Persona 4 Arena is based on the 2012 fighting game of the same name. However, it's simply not possible to do a one-to-one adaptation of that game. Instead of
Oct 31, 2023 • Subscribe
More like this


Persona 4 Arena GN 1-3
Persona 4 Arena gives the spotlight to Yosuke and he is forced figure out if he has really changed or not—and in the process step out of Yu's…


Frieren: Beyond Journey's End GN 3-4
Honestly, the mixture of tragedy and hopeful beauty in this volume overall is enough to get me choked up even writing this.
My Dress-Up Darling GN 3 & 4
Marin's charm is that she's so beautifully comfortable with her body and her interests that she doesn't try to hide anything, and her stated goal with Wakana was…


Black Rose Alice (GN 1-3)
There are a lot of vampires in shoujo manga. This is just a simple fact. Poke around your local Barnes & Noble or Books-a-Million and yo...


Anti-Gravity Boy GN 1-3
The story may be full of basic shoujo plot events (A trip to Okinawa! Romantic rivals!), but it lets its characters come to their own emotional conclusions.
Baki Hanma Season 1 Anime Sequence Assessment
Baki Hanma, sometimes and confusingly titled Hanma Baki — Son of Ogre, is weird! It's ostentatious. It's homoerotic. It's dumb, but in a ‘dudes rock’ kind of


Asadora! GN 4
As metaphors for the 60s go, it's a pretty good one, and Urasawa is a good enough creator to really make it work. Things are building to the…


Apple Children of Aeon GN 1-3
Yukinojo was left as an infant on the porch of a temple, and he's never felt as if he truly belonged in his home. A story that spans…


Asadora! GN 3
The plot may be thickening in this volume, but it's in the same way that instant pudding thickens in the fridge: in other words, it's just sitting there.
Castlevania: Nocturne Collection Assessment
I had my problems with Netflix's first attempt at bringing the Castlevania franchise to life on the small screen, but regardless of how much I chafed at some


JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood (GN 1-3)
Previous to the last couple of years, just about any anime and manga fan you could find would tell you the same thing: JoJo's Bizarre Adve...
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood


Whisper Me a Love Song GN 1-3
What does it mean to “be in love” or to “fall in love?” That question is the beating heart of Eku Takeshima's yuri series Whisper Me a Love…


Papa and Daddy's Home Cooking GN 1-3
Toyota's tale establishes that fathers adjusting to single parenthood and realizing that even if they don't feel like adequate parents, they'll ultimately be just fine, no matter what…


Ragna Crimson GN 4
With an anime adaptation in the works, Grant explains why Ragna Crimson gets better with each volume.


PODCAST: Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki Episodes 1-4
Stream the pod via Spotify VOD of the pod HEAVEN OR HELL DUEL ONE LET’S- wait shit, wrong game. Ahem, anyway! Warui Deshou’s top tier podcast line Deshou…


Dandadan GN 1
A lot of manga have bawdy humor and fail, but Dandadan manages to make it work by displaying its heart alongside its horror and humor.


MAO GN 1
Takahashi's latest seems to borrow elements from her previous popular works, but does it add anything new to her tried and true recipe?
Tista GN 1
Before there was SPY x FAMILY there was Tista. Tatsuya Endō's first serialized work shares some themes with his latest – heroine Tista Lone is an orphan who


Semelparous GN 1
It feels more like the book is interested in gratuitous girl-on-girl groping than in exploring or creating a relationship.


Tista GN 1
From the creator of SpyxFamily comes a difficult story, replete with themes of what we owe those who "save" us and just how much power any one person…


Ayashimon GN 1
This volume is packed with everything from yakuza action to twisted backstories to humans against monsters. Does this manga from the creator of Hell’s Paradise manage to bring…


SINoALICE GN 1
This manga adaptation of the popular mobile game gambles on a risky decision: to deliberately confuse its readers on what's real and what's just a dream.


Centaurs GN 1
Dark historical fantasy doesn't get much better than this.


Helck GN 1
A human makes a play for demon king, stating he hates humankind just as much as a demon should. He just has to convince Red Vamirio, and her…


FANGS GN 1
FANGS is a story that is most likely going to have the most appeal for readers who enjoy both vampires and BL, and it will probably still have…


MonsTABOO GN 1
Take a bit of social commentary on twisted, corrupt adults, add in schoolgirls who use monsters as transformed weapons to fight them, and then throw in a game…
Ayashimon GN 1
Most of us have probably tried it at some point. What “it” means varies, but the definition is always “something that works in my favorite story.” Whether


Higehiro GN 1
Is there actually some insightful character stuff present that looks like it can take full advantage of this arrangement? The answer is surprisingly yes for a good chunk…


Barbarities GN 1
Barbarities' first volume is an interesting opening to a political BL tale. The politics and the side romance may be a little more intriguing than Joel and Adam…


Life GN 1
Two decades after its initial release, Life presents a viciously recognizable picture of the social hellscape that middle and high school can be.


The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses GN 3-4
There isn't much to say about The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses because it very much is “what you see is what you get.”


Life GN 2-3
Life often toes the line in terms of going too far. However, it remains a relevant wake-up call about an experience that too many kids have. Read with…


Blue Box GN 3
Regardless of where the romantic component of the story goes, if it continues to develop its theme of straightforward dedication with believably emotional moments, I definitely will find…


Did I Seriously Just Get Reincarnated as My Gag Character?! GN 1
The first volume of Did I Seriously Just Get Reincarnated as My Gag Character?! is funny, looks good, and doesn't have a mean bone in its body, making…
Synduality: Noir Anime Sequence Assessment
The biggest worry with mixed media promotions like Synduality is that they'll be lazy, incomprehensible advertisements for some other part of the nascent


Tokyo Aliens GN 1
This first volume of Tokyo Aliens is a solid start to what looks like a promising series, but plays it safe in regards to what's in store for…


Great Pretender GN 1
The story of the Great Pretender is one of a good person trying desperately to be a bad guy in a world where everyone is out for themselves.


Tesla Note GN 1
Because the anime adaptation made some questionable artistic choices, it's worth mentioning that the manga is much more attractive on the art front.


Captain Corinth GN 1
At this point in genre saturation, a space soldier being dropped into a medieval fantasy planet feels positively revelatory.


Usotoki Rhetoric GN 1
Set in 1926, this rural detective tale follows a teen sleuth who can tell when people are lying.


Kemono Jihen GN 1
Kimono Jihen is a combination of folklore, fantasy, and horror. It's got a beating heart underneath the grimness and this volume is a solid start to the series.


Nana & Kaoru GN 1
BDSM-curious should check out Nana & Kaoru, a manga that respects the realities of its subject matter (and is pretty hot).


Mame Coordinate GN 1
This manga about modeling tries to balance the glam with the less than savory aspect of the job, but is the problem really its protagonist?


Sakamoto Days GN 1
A retired assassin finds domestic bliss and opens a convenience store, but the crime world isn't ready to let Sakamoto go.


Dark Gathering GN 1
I mean it when I say I wasn't expecting to be terrified from reading Dark Gathering. This surprise isn't a downside. That this story was able to genuinely…


Kageki Shoujo!! GN 1
Like its heroine, Kageki Shojo!! is just getting started but shows enormous promise.


Yuri Espoir GN 1
Yuri Espoir is an odd combination of froth and sadness. The way that the world seems hellbent on crushing Kokoro under the burden of false heteronormativity is undeniably…


Heart Gear GN 1
Sci-fi fans will find a lot to love in this Isaac Asimov-inspired story about an artificial lifeform becoming human through its interactions with a human child


Choujin X GN 1
From the same creative mind that brought us the hit manga series Tokyo Ghoul comes another rather dark outing from creator Sui Ishida. If you were a fan...


Tephlon Funk GN 1
Inspired by Cowboy Bebop and Spike Lee films, Tephlon Funk is a lot, but I think that ultimately that's a good thing.