Psyren

There are few manga out there that truly deserve the title of "masterpiece," but this is one of them. -Story- First off the story is perfectly laid out. There was never a part of the story where things slowed down or failed to grab the reader's interest. The writers managed to draw out the story long enough to really allow the reader to get truly involved in the plot and all it's little twists, without overextending it to the point where things start to become tiresome or overly repetitive. -Art- Not much to say here except beautiful, stunning and deserving of the 10's "masterpiece" label. To be abit more specific and informative I'll add a few more things. The battle scenes are drawn superbly. The characters, the scenery, clothing, accessories, etc. all of them are represented with high quality work on the artist's part. Honestly after seeing some of the different parts and the art used to depict them, I get excited when I think off how they'll be shown when (/if) Psyren becomes an anime... -Character- The characters are unique and compelling, like any character should be in a well told story. Even as the cast of characters grow, the author makes sure they aren't neglected, every character grows, they all have a level of character development that I have a feeling many people will end up having their own favorites (not just the protagonist/antagonist...). My favorite part, and probably the most crucial one is that these character feel real, real enough that you might find yourself sitting there and nodding your head, imagining that if you were there you would have done just what they did (rather than railing against an obviously foolish and unrealistic course of action (think about when you're watching a movie and you see something and immediately moan silently or aloud, "NO! Why? Why on earth would you do that?!?)). -Enjoyment- Well besides the fact that this series just jumped up to the top of my favorite manga, and this is my second time reviewing anything on this site, I suppose I could say a few other things to indicate how much I enjoyed this series. However it seams like I already said the majority of the reasons I enjoyed the series in my analysis on story, art, and characters.... So I'll just say I can't wait until they make the anime... XP

Popularly, the shounen market is known for being over-saturated with the same kind of average stories and not presenting a whole lot of originality. I hate that kind of view, but I have to agree that the definition of Psyren is average,. Psyren is a shounen manga serialized between 2007 and 2010. It was created, written and illustrated by Toshiaki Iwashiro. Ageha Yoshina is a high schooler who frequently gets into fights and always wins. After one of his incursions, he passes by a payphone and it starts ringing. He answers the call but can only hear static. When he hangs up, he finds a calling cardwith "Psyren" written on it. The next day, he goes to school and a visually distressed girl, Sakurako Amamiya, forgets her wallet. Ageha picks it up and sees that the girl has the same card. Both of them end up getting involved with the game "Psyren" and uncover some incredibly distressing mysteries. The beginning of Psyren is very promising, but, after the initial wonder, it becomes awfully predictable, for the most part. With the introduction and defeat of a character in the world of Psyren, it is made awfully clear that it would become a much more predictable story than it first seemed. It already starts trailing off by the middle. A lot of different characters and concepts are introduced early on just to be forgotten for about 50 chapters, until they suddenly appear again as if nothing had happened.a I have no idea what happened with Ageha's original friends, they just disappeared. Towards the ends, the unpredictability comes back, but not in a good way. It becomes almost nonsensical, with asspulls left and right. The impressions it gives is that the author got tired of writing Psyren and rushed to end it without thinking too much about it. The battles, with a couple of exceptions, don't include any type of strategy, they are only based on who is stronger. That is actually pretty sad, as the abilities themselves are pretty imaginative and created a lot of possibilities for better battles. The main character's ability, "Melchee's Door" is truly original and also had a lot of potential, that wasn't fully used. The cast is pretty big, but most of the characters are pretty well developed. However, there wasn't a single character that had an original personal arc, everything had already been done before. It was pretty easy to see what would happen with each of the characters from their first appearences. Which brings me to the character design. It also isn't any different than most of other shounens. It is extremely easy to recognize everything about a character with just their design, from abilities to the personal arc. It makes everything extremely easy to predict, taking away any tension. The art as a whole is pretty, but doesn't have a hint of originality. It is the traditional art for shounens. Psyren was an extremely boring read to me. I knew what was coming most of the time because of the predictability of the story, which made it lose its edge. When it tried to be different, it became extremely confusing. The characters and their interactions were also pretty standard. If you are looking for a new shounen to read, it is exactly what you are looking for. Yet, it doesn't offer anything different from all the other hundred shounens.

Psyren faces overarching issues, primarily stemming from a lack of build-up and the failure to break away from the typical cookie-cutter approach. Moreover, the villains in the series lack depth, seemingly existing solely for the sake of being evil CHARACTERS: If you've seen Bleach, Naruto, One Piece, Beelzebub, Gantz, and Akira you have basically seen all these characters before except they are just 2 dimensional, and trope filled copies. -Yoshina's character bears a striking resemblance to Ichigo,and Yusuke but without the depth of Zangetsu and dynamic with Toguro/Sensui respectively -Asaga is portrayed as a "noble thug," evoking memories of Kuwabara from YYH. Similarly he dips from the story fora long time, so don't get too attached to him -Kirisaki is introduced as a coward who later learns to confront his fears. Not much else to him -Unfortunately, Oboro stands out as one of the weakest characters in the series. He has no personality except trying to be insane and edgy, but it fails horribly because his character arc resets at the end of the story. -Moreover, the main villain, Amagi, raises concerns as he barely interacts with Yoshina and the cast, and his involvement within his own organization is minimal, leaving most duties to Grana, his second in command. STORY The story initially shows promise, but ultimately feels like a watered-down version of Gantz. While it engages readers in the beginning and middle, it loses momentum rapidly. One of the major issues lies in the narrative's development of the main cast. They gradually lose their agency after meeting the kids from Elmer Wood, repeatedly requiring rescue from them during battles in the future world. Consequently, the fights lack strategic depth and devolve into random clashes, with characters utilizing powers seemingly unrelated to the foundation of PSI. You have Amamiya who the author forgot was supposed to be mentally ill and traumatized until the last stretch of the story so she develops a second personality even though she was pretty much fine and sociable for a good chunk of the story The story also suffers from a glaring power creep problem. Yoshina and the cast suddenly acquire the NOVA PSI, an ability never previously mentioned. What's more puzzling is that Yoshina only masters 2/3 of the required PSI powers, yet still gains access to NOVA. This inconsistent development is hard to justify, especially when others born with PSI or possessing years of experience lack this power. Even more confusing is Yoshina obtaining NOVA from his non-psychic father in the original timeline. This is ends up leading to the final Showdown between Yoshina and Amagi reaching Ichigo vs Aizen levels of disappointing. Additionally, the villains' motivations raise serious questions. The main villain seeks to eliminate non-psychics due to his traumatic childhood experiences with experiments. While this motive is understandable, his actions contradict his beliefs. He senselessly kills numerous psychics and non psychics alike whe conducting experiments on innocent people, turning them into monstrous beings. This inconsistency in his character and actions detracts from the potential impact of the narrative's conflict. In summary, Psyren presents a forgettable storyline with shallow character development and an underwhelming portrayal of villains. The lack of depth in both the heroes and antagonists, coupled with the story's unfulfilled potential, diminishes its overall impact, leaving readers craving for a more compelling and thought-provoking experience Please just read Gantz, Akira, and Yu Yu Hakusho instead.

Alright. To start off, I'm not that good at reviewing, and I haven't read this series in years. I did finish it, though, rest assured(I believe it was still when America was on Vol. 5). Anyway, first, I'll talk about the story. Truthfully, I thought it was unique, but a little weird as well. At first, it seems like a survival game, but it quickly turns into something else. It changes gears, and when it does, you better buckle your seatbelt. All in all, the story was good enough to get me to rush through all the chapters, in a matter of months. Theending was rushed, though, because apparently the manga got the axe at the last minute(still a really enjoyable final arc, though). The art. I LOVE the art in this series. It isn't at all bad, at any time, and it seems like Bleach, a little. The action scenes are drawn well, and the effects are applied nicely. The characters. All of the main ones were really nice, and enjoyable. The side characters, however, were easily forgettable. Amamiya fights one person in the later half of the manga, and I've completely forgotten the dude's name. Enjoyment. I finished the manga in a matter of months. Overall, this is a good series, and I would HIGHLY recommend it. It's a great shonen story, about psychic powers(which is rare), and at times it will give you the feels.