Mob Psycho 100 is a manga made by ONE, the same creator as One Punch Man. As opposed to his more popular manga, where good satire of superheroes is the main focus, Mob is more of a character and plot centered story. The series concluded back in 2017, but still going strong because of a pretty dedicated fanbase and an amazing anime adaptation by Studio Bones.
Taking the main synopsis from MAL “Kageyama Shigeo (a.k.a. "Mob") is an 8th grader with psychic abilities. He could bend spoons and lift objects with his mind from a young age, but he slowly began to withhold from using his abilities in public due to the negative attention he kept receiving. Now, the only thing he wants is to become friends with a girl in his class, Tsubomi. With his psychic "mentor" (who has no psychic powers), he continues his daily life, attempting to realize his purpose in life.”
While at first, it sounds like a typical slice of life that just so happens to have strong espers and evil spirits, it’s actually an amazing story with fantastic characters and powerful themes such as Identity and Self-Improvement.
And don’t let the style of the manga make you not read it. While it is a little rough, the creator did make amazing panels.
Part2 of the campaigning, a morein-depth talkabout thismanga
Houseki no kuni is one of the most unique mangas I ever read, if I ever want to describe it by one word
It could be.. "Elegant"
We follow our fellow gems that are immortal beings, fighting off these lunarians that for some reasons just don't leave them alone and want to abduct them as jewelry, these meanheads
Other than that everyone is living a rather peaceful life, supporting each others with nothing to worry about or so that's what it appear like at first glance.
I want to state that the gems are androgynous looking, taking on both female and male characteristics with the bottom being female (hips, legs etc) and the male being the top (chest shoulders etc )
There a story reason ofc for that, but the outside reason is for readers no matter the gender, relates to the gems.
An other thing is that all the gems expect for sensei(he have his mysterious but he is a known gem just not a real life one) are taking on not only naming of real life gems but also the characteristics, example cinnabar a toxic brittle gem of hardness of only 2, locked away with their own will form every other gems in fear of toxing them.
Phosphophyllite an extremely rare gem that is beautiful but useless and have no use in life form how brittle it is of a hardness of only 3.5 and unlike cinnabar were their toxic is useful in real life, phos have no use in real life and the manga, because of their clumsiness and laziness.
And yet they despite all, they struggle with all their power to find a purpose in life and a job for themself, this isn't a story about finding the one piece but about simply finding your own purpose and struggling, never giving up and changing for a better future for you and your loved ones, just like humans.
And this means that every single character is different form each other, each characters are unique and have their own stuggles, I love how ichikawa managed to take on their real life aesthetics and at the same time make each and everyone unique.
What I love about this serie is that unlike others were you have one big moment that destroy everything and everyone, here you have small moments that at first you won't think of it much, but in partial every little moment is building up our protagonist development and the slow but sure realisation of how everything is flawed and didn't seem like what we thought.
This serie also managed really well to subvert expectation and avoid all kinda cliches, when you think the serie will go in a certain direction it and start an small arc about a cliche it avoid it completely and slove it really quickly, but don't let that fool you sweetie as this way it lures you in a false sense of security just to destroy your feels one by one slowly but surely. and ichikawa laughing at our broken hearts
Even still with all this, the story never ever loses it's bright mood and comedy, unlike other serie were it becomes dark and edge FOREVER, this little one never lose it, as you see the world doesn't get dark because of some events but it's just the perspective of a character.
And that means that the comedy never feel forced or anything, it feels normal and funny.
Unlike others were change is one violent momentary of an event, here we have change as a well paced meaningful small development that when you looks back you like "how did I get here ?"
"Sometimes you think why did I even start all of this, what did I want?"
When your starting goal becomes muddier and muddier and your ideology change with every you grow up, and yet you keep moving forward for a better future for you and those around you.
(and for ichikawa her plan with writing is to know what it really means to be human)
Know that this is extremely fitting because here everytime a gem lose a part of their body they lose part of their memory meaning, a part of themself, as they gems they don't have a brain or organs to store info or eat, but they store it in all of their body, they just need sunlight to work and taking care of their body parts especially with hardness lower than 5.
Now about the world of houseki no kuni
It's a rather mysterious world, but I let little phos explain the beginning and then take it form there, you see at the same time some of the gorgeous looking artwork of ichikawa-sen
So as phos explained the planet been completely recked by the fearsome kappa meteors six times in total
And all the lives had to run away to the see and form there evolved, to other species one of them is the gems.
Know that this is story is a mystery so ofc I won't reveal everything about the world, that's for you to explore when reading it, but just know that humans did exist and are still exciting technically speaking but evolved in other life forms, one of them are the gems themself being the bone of the humans
But as much as the world is mysterious nothing will ever change the fact that what really sell the story is the characters and their view, their struggles and their reaction to the truth, how they handle it and move on.
About the art/direction and ichikawa handling of the manga, oh man I have a lot to talk about.
First of all ichikawa excels at art direction and shot composition, to make it short she take full advantage of the media she working in aka manga
One of her strongest weapons is her use of black and white, I don't think I ever seen a mangaka use black and white to this degree, you normally could think the use of so much black and white with little gray could be hard for you eyes and yet it's not but in actually it draws you in the world, never failing to make you fall in love with it, and actually portraying with it the feelings of the characters
not only that but also the fact that ichikawa knows how to perfectly put the dialogue and making it so the flow is soo fluid, nothing ever feels forced, maybe this seem like a small remark but I say that there a lot of mangakas that really don't know how to make the dialogue go fluid and feel not forced or weird, like it's an afterthought.
It's true this manga is definitely not as detailed as other works, especially with the character were they rather simple looking, but ichikawa never less manages to make it a piece of art unlike any other, with it's composition that works perfectly with the narrative.
Remember when I told you that this manga is unpredictable, it still hold true but while rereading I noticed just how much ichikawa foreshadowed and established right at the beginning, rather impressive considering not a lot of people will notice if they a first timer or didnt reach the current events.
And ofc this couldn't be an ichikawa work if there was no body horror in it, well I say "horror" but I don't see it as horror more like the portraying of feelings of our character with their body as they gems as their body is their mind.
Ok some are still horrifying *looks at the current chapter*
and one of the most popular ones is this one
ahh mental stress really destroy someone
i also really love this panel where it shows us what phos see when broken
and for these it shows us the threat in front of them with the use of the black and white and negative space
or the feelings
even PTSD and hallucination
anyways its just beautiful
Ofc she also have her own art book (actually two if you could the one that came out with volume 9, I still don't know what to call it but it's basically statue art of the characters)
I did manage to find most of them in the book but I show then in an other campaign
Here the full cover without any writing on it
And here the inside of the cover of the book that is actually a sketch of the outside
I leave what's inside the book for an other campaign maybe
So I really hope that you give this hidden gem a read and vote for it
Before writing about the world and the wars in Soul Eater, let's talk a little about the main characters.
The three main characters are an important argument to mention because despite being your expected action/adventure/supernatural shonen series, Soul Eater doesn't focus on a specific character with an specific and direct goal.
The characters are one of the series's strongest points, there's such a big and good cast, that I could be making campaigns for them for hours; even for the secondary or extra background characters, who have also their own unique ways outside the main ones.
They're original, refreshing, more complex than the stereotypes bring and have a good-solid character development.
From a polar opposite main duo, to a guy who only cares to be greater than God to a boy who is born from the death iteself, Soul Eater is definetly a shonen to give a read.
Thank you if you read this until the end! Will post a last one later.
I'll be frank, my eyes still hurt a bit after reading those walls of texts and pics this morning, and yours too I guess...
Or maybe you didn't even read them , and it doesn't matter !
This is because I will be simple with you, one phrase is enough to decribe Made In Abyss.
" Made in Abyss is a manga that tells the story of Riko, a little girl, and Regu, a mysterious boy, and their descent in the Abyss, a damn big hole filled with mystery, reality, horror , where the two characters begin to discover little by little the secrets it hides."
Honestly, the only thing I can tell you is the art is stunning and the story is unique , so just give it a try !
- Part 2(Main&Side Characters,Black Bulls,some pieces of Art)
1. Asta and Yuno
Asta and Yuno have always been together,since they were infants, as both were put at the Hage Orphanage's doorstep in the same night. Father Orsi decided to take them in,to raise them into proper men and to give them a place to call "Home". While growing up,the 2 of them would compete over the smallest things such as who can run an errand for Orsi faster or who can finish laundry quicker and so on,where Yuno would at some point awaken his affinity and talent for magic while Asta was left with the realization that he isn't capable of using or summoning any sort or form of Magic. While Yuno was polishing and training his Magical Capabilities through chores around the Orphanage like chopping Wood,doing laundry or cleaning the house he managed to harness his Magic Element "Wind" which only resulted in adding to Asta's dilemma since the only training he could do was physical exercises and drinking a certain juice said to strengthen or awaken Magic Powers. But nothing would work for him,Asta is a 1 on in a million case as he wasn't born with any Mana flowing through his body making it impossible for him to ever wield any form of Magic. Somewhere down the road Yuno and Asta learned of the Magic Emperor,the strongest Magic Knight in the Kingdom of Clover and leader of the Military Forces,and that one does not need to be of Royal heritage to have a shot at becoming Magic Emperor but anyone can. Even commoners such as them have a chance,but only if they have the necessary qualities and results speaking for them. More motivated than ever our 2 rivals start training and working harder than ever to receive their Grimoires and enter one of the Magic Knight Squads,despite everyone telling Asta that he can't achieve his dream no matter what due to his lack of Mana he keeps training hoping his Magic would awaken once he achieves his grimoire. The long awaited Day would come soon as the 2 boys departed for the Grimoire Acceptance Ceremony at the Grimoire Tower,every young man present was given his Grimoire bar Asta,while Yuno was chosen by the Rare Four Leaf Clover Grimoire. Something that has only ever happened to the Legendary First Magic Emperor,whoever receives this Grimoire is blessed with incredible Magic capablities and strong Mana. A talent like no other basically. Despite this Asta would not hate Yuno nor hold a grudge towards him,he would remain true to achieving his dream someday with Yuno encouraging him. Naturally Asta would not remain without a means to fight nor a grimoire,after the Ceremony he has a run in with a Rogue Magic Knight attempting to sell Yuno's rare Grimoire on the black market. As Yuno fails to stop the thief with his magic Asta tries to attack him only to get a beating in return during which both he and Yuno reassure another that this is just another step towards Magic Emperor,which ultimately triggers Asta to awaken "something" sinister and evil: A Five Leaf Clover Grimoire! While the Four Leaf Clover promises good fortune and potential the Five Leaf Clover houses a devil. Asta's Grimoire gave him the ability to wield Anti Magic Sword/s,capable of negating any sort or form of Magic thrown at it by absorbing the Mana which makes it the perfect Weapon for Asta as he has no Mana to absorb. He defeats the thief with a powerful strike and the 2 rivals swear that they'll become Magic Emperor. Which is where the Main Story kicks off.
2. Noelle Silva
Born as the youngest daugther of House Silva, one of the 3 Royal Families,and younger sister of the Silver Eagle's Captain Nozel Silva our Main heroine Noelle lived under a big shadow since her childhood but not only that her other 2 siblings who are also Members of the Silver Eagle would constantly make fun of her and accuse her for their mother's death who unfortunately died at Noelle's birth. Due to her Royal Blood she was blessed with incredibly strong Mana and high potential,but sadly she wasn't able to control her power which made it impossible for her to join the Silver Eagle as her Brother wouldn't let her join when she can't even protect herself. The expectations of Noelle were high,perhaps too high, as one day she decided to join the Black Bulls. The lowest ranked Magic Knights Squad which is famous for it's negative achievements and incompetence,in order to hone her skills and try to master her Magic. She's able to use powerful Water Magic. However,the Black Bulls Squad would soon prove to be a challenge for Noelle regardless of her talents and abilities as she was surrounded by Commoners who she as a Royal had a rather arrogant and superior attitude towards as she would order higher ranked Members around or talk badly about the entire Squad as it is only meant to serve as a stepping stone for her. The Black Bulls Squad is also where she first meets Asta,the other newcomer besides her to the Squad,who she seems to strongly dislike at first and only calls him "Insect" but that would quickly change as Asta saves her during a Training Exercise from being swallowed up by her own Magic with his Anti Magic and instead of mock her like her family would praised her for the incredible amount of Mana she displayed. This event would not only change her attitude towards Asta but all Commoners and her Squad as she acknowledged that Commoners are the same as Royals: Humans. She isn't a typical damsel in distress or a liability to the Squad,infact she fights for herself and masters her powers more and more as the story proceeds,having her come to the rescue of the MC or being able to fight alongside him rather than having to be protected by him. She undergoes a lot of development over the story so far and she becomes more and more likeable at that too. She's someone to keep an eye on for sure.
3. Yami Sukehiro
The Captain of the Black Bulls,hailing from a foreign Country Yami was found by Julius Nova Chrono. The current Magic Emperor who was interested and impressed by his Talent and Magic Affinity at the time,since Yami is proficient in the usage of Darkness Magic which goes along with his name as Yami is japanese for "Dark"/"Darkness". Yami was rather ignorant to the ways of the world,Magic Knights or other Kingdoms so it took Julius some time to convince Yami to join the Magic Knights. From then on out,Yami would serve under Julius and complete Missions and other tasks given to him by the former Captain and later Magic Emperor until he was given the Role of Squad Captain of his first own Squad: The Black Bulls. While this all sounds like a wonderful story of success and fate Yami would continue serving under the Magic Emperor but wouldn't pay much heed to his Captain duties as they were a bother to him and took too much energy and effort to uphold,regardless he would recruit and scout for new Members continously for various reasons: Latent potential,Magic,Background or just simple interest. While Yami may lead the worst Squad in the Kingdom,and his Members continously destroy something or make for bad public image with him having a rather lazy and irresponsible attitude he has committed a lot of good deeds and remains true and faithful to the Emperor like no other. If you look at the Black Bulls for example: While on the surface they look like a bunch of brutes and failures they all have something or someone they want to protect or hold dear to themselves,every Member has met Yami under certain circumstances and has been invited to his Squad for different reasons but they all have the same image in their head when they think of the Black Bulls and Yami. It's their home,and he's the first person to ever acknowledge people like them despite the rest of the Kingdom looking down on them. He continously encourages his Squad to go beyond their limits and to have fun with everything they do,he focuses/focused on every Member from time to time and hands them advice or supports their training to improve themselves even though he looks like he doesn't really care much about it most of the times. Over the course of the story he repeatedly shows dedication to the Magic Emperor,the Kingdom and his Squad,coming to save them from a serious threat on a mission or helping them achieve their first Positive Star.(I'll get to explaining the Ranking System and the Magic Knight Squads soon!.)
4. The Black Bulls
The Black Bulls are,as previously mentioned by me,the lowest ranked Squad in the Clover Kingdom. At first. The squad is made up of several lower ranked Magic Knights that are nothing but trouble makers and while they complete their missions efficiently they always achieve a negative ranking due to the destruction caused or due to their behaviour towards clients, with the Kingdom having to pay for the repairs or to appease the clients most of the times and the Captain Yami being hold responsible with the Magic Emperor saving his head everytime by excusing him and the Squad. Every Member has joined under certain circumstances or situations instead of the Magic Knights Exam held by the Kingdom every year,bar Asta at least. The Members are as following: Vanessa,a former Witch. Magna, a ruffian. Luck,a talented yet too energetic for his own good, guy. Gauche,another talented Knight under Yami with a strong protective instinct for his Sister Mary. Finral,a former Noble and Yami's "Taxi" due to his Transportation Magic. Noelle Silva,a Royal. Charmy, glutton. Grey, a very shy girl. Gordon, a very quiet and goth-like man. And last but not least Asta,our MC. All of them joined Yami for their own reasons but they all come back to him through one way or another: Vanessa was saved by Yami and wanted to repay the debt,Finral was acknowledged by Yami after everybody in his Life ridiculing him for being useless,Gauche wanted to protect his sister and even broke out of Prison to see her but was taken in by Yami so he could do so without having to face consequences,Magna and Luck were taken in for their potential and the energy they bring with them,Noelle joined the Black Bulls because no other Squad would take her in with imperfect Mana Control,Asta joined because no other squad wanted him as well and Yami was the only one to give him a chance. Charmy,Gordon and Grey's reasons are unknown so far iirc. but as the story proceeds we're sure to learn and hear more about their reasons too,that much is certain. The Squad received the worst rankings for many years,it was only after Asta and Noelle joined that it would regain composure and operate like a proper team again and go for positive stars rather than negative ones. To the extent of them being head to head with the No.1 Squad: Golden Dawn. Something they never managed before. Each of the Members undergoes development and shows their reliability over the story,they count as side characters but at certain moments their spotlight outshined some of the Main Characters even which is one of the reasons why i love Black Clover so much. Contrary to popular belief,it cares about all Characters to an extent and they all have their role to play in the grand scheme of things.
Next Post/s: -Storytelling
-Magic Knight Squads and Ranking System
-Royal Families
-Magic Emperor: Julius Nova Chrono
Relationships are stressed in Noragami but aren’t limited to friendship like most shonen but also romantic love as a motivator to which some people have thought Noragami to be more shojo then shonen at times. Whatever the bond might be... The theme of the manga is human connection brought out by the gods and their codependents. This extends to humans in the story. For example, how attached Hiyori gets to these beings and ghosts that she will eventually forget. The most explored are the three mains and Bishamon/Kazuma but also there are other relationships with the god at the center whether it’s Take and Kiun or Daikoku and Kofuku.
Each relationship is rich and brings its own diversity. Kiun suffers the memory of Take’s previous Shinki murdering him because he was a poor master. Kazuma can only think of Bishamon. (Not that that is bad thing, if you going to be pussy whipped for Bishamon, that is acceptable )
Then there is Nora.
The series is called Noragami, essentially Stray God. But Nora also refer to the Shinki who serve many gods and have no name. One of the most complex female antagonist is a nora and is called Nora as she has too many names. Too many relationships. She has no true name as she is named many times. Even the god who she considers her father, can give her up in a second. In the end, despite having so many bonds, nobody wants her. And at that point, what are you? Someone who merely clings to others and has no sense of self?
The strongest personal part of this manga is the author’s pursuit of questioning. Like on he case of one’s existences. The most terrifying thing for a Shinki is to question who they are and how they died. Something the gods they serve have memories of. It’s called a God’s greatest Secret. And it can turn a Shinki instantly into a Phantom if they are touched by the secret. Noragami balances the fun, comedy with hidden pearls that makes the story a bit melancholy without being overly dramatic. The start does emphasize teenagers more as Hiyori is a teen and Yukine was a child when he died but it grows beyond that to include people of all ages. Even at its most grim, it’s a story of resilience after loss and how you can push through. If it doesn’t get far in the manga wars, would recommend you try it or the anime.
What makes Youjo Senki great besides the action is the devil in the details.
For example, the weapon Tanya and Visha uses here
are mondragons, a weapon that was unsuitable for the Trenchs but perfect for flight.
Perfect weapon for aerial mages and the real life Luftstreitkräfte.
Another example, the names of military leaders. Erich von Rerugen
is a reference to Erich von Manstein, both important for the invasion of French lands.
Hans von Zettour
is a nod to Hans von Seeckt while Kurt von Rudersdorf
is a nod to Erich von Ludendorff.
But my favorite part of the series is Tanya's use of knowledge from her previous life to come across as a genius, both to seemingly mundane like her thesis on the modern logistics
to something that leaves her saying "Why did I suggest this", such as urban warfare and how to conduct it without violating War Laws.
Of course, this and many other things leads to the numerous misunderstandings.
Albeit it doesn't help she admits to having every complex known to man.....
Outside of that, the secondary storyline of the series is great. Her frustration at the Divine's machinations
to make her a theist is a driving point on her goals to achieve a quite life. As said earlier, her personal war is what gets her into a deeper hole.
(Of course, I do thoroughly enjoy seeing her become a magical girl
Going a little more in-depth with the story, it centers around Mob going through a personal journey to improve himself as a person. He wasn’t grateful for receiving his amazing powers, sometimes even fearing them, and instead focuses on things he wasn’t good at all. He meets a lot of people in his life who shapes up to be either his biggest ally or foe. In either cases, he learns from them and grows exceptionally.
Of course, it isn’t just about Mob who’s striving, but also a lot of characters around him, who are equally as wonderful.
There are a lot of great arcs in the manga that highlights their development as well as fantastic action scenes sprinkled throughout, but I won’t delve to major spoiler territory. Instead, I’ll just say that all are good, but few are just straight up the best arcs I’ve seen in a while.
Characters
There are two characters in feature, besides the lovable MC himself, and they are Arataka Reigen and Dimple.
Reigen is a great mentor for Mob, despite doing a lot of shady things. He’s very charismatic, funny and surprisingly down to earth, even if he’s just a convincing con artist.
Dimple was at first an enemy to Mob, but overtime, grows to sees Mob as his friend and even protects him. He’s also as hilarious as Reigen.
There’s a lot of strong and likeable characters later on, but those three are definitely the favorites in the series.
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