A hot summer day,
I woke up to a loud sound
and saw the world in flames

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데드데이즈 (DEAD DAYS)

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I am rather surprised no one has written a review on that one, it surely deserves some attention despite the critique it can take. So, here I am. I will try my best.

The webtoon is with apocalyptic settings, which could not be more obvious from the first few panels - along with the subtitle "Zombie Thriller". However, I do wonder how many people noticed the well researched information the author included. Most of the things within the whole idea behind it is set on what we call "conspiracy" topic nowadays - from Illuminati, hidden societies down to mind control. So, I can vote with both of my hands that the author has a thing for conspiracy theories, ahaha.

As a side note though, many of the things she/he included are indeed beyond just a theory - it only takes a bit of researching to see that many of the author's explanations about "how" and "why" within the series are, in fact, provable facts. And that alone makes the webtoon rather chilling.

One of my personal favorites would be, ah- ...It is so hard to pick a favorite! But allow me to mention two things that I have also researched on and noticed them within her/his work.

One would be the Theory of Chaos. The series do portray how chaos is a used tool to rule, rule over anything at all. Create the perfect conditions for chaos to break out, come in like the white knight would do and become the world's savior, which automatically brings you the title of King. And voilà! You have the world in your palm. It is that easy, when it comes to mass-control.

The second thing which impressed me was that the author had done a research on the Sound topic. That is correct - sound. For a long time now I have been researching that one as well, but it surprised me, in a good way, that someone was brave enough to popularize that. Sound is not just music or an annoying noise - sound is more than that, it literally communicates with one's subconsciousness. I was very pleased how the author played that card, although many people would just jump and say - "Bull, it's just another conspiracy sh.t". Well, you are free to have your own opinion, but it would be nice to dig in deep before speaking on that one!

So, as you can see - the series are chilling. Not because it's some Zombie Apocalypse there, but because under its fictitious layer, it uncovers some very worrying real life related issues.

Also, I heard a few people read the webtoon, but had forgotten what is it about - that is very sad! Because it has real things to teach you, if you just decide to dig in and see why the author put the puzzle together in that way. I must say, on the plot side - I will give it 9 out of 10!

Now, onto the critique.
I did notice some art struggles he/she did have (well, sue me - I pay attention to art in a very detailed way), but if one thing I did not like was some rushed scenes or a bit of repetition on panels. It made some scenes a bit too stoic, when the series, in general, was supposed to be hectic and suspending. I think, if the author worked more on the suspension there - it would make it more recognizable and memorable for quite some time - I can even bet that it would've beaten Killing Stalking's suspension!

So, my only critique would be the action parts. They weren't well portrayed. Hence I will not give the series a full ten out of ten, my bad. '_'

But despite that, I do believe that this one would do a nice anime adaptation one day. With the right sound tracks, some slight action corrections - I can see it on the spotlights, really.

Another thing that many Dead Days' readers mentioned was the rushed ending. I...I can agree to a degree, but also disagree. If you think about it, there was not a better way to end this, if we all want a happy ending - don't you think so? Because the series spared us from many characters' deaths, so, I do think the author couldn't bring himself/herself to kill off his/her characters left and right, mnnh.

I would though agree that the ending could've been the same, but done in a smoother way. The idea itself was really good, just the impatience to end it was visible - another thing that brings me to nine out of ten rating.

Overall, you wouldn't waste your time, if you pick to read it. It is a fun read, I promise! (:

Many people write reviews on the anime, I speak in general.
However, I do believe that the manga is also a review-worthy. Thus most of my reviewes might be rather on the manga than the anime adaptation. So, let's head to the main topic!

Plot: 声の形 (rom. Koe no Katachi ; transl. The Shape of Your Voice)
As you can notice I translated the title myself. In Japanese the pronoun "you" (singular) is often omitted, so, I think the title is relating to someone's inner voice, or a group of people's inner voices - I will leave it to here because I might do a major spoiler. Just this is my personal opinion, that we do not necessarily speak of an audible voice, ne.

Now then, after I finally said my thoughts on the title itself, let us talk about the plot. I have watched the adaptation, but also read the manga. And I must say - the adaptation was good, however, the manga is still unbeatable. Yoshitoki Ooima has done a marvelous job on the story. Yes, the art is not bad, but I did not even paid much attention to it because of the story/atmosphere. The manga can completely absorb all of your attention, I joke you not!

As we speak of the plot now, one thing stuck to my mind during the reading-journey - "What goes around, comes around." I really felt the strong presence of that saying in the story. The first "arc", if you may let me use that term in relation to their earlier/childhood life, was really dark and angst-y. I am not saying it was enough to make one cry, but for sure - it brings realism which can make you think on real life-related issues. Makes you think, where are the adults when children struggle - be it because of bad parenting, abuse, being bullied etc.

I liked that Ooima-san flipped the book upside-down and made readers, since it was expressed stronger in the manga than in the anime, think on how bullies view/feel things. Hey, hey! I am not taking the bully's side, I am saying that she did a good job portraying how regrets can scar some people, or in our case - some bullies.

The second arc, in relation to their later life/high-school life, is a bit lighter. You can even call it romantic, but! I have to say my kind of 'but' about the romance. If people know me - they will also know I dislike pointless/sweet romance. I mean, ngh - cringe. So, the "romance" in Koe no Katachi is one of a kind - it is in the form of a forgiveness. And if that's not a masterpiece of an idea - I don't know what would you call it! Yoshitoki Ooima, you truly got me awww-ing there. I did not expect any romance, in fact, all I expected was a very bad ending, the kind you get in some sick visual novel games. Ungh.

Overall, the story is a true masterpiece. I have noticed though that many manga-ka's start touching on disability topics lately - I approve it! So, as we are on something I do approve - the plot will get a 9/10 from me!

Character's Design: Hmmm. I believe the story is partly that great because of the characters, you know? I mean, the idea about the story is good! But you can also get a good hand of cards and still lose the game, if you don't know how to play them well, ne. So, I think the characters were balanced and well portrayed, with all their inner flaws and insecurities - actually, scratch that. They were all great because of their inner fears! ' v ' That being said, the design will get an 8/10 from me.

Art Style: Mhmm, I can't say the style is something mind-blowing. As I said above, I got so consumed in the story and how it was developed, that I completely forgot to pay attention to the art. I usually observed the art as well, I mean - I like taking notes on some curves or details (as I draw too). But yeah, the art style will get just a 6/10 from me. But that is nothing bad! I would rather have a mind-blowing plot with some normal/ordinary art, than a mind-blowing art style with a 'meh'-plot. >_>

Overall, the manga is worth the read even if you watched the anime! Some scenes were not well adapted or missing. So, go and read the manga! ;D

I remember stumbling upon the short video clips by chance, what actually caught my attention was the cute art. When I played it though...I realized that it is a short movie that tells the story of a polar bear falling for a male seal. It sounds...unique, doesn't it?

Plot: The plot is not that rich on a back story or anything too engaging, per se, engaging one's attention. The short movie, which I believe is divided into a few very, very short clips, could be considered comedy. The seal is amazingly cute and the bear is ...amazingly gentle (well, given the fact the bear is supposed to be the predator, ahaha). The story, when isolated from the comedy, is very cute and can cheer you up. It's a great choice, if you are looking for something to kill time with, relax with and at the same time is nothing long or mood-killing - this is a good pick. I am giving it a 7 out of 10.

Characters' Design: I mentioned it already, but the art is cute enough to make the two main and only characters likeable. The seal and the polar bear are displayed as the perfect (white) match. In fact, that's the point of the whole story. So, the plot itself is based on the characters' appearance. I don't think it's a bad idea even though the show also features homosexuality. I would rate it with a 7 out of 10.

Visuals/Art: The visuals are rather simple, the color-scheme is soft and gentle as well. I guess it is to be expected when we speak of a one-minute show, but despite its simplicity and no vividness of color effects I like it..I think that makes it likeable, along with the voice acting. Before I get onto the voice acting rating, I would give the visuals a 6 out of 10. I am pretty harsh when it comes to art, huh.

Voice Acting: I guess the combination of Yuuichirou Umehara and Natsuki Hanae was a good bet! Yuuichirou's ikemen's voice makes the gentlemanly bear's appearance completed. I am not well introduced to these two voice actors, but I have to say Yuuichirou's voice intrigued me! I will rate the voice acting with an 8 out of 10.

Overall, as a finishing thought - the movie was a good way to make me chuckle all by myself, when I was looking for something to kill time with. So, as a final score...I will go with a stable 7/10.

So, Dengeki Daisy. I have to mention that we speak of the "hidden identity" tag here, and I love it!! In my personal opinion, DD is probably the classic in genre when it comes to hidden identity combined with an intelligent, more than average, male lead. So, onto the review now!

Plot: I would describe DD as a heart-warming manga with well-thought comedy. Really, the comedy is good! Before anything, I just want to say that I dislike shoujo sweetness. Despite the fact, that I have a lot of titles listed on my profile under Romance, do not get fooled though - I do not read too sweet titles! Ungh. Okay, I have read such but. Ungh. Anyway, if I had to compare DD's "sweetness" to some other title, it would probably be Kaichou wa Maid-Sama!. For some reason the atmosphere is kind of comparable. The story is about a very intelligent male lead who is a hacker. That's very right, something rather unusual. There aren't many titles that involve hacking out there. So, the plot is not that much into the hacking world, do not worry - no backdoor's, no injections, no DDoS attacks etc. Rather, the plot focuses on the hard choices one can face in life, it focuses on how much it is important for a person to be kind, to be protective but also to be forgiving. I have to say that the favorite part of mine in the plot is the fact that the male lead, Kurosaki Tasuku, hides his hacker identity and the fact that he always backs up the female lead. One interesting side note, as I speak Japanese, the part in his name, Tasuku, even though the kanji character for it is not the same but phonetically it is the same as the word/verb "to help/rescue". Isn't it cool?! ;D Anyway, I would rate the title with an 8 out of 10.

Characters' Design: The characters' design, at first, is nothing memorable because the manga starts up rather light, as a comedy. But the development is rather obvious later on, when the manga switches from that silly-dilly-willie Dengeki Daisy style to a very intense romantic plot. Oh, did I mention the age gap? Ho-ho-ho. We get a hot, intelligent and mature male lead ...I would hit the 9 out of 10 button! But the female lead, indeed she was also well-developed to suit Kurosaki. Still, she felt somewhat weak. Or maybe I am too much of a fan of strong female leads...? Okay, maybe someone might argue on that one. Because she was portrayed as a person who went through a lot...but boy. Still, I saw her as a weak character, no idea why. Certainly, she wasn't annoying like many female leads in shoujo genre. However, I think she could be more developed on the "display of her maturity" side. I get it, I get it - she is just a high-school girl, but the plot suggests that she is rather mature. And because of the female part, unfortunately I would end up rating the characters' design in total as 8/10. But, psst. Kurosaki's intelligence is hot as heck.

Art Style: Yup, not gonna lie. I liked the male's design. Well, what? I am into guys - what do you expect me to rate? XDD Okay, okay. Let's be serious. The art is not so clean. Some panels are obvious, that the manga-ka was in rush. But can you blame? I can't imagine working that, to be honest. Overall, the art style itself is well-developed. I have seen rather shocking drawings in the manga world, the proportions can be wrong and bad etc. However, in DD we get rather correct proportions, well, not perfect but still! Hence, I will rate it with an 8 out of 10.

I have seen not that many titles with well portrayed disabilities in manga before stumbling upon Gangsta. I must hurry to say, before I start the real part of the review - the characters' build-up, personality wise, is amazing and well paced. Nothing feels too out of the blue or too rushed. Now, let's begin!

Plot: The story is put through the psychological lenses, so, whoever enjoys dark and angsty titles - that's your pick. The main character, and actually my favorite one, Nicolas Brown, is a deaf man. The plot, somewhat, portrays how human and how inhuman one community, society - if you will, can be. So, within such a cruel world, the manga-ka tried to develop a character with sort of a disability - a man who is as fragile as strong he appears to be. But if we dive even deeper, beyond the obvious, you will notice that the manga actually goes further than just portraying just one disability. So to say, the author showed that with or without disability - we all can break. That masterpiece reminds me of one well-known, rhetorical question - "Are monsters born, or created?" Overall, I would rate the plot with an 8 out of 10. I hardly ever give 10/10, but if only the author deepened the character's development, by that I mean diving deeper into the world of disability and the ups and downs with it, I would probably rate it higher!

Characters' Design: Well, from body language, whoever follows that in manga knows what I mean, to creation of atmosphere around the character - everything is well thought up and nothing is done on the spur of the moment. I would rate the style and design of the characters really high, I would give it 9/10. The idea, the details, the psychology hidden in the body language - just superb! I also like that the design doesn't focus on outer appearance (e.g. clothes, accessories etc.) but on inward appearance (e.g. personality, values, ideas etc.)

Art Style: Well, it's not my typical pick. Because I am into pretty/beautiful art, which you mostly get either in BL or in shoujo genre - duh, but I have to give the applause. The art is really good. Well, through the eyes of someone who ogles at guys with hot bodies, damn Nicolas and Worick. The joke aside. I must apologize but I am really picky when it comes to art, thus I can't give anything over 7. My rating on art is 7 out of 10.