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Simple story, complex characters.

Mitsumi is a 15-year-old girl who moves to Tokyo to study at a relatively prestigious school. The story goes over her high school experience, making friends, joining a club, etc. The genres the manga falls into are Slice of Life, Romance, and Comedy. I bet the experience you imagined is fundamentally different from what Skip to Loafer actually has to offer.

Generic love triangles, the grueling standards of a prestigious school, painfully familiar character tropes, stretched out meaningless conversations, none of those are in here.

In fact, Skip to Loafer almost makes a point of breaking all those stereotypes of the Josei/Seinen genre. Early ... on, there is a well-set-up misunderstanding between the two main characters. That is an issue for exactly 2 chapters, where everything is resolved by an open and direct conversation… and miscommunication is never used as a storybeat again.

The closest we have to a “character trope” in this title is Makoto. The very first chapter she’s in tackles exactly that. Makoto, as a person, has the dumb and uninformed belief that every person can fit into a neat little box. Which in turn makes her squeeze into a box of her own and behave like a stereotype herself.

After spending some time with Mitsumi, Makoto begins her arc of slowly growing out of the bubble she was placed in. The manga doesn’t exist to specifically counter those ancient tropes; it’s just a natural byproduct of a quality story.

It’s no coincidence that one of the most common things people say about the title is that “the characters feel like real people”. Of course they do, that’s what the manga is about. It’s not about “will they/won’t they” romance, or about well-crafted 4-panel gags, or even about the average high school experience. What’s at the core of this is good writing, focused on exploring and developing characters.

Still, that happens when everybody is existing and living their life. So that’s why we spend time observing parts of Mitsumi’s day-to-day life. Because the context of the character exploration is just as important as the exploration itself.
This is a slightly pretentious way to talk about all this, I’m aware. But luckily, the manga doesn’t require of you any of this analysis to be enjoyed. The story can easily be followed and be very entertaining just by engaging with it on a surface level.

That’s just part of Misaki Takamatsu’s magic, being able to write complicated ideas into her story and still keep everything simple. For me, the highlights and the points for a deeper dive were the panels without a single line of text on them. They just give you time to reflect and emphasize the beauty of the current moment being illustrated.

That’s the strongest part of the art as well, those panels where the world freezes and is drawn with a specific intention to suck you into the moment. Apart from that, on a visual level, everything is charming in a very approachable way, but with no super notable highlights.

I was able to relate to many themes I didn’t expect would be in the manga and/or have anything in common with me as a person. I loved my time with Skip to Loafer, 10/10.

I also made a video on it, if you want, you can go watch that :)

Insane art. Dripped out with style.

A cyberpunk open-air prison filled with “delinquents” who have to go to school and have formed a society to rise up against the abuse they face. It’s like juvie on crack; the teachers and the guards have unquestionable authority and are allowed to beat up/murder students. And the teenagers rebel mostly by behaving like little sh1ts and doing drugs.

In this setting, we see 3 new students getting dropped off and adapting to everything. The plot is really fun when the main characters are allowed to exist in the world and explore it. Sadly, that isn’t the case for most of ... the manga. From about chapter 9, they are always reacting to the events around them and are not making any meaningful decisions.

And even if I try to ignore that fumble, the rest of the story is pretty generic, with most interesting elements (the whole cyberpunk aesthetic) being fully unexplored. And all that is pretty disappointing if you are reading the title expecting a decent story… however, if you are reading Fortified School expecting it’s an art book, then you’ll have an amazing time.

Unparalleled creativity with the composition in some of these panels. The variety of different pens, brushes, and styles the illustrator uses is impressive on its own, but how he takes all that and creates these pages is insane. You can feel the soul, the work, the creativity that was poured into some of the illustrations… pure cinema man.

The title feels like an amateur writer collaborating with an amazing artist and publishing a very creative piece of work. Luckily, the illustrator Shinichi Hiromoto, later in his career, about 6 years after Fortified School, was given a chance to write and illustrate his own manga.

This is worth reading exclusively because of the art. It’s such a fun experience. 7/10 would’ve loved if the story was good too, but I’m glad that at least it gave some insane plot beats to Mr. Hiromoto to illustrate.

Very striking and unique.

There is a giant fire in a small neighborhood, and the parents of our main character, Shigeji, pass away, leaving him a family carpentry company. At the same time, he hires a housekeeper, Ritsu. She takes in the 5 kids from the local orphanage that burned down, and now they become a family of 7 people.

The narrative might seem a little odd; that’s because our man Minetarou adapts a novel that takes place in the Edo period into a manga taking place in the 21st century. The transition could have been rough, but luckily, the narrative is not that important. Sure, ... it’s there, but we more so concentrate on the characters and their lives.

Some examples of chapters are - going to the park, calming down one of the kids after they started to cry, and a conversation about life in the kitchen. If you wanted to read a wholesome slice of life, this is not really it. The manga requires your full attention to be enjoyed (kinda).

Something that’s said multiple times in here is that “it’s the small things that matter”, and believe me, the manga embodies that in every way. All the chapters I listed stand on their nuance. Their realistic portrait of real life and how complex it can be. If you indulge me a little more and read ahead, you will see what I mean.

Visually, the manga is clean. Everything is conveyed to the reader in a clear, well-packaged, minimalistic way. So much so that at first, you might be fooled into thinking that everything is too clean. For example, the characters don’t behave like normal manga characters; they don’t move too much, don’t make exaggerated faces, and so on. If you are not paying too much attention, the whole thing might even seem bland.

That’s where the trick is, engaging properly with the title. Once you do that, you begin to notice the small things; characters may not be conventionally expressive, but that’s because they are emulating real life. Think of a normal conversation between you and a random person, you don’t notice a cartoonish drop of sweat on their forehead, you notice their posture, how they fiddle with their hands, the intention in their eyes… THAT is what the manga illustrates.

Once you put that into perspective, the “bland” art style turns into a place where subtlety can thrive. Characters don’t say “I’m angry”, “I’m confused”, “I’m sad”, they behave like that’s how they’re feeling through their body language. Beautiful work.

I wish I could say this is a masterpiece. And it was really close, but there is a dude that takes pictures of his adult daughter while she is changing… yeah bro, I don’t know why either.

This takes down the thing for me to an 8/10. If you want to know more about my thoughts, I have a review for the manga on youtube.

I read through this while I was 18 and it was LIFECHANGING. This inspired me to start working out, to start creating things, to spend my time more wisely, and got me generally interested in the medium of manga.

So this in my heart Kengan will always be a 10/10... but since I'm reviewing the manga in a more "professional" environment I had to read it again with a more critical view and sadly some cracks ​started showing.


I have made a whole video review about this if you want you can check that out from my profile.


Story - 7
The fights. The main (and kinda ... only) focus of the manga. I love that, my issue is not with that, my issue is with the fact that fights are constantly interrupted. This is fine if we interrupt the fight after it has started to explain a very core technique or to insert some backstory BUT on the 5th time when we stop the action to talk about something for a page or two it feels kinda bad. I'm not saying that the manga shouldn't explain stuff or give the backstory of the characters. I am saying that this was not the way to do it.

Apart from that, I adore some backstories and in general, the fights feel great when you ignore the pacing. And a small shutout to the "politics" of the manga, that shit was cool.

Art - 8
Okay please don't crucify me on this one. I like the art, I do. But go look at ANY chapter of One Punch Man then come back look me in the eye and tell me that they both have 10/10 art. Things in here can look stiff and weird sometimes (and that's okay), proportions can be a bit of, and in general, the moment-to-moment art is not that spectacular. With that said of course most of the time, it looks beautiful and it's good. (also there are 3D models that look very bad but they appear only like 7/8 times so it's fine)

Characters - 9
I adore them. Or at least a good bit of them. Some just exist for filler and that will always feel bad. Others are mediocre. But when the characters are good, they are DIVINE. Ouma and Kazuo are a masterpiece of a relationship that in my eyes has cemented itself as a peak manga moment. Also, Sekibayashi is my zodiac sign and nobody can convince me otherwise.

Enjoyment - 10
Incredible fights in which you have basically no idea is going to win. Superb action and flow of a fight (once they let the fight flow without interruptions). And a touch of that nostalgia and I was happy for those short, short hours when reading this.

Overall - 8
This sometimes can waste your time for what it feels like no reason. Which is the biggest issue here that is stopping this from the title "masterpiece". And yet there are so many unbelievably good chapters, peak action, and heavy (in a good way) characterization that this should most definitely be considered a modern classic.

Is this a good fighting manga? No, it's fucking amazing.

This is a cult-hard classic. Basically the manga equivalent to Patlabor: The Movie for anime. You read/watch it when you start getting into manga/anime and you start seeking out the old classics. And in this case, the title "cult-hard classic" is deserved in every way.

I have made a whole quality video review on this, if you feel like it, you can check it out from the link in my profile.


Starting off the review with:

Story - 9
The whole progression and everything that is happening feels very natural. It doesn't overexplain the setting or the events - it just lets you take in the action and the ... atmosphere. And why we don't see this all that often and it's generally considered rare is because it's very complicated to achieve. But this thing does exactly that. There were like 1/2 slowish chapters but compared to everything else they just disappear in the positives.

Art - 9
This is done with so much passion and such a deep understanding of the world and all of its moving parts. It's amazing to see. The action here and there can be a bit stale but that is understandable and pretty much a given if you consume manga in a few sittings as I do.

Characters - 10
A part of why the story flows so well is because while we follow it a HUGE part of everything is happening to put Alita to progress in her journey of understanding life. She is by far one of the most polished and "wise" characters I have ever encountered. What makes this a 10 tho is that every other character in here has NUANCE. Everyone has a quirk to them, everyone has a motivation, everyone changes and learns, everyone feels like they are a real human.

Enjoyment - 10
Hayao Miyazaki said while being intervened for Castle In The Sky (I believe) that what brings nuance to their films is that the animators and people working on the project come from many different walks of life. Aka they don't play the manga/anime meta that always has existed, no they just create professional entertainment with passion. That is why I enjoyed the manga (in addition to all of the other great things). It's clear that the mangaka for this has other interests in life apart from the manga. We reference Nietzsche, the bible, classical music and none of that feels complicated in any way.

Overall - 10
I see this as a small celebration of human culture and passion. In addition of course to everything else that is executed in a near-perfect way in here. What else could you want?

I tried to keep this short where I could. In a few words - people aren't delusional on this one it's actually a masterpiece.

This manga is objectively no more than a 4/10 BUT it goes it the "it's so bad it's good" territory so I personally would definitely say it's a 7/10.

I have made a whole video review if you feel like it, you can check that out from my profile.

Story - 4
*I know this is long but I make good point so consider reading*
By far the "best" worse part. It has a classic mystery of the week vibe however I really liked that especially considering the fact that all of the mysteries are between 2 to 4 chapters. It was great to have all of the ... evidence presented and then for our two main boys to connect all of it to the crime. This is where the issues start... many of the actions and the "rules" of the world don't make sense. For example, the shtick of the manga is that Ron makes the murders kill themselves after he has revealed their identity. This is basically just magic and a few other characters are aware of it. The problem is the killer is always outed in front of everybody (scooby-doo style) but NOBODY restrains the killer after it's knowing that they are guilty. Sometimes they run, other times they try to hurt someone, and always Ron enchants them into trying to commit suicide. Why aren't they cuffed immediately? Because the plot needs them not to be. This is one of many many examples of how the story is filled with logical fallacies and plot holes. Which for a mystery is bad.

Art - 6
I was able to appreciate the buildings to which we dedicate all of the spreads but apart from that and a few dead bodies nothing is really too eyecatching. Does it need to be? No, it's fully functional without the standard overexaggerated moments in manga (which I love). But due to that some of the moments that are supposed to hit don't feel all that heavy which would have been a plus.

Characters - 7
The two main boys are great I genuinely like them and the fact that they make a great duo is what kinda carries some boring parts of the manga. The recurring side characters are always fun I enjoyed them every time they would pop up. The characters that are introduced specifically for a mystery and then forgotten can be hit or miss but when they miss it's so bad it's actually pretty fun.

Enjoyment - 7
Just like how it's with the bad characters the plot holes are a damn fun time. In every mystery (apart from one) there is a key flaw that if pointed out makes the whole narrative crumble to the ground. And once I accepted that I actually had a great time looking forward to those bad moments.

Overall - 7
Yup, a classic case of laughing at a bad manga. But unlike most in which the characters or the art is the main reason here the only thing is that the logical inconsistencies are basically everywhere. Everything else is great.

If you want to look at some cool characters and laugh at some bad plot you can check this out.

Is this one of the best modern pieces of entertainment? Yes. Does it still have issues? Yes.

I made a whole video review on this so if you feel like it, you can check that out.

Now for the important part:

Story - 8
Let me just say I love the theming that is displayed not only with Sitama but with many other characters and plot points "If you have enough passion and dedication you can achieve pretty much anything." love to see that. But we don't spend too much time with that for the most part we follow dudes hitting each other really hard... and I love that ... too so why the 8? Pacing. After chapter 50 or so we start following FOUR different parts and while they are vaguely connected there was no reason for them to be shown at the same time. I'm talking: in the middle of the chapter even tho we are already following a very interesting development we just switch to a bunch of dudes talking in a room together... what.

Art - 10
Not only is the art always portrayed in a very professional and yet inspired way but it also takes some risks with the art direction. We see some focus being used, distortion of reality, and MANY other creative techniques to emphasize how badass is the moment we are experiencing. A true example of what 10/10 art should look like.

Characters - 9
Garou is one of the best characters I have ever seen and it's not like the manga really tries a whole lot (compared to other mangas) to give us intimate moments with him. Of course, we all already know that Saitama is a world-famous phenomenon of a character and the only thing I will say on that - it's well deserved. And all of the other fun and entertaining characters are sure to charm you considering that there is such variety among them. BUT Blizzard messes up the perfect cast. It's bad and not because she is annoying (many other characters are and they are just fine) it's because she is comically stupid and then all of the sudden feels like a reasonable human being and they back to stupid. However a curious case of "if you have enough doujinshis about you then you can stay on the cast".

Enjoyment - 10
Moment to moment this feels great I have read the manga twice now I keep up with the new chapters and it's always a highlight of my day to go on reddit and to sink into the "new chapter" vibe. It's again one of the best modern pieces of entertainment.

Overall - 8
While the last sentence is still true I can't simply overlook the obvious issues when it comes to the pacing. If you are going to take anything away from this review let it be this: YES there is a huge flaw in the manga but it still manages to OVERCOME that and be entertaining and engaging on a whole new level.

Do yourself a favor and go read it.

Even if you aren't a fan of the KoF games this is still pretty fun.

I have made a whole video review on this if you feel like it you can check it out.

Now to go over the most important things:

Story - 4
This is so low because the evil dudes in the story and the overall pace reeealy suck. Now moment to moment battles and the small charming moments are GREAT but the general narrative feels really bad we have 3 big evil dudes in the spawn of 30 chapters... do I need to elaborate more? While I know almost nothing about the KoF lore even ... if I did things still would feel awkward on that front.

Art - 9
Everything here depends on the art. The characters are charming and have a good line once in a while but for the most part, they are so personable and have so much character because they are illustrated with great care and passion. The same goes for the "battle system" it has a big "if it looks cool we'll do it" kinda vibe and I'm all for it since it does look cool.

Characters - 7
There are SO many characters in here and all of them get a little moment to shine... it's genuinely impressive. And if a character gets the special treatment and we see them a lot you can be sure that they will be charming as fuck. But the bad guys are still characters of course and they are just bad "cuz why not" ... or at least I'm speculating because the manga doesn't even give us a sentence on their motivation.

Enjoyment - 8
The whole thing goes by very fast so the severity of the bad narrative doesn't really hit. But what does hit is all of the great and full of soul fights that are in here and that's why you should give the manga a chance for good 10 chapters or so.

Overall - 6
Personally, I really liked it but trying to stay semi-objective in here I can't give it anything more than a 6. However, don't let that stop you, and go look at some gorgeous buff dudes fight.

Trust me this is not just a cooking manga as you have been led to believe. It's muuuch more than that.

If you feel like it, you can watch the video review I have made in this.

Now for the written one:

Story - 8
The world and the powers within it surpass all of the basic fantasy tropes and build up the genre which is not something that happens often. On top of that as the story naturally ramps up in stakes everything still manages to stay lighthearted. However, the severity and the painful reality of the story still hits, it's almost a perfect balance.

Art - 8 ...
Simple and unique. Don't be fooled by the first few chapters when the story needs it this can be very beautiful. On top of that, the cover pages for every chapter prove that the mangaka has the ability to draw detailed over-the-top stuff BUT for the sake of being realistic, she chooses not to. Keeping the art very grounded blending very well with the themes.

Characters - 10
This is the best example of the serious/goofy vibe of the manga. Our main 4 characters are always having fun (for the most part) and being lighthearted however we get certain reality flashes whenever they encounter side characters which generally are more serious and bring variety to the narrative. To get back to the main 4 while they are very charismatic can be fun we have plenty of moments when we go and explore their character further when the already deep personalization we had before.

Enjoyment - 9
Some parts at the start can feel a bit awkward but on their own, they don't really take down the manga to a 9. What does take the manga to a 9 though is one very painfully stupid interaction that is very plot-relevant. Without spoiling anything there is some very key information that just has to be conveyed to our main cast... and that just doesn't happen. Both parties are there, they talk and all but for some fuckin reason everybody (for that one scene) turns into morons and it's not cool.

Overall - 9
While the manga has some minor "bad" stuff in it and while yes it has that one brain-numbing chapter that can't hold down the manga too much. It's still a great time.

A straight-up modern classic right here folks.

A 5 may seem harsh but hear me out. This is good if you are now getting into manga. This is good if you don't think about it after you are done (which I have done many times, it's not a bad thing). But if you have a bit of reading experience behind you and if you reflect on the 17 chapters... you will be in the exact same spot as me.

I have done a whole video review on this. If you feel like it, you can see that from my profile.

Now to elaborate on my earlier point.

Story - 6
If you haven't experienced ... the concept of time loops in media before you will have a good time, it's a genuinely fun shtick and the manga even improves a bit on that. Our main guy has to do a bunch of mini-quests (get better equipment etc.) to help him escape for the time loop and in that it kinda feels like a roguelike. But apart from that neat idea, everything is pretty standard and generic with a few plotholes for spice.

Art - 8
Now, this is tricky since there are some GORGEOUS pages in here but at the same time, most of this looks very plain and uninspired. By that, I don't mean it's not good it is always presented in a very professional way... which sadly is very generic on its own (r u seeing the pattern?). Still gets an 8 for those amazing spreads tho.

Characters - 7
Even if the time was very limited the 2 main characters were very well presented and really had something... that didn't last long and wasn't properly expanded upon. But again since they were able to make them so personable in 17 chapters this is a pretty big achievement if you ask me. Side characters don't really feel like characters they feel like checkpoints but that's pretty understandable and I don't hold it against the manga. But the broad with the glasses was annoying and that I hold against the manga.

Enjoyment - 7
While I was reading this it was very engaging for what it was. And even after I started thinking and realized this was very very shallow I still didn't feel like I was robbed of my time or anything. I am glad I read this.

Overall - 5
However, after I reflected on this whole thing I can't be honest and give it anything more than a 6 and that's on a good day the rest of the time this is perfect "Mediocre". I believe that is because this is an adaptation of a novel and most things simply weren't properly adapted.

If you are bored have free 30 minutes you can read this and who knows maybe you will like it more than I did (but if you got this far into the review you probably won't... sorry about that).