Reviews

Aniołowie zbrodni: 1 by Kudan Naduka

Only show reviews with written explanations

kylajfountain's review against another edition

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4.0

4.5
Sometimes I forget that I watched this anime when i was literally 11 what

ketsueki_randi's review against another edition

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5.0

TW: Animal death, suicide (I’m sure there’s more but these are the most obvious ones)
edit: There's bits of spoilers throughout this review but I can't figure out how to blur out just those lines, so sorry the review looks weird, trying to fix it.

I wanna preface this by saying I have already watched the anime so I might inadvertently give spoilers and I'm not sure how (or if) the stories differentiate.

But I love how unique the story is even though the premise feel like nothing more than a cheesy trope. A girl, in this case Rachel Gardener, wakes up in a mysterious building and has to escape, but wait there's a killer after her. I'm sure it's the premise for a handful of horror media; but wait, what if, like a cheesy commercial, we give you two killers for the price of one, chasing after our protagonist

Spoiler

okay, it's seven -one for every floor but I don't
remember if it's mentioned yet.

Spoiler

(I believe this is a spoiler for the series and not just the first book)

That all aside, the thing I love is now Rachel doesn't fall into the trope of most horror protagonist. She doesn't run around blindly and brashly, desperate to live, but is rather more calm, even when being chased by a scythe-wielding serial killer

Spoiler

or an eye-obsessed doctor

Spoiler

. The only time it seems she's not calm and collected is with the bird

Spoiler

and I love this break of the facade. I'm not sure if they ever showed this in the anime, but this tiniest slip in the facade is absolutely genius

Spoiler

(Again another spoiler for the series, like I said I'm also viewing this manga knowing some of the context from the anime and I can't help but notice the more minute details that foreshadow)

Spoiler

Now the most unique aspect to the story is absolute spoiler for this volume, but my god do I love the odd couple dynamic of Zack and Rachel because they work together to get out so Zack.
can kill Rachel (an agreement Rachel offered.) Ahh. I love this twist because considering Zack seems like a more unorganized psychopath denying a willing victim the thing he loves doing most-killing.

Spoiler

(Just a spoiler for the first volume)

Now, I am interested to see if, and how things are different from the anime. Also, I am a sucker for
a well-written villain (especially if they're voiced by certain voice actors), which made Zack one of my favorite characters from the show so I am intrigued whether Zack Foster remains a favorite or if his Japanese voice actor put him in that spot.

mossy_ghost's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

3.0

I'm still not really sure what there is to say about this to be honest. It was a fun time, like I did make fun of most of it, so obviously it wasn't really scary for me at all. I am totally going to be reading the rest of the series because I want to know where this is going. Overall though it was just a fun time.

tpsebast92's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

rereader33's review against another edition

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2.0

This is a weird one for me. On the one hand, I do like the concept and some of Rachel's and Jack's interactions are amusing. On the other hand, Jack is way too over the top to the point hilarity, the tone and atmosphere try to be scary/disturbing but fail in both departments, the writing is nothing special, and the artwork/art style is average.

That being said, I don't think this is necessarily a bad first volume, but it had a lot more potential that was squandered. I feel like this is either "newbie anime fan's first 'disturbing horror' manga" or just a light, fast read for everyone else. I am planning on reading more of the series, so there's definitely something compelling me to continue. However, I can't in good conscience give this higher than 2 stars because an interesting concept doesn't make up for everything else being lackluster.