Immortal Hounds · review
As per usual, let's start with the categorization: - Action - Mystery - Supernatural / Sci-Fi (unclear based on the story by volume 6) - Over-the-top: this isn't really a category, but it's worth mentioning for this, the action scenes are very over-the-top and not realistic at all. - Drama: despite its over-the-top nature, there isn't much comedy outside of that, it tends to have a more serious tone. There's one character that tends to do silly stuff, but he doesn't get much panel time. Story: 6/10 The premise / synopsis for this is quite original for me. The story is interesting and has a lot of potential. However, it is only6 volumes long, so not too many of the mysteries get answered. The sequel hasn't been licensed yet in English, so I have no idea if this story will get an interesting continuation or not. That makes it hard to judge, so I kind of have to only consider what I know from reading these 6 volumes..
There are interesting things happening in those 6 volumes, but I just wanted to get more of it and get more answers. Ultimately, it feels inconclusive and I'm just hoping that the sequel will be licensed in English at some point.
Art: 9/10
The art is great, the backgrounds are generally well done, the characters are easily identifiable. I usually don't have much to say in this section other than for outliers, so let's leave it at that.
Characters: 8/10
I'm always more interested when the characters are NOT in school. In this case, the characters are mostly relatable because, while they are immortal, they go about their daily lives in a similar fashion to how we do. Work your day off, go to have a beer after work with friends once in a while.
We get to explore only one or two characters more in depth in those 6 volumes, but given how short this is, I don't think you could do too much more. You mostly get to learn their motives and the forces at play behind them.
Enjoyment: 7/10
My enjoyment for this is hard to rate, and it ties back in to my points about the story. I liked the experience this provided, but the reasons why are very much conditional to some unknowns.
If this was the ending point for the whole series (e.g. the sequel turns out to be bad, just as inconclusive or never gets translated), then I would be very dissatisfied, as this is not a conclusion by any means, hardly any of the mysteries are solved. I feel like this series was meant to run for more than 6 volumes.
As such, with my current knowledge and having only read these 6 volumes, I feel like this is an inconclusive manga. However, it has me hooked and wanting to know how the story will unfold in the sequel.