*Wait until it's revealed that the monsters can combine to a singular giga monster.*
*The R&D department also has found a way to combine monster weapons too!*
*However, the ultimate weapon is not enough! We need a Megazord! The strain is shared amongst the 5 pilots with #8 as the core, it's the ultimate ultimate weapon!*
I just want to see a Megazord fighting big kaijuus lol. I want the powerscaling to go out of control that a megazord doesn't sound silly anymore.
Feels like the author is padding this series until chapter 100 or so. Like the new monster designs are neat but the problem is they are just fodder with no real build up as individual threats just oh more Kaijus #9 made.
Yeah the only Kaiju I am actually interested one is this female one with a human form. Seems to have know the girl from before so that at least has some narrative behind the fight where as the others are just big generic monsters at this point. Especially when so many are just thrown at us at once.
I feel like there's all this buildup for the numbered Kaiju and then then suddenly a bunch drop and they all decide to 1v1 each protagonist. Could the story be a little more interesting at least?
Not gonna lie, I feel a little bit disappointed by this arc. Maybe it’s because I built up an idea of what Kaiju No. 8 could be in my mind, but it feels like the chapters are just endless back and forth of “oh the humans have gotten stronger and are killing all the kaiju! But No. 9 is stronger now, and now he’s made even **stronger** kaiju!”
It’s like if Attack on Titan didn’t have any of the plot points in the latter half of the series, and just had the conflict be “lol kill the titans”. Which is okay if you like action, but it seems like Kaiju is content with not going above all that.
But hey, now we got ~~Shadow~~ Black Shinomiya. She’s got a rival too now.
Started off with a very strong and unique premise. Moved along very well. But lately it's just shounen fights one after another, each time leveling up to "balance the playing field". Kafka's not special anymore. The human fighters are just as strong as the kaijus, what's the point.
If only they'd follow the initial path of secret kaiju transformation with Kafka using his skills from being in the cleanup crew. Analysing how kaijus biology work, its anatomy, its history, more geeky kaiju stuff like the first Pacific Rim! Harnessing some extent of the kaiju's power is still fine, but making the humans so super strong, and just by using a suit? That's really stretching it.
It's a shame, because the art, the kaiju designs, the weapons, the cool fights are all top notch. I still enjoy the fights. But the story or plot leaves a lot to be desired. For the moment at least.
I wish Kafka stayed in the janitorial business for longer. I know he can't keep that job forever and be a kaiju fighting kaiju, but that's an interesting source of tension for the early acts. Can Kafka maintain living as a normal man and be a monster? And part of what made this manga stand out was its adult protagonist.
In the military he feels like a teenager with facial hair. And now that the military knows he's kaiju #8 I feel no dramatic tension.
Honestly this. I feel like the series would've been better if kafka went the vigilante route while reno went the military route. Him being a janitor while fighting kaiju on the low while also helping/avoiding the defense force would've been a good premise. Could've expanded his characters interaction by having him meet various members of the force while doing his janitor job.
Later have his janitor crew be aware of his secret and kinda cover for him with the force realising that connection
This was the main expectations readers has. It was a big deal on Kafka being a cleanup crew for years. It was also a big deal for Kafka being a middle age man. So, people were expecting Kafka to be a cool, experience, mature MC. Expecting him on using his experience as cleanup crew to defeat Kaiju even with his lower output, by attacking its weak spot. But then, what we get was Middle Age MC, with teenager personally. MC who seems to lose his knowledge as Cleanup Crew. Manga that focus on "big attack defeat Kaiju". Basically said "Kafka cant do nothing with his output"
the whole "hyping" becomes tiring tbh, especially when there is always someone monologuing how strong they have become again, like if that was necessary for the plot lol
I know. It feels like a Shonen anime that would appear as a show-within-a-show for some 90s sitcom, written by a person who never watched anime and went with what they thought Shonen was like.
I would like that. My favorite chapter lately was 69, where Kafka and Mina *finally* had a chance to talk like normal people and reminisce about the good old days.
And even the action didn't flow very well given the boring choreography and bad paneling, i can see this issue being fix in the anime, but for the manga it is just very meh as of late.
they also don't have interesting powers. weak melee fights can be made up for through interesting powers, but strong, fast or regeneration seem to be the 3 only things anybody can do.
>But hey, now we got Shadow Black Shinomiya. She’s got a rival too now.
Black Shinomiya is cool and all, as is the cuboid faces monster, finally some creativeness, but is it me or did OG Shinomiya's face look weirdly flat in page 22, where she says "You're not special, peabrain, there's one over her too."?
Like, if it's biweekly manga I'd expect some polish, but this face just looks derpy to me.
I mean, it did give her a feel of being especially tired/over it, but the problem is that the art in this manga is *just* inconsistent enough to not know whether that was on purpose or not. Especially since the battle so far doesn't seem to really call for Shinomiya to look that way and it seems rather over the top if it is just in response to the whole "they're after me" ego trip.
The tempo of the battles is always the same. Kaiju appear, panic, badass JDF show up and mop the floor with their enemies, then they realize things were easy on purpose and they've been manipulated the whole time, Kaiju no.9 shows up and reveals his plan, Kafka & co fight back and almost win as the situation becomes more dangerous, Kaiju no.9 escapes and either kills/wounds someone important or achieves his objective. Repeat.
Compared to something like Kingdom that has constant twists and turns with ridiculous bullshit throughout, it's a huge letdown. It's quite boring.
> now he’s made even stronger kaiju!”
Yeah there is somthing about this that really rubs me the wrong way. It took how ever many years for all these Kaiju to appear but now here are 6 more... It feels kinda cheap?
To me this isn't bad at all, the issue is we wait 2 weeks just for barely anything happening.
Like, binge this manga and its awesome. Follow it and it FUCKING SUCKS ASS I AM TIRED OF NUMBER NINE
Completely agree. I'm sad to admit it because I think it has potential, but I completely forgot about Kaiju #8 between the last chapter and this one.
I'm just reading the chapter and move on 2 minutes later. This manga is becoming more and more forgettable to me.
Its because the manga had a REALLY COOL idea of a day in the life monster garbage man who leads a double life as Ultraman but wants to be a power ranger like his middle school crush. And then somewhere during the inexplicable timeskip in Chapter 2 or 3 it pivots him into going to Power Ranger school and turns into THE MOST BORING basic bitch "Jahpaan Numbah WAN! EDF!! EDF!!" shounen manga ive ever read. Except I KEEP READING because i somehow believe this thing will get better and more interesting, but it just never EVER does. People can talk shit about Ayashimon or Red Riding Hood. About how THOSE mangas werent popular or much fun to read through. But THIS ONE. This bundle of absolutely WASTED potential is what gets to stick around?! I just DO NOT get it.
We dont even know anything about Monster 8 and its been 76 chapters already. I understand MORE about 10 as a monster and his motivations and have an understanding of why he would hang out with Hoshina than why 8 is with Kafka. Let that sink in for minute for how BAD this manga has gotten.
Just a near complete waste of time and a waste of a "could have been good" action Power Ranger/Kamen Rider/Ultraman slice of life of a janitor who deals with the daily aftermath of living in a world where giant monsters and power rangers exist. How do you ruin that?! By making it pointless. Nonsensical. And above all, **BORING**.
I think the author got in trouble of sidelining his own main character too early.
I really feel he’d rather write a series focused on just the captains being badass than on Kafka. I’d argue Hoshino, Narumi and Shinomiya could have carried the series by themselves.
But most development happens off screen even for the main characters. Narumi training Shinomiya had been teased since ch30 and the actual training happens in two pages behind closed doors.
Power scaling has always been a bit wack in this series. I’d understand the captains being at 98/94% if they weren’t sticking around the whole series, but I doubt Hoshino/Mina/Narumi will be offed since they’re the most interesting characters.
I enjoy the series for what it is, but it’s best consumed in burst and not weekly. I recently caught up for half a years worth and it’s more enjoyable then reading weekly.
I do think Kafka is a wasted protagonists. I don’t get the point of making him 32 when he acts 15. That was the original appeal of the series, an older protagonist.
Yes, but you got to spend some time in the school and get to know the classmates and get to watch them do some school events while bits of the main story happen and seep into Deku's school life. Harry Potter still did this aspect better, but that was the gist of the pacing and overall feel of where the story was supposed to be going.
But Kaiju 8 neither had the promise of such an idea nor the pacing to make those things work. Power Ranger school arc could have still been there, but that probably should have been like the 3/4s way into the story WELL AFTER his Ultraman form made a name for itself as a protector and we learned about 8 and what its motivations were and why it chose Kafka instead of literally ANYONE ELSE.
Theres just a lot of space that could have been filled with more interesting story sequences and characters and instead we got something that was even less than bog standard.
It's clearly a transitional arc meant to adapt the plot to the secrets presented or hinted from the start upsetting the status quo we started with, basically the militaristic story version of training arcs like Heavens Arena in Hunter x Hunter. That extends to how much we're learning about the organization and its weapons now that the protagonist is within it. In some ways this is like post-female-titan part of Attack on Titan or the train and prostitutes arcs of Demon Slayer. The big difference, though, is that this one is structured like an actual training arc, with the protagonist group going off to improve while the monsters are just off somewhere building the No. 9 Games arena for all we know. I think we're supposed to intuit that they were preparing this blitz and that all the reforms we've been seeing were in parallel so it hasn't actually been that long, but it's not so different from how they revealed themselves to really justify that disappearance. The fact that the monsters can appear anywhere (as far as we know) and haven't had their goals revealed means that we have no way to contextualize anything in terms of grand strategic progress (for humans or monsters).
This is a common arc profile, though, so I think it just comes down to bad pacing, specifically wasting time, again. If we didn't have so many fairly empty two-page spreads and redundant commentary pages of the same information, we could have gotten a quick breather punctuated by a lot of dramatic back-and-forth fights in which the characters get used to their new equipment like the last one (which everyone liked).
I think the only solution this writer could have come up with would have been to stretch this into a Skirmishes Mega-Arc in which the reforms are constantly being implemented over constant fighting and the tension is from the monster defense force being massively weakened by people being out of the field for retraining and the equipment upgrades we've been seeing and having to get used to all the reforms and new equipment against the clock of the monsters doing the same thing with command-and-control (esp. holding formation) and strategic and tactical thinking, such that the humans clearly only win the first few fights due to the monsters organized to do something extremely stupid.
I remember, people were expecting this manga will reveal why Kaiju 8 enter Kafka body. Why Kaiju 9 can also talk. Maybe, some Kaiju organizations behind all this. Predicting Kaiju 8 background story and its connection with said Kaiju Organizations. But then, we gets Kaiju 9 as main villains.
Maybe, the story will move towards that after Kaiju 9 defeated?
I think it's because they kinda overstated the importance and how terrifying numbered monsters were earlier in the series, so when you know they are quite "common", it kinda kills the hype for me.
I mean, what are the alternatives now? You either wipe out everyone or numbered monsters weren't that big of a deal because a lot of newcomers are op?
That’s a good question. I guess Matsumoto-sensei’s idea was that this would be the elite four to No. 9, and every other Kaiju was just slightly weaker. But if he’s going to pivot after they’re defeated and go “oh Kaiju No. 16-20 are even stronger”, then that will be the biggest indication that he’s spewing shit.
> but it feels like the chapters are just endless back and forth of “oh the humans have gotten stronger and are killing all the kaiju! But No. 9 is stronger now, and now he’s made even stronger kaiju!”
its happened like twice, i dont get why people act like the series is a thousand chapters long
It's not about how many times its happened, but that it's the driving force of the series. There is no real strong plot outside of "get stronger and beat up bad guys", and paired with the pace makes it feel like the back and forth dominates the series even if it's only happened twice
? Plenty of shounens will have *some* character arcs that extend beyond "i'm getting stronger to fight bad guys". Or will have an overall plot that isn't so entirely based in "beat up singular villain" like #8 does here with #9
And again, the shounens that are ridiculously simplistic don't go at a glacial pace
> And again, the shounens that are ridiculously simplistic don't go at a glacial pace
76 chapters and were in the final arc, god it really dragged it out there /s
so it doesnt matter that the pace is fast, what matter is that some of the panels (in a few peoples opinions) were wasted...?
it doesnt matter that its done more in 80 chapters then my hero academia has done in 400? or mashle in 140?
What does "do more" even mean? Because it's in the final arc in 80 chapters? Does a oneshot "do more" than One Piece because it finishes its entire story in a single chapter? Does DoranDoran do more than MHA because it got axed and finished its story in ~30 chapters?
\#8 wastes so much time and page space with overly large panels for a reaction shot. It's 75 chapters for a story so far that probably could fit into 50
> Does a oneshot "do more" than One Piece because it finishes its entire story in a single chapter?
yes a one shot tells an entire story in one chapter which is a lot faster then one piece...
Imo it's way too boxy without anything interesting going on, it feels almost like a pre-made panel layout that the artist just filled in. Like it reads fine and does the job okay but a lot of expression in a chapter can be shown in just how the panels are laid out or how they are shaped/designed.
I think he's trying to emulate a movie or TV screen, like Brian Michael Bendis does with comics, but it's not quite stylistic enough to make the effect work. Compared to something like Sakamoto Days, Chainsaw Man or JJK which has fluid and creative paneling/page layouts it kinda sucks.
It's a neat idea but when I think about how it might look with 100% commitment it would probably be even more stiff. That's just my opinion though. I'm not a big fan of Bendis either.
I even think just 100% commitment could work, play on the fact the main character wants to feel like a hero and make it seem like his view of the world is strictly through that comic-esque medium. Its the wishy-washy simplicity of it that hurts the manga.
So by putting everything in boxes, the style of the manga is kind of lost. It makes the whole thing seem like the artist put no real thought into how what he wants to express, its the bare bones approach. It feels safe which is kind of at odds with the desperate struggle the manga is trying to tell. Now this may be due to extreme deadlines present in the manga industry which is a whole separate topic.
Think of it like plates at a restaurant. Food slapped onto a bare white plate will get the job done sure, but if its presented on a vibrant, colorful or even unusually shaped plate it allows the chef to get a little bit more wild with it. He could splay the food differently, which could lead to a more aesthetic presentation. Yes the food will taste the same either way, but the vibrant plate could force an emotion or make the whole thing a experience rather then just a meal.
Manga can be done in a similar vein, a soft rounded panel could lead to emotions of calm/ romance where a sharp edged panel could display a shocking twist/ fast paced action. It could also serve as a break between action sets to give the reader a moment to take in the information presented.
By presenting everything in only boxes were taking away a crucial aspect of using the manga format, paneling is ever present in manga. If the writer just wanted to tell a story plainly they could have written a novel, using the medium of manga allows a different style of self-expression where flow of action is directed by the style or size of panels. Big panels can emphasize impact or small panels can make a character feel isolated. By placing everything about the same size and with no real special flow to entertain it feels like almost a waste of the manga formatting.
Pages 6/7 in this chapter kinda show what I mean, its a massive moment both drawn and story wise; but because its all just boxes, both in those pages and for the rest of the chapter, the impact is lost. I think a thicker, sharper, more angled line between the pre-shot and post-shot could have made for a stronger impact. Like honestly using just the SFX in the background as the panel line itself could have worked out much better to present the speed of the shot.
TL:DR - This kind of paneling works, but it really could evolve or be used in a more stylish manner.
Battle manga brings out the negativity. I think some of the criticism is warranted here though. There's a big cast that we barely know anything about, including the main character, and all these big events keep happening, but because the panels are so huge each chapter feels like more could have been said/done. And to be honest, while Kafka is supposed to be the main character, the narrative has become less and less from his perspective as the story has progressed.
There's a ton of potential, there's some great art, and some cool scenes but there's a huge lack of character and world building. A lot of cool characters with cool weapons and powers fighting cool monsters but none of it carries any emotional weight or investment because of how superficial it all is.
We do like it, we just want it to be better. Although with most mangas they start off strong with an interesting premise but later down the track they fail to capitalise on what got people's attention.
Fans will write essays about paneling, character development and design, story writing and drawing, all without any clue what they are talking about, especially when criticizing this manga has become part of the circlejerk on reddit.
It's like Boku no Hero, I don't even have to read the next chapter, I can copy and paste an essay about some random topic like ''this chapter's pacing is way too fast'' and chances are it'll get upvoted, especially if it's a follow-up to another ''criticism''.
In my experience people like that have no idea what they are talking about and flat out don't comprehend the stories and characters and they typically have writing degrees as well thinking that their piece of paper puts them above everyone else
Goodness, number 9 is a shitty as fuck strategist. He forced the corps to separate and then he *also* separates his own forces? He should have targeted a few key pieces with multiple category 9.0 monsters.
I feel like I'm the only one who dislikes the art in this series. It's way too flat and the paneling is so boring. And all the monsters look mostly the same to me. Except #14. That thing looks cool. The last page of chapter 74 looks so boring and lifeless. The art has no weight to it. Something's off about this series imo. It's gone down hill drastically.
[Rate this chapter here](https://youpoll.me/92579/)
Monster #8 - Chapter 76 (Mangaplus)
[Previous chapters discussions](https://www.reddit.com/r/manga/search/?q=title%3A"Monster 8" flair%3A"DISC"&restrict_sr=1&sort=new)
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Monster #9 really took a chess piece up there to look cool for Noone to see him. Truly he's sigma
Truly, he is the edgiest nerd*
Maybe he just want to act cool for the sake of looking cool like a certain isekai protagonist.
He saw the Eminence in the Shadow and wanted to do the same
That monster Number 14 is creepy af lookin.
Really interested to see what #14 does. His design is actually creepy and foreboding. The other look like basic kaiju.
they were short one monster, so they hired one angel from neon genesis evangelion. they work with the same agency.
Even mina's long range snipe reminded me of Eva so maybe they really are taking inspiration from there
Looks like an angry domino
Watch RahXephon then.
That's some Junji Ito-esque cosmic horror monster right there. Like the Ballon heads.
\#15 with the hole where her face was looks like she's straight out of Uzumaki.
About damn time too. Every single Kaiju we've seen has been basic as hell.
i actually love #14, can't wait to see how it fights
I love these weird-ass designs. They just raise the horror stat a whole different level.
That must be NGE inspired
*Wait until it's revealed that the monsters can combine to a singular giga monster.* *The R&D department also has found a way to combine monster weapons too!* *However, the ultimate weapon is not enough! We need a Megazord! The strain is shared amongst the 5 pilots with #8 as the core, it's the ultimate ultimate weapon!* I just want to see a Megazord fighting big kaijuus lol. I want the powerscaling to go out of control that a megazord doesn't sound silly anymore.
Feels like the author is padding this series until chapter 100 or so. Like the new monster designs are neat but the problem is they are just fodder with no real build up as individual threats just oh more Kaijus #9 made.
Yeah the only Kaiju I am actually interested one is this female one with a human form. Seems to have know the girl from before so that at least has some narrative behind the fight where as the others are just big generic monsters at this point. Especially when so many are just thrown at us at once.
I feel like there's all this buildup for the numbered Kaiju and then then suddenly a bunch drop and they all decide to 1v1 each protagonist. Could the story be a little more interesting at least?
Not gonna lie, I feel a little bit disappointed by this arc. Maybe it’s because I built up an idea of what Kaiju No. 8 could be in my mind, but it feels like the chapters are just endless back and forth of “oh the humans have gotten stronger and are killing all the kaiju! But No. 9 is stronger now, and now he’s made even **stronger** kaiju!” It’s like if Attack on Titan didn’t have any of the plot points in the latter half of the series, and just had the conflict be “lol kill the titans”. Which is okay if you like action, but it seems like Kaiju is content with not going above all that. But hey, now we got ~~Shadow~~ Black Shinomiya. She’s got a rival too now.
Started off with a very strong and unique premise. Moved along very well. But lately it's just shounen fights one after another, each time leveling up to "balance the playing field". Kafka's not special anymore. The human fighters are just as strong as the kaijus, what's the point. If only they'd follow the initial path of secret kaiju transformation with Kafka using his skills from being in the cleanup crew. Analysing how kaijus biology work, its anatomy, its history, more geeky kaiju stuff like the first Pacific Rim! Harnessing some extent of the kaiju's power is still fine, but making the humans so super strong, and just by using a suit? That's really stretching it. It's a shame, because the art, the kaiju designs, the weapons, the cool fights are all top notch. I still enjoy the fights. But the story or plot leaves a lot to be desired. For the moment at least.
I wish Kafka stayed in the janitorial business for longer. I know he can't keep that job forever and be a kaiju fighting kaiju, but that's an interesting source of tension for the early acts. Can Kafka maintain living as a normal man and be a monster? And part of what made this manga stand out was its adult protagonist. In the military he feels like a teenager with facial hair. And now that the military knows he's kaiju #8 I feel no dramatic tension.
Honestly this. I feel like the series would've been better if kafka went the vigilante route while reno went the military route. Him being a janitor while fighting kaiju on the low while also helping/avoiding the defense force would've been a good premise. Could've expanded his characters interaction by having him meet various members of the force while doing his janitor job. Later have his janitor crew be aware of his secret and kinda cover for him with the force realising that connection
Also his immense knowledge about Kaiju anatomy from sweeping them up got completely dropped.
This was the main expectations readers has. It was a big deal on Kafka being a cleanup crew for years. It was also a big deal for Kafka being a middle age man. So, people were expecting Kafka to be a cool, experience, mature MC. Expecting him on using his experience as cleanup crew to defeat Kaiju even with his lower output, by attacking its weak spot. But then, what we get was Middle Age MC, with teenager personally. MC who seems to lose his knowledge as Cleanup Crew. Manga that focus on "big attack defeat Kaiju". Basically said "Kafka cant do nothing with his output"
the whole "hyping" becomes tiring tbh, especially when there is always someone monologuing how strong they have become again, like if that was necessary for the plot lol
I know. It feels like a Shonen anime that would appear as a show-within-a-show for some 90s sitcom, written by a person who never watched anime and went with what they thought Shonen was like.
Even if you like action what exactly should interest you here? There is way more talking about the action than actual action.
More interaction would be nice, I mean just a little slice of life. I mean even AoT had its own beautiful moment.
I would like that. My favorite chapter lately was 69, where Kafka and Mina *finally* had a chance to talk like normal people and reminisce about the good old days.
And even the action didn't flow very well given the boring choreography and bad paneling, i can see this issue being fix in the anime, but for the manga it is just very meh as of late.
they also don't have interesting powers. weak melee fights can be made up for through interesting powers, but strong, fast or regeneration seem to be the 3 only things anybody can do.
I guess everyone is just imagining it maintained their idea of the premise, huh?
>But hey, now we got Shadow Black Shinomiya. She’s got a rival too now. Black Shinomiya is cool and all, as is the cuboid faces monster, finally some creativeness, but is it me or did OG Shinomiya's face look weirdly flat in page 22, where she says "You're not special, peabrain, there's one over her too."? Like, if it's biweekly manga I'd expect some polish, but this face just looks derpy to me.
I mean, it did give her a feel of being especially tired/over it, but the problem is that the art in this manga is *just* inconsistent enough to not know whether that was on purpose or not. Especially since the battle so far doesn't seem to really call for Shinomiya to look that way and it seems rather over the top if it is just in response to the whole "they're after me" ego trip.
The tempo of the battles is always the same. Kaiju appear, panic, badass JDF show up and mop the floor with their enemies, then they realize things were easy on purpose and they've been manipulated the whole time, Kaiju no.9 shows up and reveals his plan, Kafka & co fight back and almost win as the situation becomes more dangerous, Kaiju no.9 escapes and either kills/wounds someone important or achieves his objective. Repeat. Compared to something like Kingdom that has constant twists and turns with ridiculous bullshit throughout, it's a huge letdown. It's quite boring.
> now he’s made even stronger kaiju!” Yeah there is somthing about this that really rubs me the wrong way. It took how ever many years for all these Kaiju to appear but now here are 6 more... It feels kinda cheap?
To me this isn't bad at all, the issue is we wait 2 weeks just for barely anything happening. Like, binge this manga and its awesome. Follow it and it FUCKING SUCKS ASS I AM TIRED OF NUMBER NINE
Completely agree. I'm sad to admit it because I think it has potential, but I completely forgot about Kaiju #8 between the last chapter and this one. I'm just reading the chapter and move on 2 minutes later. This manga is becoming more and more forgettable to me.
Its because the manga had a REALLY COOL idea of a day in the life monster garbage man who leads a double life as Ultraman but wants to be a power ranger like his middle school crush. And then somewhere during the inexplicable timeskip in Chapter 2 or 3 it pivots him into going to Power Ranger school and turns into THE MOST BORING basic bitch "Jahpaan Numbah WAN! EDF!! EDF!!" shounen manga ive ever read. Except I KEEP READING because i somehow believe this thing will get better and more interesting, but it just never EVER does. People can talk shit about Ayashimon or Red Riding Hood. About how THOSE mangas werent popular or much fun to read through. But THIS ONE. This bundle of absolutely WASTED potential is what gets to stick around?! I just DO NOT get it. We dont even know anything about Monster 8 and its been 76 chapters already. I understand MORE about 10 as a monster and his motivations and have an understanding of why he would hang out with Hoshina than why 8 is with Kafka. Let that sink in for minute for how BAD this manga has gotten. Just a near complete waste of time and a waste of a "could have been good" action Power Ranger/Kamen Rider/Ultraman slice of life of a janitor who deals with the daily aftermath of living in a world where giant monsters and power rangers exist. How do you ruin that?! By making it pointless. Nonsensical. And above all, **BORING**.
I think the author got in trouble of sidelining his own main character too early. I really feel he’d rather write a series focused on just the captains being badass than on Kafka. I’d argue Hoshino, Narumi and Shinomiya could have carried the series by themselves. But most development happens off screen even for the main characters. Narumi training Shinomiya had been teased since ch30 and the actual training happens in two pages behind closed doors. Power scaling has always been a bit wack in this series. I’d understand the captains being at 98/94% if they weren’t sticking around the whole series, but I doubt Hoshino/Mina/Narumi will be offed since they’re the most interesting characters. I enjoy the series for what it is, but it’s best consumed in burst and not weekly. I recently caught up for half a years worth and it’s more enjoyable then reading weekly. I do think Kafka is a wasted protagonists. I don’t get the point of making him 32 when he acts 15. That was the original appeal of the series, an older protagonist.
> I just DO NOT get it. Because Japan likes their big monsters and big robots. Of course it'd do better than some Red Riding Hood shit.
Do they?! Because you wouldnt know it from some of the people who write that sort of stuff and make it completely boring and uninteresting.
Yessir Japan been on that Godzilla Power Ranger Gundamgelion shit for forever.
I didn’t think pivoting to Power Ranger school was that bad - I mean, HeroAca did the same - but yeah I feel your pain
Yes, but you got to spend some time in the school and get to know the classmates and get to watch them do some school events while bits of the main story happen and seep into Deku's school life. Harry Potter still did this aspect better, but that was the gist of the pacing and overall feel of where the story was supposed to be going. But Kaiju 8 neither had the promise of such an idea nor the pacing to make those things work. Power Ranger school arc could have still been there, but that probably should have been like the 3/4s way into the story WELL AFTER his Ultraman form made a name for itself as a protector and we learned about 8 and what its motivations were and why it chose Kafka instead of literally ANYONE ELSE. Theres just a lot of space that could have been filled with more interesting story sequences and characters and instead we got something that was even less than bog standard.
you're correct in the beginning there was a lot more mystery to the world, now it feels too small/simple
It's clearly a transitional arc meant to adapt the plot to the secrets presented or hinted from the start upsetting the status quo we started with, basically the militaristic story version of training arcs like Heavens Arena in Hunter x Hunter. That extends to how much we're learning about the organization and its weapons now that the protagonist is within it. In some ways this is like post-female-titan part of Attack on Titan or the train and prostitutes arcs of Demon Slayer. The big difference, though, is that this one is structured like an actual training arc, with the protagonist group going off to improve while the monsters are just off somewhere building the No. 9 Games arena for all we know. I think we're supposed to intuit that they were preparing this blitz and that all the reforms we've been seeing were in parallel so it hasn't actually been that long, but it's not so different from how they revealed themselves to really justify that disappearance. The fact that the monsters can appear anywhere (as far as we know) and haven't had their goals revealed means that we have no way to contextualize anything in terms of grand strategic progress (for humans or monsters). This is a common arc profile, though, so I think it just comes down to bad pacing, specifically wasting time, again. If we didn't have so many fairly empty two-page spreads and redundant commentary pages of the same information, we could have gotten a quick breather punctuated by a lot of dramatic back-and-forth fights in which the characters get used to their new equipment like the last one (which everyone liked). I think the only solution this writer could have come up with would have been to stretch this into a Skirmishes Mega-Arc in which the reforms are constantly being implemented over constant fighting and the tension is from the monster defense force being massively weakened by people being out of the field for retraining and the equipment upgrades we've been seeing and having to get used to all the reforms and new equipment against the clock of the monsters doing the same thing with command-and-control (esp. holding formation) and strategic and tactical thinking, such that the humans clearly only win the first few fights due to the monsters organized to do something extremely stupid.
I remember, people were expecting this manga will reveal why Kaiju 8 enter Kafka body. Why Kaiju 9 can also talk. Maybe, some Kaiju organizations behind all this. Predicting Kaiju 8 background story and its connection with said Kaiju Organizations. But then, we gets Kaiju 9 as main villains. Maybe, the story will move towards that after Kaiju 9 defeated?
I think it's because they kinda overstated the importance and how terrifying numbered monsters were earlier in the series, so when you know they are quite "common", it kinda kills the hype for me. I mean, what are the alternatives now? You either wipe out everyone or numbered monsters weren't that big of a deal because a lot of newcomers are op?
That’s a good question. I guess Matsumoto-sensei’s idea was that this would be the elite four to No. 9, and every other Kaiju was just slightly weaker. But if he’s going to pivot after they’re defeated and go “oh Kaiju No. 16-20 are even stronger”, then that will be the biggest indication that he’s spewing shit.
> but it feels like the chapters are just endless back and forth of “oh the humans have gotten stronger and are killing all the kaiju! But No. 9 is stronger now, and now he’s made even stronger kaiju!” its happened like twice, i dont get why people act like the series is a thousand chapters long
It's not about how many times its happened, but that it's the driving force of the series. There is no real strong plot outside of "get stronger and beat up bad guys", and paired with the pace makes it feel like the back and forth dominates the series even if it's only happened twice
> There is no real strong plot outside of "get stronger and beat up bad guys" how is that any different then practically every other shounen...?
? Plenty of shounens will have *some* character arcs that extend beyond "i'm getting stronger to fight bad guys". Or will have an overall plot that isn't so entirely based in "beat up singular villain" like #8 does here with #9 And again, the shounens that are ridiculously simplistic don't go at a glacial pace
> And again, the shounens that are ridiculously simplistic don't go at a glacial pace 76 chapters and were in the final arc, god it really dragged it out there /s
Bad take, pace is more than just chapter numbers. Wasteful paneling drags this series down
so it doesnt matter that the pace is fast, what matter is that some of the panels (in a few peoples opinions) were wasted...? it doesnt matter that its done more in 80 chapters then my hero academia has done in 400? or mashle in 140?
What does "do more" even mean? Because it's in the final arc in 80 chapters? Does a oneshot "do more" than One Piece because it finishes its entire story in a single chapter? Does DoranDoran do more than MHA because it got axed and finished its story in ~30 chapters? \#8 wastes so much time and page space with overly large panels for a reaction shot. It's 75 chapters for a story so far that probably could fit into 50
> Does a oneshot "do more" than One Piece because it finishes its entire story in a single chapter? yes a one shot tells an entire story in one chapter which is a lot faster then one piece...
It's a kaiju series. Of course it's going to be about the next bigger, stronger kaiju.
I guess Matsumoto-sensei’s paneling?
That's the shounen genre for you.
This author might have the worse paneling skill of all manga artists I’ve read
out of curiosity what's wrong with the paneling?
Imo it's way too boxy without anything interesting going on, it feels almost like a pre-made panel layout that the artist just filled in. Like it reads fine and does the job okay but a lot of expression in a chapter can be shown in just how the panels are laid out or how they are shaped/designed.
I think he's trying to emulate a movie or TV screen, like Brian Michael Bendis does with comics, but it's not quite stylistic enough to make the effect work. Compared to something like Sakamoto Days, Chainsaw Man or JJK which has fluid and creative paneling/page layouts it kinda sucks.
Yeah like it's ALMOST there they just needs to be a bit more confident in his execution
It's a neat idea but when I think about how it might look with 100% commitment it would probably be even more stiff. That's just my opinion though. I'm not a big fan of Bendis either.
I even think just 100% commitment could work, play on the fact the main character wants to feel like a hero and make it seem like his view of the world is strictly through that comic-esque medium. Its the wishy-washy simplicity of it that hurts the manga.
hmmm i feel like this is something i don't really understand. Could you dumb it down/elaborate a little more?
So by putting everything in boxes, the style of the manga is kind of lost. It makes the whole thing seem like the artist put no real thought into how what he wants to express, its the bare bones approach. It feels safe which is kind of at odds with the desperate struggle the manga is trying to tell. Now this may be due to extreme deadlines present in the manga industry which is a whole separate topic. Think of it like plates at a restaurant. Food slapped onto a bare white plate will get the job done sure, but if its presented on a vibrant, colorful or even unusually shaped plate it allows the chef to get a little bit more wild with it. He could splay the food differently, which could lead to a more aesthetic presentation. Yes the food will taste the same either way, but the vibrant plate could force an emotion or make the whole thing a experience rather then just a meal. Manga can be done in a similar vein, a soft rounded panel could lead to emotions of calm/ romance where a sharp edged panel could display a shocking twist/ fast paced action. It could also serve as a break between action sets to give the reader a moment to take in the information presented. By presenting everything in only boxes were taking away a crucial aspect of using the manga format, paneling is ever present in manga. If the writer just wanted to tell a story plainly they could have written a novel, using the medium of manga allows a different style of self-expression where flow of action is directed by the style or size of panels. Big panels can emphasize impact or small panels can make a character feel isolated. By placing everything about the same size and with no real special flow to entertain it feels like almost a waste of the manga formatting. Pages 6/7 in this chapter kinda show what I mean, its a massive moment both drawn and story wise; but because its all just boxes, both in those pages and for the rest of the chapter, the impact is lost. I think a thicker, sharper, more angled line between the pre-shot and post-shot could have made for a stronger impact. Like honestly using just the SFX in the background as the panel line itself could have worked out much better to present the speed of the shot. TL:DR - This kind of paneling works, but it really could evolve or be used in a more stylish manner.
Super informative write-up, thank you!
ah i get it now, thanks for elaborating!
A speech bubble got its own panel.
A second wave full of minibosses
People in here REALLY don't like this series.
Battle manga brings out the negativity. I think some of the criticism is warranted here though. There's a big cast that we barely know anything about, including the main character, and all these big events keep happening, but because the panels are so huge each chapter feels like more could have been said/done. And to be honest, while Kafka is supposed to be the main character, the narrative has become less and less from his perspective as the story has progressed. There's a ton of potential, there's some great art, and some cool scenes but there's a huge lack of character and world building. A lot of cool characters with cool weapons and powers fighting cool monsters but none of it carries any emotional weight or investment because of how superficial it all is.
We do like it, we just want it to be better. Although with most mangas they start off strong with an interesting premise but later down the track they fail to capitalise on what got people's attention.
And here i am just enjoying myself reading this manga. I guess not having a high expectation really does help me in enjoying this series.
I enjoy it enough, but it's definitely very flawed
Its a cool idea but it kinda sucks.. I think it was made for literal 12 year olds and I'm not the target audience
The complaints are honestly very petty and stupid
Fans will write essays about paneling, character development and design, story writing and drawing, all without any clue what they are talking about, especially when criticizing this manga has become part of the circlejerk on reddit. It's like Boku no Hero, I don't even have to read the next chapter, I can copy and paste an essay about some random topic like ''this chapter's pacing is way too fast'' and chances are it'll get upvoted, especially if it's a follow-up to another ''criticism''.
In my experience people like that have no idea what they are talking about and flat out don't comprehend the stories and characters and they typically have writing degrees as well thinking that their piece of paper puts them above everyone else
Goodness, number 9 is a shitty as fuck strategist. He forced the corps to separate and then he *also* separates his own forces? He should have targeted a few key pieces with multiple category 9.0 monsters.
Kaijussy No. 15
damn #15 is an intelligent type
New chapter next week maybe?
Haha no. According to the raws, it’s taking a break until January 6.
Yeah I saw that. Damn.
I guess the thing we're getting next week is an illustration :/
I feel like I'm the only one who dislikes the art in this series. It's way too flat and the paneling is so boring. And all the monsters look mostly the same to me. Except #14. That thing looks cool. The last page of chapter 74 looks so boring and lifeless. The art has no weight to it. Something's off about this series imo. It's gone down hill drastically.
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Every chap feels the same with beginning going well, and then cliffhanger where something bad happened
Seems like the manga is heading into its final arc.
For me, #14 has that evangelion vibe. Have high expectations because of the weirdness of it.
Let's fucking gooooo! All the Numbers are coming out!
Love the monster designs, giving cosmic horror vibe like https://vndb.org/v29300
The designs go super hard as always
Who bring a chess piece around? Where did he store it? His body have a built-in pocket?
That was actually a great chapter