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56
7
Finished
Dec 2, 2005 to Sep 5, 2008
5.7/10
Average Review Score
33%
Recommend It
3
Reviews Worldwide
Jackals is an pretty good manga. There are a multitude of characters, mini subplots and the highlight of it, in my opinion, was the art. Story: 8/10 The story was not particularly sophisticated nor complex, but still enjoyable without being too simple. At first glance, the story involves a city of violence, mafia and a hunter who kills everyone. (Dogs, anyone?) A little deeper, and you find there is a rivalry between the two main characters, each seeking to distill their burning desire for revenge. (Canaan, anyone?) However, a little deeper again and you will find many little subplots interwoven with the mainstoryline. Giving background to characters, and reasoning behind their principals. It gives a sense of familiarity and sympathy to the characters. These 'subplots' make the story very interesting. The switching of the character points are well-used and give a spark to the story. Art: 10/10 The art was absolutely outstanding. The realism, the gunplay, the fighting, all without match. Even if you aren't into the violent genre, I recommend this solely on the brilliance of the art. Character: 8/10 The characters of Jackals are interesting and unique, however, they are not completely original since many fall into the physcopathic stereotype. Also, if you were looking for character development you are wasting your time because in this manga there are virtually none, it is mainly from fighting scenes you understand them. Further, the only two characters that are vaguely likeable, are the two main ones, plainly from their sheer awesomeness, but otherwise, the other characters are either disturbing or 'special'. Enjoyment: 8/10 Jackals is very enjoyable, it has great action, great perspective drawings and constant pace. The plotlines add complexity to the story and the characters are the type you want to know more about. In general, it is an intruging story, laden with betrayal, blood, and legends spawned from the most bloodthirsty. Overall, I give it a 9/10 and highly recommend it for the non-faint hearted.
Cicero City, a city infested with immigrants where people of all races scramble to find work and shelter. Infested with destruction and slaughter, it's a chaotic society. Living on the outside of society, the Jackals are professional assassins with no allegiance, available to the highest bidder. This is their story. (Source: MU)
Wow, what can I say? I do enjoy a good slash 'em up manga, but this was disappointing. The plot was so thin, it might as well have not been there at all. It's not because I'm picky. I even liked Dendrobates, which had a pretty thin and predictable plot, but the supposed "surprises" and "plot twists" in this manga were...cliche, absurd, and annoying. This story brought nothing new to the table. NOTHING! I really did want it to be good. The artwork was so enjoyable, and a main character was named Alligator Nichol and wielded one of the most badass weapons I've seen ina manga! How cool is that? I honestly hoped all the way through for something to change to make the plot interesting, but in the end the setting, the characters, and the artwork all deserved better from the plot. There was way too much exposition. It was like the author explained everything to you without you getting the pleasure of mystery and discovery at all, and the author relied on little "character bios" at the end of volumes to make up for lack of actual character development in the story. The pacing was all too fast and didn't allow for any real moments. It was as if this story was written by a ten year old, while the mature setting and the violence, gore, and very good action sequences were trying to be more. If I could have one wish, it would be for a better author to take these characters and redo the entire thing with an actual story.
In the 2000s, plenty of korean artists went ahead and dipped their toes into Japanese manga. Korean artists worked with Japanese writers to create a bunch of series, sometimes needing a translator to communicate! While I can't really explain this phenomena, it is really cool to see cultural differences and language barriers creating really good series. Shin Angyo Onshi comes to mind, being a relatively fun: albeit narratively weak series with plenty of promise. Not all of them are champions, and a good chunk of these series end up being "slop" as kids these days say. Jackals is -- ironically enough, part of that slop. Itis straight up, nothing but fights, "cool" moments and "gore" meant to make this look like a sophisticated series. There's really nothing going on in here, most of the plot is explained via the character bios at the start of the volumes as the author spends more time showing cool fights than doing worldbuilding, it does not help that I think Nichol is what a kid would make his protagonist to be like. This cool, suave dude with the coolest fucking weapon out there, slashing all the bad guys as a cool anti-hero akin to Shadow the Hedgehog, while leaving nothing but a trail of blood as he works as a part-time assassin.. ..And it's really, really, REALLY boring. Now, I think the art is great. It's fun to look at, and it has a really specific quirk that itches a part of my brain, enough to make me genuinely like some of the double spreads and some of the fights. Now, do I think cool art saves a manga? Hell no. Narratively, nothing happens. The subplots don't really add anything to the series, as the author uses these to straight up explain whatever's going on in the manga, to the point where I wasn't really thinking or pondering what could happen next, since everything mixed with each other and it just felt like one continous chapter where nothing really happens. I can't really think of much to explain why I dislike this series, but I feel like the best way I can describe it, but it feels like something you'd see a novice putting up in one of those Shonen Jump mangaka contests to win prizes and a chance at serialization. More focus on art than actually making a compelling story, filled with nothing but flashy pages that function as a step-ladder to push yourself as an artist, that is the closest way I can describe Jackals. Not only is this manga ABSURDLY edgy, it is also really unremarkable in such a way that I forgot most of what had happened by the time of writing this review. Absolutely not worth it, carried by the pretty good artstyle.