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paigeeex's review against another edition
4.0
A very interesting read and I love both Gabimaru and Sagiri. However I feel like the writing is a bit choppy and all over the place and it would have been nice to see move extended fight scenes. Hopefully with the coming volumes these issues clear themselves up but I’m excited to see where the story goes.
mahaliathenerd's review against another edition
5.0
Oh my! I couldn't put this down! I requested the second volume right away! If you love Naruto, then you may like this. But this is darker than Naruto when it comes to the ninjutsu. Gabimaru, the Hollow, is attached to nothing or so he thought. During his many executions, he can not seem to die until a Female decapitator by the name of Asaemon the Beheader, comes to grant his wish. Gabimaru realizes that is he isn't hollow. He has an attachment to the one people who love him unconditionally, his wife. Gabimaru is recruited by Asaemon the Beheader to go on a quest to find the elixir of life; by completing, this quest Gabimaru will be pardoned and reunite with his wife.
Naruto meets Made in Abyss with serious dark vibes and violence
Read this! You will be hooked within the first pages of this manga. You will want to buy or scour the internet for the rest of the volumes—definitely one of my favorite reads of the year.
Naruto meets Made in Abyss with serious dark vibes and violence
Read this! You will be hooked within the first pages of this manga. You will want to buy or scour the internet for the rest of the volumes—definitely one of my favorite reads of the year.
saramarie08's review against another edition
2.0
Gabimaru is a reluctant but skilled and nearly indestructible ninja. He is sentenced to be executed, which is no easy thing. They try boiling him, burning at the stake, and various other tactics, before he gets recruited for a suicide mission: to find the Elixir of Life on a mysterious island. So far, all missions the shogunate has sent to the island have resulted in total loss of life, so why not send a rag-tag, cutthroat group of murderers on death row? Each criminal is assigned a baby-sitter in the form of elite executioners, just to keep them from wandering off. The prize for the one who finds the Elixir? A full pardon!
The first half of this story had so much promise. I appreciated the speed at which details of Gabimaru's life were revealed. Gabimaru and his executioner, Sagiri, are such an interesting pair. But, in what seems like a missed opportunity, we jump from the Shogunate making the deal to, "hey look, we're all already on the island!" The mangaka is clearly setting up the story to be a type of Hunger Games where murderers are pitted against each other. So why miss the opportunity to show the adventure of sailing to this supposedly hard to reach place, with potential for murderers to cause other shenanigans? My other major disappointment was that, of the two criminals we meet first on the island, both monologue the exact same evil plan: to eliminate the competition so they can take their time looking for the elixir. Almost word for word!
While the art style is heavily detailed, the action sequences leave much to be desired. Given that the criminals and their executioners are all skilled killers, the fight scenes are supposed to convey a quickness and lethal talent. Thus, many are quick and have large jumps in movements between panels, which can be difficult for readers unskilled in filling in their own choreography. However, my biggest frustration was the size of the sound effect words! Many of them covered a majority of the art in the action scenes, making it difficult to see details like who is holding what sword, what direction weapons/people move, and so forth.
This review was made possible by an advanced reader copy from the publisher through Edelweiss.
The first half of this story had so much promise. I appreciated the speed at which details of Gabimaru's life were revealed. Gabimaru and his executioner, Sagiri, are such an interesting pair. But, in what seems like a missed opportunity, we jump from the Shogunate making the deal to, "hey look, we're all already on the island!" The mangaka is clearly setting up the story to be a type of Hunger Games where murderers are pitted against each other. So why miss the opportunity to show the adventure of sailing to this supposedly hard to reach place, with potential for murderers to cause other shenanigans? My other major disappointment was that, of the two criminals we meet first on the island, both monologue the exact same evil plan: to eliminate the competition so they can take their time looking for the elixir. Almost word for word!
While the art style is heavily detailed, the action sequences leave much to be desired. Given that the criminals and their executioners are all skilled killers, the fight scenes are supposed to convey a quickness and lethal talent. Thus, many are quick and have large jumps in movements between panels, which can be difficult for readers unskilled in filling in their own choreography. However, my biggest frustration was the size of the sound effect words! Many of them covered a majority of the art in the action scenes, making it difficult to see details like who is holding what sword, what direction weapons/people move, and so forth.
This review was made possible by an advanced reader copy from the publisher through Edelweiss.
lilith_knight's review against another edition
3.0
This was ok. The protagonists are likable, and there are some interesting looking monsters, but the instant deaths of some cool looking characters that I was excited to see in battle put me off. Tbh, I expected this to be more engaging than it was, but since it's only the first volume, I won't judge too much.
gkat4's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
cupcakesrawesom's review against another edition
5.0
Thank you Netgalley for the chance to review!
Gabimaru the Hollow is a ninja who cannot die. He claims to want to die but the love for his wife keeps him alive. Prisoners are sent to get the elixir of life and whoever returns with it is pardoned of their crimes however everyone who has come back has been a non human flower creature. This manga is definitely interesting and worth a read!
Gabimaru the Hollow is a ninja who cannot die. He claims to want to die but the love for his wife keeps him alive. Prisoners are sent to get the elixir of life and whoever returns with it is pardoned of their crimes however everyone who has come back has been a non human flower creature. This manga is definitely interesting and worth a read!