Aion
Time-Traveller
No; this isn't a suicide letter to the internet. Don't get excited.
This thread has been created with one purpose: to remove the darkness from the eyes of the ignorant masses, many months before I use my limitless talent as a writer to review what is, quite possibly, the greatest manga of all time.
Link: No Good Life
When one of the few titles worthy of a 10/10 score is still being released (@ 7 / 9) in yankland, and next to no-one has a clue it even exists, it's a big problem. Poor Please Save My Earth received the same treatment, back in the day, and it seems destined that yet another series dealing with the past lives of teenagers trying to get on with their current lives is also going to slip under the radar. No Naruto / smut = ignore, clearly.
I'm not going to do what I normally do and ramble for 20 paragraphs without getting to the point, as well as throwing images in-between the wall of text. Nooooooo. I'm saving myself for that fine day in the future when, hopefully, I 10/10/review the bestest manga Evangelion. But here's a brief summary of the story:
Keidai is a troubled young man. He's always had memories of the days when he was a knight of Pompeii, some 1,900 years earlier. Married to the most desired woman in the land, the best of friends with a trusted comrade, and with a cute little sister - no man could have been happier. However, sadly for Keidai (back then, Sirix, FYI), Pompeii was completely destroyed by a volcanic eruption; everyone dying and poor Sirix not being able to keep his vow to his wife, Serena - leaving her to die all alone, in darkness.
Even more troubling for our most troubled of leads, in his present life as a Japanese high school student, it seems he can't help but encounter reincarnations of people he knew some 1,900 years ago. Whether it's the former S&M, whipping older sister of his love (now a man) or the master he once served, they're all there, in close proximity.
His mother? She's the reincarnation of his little sister, Aria. His father? The playboy rival he fought tooth and nail with for the hand of his beloved Serena. His wannabe girlfriend/best friend? His male best friend from his previous life. His next door neighbor? Naturally, his former wife... who's now a guy. And, of course, it goes without saying that only Keidai happens to remember anything about their time as Italians.
In the hands of another writer, NG Life could very easily have gone in the PSME direction of hard-hitting drama as the present selves of individuals with past lives attempted to avoid repeating the sins of the past. But that isn't NG Life. While the story has made me come close to crying and pulled on my heart-strings during some of the sadder, more moving parts, the intention was clearly for readers to read with a huge grin on their faces. Keidai may have good looks and athletic skills on top, he's also a complete dork. He acts purely on instinct, for the most part, and that means he randomly hugged the male reincarnation of his former wife, crying, when first seeing him, and also did the same to his (now female, previously male) best friend -- her soon realizing he had no dirty thoughts hidden as he began treating her like a guy; openly expressing his liking for her without thinking of how it sounded and, basically, leading everyone to think they're a couple. He also loses himself in thought over being led down the path of homosexuality by his reincarnated wife; making agonized poses on his desk in class and amusing his peers greatly by doing so.
I suppose the most impressive thing about NG Life is the handling of the characters. With the mostly memory-less present selves of the cast being focused on, and their past as Italians only briefly touched upon, I've had no trouble caring about the tender romance that's progressed, bit by bit, between Keidai and his wannabe girlfriend/former male best friend, Serizawa. She's such a lovable heroine, always thinking of Keidai's devotion to his former wife and understanding how hard it is to convince himself she isn't his male best friend anymore. Her ability to read him, as well as others she's close to, highlights her intelligence, and - together with Keidai - she's genuinely funny.
...Bah, I ended up rambling. THIS WILL DO!!!!
This thread has been created with one purpose: to remove the darkness from the eyes of the ignorant masses, many months before I use my limitless talent as a writer to review what is, quite possibly, the greatest manga of all time.
Link: No Good Life
When one of the few titles worthy of a 10/10 score is still being released (@ 7 / 9) in yankland, and next to no-one has a clue it even exists, it's a big problem. Poor Please Save My Earth received the same treatment, back in the day, and it seems destined that yet another series dealing with the past lives of teenagers trying to get on with their current lives is also going to slip under the radar. No Naruto / smut = ignore, clearly.
I'm not going to do what I normally do and ramble for 20 paragraphs without getting to the point, as well as throwing images in-between the wall of text. Nooooooo. I'm saving myself for that fine day in the future when, hopefully, I 10/10/review the bestest manga Evangelion. But here's a brief summary of the story:
Keidai is a troubled young man. He's always had memories of the days when he was a knight of Pompeii, some 1,900 years earlier. Married to the most desired woman in the land, the best of friends with a trusted comrade, and with a cute little sister - no man could have been happier. However, sadly for Keidai (back then, Sirix, FYI), Pompeii was completely destroyed by a volcanic eruption; everyone dying and poor Sirix not being able to keep his vow to his wife, Serena - leaving her to die all alone, in darkness.
Even more troubling for our most troubled of leads, in his present life as a Japanese high school student, it seems he can't help but encounter reincarnations of people he knew some 1,900 years ago. Whether it's the former S&M, whipping older sister of his love (now a man) or the master he once served, they're all there, in close proximity.
His mother? She's the reincarnation of his little sister, Aria. His father? The playboy rival he fought tooth and nail with for the hand of his beloved Serena. His wannabe girlfriend/best friend? His male best friend from his previous life. His next door neighbor? Naturally, his former wife... who's now a guy. And, of course, it goes without saying that only Keidai happens to remember anything about their time as Italians.
In the hands of another writer, NG Life could very easily have gone in the PSME direction of hard-hitting drama as the present selves of individuals with past lives attempted to avoid repeating the sins of the past. But that isn't NG Life. While the story has made me come close to crying and pulled on my heart-strings during some of the sadder, more moving parts, the intention was clearly for readers to read with a huge grin on their faces. Keidai may have good looks and athletic skills on top, he's also a complete dork. He acts purely on instinct, for the most part, and that means he randomly hugged the male reincarnation of his former wife, crying, when first seeing him, and also did the same to his (now female, previously male) best friend -- her soon realizing he had no dirty thoughts hidden as he began treating her like a guy; openly expressing his liking for her without thinking of how it sounded and, basically, leading everyone to think they're a couple. He also loses himself in thought over being led down the path of homosexuality by his reincarnated wife; making agonized poses on his desk in class and amusing his peers greatly by doing so.
I suppose the most impressive thing about NG Life is the handling of the characters. With the mostly memory-less present selves of the cast being focused on, and their past as Italians only briefly touched upon, I've had no trouble caring about the tender romance that's progressed, bit by bit, between Keidai and his wannabe girlfriend/former male best friend, Serizawa. She's such a lovable heroine, always thinking of Keidai's devotion to his former wife and understanding how hard it is to convince himself she isn't his male best friend anymore. Her ability to read him, as well as others she's close to, highlights her intelligence, and - together with Keidai - she's genuinely funny.
...Bah, I ended up rambling. THIS WILL DO!!!!
