Bad Girl-Exorcist Reina

This manga is a great gem of a find among the less-than-mainstream stories featuring your typical ideas of exorcism and evil spirits. There are sufficient twists to make the concept feel more fresh, challenging the usual notion of uptight shamanistic rituals that are typical of exorcists. The length of the story and the fact it did get axed but still has an incredibly satisfying ending is also a bit of a feat. Breaking it down, let's discuss the story. The mangaka informs us that the serialization for the series was axed around the middle of the story, so that is a point to keep inmind. There are many plot threads spun from early on, and a surprising majority of them are concluded rather nicely and in a satisfying way. The story doesn't insist on itself; it's not too long nor drawn out, and is cleverly speckled with references and plenty of humor to keep the vibe fresh. This is an issue I run into with series that just want to drag things out way too long. There are mixes of single-chapter stories versus longer arcs, with much of the latter dealing directly with our main cast. The underlying story gets rushed towards the end, unfortunately, and the pacing falls apart there a bit. But it doesn't completely go off any rails with absurd leaps of logic and still manages to keep you absorbed until the last chapter. The world building and ambience of the manga is very grounded in taking popular Japanese exorcism tropes and turning them on their side a bit. This includes popular urban legends and even classic yokai. While these are staples, this manga does do a good job making them a bit less repetitive than how they might usually be portrayed. So props for that. Characterization and character building is honestly great. The main cast are well-fleshed out characters in the world that aren't so one-dimensional. There is an underlying psychological aspect to some of them that makes the reader invested in their stories and struggles. However, two of the main characters unfortunately do not get as much development or so much conclusion as the rest. This is possibly due to plans being scrapped due to being axed, which is unfortunate. Luckily, the titular Reina is an excellent character, both her personality, but also the surrounding unorthodox mechanics she introduces as an exorcist. Art is freaking amazing! Designs for the main cast are simple but the beauty lies in various action scenes and comedic illustrations, as well as derivative art of existing lores. It's always fun to see how an author takes existing fiction to make it their own. The action scenes are very impactful and clean. Comedic timing with simple picture stills are also great.