This was great. I do not generally like books where kids play central roles, but every character was really well handled and endearing in their own way. But the kids, especially, were pivotal to the strange tone of the book. Where the plot is central and a very strange things happens to them, with no explanation really: They just catch on fire sometimes. It doesn’t harm them. They just burn and then extinguish. That they are children of immensely wealthy and privileged people, make them, and their fire, easily concealable.

Which is where our protagonist comes in. A hot mess, borderline unhinged, queer woman who never got over both a woman she went to school with, and a life event concerning said “friend”, contacts her years later, with the position of, basically a governess. This is the catalyst for her to either continue sinking, or perhaps, finally start swimming in life. Because life is not working out for her, as is.

While very odd, this is a really human story, grounded almost purely in character work. There is a Point, but it’s made in a way that doesn’t grind my gears, meaning not overly prescriptive, and of course, a story about kids actually catching on fire is going to be About something. I’ve been putting it off for years for this reason, as well as the kids Thing. It didn’t take long to win me over, though. Incredible endearing and well written. At times absolutely a five star read. Had it just a bit more meat on the bone, I think it would have landed there, for me.

Kids on bike continues to be a good way to describe this manga. The two timelines continue to be fun. It’s still a slow burn. Only, the stakes have escalated in a way that truly fit the genre. The goal of the mysterious cult and the ties to the past are pretty out there, putting it in an absurdist element. I’m down for it, but tend to prefer more down-to-earth stuff,’or else full-on genre fiction. It reminds one of the better written manga I’ve tried though, especially when it comes to dialogue.

I’m partial to this, since it’s the first anime I really enjoyed. The manga holds up really well. The humour is handled better and, at least in this translation, Kenshin just refers to himself as “this one”, instead of weird, antiquated codas every sentence in the anime, which I greatly prefer. Otherwise I remember everything that happens still, and it covers a heck of a lot of ground, unlike other manga I’ve been reading lately (20th Century Boys being absolutely glacial). Each instalment is pacey and well plotted. A ton of things happen, characterization is good, and you get a bunch of asides about the historical aspects that certain things are based on, which is just really enjoyable, since I know literally none of the subject matter.

Also, Kenshin is just a great character, especially as a hero. Is feminine, he doesn’t want to fight, he doesn’t act like an INCEL, there’s no harem trope. It’s like a completely different Shonen than the ones I’ve been making my way through. The worst affront is that the author tends to damsel the women after he characterizes them well. Strong, independent, smart. But, oh yeah, they gotta be kidnapped. How else could we make interesting stakes for Kenshin? It’s a bit lame, which makes the last issue less interesting.

Fantastic detail in the art, brutal, great action, straight forward plot, terrible dialogue. It was alright but I don’t feel compelled to read the next volume. The characters weren’t interesting and there’s some weird choices for a couple of them, which felt like the author just really wanted some tension between a few, and some sex to be happening at the same time as a fight. Didn’t make much sense, but it’s a power fantasy I can see people being into in the format.

This is still trucking along but it’s gotten slightly more silly, except for the mysterious kid no one can remember from back in the day. The pace remains very slow. I’m going to continue with it but it’s not blowing me away. It’s just the best out of the list of best manga I’ve tried so far, and a lot of that is because the people talk like real characters most of the time.

The detail in this is really fantastic. I’m not sure why Viking stories always seem to be revenge tales, but this is no different. It is, however, so far more focused on characters than most, and I think it’s why it’s a stand-out. A young boy is in a pack of mercenaries for hire and a fun little plot about being hired by the French to help take down a fort ensues, after which it digresses into the boy’s past. How he came to be a member of the crew and what drives his unrelenting rage.

It’s a good way to get the reader interested and then show the heart of the story. I don’t think this ever really transcends the archetypical story about this. I mean, it’s better than the TV show Vikings, but there’s no character or situation that really differs from the quintessential. If you want something tropey done well, this is for you. I’ll continue reading. It’s a good time and it’s quite long; I imagine there’s lots more development to come.

So much more manga would be fun, or easier to consume if it didn’t have a horny teenage boys in them. I clocked out around the time:

“Could he really be fighting this demon… to touch some breasts?”

And then just started reading faster and faster until it was over. I gave it another try. The art is great and it can be entertaining, when it’s not being stupid and cringe thirsty.

It does get a bit more nuanced. Primarily, this shifts to being about the roving mercenaries siding with Danes attacking London and the fallout of it, introducing a few more characters. What I like the most about this is the short bursts of historical knowledge peppered in. It makes the setting very interesting. It needs to be, as the plot remains pretty meandering. Eventually there will be revenge. Other than that, who knows - honestly - what will happen. There is a nice little twist later on that spurs it on too. The artwork remains absolutely stellar, helping it further. Solid, probably better than the first volume. But still waiting, and hoping, for it really start to shine.

I would have liked this more, had I not seen the movie numerous times, I’m sure. I expected the book to be better but that just isn’t the case, for me. The inclusion of his perspective made the story less interesting. After watching the film there are a number of themes apparent and the character work is far better. The book has such a high amount of prescription because you know the narrators stance on things, how the character thinks of himself and what he is doing, and the plot remains the same.

It still feels like a novel idea, but it’s not as enjoyable an experience. It’s a ride, especially the finale, it just seems much more pointless, since it becomes more and more fantastical and less About anything other than the ride.

Wildly melodramatic and just escalated beyond belief every single time. Its certainly fun and fast paced, but it just stretches well beyond incredulity over and over and over. There is an evil twin thing, people selectively remembering their pasts, framing of murders, seemingly a cult?, multiple people with genius intellects at cross purposes, a strange divergence that helps a mute child come out of her shell, an old blind man appearing out of nowhere with exposition for the mystery, and an unsettling amount of coincidences in service to dramatic tension.

It’s just too much lol entire soap opera seasons in single issues. If you’re into gotcha plotting, I can see why people would be into it. Twist after twist. Nonsensical though they may be, is still fun. But… that’s all it is.