What One Piece loses in being a formulaic battle shonen it more than makes up for in creativity and unbelievably intricate worldbuilding

Note: Picked up after I caught up with the anime (somewhere around Dressrosa/Zou), chapter count is thus not entirely accurate

Picked up after I caught up to the anime, chapter count is thus not entirely accurate

Picked up after I watched the anime, chapter count is thus not entirely accurate

Not to be that one friend who's too woke, but wtf happened with Araki's portrayal of women in his stories 💀 I don't think fanservice is an inherent negative if it's not abused and is weaved tastefully and naturally into the story. It's hard to justify when every single woman in the entire part (barring Holy) is constantly drawn with their boobs or ass jutting out obnoxiously. Again, not a massive dealbreaker for me but in the context of the fact that nearly every prominent female is defined by the men around them it feels inconsiderate. Think about how Yasuho's three standout relationships are her crushing on Josuke, her being lusted after by Joshu, and her previous connection with Tooru. How Daiya and Haato's only prominent moments come from trying to seduce and being seduced. Mitsuba and Kaato are better imo as the motherly love isn't INTENDED to be a jab at their gender role although it can still be interpreted that way - but look at their outfits and tell me something's not up. Any of these things are fine in moderation, but when the only woman in the part treated tastefully is the protagonist's mother it definitely feels like we lost the plot. I don't want you to believe I dislike the characters of this part or even the women, because I don't! This isn't a criticism of any one but rather the sweeping generalization Part 8 asserts that all of them have to be sex objects to be viable characters. As with most of Jojo, this part is pretty inconsistent, although there are only a couple below average battles and even in those cases it often contributes to the overall plot so it's not as bad because it still feels like we're getting something accomplished. The latter half drags a lot though, and that sense is lost even in battles that are enjoyable - it feels once again like earlier parts of Jojo where stand users are inserted to pad the series' length, not because they have something to contribute to the story other than a sometimes interesting fight. The rock humans feel like an incredibly random invention, although the symbolism of their weakness being water and Josuke having a soap bubble stand/wearing a sailor uniform literally being their natural enemy is cool. I still don't really understand the motivation of the second group of rock humans - and honestly, that extends to a few more characters in the part. So many of them have unclear motives - why are Yasuho and Mamezuki SO intent on helping Josuke? We understand why Josuke becomes dead set on helping Holy, but it doesn't make enough sense considering his ultimate declaration that he is an entirely new person and not the two that comprise him. The major exception is Jobin, and I need to take this opportunity to give him an extra shout out as pretty much any arc he plays a major role in is one of the best. I also LOVED Tamaki Damo and Josuke's origin story - that stretch is probably the highlight for me. But one of the biggest kickers is that the final battle is one of the worst in the series. Wonder of U is extremely underwhelming. Tooru might be my least favorite main villain in Jojo, and the way the counterattack against him FINALLY begins feels really contrived. All the deaths in the final arc are half-baked and soulless, probably because of the overuse of similar amounts of gore throughout the part that makes you believe the wounds those characters sustain aren't fatal in the moment. Born This Way reemerging was awesome and the final equivalent exchange was cool but Joshu switching allegiances on a dime while screaming his head off was not. What was the point of him even being there? Then at the end we're like "this is Josuke's new family :)))) and it's two characters that haven't contributed to the plot in 50 chapters, two that had a questionable relationship with him to say the least and one that he hasn't even talked to on-screen. I believe that Josuke has respect for Norisuke but he's not even there! Most of the characters at that table are extremely underdeveloped and the whole situation just doesn't feel quite right, especially considering Josuke and Yasuho's relationship ends with nothing. I already felt they had weak chemistry in the second half but this was just the cherry on top, the romance between them being pointless and ignored. There are tons of great arcs in this part, but as a package it's a thundering disappointment, reopening many of the issues that SBR had seemingly solved and failing at some of the new things it tries.

Easily the best part of Jojo so far. Excellent story, incredibly unique setting, awesome characters and cool stands, riddled with complex deeper workings and poingnant symbolism.

It could be that I'm unable to see this as anything other than amazing because I grew up with it, or it could be because this is genuinely good, but I can't find any reason to dislike this series

Holyland is an emotional rollercoaster; constantly toying with your hopes and expectations, fabricating itself into a story that can be enjoyed by almost every manga fan. Must read.

Life changing. It's been six years since I first started Punpun and still nothing even comes close.

Sometimes heartwarming, others gut-wrenching. A creative premise backed by excellent characters work to undermine the predictability of this series opposed to its competitors.

Pretty much what I expected from my memory of the anime. I don't know if "overstays its welcome" is the way to phrase it, because the manga is super short, and even too fast paced in certain areas (Baron Zeppeli lives for like... a day LOL, ending Dio encounter is kinda rushed too). Its got a cool gothic theme to it that other Jojo parts don't maintain, and the beginning and ending are pretty entertaining. Dio is an amazing villain, endlessly charismatic and fun. Johnathan isn't the most interesting protagonist though, and as such the whole middle segment of the story with less Dio and more of him is pretty boring. Zeppeli is alright I guess, Speedwagon is good but he can't carry by himself. The art is pretty rough too compared to later parts, but definitely not awful.

Phenomenal start, genuinely. Fast-paced, the story has been exciting and so has every stand battle excluding one. The characters are already great but have room to grow in interesting ways

This was extremely difficult to rate. I can excuse the blatant racism, sexism, and homophobia, BUT... the problem I have with Peepo Choo is that I feel like I was never the target audience. First of all, this is a story about cultural appropriation, so considering it's told with all those elements it feels a little counter-intuitive LOL. "Don't be racist but it's funny when I DO IT". As a critique of the stereotypical weeb and pretentiousness around weeb culture, Peepo Choo aims to show the reader that fascinations and delusions around the works we read are not indicative of reality and we should focus on uplifting our own appreciation for them instead of expecting everyone around you to feel the same. It's powerful, genuinely, but I also don't think personally that I ever needed to learn that lesson. Still, the concept is particularly interesting when applied to Morimoto, a yakuza member who has pushed everyone around him away, sometimes knowingly and sometimes unknowingly, chasing his fascination in American gangs. A twist on the formula to show that people misconstrue culture on both sides that was a welcome and necessary addition to the cast. A lot of the main characters have satisfying albeit short arcs, Milton, Reiko, Ringo, and even Gill gets thrown a bone at the end although frankly it's kind of out of nowhere. Miki, Aniki, and particularly Jody don't get much development at all which really sucks for the latter, and ultimately I'm left questioning what narrative purpose Gill & Jody's subplots serve - although they're both entertaining. The ending is honestly pretty good, after reading reviews it seems people think it was meant to continue but I think the last panel just implies that Morimoto is about to go through his own journey of self-discovery as Milton has, and we don't need to explicitly see it to believe it. Not factoring this into my review really but Felipe Smith is a super interesting dude, moving to Japan to have this serialized as a manga so it would reach his target audience is incredible dedication to the bit.

The story is split into two parts surrounding a key event, and while I wasn't initially sold on the second half, preferring the conflict that was building up in the first which is frankly lazily resolved with the key event, I came around to it by the end. As with Punpun, Asano's art is astoundingly good, and although he claims none of the characters are meant to be likeable, it is because they're so well realized through his art that we can think of them as normal people and not caricatures or personified ideas. They're all well written too - there isn't a single character included in the story that feels pointless, and I think all but one appear at least twice despite how short the manga is, giving additional depth to them and the world surrounding Meiko and Taneda. Solanin assures you that it is ok to be yourself, that it is ok to not have everything figured out. It brilliantly captures the stage of life I'm going through right now. Though there are no moments in Solanin that stand out as if they were the legendary twists of an epic fantasy, and few moments that seek to challenge your beliefs, it is sublime in its subtlety. Asano's story serves to expertly convey exactly what he'd hoped - even if that something is much less ambitious than Punpun.

There is no other manga that I have read that comparably sets stakes as well as this one. Enthralling to read from start to finish, with great characters and development.

There is so much personality crammed into these fifteen pages it's unreal. Asano is sooooo good at what he does dude LMAO

It's insane how well this short manga manages to capture the intricacies of life. Sucks you in and does not let go.

Picked up after I watched the anime, chapter count is thus not entirely accurate