Forum - View topicREVIEW: Monster GN 16
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strahl
Posts: 69 |
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I guess it was your brain the one that couldn't take so much good quality to handle, worst review ever, go back to praise naruto and bleach.
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vashfanatic
 Posts: 3495 Location: Back stateside |
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I personally agree with Casey that this is the weakest volume of "Monster." At first I was upset with the summary that I saw in the side bar, but then I looked at what volume it was and said, "Ah yes, the doldrums between Martin and Ruhenheim, I remember it well in the anime" (I'm several volumes behind on the manga due to budget constraints). Fortunately it does pick up right away for an awesome finale, but this section, where he tries to tie up some loose ends and segue into the new arc, is pretty scattered. You do have a point, though, on the relative quality of "Monster" to just about any other manga on the market. Even at its "worst," this series is a solid B+, and at its best it's A++++ to infinity. Which reminds me that my paycheck should've come today, and the comic book store is calling to me... |
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Somi
 Posts: 16 |
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I actually liked this volume, so I had to laugh at the review.
Saying that Naoki Urasawa had a hard time keeping it together...now that was over the top. And "waste of space" are you serious here? The introduction of these minor characters, and the development of others, had one huge purpose that has come at an essential period in the storyline. We are once more shown Johan's reach. This is a great volume for anyone who ever pondered and wanted to know more about how he was able to manipulate others at the start of the story to do his bidding, how he was able to tie things all together so perfectly for his benefit with the help of others who aren't even his comrades. And even more it shows us the point in time where other characters in the story, who have been on the ride for quite some time, come to the same realization about Johan that Tenma has had. They have been granted a different perspective, given the sort of access that shoots out reality like a brick to the face. Did you even realize that the "waste of space" highlights was not only about pushing the reader to realize that Johan was the one at the sandbox? Dig a bit deeper reviewer, look carefully...read a bit better. And why exactly should there have been some big emotional bit between Eva and Tenma at this point? Did Tenma's objectives and character change somewhere in the invisible gap between the end of volume 15 and the beginning of volume 16? "Emotionally fraught." 
Good grief. |
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teferi
 Posts: 400 |
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Wait, so when he gets towards the end of the manga and he starts to bring everything towards the climax, he's "having trouble holding it together? God, this volume is all about holding it together, and it does it well.
Somi nailed the whole review too well =| I like learning more about Johan too, especially seeing as that's basically what the manga has primarily been about O_o (And the interviews are some of my favorite parts in the manga, and their repeated use throughout the series emphasizes the connection of the events going on too well to be attributed to Urasawa racking up page count).
And then they die. I have to admit that's really my only problem with all the secondary characters in this series. Urasawa throws them in, lets you get attached to them, and *poof* they're dead, and it's all Johan's fault. I'm just puzzled as to why the reviewers seem to dislike the ever increasing cast secondary characters... As far as I'm concerned the series (as a whole) is more about the secondary characters than it is about Tenma. Sure, in the end it's about Tenma's quest to redeem himself, but all these secondary characters are equally important to the overarching storyline, they just don't drive it in the same way as Tenma.
Yup. As soon as someone says "Johan", Tenma is off running to find him =| Not to mention he's been blowing Eva off pretty consistently. If they had randomly embraced or whatever it would have ruined their reunion for me.
I haven't really been disappointed with a single volume so far =| Maybe that screams fanboy, but the way the volumes blend into each other, I don't think it's really possible to isolate a single volume as being a low point in the series. Just curious, but could you single out any of the previous volumes out as being significantly worse? |
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vashfanatic
Posts: 3495 Location: Back stateside |
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If there is one author who everyone should be allowed to fanboy/fangirl without guilt, it is Urasawa Naoki. He is a genius. And I would say the 3 serial killers (a sort of stand alone) is the "low point" in the series, because usually he connects everything together in some brilliant manner, and this doesn't, really. And bear in mind that despite how the criticisms sound "harsh," it still got a B overall. This is Casey's first time writing a review for the series, so I'd like to see how she rated the other volumes. |
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HellKorn
Posts: 1669 Location: Columbus, OH |
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Well, it's clear that there's no ridiculous hyperbole in this thread... I mean, I like Urasawa and all, but the circle jerk some fans of his enter is ridiculous. (And Monster is at the top of the ANN manga ratings? Oi.) To deny it of faults by stereotypical assertions? Come now. Monster IS bloated. To loosely paraphrase an old saying: a good writer knows that he has perfected his craft not once he has anything more to add, but when there's nothing left to take away. Sure, you have the characters sort of contributing to the plot -- that doesn't mean they're necessary. A lot of them can be described as a plot point with dialogue. Others are nothing more than trite diversions to make Tenma look like a saint, or to espouse some melodramatic optimism that feels like Urasawa just finished a Tezuka binge. There's also other criticisms to be leveled at it: Urasawa is too redundant. This applies to both the constant use of suspense and unchanged panels. That type of storytelling and decompression CAN be effective, but when they're done every other page, they lose their potency. The only series of his that I can really look proudly on nowadays in Pluto. (20th Century Boys would be his masterwork if it didn't fall apart in the third and final arc.) It's concise with its plot, devoid of obnoxious melodrama, tones down the amount of redundant panels and EVERY character actually contributes to the narrative rather than padding the plot out. |
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