Ginka & Glüna

I'm so sad it ended early! The sheer joy of Glüna and the fun design on Ginka made for a nice combo, and the world building was interesting. Cool magic architecture always gets a pass for me, and the art was definitely good enough to show it off! Side characters were fine, totally nothing special, but I wanted to see more from the main duo! Having a character be so powerful just one fragment of him - what was he like before? The intrigue! Tough break that it barely got a mediocre ending, but still worth reading if you like a joyful, lovely series with some coolideas even if it was cut down too soon.

- Overall (5/10): If you ever asked yourself, what would have been if One Piece had ended within 30 chapters, then Ginka & Glüna will answer this. It has a great world building, epic scenes and good story concept, however, the pacing was so fast it crashed into itself! - Story (4/10): Don’t get me wrong, of course the Story is not even close to One Piece, it’s just like every shounen adventure manga ever. A young protagonist (Glüna) meets their strong master (Ginka), who teaches her magic and together they go on an adventure. As the story goes on, the party increases, antagonists will be fought andthe story develops more and more. But here comes the problem. The story is told so fast right from the start, that it’s hardly enjoyable. For example: The story is building up to a strong antagonist, our heroes are preparing for the fight and now you think: “Yes! The next chapter will be epic!”, then you turn the page and the battle is over… Another example: After we get a new member, a new goal and dungeon to explore, you may think: “Yes! The next couple of chapters will be epic!”, then you turn the page and see a fast forward to the goal… And that’s exactly why this manga is so disappointing. You get a good build up, likeable characters, but at the moment when it’s getting interesting, the conclusion arrives immediately and rushes to the next plot point. - Art (7/10): On top of that, this fast pacing spoils the art as well. When we arrive at the almost epic scene, the art concept, the character design and the creativity of the fights is really top! But again, it is so fast over, you could have barely enjoyed it. At least the paneling, backgrounds and tones are solid as well. - Characters (5/10): Sadly, the same does not go for the characters. At the beginning we get 2 side characters, with a proper introduction and a short development. After their first arc, they’ve gotten put to the bench and are totally forgotten as party members. They are no more than background characters. And as said, antagonists come, are almost immediately defeated and we are rushing forward. As for the 2 MC’s, Glüna is a fresh female shounen protagonist. Nothing wrong with her, well written, good background story. But she jumps from totally powerless to overpowered as hell within 1 chapter (at the very start).So every dilemma she faces will be shrugged off. She doesn’t get any development except for the first chapter… Meanwhile Ginka’s role is the funny mysterious master. Like the cool uncle, which makes you laugh and plays with you, but you don’t know if he even has a partner, what he does or what not. He is definitely the stronghold for the story, and gratefully we get his outstanding backstory. 80% of the really good chapters are thanks to him. So without him, the title would not just be “Glüna”, but it would have failed at the beginning. - Enjoyment (5/10): Altogether, the rushed pacing destroyed the fun massively. It has some highlights and the world building is interesting, which may be worth a try, but at the end you will be disappointed. At least the final chapters give you some compensation.