Manga Review: Kagijin

Title: Kagijin
Author: Tanaka Yasuki
Release: Weekly
Status: Ongoing
Genre: Shonen, Fantasy
Art: C
Originality: D
Story: D
Characters: D
Humor: D
Action: C

Impression: If Beelzebub was the freshness that Shonen Jump needs then Kagijin is one of the leftovers of a bygone era where people were impressed solely because a guy cut something with a sword. It’s about a jaded young man wanted by the corrupt government and the femme fatale that formerly worked for said government that betrayed her and the mystery of keys that unlock the secret powers that special people have. This is something I’m truly disappointed by since the series is basically a watered down version of bleach without the supernatural theme. The art style also works against it too much as it’s a hardened style more fitting of series a bit more on the intellectual side than battles. Things that are supposed to look alive don’t and don’t express the movement and power meant to be shown in battles. The oneshot was so much better because the hero wasn’t as stereotypical as he is in the series and there was more focus on the humanities of the story and character depth which was the reason that I liked it. I don’t know why the series has a completely different feel to the oneshot but if the author doesn’t change it soon, his debut will end badly on the tenth and final chapter.