Goth

Fair warning: Know what your getting with this manga. Its not so much scary as it is filled with gore [literally it shows mutilated bodies/body parts]. The horror classification falls more with personalities of the characters. I thought it was good but not amazing. I don’t read much of this genre but I'm into horror/psychological movies and things like that.I read something similar to this beforehand too. If my reading order had been reversed I'm sure I would have found this more fascinating. It’s about two students who have an interest in death and murder. They take interest in several cases of serial killings in the general area.The story portrays the different reactions and interactions of the two main characters with each incident. It consists of four separate cases, one of them being related to Yoru's past. It’s full of gore, psychological theory, and a few twist. I guess you can say the plot gives you three perspectives. Itsuki: the perspective of someone with the capability of being a killer, witnessing the work of another killer. The killer[s]: the perspective and inner thoughts of a killer, some even as they execute their work. And Yoru: the perspective of a naive, curious girl with a troubled past. The main character, Itsuki, isn’t anything new for me at least. I've seen a few adaptations of the apathetic, dangerous, murder capable individual. Itsuki is never explained, has left completely vague. Nothing towards his past is really ever reveled, he is just a character born completely apathetic to emotion. He is able to appear as if he fits in to society, while consciously knowing he is different. He’s twisted, manipulative in some ways, and just downright creepy. Yoru's character is pretty original and interesting. Her past is defiantly an original story. I thought that that case was probably the closest thing to realism in the manga as a whole. Her character is explained and actually somewhat relatable, I can accept it to some understanding. I don’t think the cut on her wrist was ever explained though, maybe that was left for you to interpret indicating a dark past. I just thought since it was such a focus in the first case and Itsuki’s fascination with Yoru, it would be explained or at least used somewhere else in the story. I have some issues with the realism [I will explain further] but for Yoru, how often this girl gets kidnapped or watched, really now? Yoru’s character being naive or just choosing to disregard the true danger that lies in Itsuki seems like a debated topic. I chose to believe she is just naive to Itsuki’s true capably. In the first case about the severed hands, Yoru seems more in control. As time progresses you can see Itsuki is truly the one in control, he enjoys keeping her close and toying with the idea of one day killing her. Yoru seems to view him more as a companion than a possible threat. Now the realism, I guess the way the story is put together bothers me. It’s just not realistic in the least...how many serial killers exist in general first off, let alone around the same place, within the time span of a few years. On top of that how likely is it that the same people keep encountering them? They were interested in the cases but it’s not like they went out into society, actively looking to solve them. They would have some sort of run-in with the murderer and things would just fall into place. I get the whole idea the author was trying to display but I think it could have been pretty awesome if made into something that could actually happen. I think the plot is an interesting idea, I haven’t read anything quite like it. I would have liked it if there was more left for you to figure out. The murders involved in these cases were unique in their own but I felt like I was just reading about murders, no real thought or problem solving involved, the story kind of does it for you. Its a good read, I'd recommended it. Would I read it again? No. I would read the novel if i thought it would be any better depicting or creating suspense but I think I'll pass on it Story: 7 [good] Art: 8 [very good, considered a 9 for being graphically daring] Character: 9 [great] Enjoyment: 7 [good] Overall: 7 [good]

Story: What a snooze fest. No, actually, it's worse than that. It's so linear and boring that I can't help but wonder what in the world the author was thinking when he outlined (IF he outlined) this story. Things just happen and you just accept it because reasons. Because publication. Because money. Because (insert ANYTHING other than /reason/ here.) I mean, holy cow, dude. The author legitimately thinks you can write a main character who can do whatever he wants whenever he wants without any real foundation for doing so. I have to get into characters here before I even jump into the character segment because thewhole story is just I mean I'm having difficulty ARTICULATING what I want to say here. That's how barren this work is. I seriously have nothing good to say about the story itself. I don't even think I can say it's like anything, and if it is it might be like the western show Dexter. Even so, that's like the lightest comparison in that this narrative is just a dark tone filled with nonsense. Goodness gracious. Let's move on. Art: Perhaps the only good thing about this manga is the art. I enjoyed how graphic it could get but also respectful to the despicable events. i wouldn't mind a full-fledged narrative that pushed for this artwork. I wouldn't even mind it if it went even further and tried to shock me more than once. That said, it falls flat on a story that doesn't deserve such care and love. It's just a waste to even grade this 7/10 since the surrounding content is such crap. Despite being the highest score, it doesn't go without fault. Proportions are off, and in the first chapter there's a scene where a woman is holding a book but in the next immediate panel it's in her other hand. She doesn't switch hands, and you'll see what I mean if you actually read it, but I'm almost positive she didn't have 8 fingers and 2 thumbs on one hand so whatever. Probably just nitpicking at that point, but it's still something so simple that shouldn't be missed. Character: There is not a single ounce of character development in this story. The characters are already established, and by established I mean they are just placeholders to help the story progress. I couldn't tell you anything about the characters in this work. "Oh, the protagonist can just figure things out but we never see him figuring it out. Also, he's a little coo-coo." and, "Oh, his sidekick is a girl. That's it. She's just a girl." Like, for the love of quality, there are traits in characters that are forsaken immediately upon their mention. The female sidekick has a scar on her arm. Why was this mentioned? Why did this get like 4 panels? Why was a whole page dedicated to it? What in the hell? Enjoyment: You can imagine my frustration when I open this manga up reading that it's won an award and I get to the end and realize how much of a waste this read was. ((If you liked this review, check out my other reviews by going to my profile and clicking the 'reviews' tab. I review virtually all anime and manga I find!))

My imagination went for a stroll when I read the title 'Goth' of this Manga. What could I expect? A medieval setting, perhaps, with castles and lightning, witches and torture? Or would it be about gloomy guys in long dark coats? It happened to be neither, and for that I am thankful. Goth in this title refers more to interest in the dark side of life. The sensation that gory images and horrible stories give people. It is about a girl and a boy who try to find out the motives behind certain killings in their neighbourhood, out of nothing but interest. When they startfinding a lot of clues, they might be sucked in too deeply to return... It is a one-shot manga, with only one volume. The downside of this approach is that neither the character nor the story has time to really evolve. Some events happen too quickly to leave an impression and the protagonists seem a bit hollow - with more time given, they might have become more real. Despite those things, Goth still is a very entertaining manga. The story may be short, but it is an interesting story. The art is brilliant and makes up for the flaws as mentioned above. The gory details are not left out, but do not take a prominent part in the manga - which I am grateful for. In conclusion: it is a very enjoyable manga, with a nice story but it a shame that the author did not allow himself more chapters to let the story evolve more naturally.