I haven't enjoyed a manga this much in a long time.
Mood: Satisfied.
Music: Dancing in the velvet moon - Mizuki Nana
Holy shit I don't think I've been so enthralled by a manga since I started to read Berserk (which is my all time favorite ever hands down) a couple of years ago. Every chapter, every page, every panel , was just so enjoyable and I spent so much time being entertained by it. I'm really glad I was introduced to it by a few of my good friends and I'm actually thinking of buying the first few volumes that have been released here in the U.S. because it was just so enjoyable and defintetly something I'd reread again in the future.
Here is my review for it:
Rosario + Vampire (Season One) Completed.
Rating: 8.8/10
Starting off with the weaknesses, the manga lacks an overall plot (then again it is considered a Slice of Life) and the major arcs while holding a general interest aren't really creative or hold a strong sense of tension/anticiaption since the outcome is pretty much obvious. Also, it doesn't really have attractive villains since most of them are mundane and rather bleak. They start off appearing strong and fearsome, but usually by the end of the chapter you can tell who will win and it gets really redundant. However, even with these points the manga still managed to hold a strong interest for me and I actually finished it within a week.
The strong points for the manga are obviously the characters. A very unique main cast who have different personalities and styles, yet are able to form a good tandem and dynamic with one another. The interactions are always great with comedic moments flowing nicely and on spot; the emotional scenes are unforced and fit in perfectly when the mangaka draws them. The main lead isn't your stereotypical male character in a shounen harem as he is quite dimensional with a strong and docile personality. The female lead is also attractive (and not only in looks) with the different perspectives of her character which makes me enjoy every panel she appears in. The two main leads make a great pair with one another and along with their friends (the rest of the main cast) the manga becomes very enjoyable with their interaction.
Also another note I have to make is the overall improvement in the art. It starts of decent making it tolerable, but after the first few volumes it really starts to become attractive to the eyes. The characters are more defined and better drawn giving them great depth and the background really starts to stand out as well. The scenery fits in wonderfully and really brings out the emotion and overall feeling that the mangaka is trying to convey to the reader. The double pages are amazingly drawn and I soak in every part of the pages as my eyes scan over the screen. I'd say the art is 1/10 on the level of Berserk (which by far has the greatest art in any manga I've ever read so is actually impressive).
Overall while the general plot and villains are weak, the reason it gets such a high rating is because of a great set of characters, magnificent art, well played comedy, emotional scenes, harem element, and the fact it left me satisfied with the end of each chapter and always anxious to continue reading. It was a fantastic read and time well spent.
Season two started off 'ok' and was quite dismal at the start, but the recent chapters have proven to be quite entertaining as season one was. I'm looking foward to reading it and I hope the fandom (which is rather small) start to grow and see an increase of fanfiction and fanart. The anime has been regarded as shit since it strays away from the canon manga and just appeals to fanservice and ignoring plot whatsover. Hopefully more people will check out the manga and the fandom becomes bigger which would be great to see.
Music: Dancing in the velvet moon - Mizuki Nana
Holy shit I don't think I've been so enthralled by a manga since I started to read Berserk (which is my all time favorite ever hands down) a couple of years ago. Every chapter, every page, every panel , was just so enjoyable and I spent so much time being entertained by it. I'm really glad I was introduced to it by a few of my good friends and I'm actually thinking of buying the first few volumes that have been released here in the U.S. because it was just so enjoyable and defintetly something I'd reread again in the future.
Here is my review for it:
Rosario + Vampire (Season One) Completed.
Rating: 8.8/10
Starting off with the weaknesses, the manga lacks an overall plot (then again it is considered a Slice of Life) and the major arcs while holding a general interest aren't really creative or hold a strong sense of tension/anticiaption since the outcome is pretty much obvious. Also, it doesn't really have attractive villains since most of them are mundane and rather bleak. They start off appearing strong and fearsome, but usually by the end of the chapter you can tell who will win and it gets really redundant. However, even with these points the manga still managed to hold a strong interest for me and I actually finished it within a week.
The strong points for the manga are obviously the characters. A very unique main cast who have different personalities and styles, yet are able to form a good tandem and dynamic with one another. The interactions are always great with comedic moments flowing nicely and on spot; the emotional scenes are unforced and fit in perfectly when the mangaka draws them. The main lead isn't your stereotypical male character in a shounen harem as he is quite dimensional with a strong and docile personality. The female lead is also attractive (and not only in looks) with the different perspectives of her character which makes me enjoy every panel she appears in. The two main leads make a great pair with one another and along with their friends (the rest of the main cast) the manga becomes very enjoyable with their interaction.
Also another note I have to make is the overall improvement in the art. It starts of decent making it tolerable, but after the first few volumes it really starts to become attractive to the eyes. The characters are more defined and better drawn giving them great depth and the background really starts to stand out as well. The scenery fits in wonderfully and really brings out the emotion and overall feeling that the mangaka is trying to convey to the reader. The double pages are amazingly drawn and I soak in every part of the pages as my eyes scan over the screen. I'd say the art is 1/10 on the level of Berserk (which by far has the greatest art in any manga I've ever read so is actually impressive).
Overall while the general plot and villains are weak, the reason it gets such a high rating is because of a great set of characters, magnificent art, well played comedy, emotional scenes, harem element, and the fact it left me satisfied with the end of each chapter and always anxious to continue reading. It was a fantastic read and time well spent.
Season two started off 'ok' and was quite dismal at the start, but the recent chapters have proven to be quite entertaining as season one was. I'm looking foward to reading it and I hope the fandom (which is rather small) start to grow and see an increase of fanfiction and fanart. The anime has been regarded as shit since it strays away from the canon manga and just appeals to fanservice and ignoring plot whatsover. Hopefully more people will check out the manga and the fandom becomes bigger which would be great to see.
