls dormitory would make for a good read? Hmmm… need I say more?
Overall: 3.6
Love Hina is a good read for a romantic comedy. The end of each volume will leave you longing to know what happens next, and it always delivers.