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REVIEW: A Centaur's Life GN 1


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Utsuro no Hako



Joined: 18 May 2012
Posts: 1052
PostPosted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 12:05 pm Reply with quote
Now I'm kinda curious to see a Monster Musume review -- the whole thing is like that first chapter, and quite a bit worse.
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Brainchild129



Joined: 09 Aug 2011
Posts: 307
PostPosted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 12:23 pm Reply with quote
Utsuro no Hako wrote:
Now I'm kinda curious to see a Monster Musume review -- the whole thing is like that first chapter, and quite a bit worse.


Ain't that the truth. I did a review of the first volume myself and was utterly horrified - not only is it yet another lame harem set-up, but the fanservice was just so blatant, in-your-face, and drawn in ways you rarely see outside of hentai that it was just gross to read it. (You can only imagine my horror that THIS series, of all things, is apparently selling like hotcakes and is the biggest hit Seven Seas has had in years).

There's a preview for this series in Monster Musume, and just from that preview I could tell that the mangaka there put so much more thought into their monster-girl universe, and that the art was leagues better, something which this review confirmed. [/i]
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configspace



Joined: 16 Aug 2008
Posts: 3717
PostPosted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 1:37 pm Reply with quote
Brainchild129 wrote:
Ain't that the truth. I did a review of the first volume myself and was utterly horrified - not only is it yet another lame harem set-up, but the fanservice was just so blatant, in-your-face, and drawn in ways you rarely see outside of hentai that it was just gross to read it. (You can only imagine my horror that THIS series, of all things, is apparently selling like hotcakes and is the biggest hit Seven Seas has had in years).


Monster Musume is one of the reasons why Seven Seas is my favorite English manga publisher and it's not surprising it's doing well. However with regards to the art being "rarely seen outside of hentai", that's a ridiculous statement. Despite the boobs, it's still tame as far as fanservice goes and is very typical of ecchi manga.

Quote:
There's a preview for this series in Monster Musume, and just from that preview I could tell that the mangaka there put so much more thought into their monster-girl universe, and that the art was leagues better, something which this review confirmed.

While I will check out A Centaur Life's soon and will probably like it as well, from pics I've seen, I find that claim that artwork, especially anatomy, is "leagues better" than Monster Musume hard to believe. Even Rebecca's review seems to confirm this:
Quote:
Art : C+

− ... centaurs are not always drawn as well as they might be. Perspective tends to be off.
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Cyclone1993



Joined: 05 Jul 2011
Posts: 947
PostPosted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 1:38 pm Reply with quote
I too would like to see a Monster Musume review if only to compare the series. However I feel like there might not be as many complaints as we would expect due to the focus of the manga. A Centaurs Life is a slice of life series that has some fan service while Monster Musume is entirely focused on the fan service, and if they know that going in, the reviewer might enjoy it a bit more.

As for A Centaur's Life I haven't gotten a chance to read it although I would like to at some point. Monster Musume, which I have read has made me realize that I quite like monster girls, so more could never be a bad thing!
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KENZICHI



Joined: 16 Oct 2010
Posts: 1118
PostPosted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 2:52 pm Reply with quote
When I saw this series and Monster Musume on the shelves I thought that they were by the same person or at least they were collaborating. How interesting that both series came out around the same time and deal with the same thing.

The art for this series looks cute, but I might be hesitate on picking it up because of the first chapter you described. I just like that they aren't just normal looking girls like usual. I don't think I'll ever pick up Monster Musume though lol.
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Princess_Irene
ANN Associate Editor


Joined: 16 Dec 2008
Posts: 2655
Location: The castle beyond the Goblin City
PostPosted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 4:11 pm Reply with quote
Hmm, looks like I might have to review Monster Musume...

Kenzichi, you really can skip the first chapter. If I hadn't been reading the book to review, I might have put it down at that point, but I really did enjoy the rest of the book, and the issue never comes up again. It's like the author thought about going in that direction and then changed his (?) mind.
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RestLessone



Joined: 02 Aug 2009
Posts: 1426
Location: New York
PostPosted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 4:17 pm Reply with quote
This should be arriving from Right Stuf soon.

I'm morbidly curious about the first chapter. I was aware of its existence before ordering, so luckily it's not a surprise. Isn't it dramatically different from the rest of the content because it was originally a one-shot? I feel like I heard that somewhere.
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Alan45
Village Elder



Joined: 25 Aug 2010
Posts: 10029
Location: Virginia
PostPosted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 4:40 pm Reply with quote
The thing to keep in mind about the first chapter is that they do not show anything. No visual fan service at all. It is all in the dialog.

Does that make it easier to deal with??
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Ninjaguiden



Joined: 08 Oct 2009
Posts: 22
PostPosted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 4:50 pm Reply with quote
I had read both of these series and while I too found the first chapter of Centaurs Worries a bit strange, the series gets very interesting (and weird) as it goes on.

Also, Monster Musume has a large fanbase that is quite dedicated, they support the author both with messages, fanworks and most importantly, buying the product. They certainly seem more fun than someone who uses the word "horror" to describe their feeling on a series thay don't like.
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Tenchi



Joined: 03 Jan 2002
Posts: 4546
Location: Ottawa... now I'm an ex-Anglo Montrealer.
PostPosted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 5:06 pm Reply with quote
Am I allowed to admit that I liked the "first" chapter (which I believe was a manga competition entry meant to be a standalone, just like the first chapter of Mysterious Girlfriend X)?

I look at it this way, if it's a manga about a centaur girl aimed at a mature seinen male audience, you're going to have certain questions about centaur anatomy and I kind of applaud Kei Murayama for answering that question right off the bat rather than beating around the bush, and he (?) answered it in about as tasteful a way as is possible for a story about three girls checking out each others' "cha-chas" (to use Mrs. Cartman's vernacular).

I enjoy this manga, but I have a thing for centaur girls in general.
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walw6pK4Alo



Joined: 12 Mar 2008
Posts: 9322
PostPosted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 5:23 pm Reply with quote
configspace wrote:
Brainchild129 wrote:
Ain't that the truth. I did a review of the first volume myself and was utterly horrified - not only is it yet another lame harem set-up, but the fanservice was just so blatant, in-your-face, and drawn in ways you rarely see outside of hentai that it was just gross to read it. (You can only imagine my horror that THIS series, of all things, is apparently selling like hotcakes and is the biggest hit Seven Seas has had in years).


Monster Musume is one of the reasons why Seven Seas is my favorite English manga publisher and it's not surprising it's doing well. However with regards to the art being "rarely seen outside of hentai", that's a ridiculous statement. Despite the boobs, it's still tame as far as fanservice goes and is very typical of ecchi manga.


It's just some really well drawn breasts and bodies. I guess the stuff from the 70s and 80s that were also absolutely full of nudity never got so shit on because the anatomy was so plain. The "outside of hentai" may have been a line to use a decade ago, but tons of artists draw just like that in several non-hentai publications: super erotic manga is in. It's selling so well because it's a typical harem setup, but it has unique characters that appeal to a burgeoning fetish in monster girls. I'm glad it's selling well, apparently the Japanese sales are upwards of 700,000; I hope that means an anime series sometime soon. And if the tired harem setup is too overdone, I hope Seven Seas does eventually show interest in 12 Beast, which is more of a typical fantasy adventure story, and less focus on the nudity so far.


Last edited by walw6pK4Alo on Sun Feb 09, 2014 5:27 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Ryu Shoji



Joined: 15 Jul 2009
Posts: 676
Location: Cambridge, United Kingdom
PostPosted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 5:24 pm Reply with quote
I picked up this volume due to the hype I saw on Twitter and I really agree that it could have done without the first chapter. Beyond that, the humour can be rather intelligent (the allusion to spoiler[the 2008 election of Barack Obama] at the end of the volume was quite spectacular. I also agree that the world building was amazing - the small insights into the way the world works, from things like legislation on riding centaurs to even fashion.

I'm not convinced on whether I want to buy subsequent volumes yet though.

There is a preview of Monster Musume at the end of this edition and yeah...I do love a good ecchi harem series, but that was definitely not for me xD.

[/spoiler]
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Ninjaguiden



Joined: 08 Oct 2009
Posts: 22
PostPosted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 5:40 pm Reply with quote
Not to discuss Musume here, but let's just say that I read Love Hina for a long time and Darling is definatly a superior protagonist to almost everyone in other harem manga, my opinion of course.
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GracieLizzy



Joined: 26 Sep 2006
Posts: 551
Location: Sunderland, England, UK
PostPosted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 6:14 pm Reply with quote
Tenchi wrote:
I kind of applaud Kei Murayama for answering that question right off the bat rather than beating around the bush


Not sure on international pun, or just coincidentally chosen word that turned out punny. Embarassed
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Mohawk52



Joined: 16 Oct 2003
Posts: 8202
Location: England, UK
PostPosted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 6:24 pm Reply with quote
This looks like a mashup between furry and manga. Good job there's no Tesco supermarket in that world. Laughing
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