A lot of people may recall Adult Swim airing an anime called Kekkaishi before Toonami's return. The series finished the manga's first arc but didn't get a second season. Well, I enjoyed it so I decided to pick up my phone and check out the manga.What I got was a mixed bag but it had many enjoyable aspects.
The story follows Yoshimori and Tokine the youngest generation of Kekkaishi as they protect the land of Karasumori from threats. The anime made it seem as Yoshimori was the main character but Tokine actually gets a few arcs to her development as well. While the story may seem stuck in place I assure you that they eventually move to other places. I'm trying to keep it spoiler free because small spoilers will blow open entire plot points in this series. The manga also spends much more time on Masamori and The Night Troop. Masamori also gets some arcs to himself. In one he fights his mentor who has turned to the dark side. The anime didn't leave anything out but the manga did a lot of rapidly expanding the universe after the first arc. The mangaka actually has little breakdowns after some arcs where she admits she didn't expect the series to run all the way through the first arc.
The art is good but there are some sloppy scenes. Where the art excels is the images of cakes. The cakes are incredibly detailed and drawn. I needed to point out the cakes because they are drawn in a ton of detail. I understand that baking cakes is Yoshimori's hobby but it's okay to slack off on cakes. The manga also has incredibly detailed fights. Lastly the manga features a lot of shots of landscapes and that's also a place it excels. The landscapes are usually drawn softly so it's a nice contrast to the sharpness of the fights.
The manga does a lot to expand on characters. The two it does the most to expand on are Masamori and Sumiko, Yoshimori's brother and mother. Masamori is shown to be the perfect son in the first arc and Yoshimori almost hates him for this. He's always viewed as the perfect son to everyone except his family in the later arcs. His grandfather suspects that he's doing things that would bring dishonor to the family's name if it was discovered. It's true he does a lot of shady things in the manga but he does it all for the greater good.
Speaking of shady, Sumiko is shady. In fact she's a sociopath and flat out admits it. One of the best scenes in the manga comes when the family realizes that she hasn't actually been visiting home but sending shikigami. Her husband Shuju tells her that he's finally had enough of her ways and doesn't want to see her again. She calmly accepts this and leaves. Her father even states that he actually enjoys Shuju more than her. It's stated that she's the most power of the Kekkaishi and that's true. She also attempts to do good but doesn't think about things through. In one instance she drags a dragon to Karasumori with no warning. She lets it free to rampage and become stronger. It destroys a large part of the school and attacks the town before she finally steps in. Her reasoning was that he was a land god who needed to be healed. She didn't think about the fact that the dragon was angry because she kidnapped it, nobody knew she was coming, civilians saw the dragon and people were injured. At the end of the day she solved one problem by creating more. This is her role until the very end. She's an interesting character and by the end none her family isn't sure if they love her or hate her. In her final scene she even states "I've never been able to give anything useful to my husband or my children."
Kekkaishi is a mixed bag. It's a serious story but after each arc there's a few chapters with a comedy story just to keep it light. Since the author had time to expand on characters she's made a few very interesting. There's also a few who appear later in the series later that are also interesting. Kekkaishi tells a story but the characters are actually the most important part.
You can hear Darrell on the CP Time and Powerbomb Jutsu podcasts. He's also playing Pokemon Liquid Crystal on YouTube
Follow @OriginalKingD
The art is good but there are some sloppy scenes. Where the art excels is the images of cakes. The cakes are incredibly detailed and drawn. I needed to point out the cakes because they are drawn in a ton of detail. I understand that baking cakes is Yoshimori's hobby but it's okay to slack off on cakes. The manga also has incredibly detailed fights. Lastly the manga features a lot of shots of landscapes and that's also a place it excels. The landscapes are usually drawn softly so it's a nice contrast to the sharpness of the fights.
The manga does a lot to expand on characters. The two it does the most to expand on are Masamori and Sumiko, Yoshimori's brother and mother. Masamori is shown to be the perfect son in the first arc and Yoshimori almost hates him for this. He's always viewed as the perfect son to everyone except his family in the later arcs. His grandfather suspects that he's doing things that would bring dishonor to the family's name if it was discovered. It's true he does a lot of shady things in the manga but he does it all for the greater good.
Speaking of shady, Sumiko is shady. In fact she's a sociopath and flat out admits it. One of the best scenes in the manga comes when the family realizes that she hasn't actually been visiting home but sending shikigami. Her husband Shuju tells her that he's finally had enough of her ways and doesn't want to see her again. She calmly accepts this and leaves. Her father even states that he actually enjoys Shuju more than her. It's stated that she's the most power of the Kekkaishi and that's true. She also attempts to do good but doesn't think about things through. In one instance she drags a dragon to Karasumori with no warning. She lets it free to rampage and become stronger. It destroys a large part of the school and attacks the town before she finally steps in. Her reasoning was that he was a land god who needed to be healed. She didn't think about the fact that the dragon was angry because she kidnapped it, nobody knew she was coming, civilians saw the dragon and people were injured. At the end of the day she solved one problem by creating more. This is her role until the very end. She's an interesting character and by the end none her family isn't sure if they love her or hate her. In her final scene she even states "I've never been able to give anything useful to my husband or my children."Kekkaishi is a mixed bag. It's a serious story but after each arc there's a few chapters with a comedy story just to keep it light. Since the author had time to expand on characters she's made a few very interesting. There's also a few who appear later in the series later that are also interesting. Kekkaishi tells a story but the characters are actually the most important part.
You can hear Darrell on the CP Time and Powerbomb Jutsu podcasts. He's also playing Pokemon Liquid Crystal on YouTube
Follow @OriginalKingD
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