|
I suspect that the series ending might have been in the cards behind the scenes for a while, though we may not know the exact reasons why (I dunno what sales are like, so I won't presume, and its always possible the author just wanted to be able to do something new). But when you look over how things have progressed since the battle at the island really began, it fits. Almost all the major enemies are there and almost every major character gets a chance to fight, with a sudden mass turn by the weaponless group (or whatever the proper name was, apologies) so they can have some degree of redemption before they finish up. And of course, Kenichi suddenly being pronounced as capable of a master level ki - even just for a moment - because the series won't have the space to let him actually get there otherwise. Plus, well, the 'war' that had been hyped up is now over after a single battle, because Ryozanpaku and co proved the strength of their ideology, or some such. Toss in a convenient mention of school being the next day, and it does come off as contrived to end things quick. But, being fair, twelve years is a pretty good run for any series to have, especially for one that started about a guy with no martial arts prowess and would take ages to see regular competence in his skills. If it ends now, I'm at least satisfied that I saw Ken go from quivering at the sight of a knife, to willingly grappling a sword. That's good character development.
|
#
¿
Sep 11, 2014 11:53
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 17, 2024 01:46 |
|
|
Guyver posted:I would have liked to see more of China and the Phoenix Alliance. Thinking about it. It would have been fun to have Kenichi go to Thailand with Apa and to China with Ma or Ranka. For as diverse as some of the characters are Kenichi leaves Japan like twice. It might have helped if the YAMI stuff had been kept as more of a background element - something Kenichi was aware of, but rarely ever got to be directly involved in because, you know, dangerous and stuff. Which whilst that was the case for a good chunk of the series, by the end I can't easily recall that many major fights where the Masters weren't present and weren't ultimately stealing the show. Some world hopping to deal with things that the Masters are too busy/too overkill for would have been interesting for showing off the martial arts of the world, whilst also lending to the 'third world war' angle that the series tried for later on. Or heck, the Phoenix Alliance stuff would have at least made sense by sheer volume. Kensei was supposed to have several thousand students - an easy enough excuse for YAMI to try and take it over. But yeah, I'm curious on Matsuena's new project. Apparently the same issue Kenichi ends will be the one carrying the announcement. Another martial art series maybe? Something more sci-fi? Fantasy? Slice of life?
|
|
#
¿
Sep 13, 2014 01:24
|
|
|
...Ha. Of course, talk about how they could've done more world hopping, and the idea gets included in the final chapter. So yeah, obviously rushed again, with the final chapter offscreening a lot of the return to normalcy. Apparently Ken created the manga (or a novel version of it) in universe and won the Naoki award, and the final scene goes with the obvious answer we've probably been expecting of the series for a while. Admittedly, saying 'that's a story for another time' is fairly standard, but it does kinda feel like it invites the possibility of returning to the series some day, even just with one offs, to perhaps flesh things out or show off some of an older Kenichi's adventures.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 13, 2014 11:59
|
|
|
NutritiousSnack posted:Author was trying to keep it vague if he really married her. Notice his wife has way shorter hair like the other masters daughter, the mouse photobombs the photo, ect. Renka gets her own separate photo, and the little girl in the picture having Miu's appearance but Kenichi's hair colour is an obvious giveaway. Its likely because it means he doesn't have to draw an adult Kenichi or Miu for differing facial designs - just get one's arm up to Sakaki levels, and the other in a wedding dress, and thus easy implication they grew up without having to figure out how they grew up.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 14, 2014 02:17
|
|
|
Harry posted:Did Renka's outfit get even more ridiculous than before? Or has that how it's always been and I just forgot since her clothes usually explode in seconds. Its the same outfit she's had for a while now (namely, her second), but you also have to factor in how Matsuena's artstyle has changed over the last few years. Looks like he's testing the waters for potential new ideas though, with at least one of them looking like to be an inverse of how Kenichi started, with a high school student clearly displaying some above the norm athletic skills. As to the other two though, not a clue.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 14, 2014 20:33
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 17, 2024 01:46 |
|
|
trucutru posted:Her hair was a bit curlier. She's TOTALLY DIFFERENT. That summon swords to fight corrupted guardian spirits. Which apparently is the true duty of the ninja, instead of, you know, assassinating people and stuff. I would kinda hope that it's him working the last of the 'high school martial arts' concept out of his system for a while. Like, with how abrupt it ended, it may have left him with some niggling to do something similar. Honestly, the only thing interesting about the one shot is the monster itself, if simply for the style of its design. Massive, detailed monster hand that fades away into tiny little wisp hands when you try to tear it open is kinda neat. Just wish it had a better story (and a greater sense of shame) around it.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 28, 2014 23:29
|
|