I am voting Yakusoku no neverland. Several people I know like it and told me about it, I will trust in their taste. Considering picking it up as a new manga now that Magi ended.
I do really like Neverland, but Vagabond is an actual masterpiece, so it win hands down.
The art is absolutely unbelievable. The story historical, deep, full of substance character study. It's gonna be on of those comics to frequently come up in the best of all time discussion from the decades to come. Neverland is not. Sure it's edgy and fresh, smart and captitivating. The substance just isn't at the level of Vagabond, and the characters are rather one-dimensional (expect maybe Ray).
This was such a hard decision to make, but I must forsake even Vagabond for something as amazing as The Promised Neverland. I think i may have established myself as someone who doesn't focus soley on that many of the Battle aspects of a narrative. Yes that is a very important aspect, but I just have such an immense respect for Neverland and it's authors in attempting something so brave in modern manga, Shounen and Seinen. Taking a phrase from Jammin, Neverland sort of laughs in the face of it's demographic with its premise of warring with the mind, not with weapons. I could and will say more but that can wait for another day. Respect!
If we are talking about the series as whole sure, but if we are talking about what is actually being drawn then no, there is a lot of objectivity in that and Vagabonds art is far superior to Neverlands. Hell, I would argue Neverlands art isnt even good by conventional standards. Let alone compared to the series that garnered its own gallery in Japan.
Well while the battles are great and gorgeous in Vagabond, they are hardly the point of the series. They are just a tool used to tell the true inner growth of Musashi.
While honestly the minds games of Neverland this far have stayed on a pretty conveniently mundane level. And yeah, it is super fresh, but it is hardly the first time similar thing has been done in Jump. I think Death Note, Majin Tantei Nogami Neuro, Enigma and early Psyren had very much comparable elements.
Art is subjective at its core, but I think a little perspective is important too here. You can say you like Neverlands style and such more, but saying Vagabond is not art is, to me, lacking in any type of objectivity or perspective. Vagabond's detail alone is admirable, and I honestly don't think that is all that subjective. As @The President said, the series got its own art gallery, that alone warrants praise. It is fine to like something else more for a collective group of reasons, but downplaying to that degree is a bit absurd imo.
To return a bit to the subject of art. Some people find certain things appealing and others different things. Everyone has a personal taste, and to certain point art is indeed subjective. However aesthetics and the things that make visual presentations appeal to human eyes have been studied since the ancient Greece and beyond. And they have come to some conclusions that there are some things that could be "objectively" considered aspects of good art. Like the use of space, composition, lighting, color. The hell, there is even a hell lot accurate mathematics behind this. Cold light, warm light, framing withing the picture, the manipulation of direction viewers attention etc. All this classically artistic stuff
Inoue does all that so splendidly. He does it so well, that he has to some extent been able break the rules and experiment in spectacular results. Not only that, but then there his craftsmanship. Most of Vagabond is drawn with a brush! A traditional brush. That gives it a very specific kind of an look. And everyone who has drawn with a brush knows it isn't an easy tool to master. Especially to the extent Inoue has mastered the craft. From very fine ultra detailed thin lines to hugely expressionistic rough strokes. Rough strokes that are still extremely accurately controlled.
Not exactly about Vagabond the manga, but he has painted Vagabond murals on walls with just an amazing technique;
When it comes to the core aspects of drawing, just the core ability to use a tool to produce a picture on a canvas, Inoue is just some sort of an unique genius. His every line is perfect. He just has that incredible drawing technique.
Not like Neverland has bad art. It's actually pretty good and has an interesting unique look, but it just isn't at the Vagabond level of artistry. Actually sometimes it is a little sketchy, and the proportions and perspectives might be off or the faces of the characters look weird. It works though, and particulary works in its context, as in the horror genre it is actually often an purposeful effect that things are drawn a bit shaky and a bit off. But honestly, by any standards it really just cannot be claimed that Neverland has better art, or that Vagabond isn't particulary outstanding as manga on that aspect.
Also a bit separate from the just core technique, Inou imho is also a lot better sequential story teller. Using the elements of comic book story telling to the tell the story. The use of space an page, the layout of the panels and bubbles and the choice of picture to form the over all flow of the comic, how the readers gaze and attentions flow thorough the story, creating it's readability and feel. Greatly attributes to the whole experience of how good the comic feels. Inoue does this very well. Neverland has some occasional iffy bits imho, walls of text or choice of picture that isn't really interesting or doesn't tell much.
Of course all that is a bit subjective too, since every reader reads differently. Everyone fills the gaps mentally in a different manner.
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To be fair though, Inoue is a veteran of the art, having been active professional for almost three decades. The Neverland team on other hand seem like relatively young and new to the business, I'm not too researched into them (they are a writer/artist team right?), and to give them some credit, if Neverland is their debut published series, they are up to a pretty damn impressive start.
If we are talking about the series as whole sure, but if we are talking about what is actually being drawn then no, there is a lot of objectivity in that and Vagabonds art is far superior to Neverlands. Hell, I would argue Neverlands art isnt even good by conventional standards. Let alone compared to the series that garnered its own gallery in Japan.
No, if you're talking about what's being drawn then art is still subjective, there's no arguing that. Some people will like the style, some won't. "Muh art is better because it has a gallery" might mean it has a good level of appreciation, but it doesn't make it a fact that it's amazing for everyone.
No, if you're talking about what's being drawn then art is still subjective, there's no arguing that. Some people will like the style, some won't. "Muh art is better because it has a gallery" might mean it has a good level of appreciation, but it doesn't make it a fact that it's amazing for everyone.
No, the physical characteristics of an image is something that is objective. You can look at a painting and say your not feeling it, but you can't dismiss it as being drawn poorly because the level of detail is still there, and there is no arguing that. Let alone outright dismissing it as not being art, please. Thats ignorance.
Refer to @Ustegius post for the more indepth explanation.
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