(For original Japanese editions of Amemiya-sensei's work, please visit 雨宮 由樹.)
Favorite color: Black Favorite food: Plums Favorite music: 80's western pop, Enya, Joe Hisaishi Drinks: Umeshu (Sake with Plums), Coffee Hobby: Incense Pets: One hamster
This is the end I can't believe it. I love this manga so, so much you can't even imagine how in love I am with it. 07-Ghost made me laugh, cry, get mad, fall in love, but above all it made me realize that we all have courage to do the right thing, even when we think we can't take it anymore. It taught me about true friendship, about family, about love, about forgiveness.
Teito's story reminded me that we all have value and not because of the things we have, our family position or because we're pretty/intelligent/insert any other adjective here but because we are who we are and we need to accept this and to love ourselves and to love others.
I'm so happy I've found this manga, I'll always carry the characters and their stories within my heart.
Teito sees Frau activate the scythe while trying to save the Aegis from crashing. Frau winds up having the scythe swallow the Aegis in order to preserve his memory of his friends and Gido. Teito confronts Verloren and readers glimpse his past with Eve and how he fell to earth and became reincarnated over and over again and after meeting with Empress Dahlia and her releasing his sealed memories he starts off on a new mission. While Teito tries to deal with Verloren he also realizes that he cannot kill him and only wishes to help him in the end since Verloren is actually related to Teito. However Verloren ends the cycle and Teito proceeds to the Land of Seele.
I loved this series there was so much action and a lot of heart throughout all of the volumes. I loved all of the characters good and bad. Each one was so unique that it really made reading this series a lot of fun. I wish there was more but overall I was very satisfied with the ending and cannot wait to see more of this author's works in the future. I love the illustrations and cannot say enough good things about this series.
I received this advanced copy from VIZ Media through Edelweiss in exchange for my honest review.
07-Ghost is a solid series - interesting characters and story with lovely art. It can get a little convoluted at times, which may not be a surprise if the authors are as influenced by CLAMP as their art style would imply. I don't mind stories that get messy so long as I can still follow the threads, and this is a series I will want to reread in order to find all the threads that keep the story together. The ending was on the anticlimactic side, almost like the mangka had to rush the ending, but it was still satisfying.
Eh. I kind of was not satisfied with that ending. And one question keeps popping up... Who is the father of new Teito? Also, why Frau? Why couldn't he be reborn? Is he going to live forever? Alone? After everyone dies?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Full Series Review (volumes 1-17) Really closer to 3.5 stars. It's a solid I liked it, but a positive one.
Amnesiac teen Teito Klein is a former slave now attending the Empire's military academy, impressing his superiors with his powerful use of zaiphon, a supernatural power. All seems fine until her recovers part of his memories, realizing that one of his superiors killed his father...the king of a land now assimilated into the empire. Unable to remain, Teito escapes, pursued by the military, and finds sanctuary in the powerful church, politically powerful enough that even the military won't pursue him...for now. As Teito seeks to recover his memories and uncover his past, he forges connections in the church, even while church leaders themselves have their own secrets, and perhaps plans, for Teito's unique powers and status.
Wow. This was a ride.
I initially picked up this manga because I've stumbled across a few episodes of the anime adaptation on RetroCrush's free streaming channel. A short-tempered teen boy, some intriguing older priests (bishops? monks? hard to tell when you're just channel-surfing!) who are wearing distinctly Catholic-influenced clothing that definitely does not exist in the real church, magic monsters with bone wins, a small cute fluffy mascot-thing that accompanies everyone.
Watching a handful of episodes out of order wasn't enough to tell me what the show was about, but it was enough to get me interested, so I was happy to find that a manga existed. (And for the other manga/anime fans out there, I'll just point out that the anime adaptation came out before the manga finished, so while I haven't watched the whole thing, its only option is either 1] it changed a lot of story so it could wrap things up and would have diverged from the manga, or 2] it ends the story halfway through. So I've got no plans to watch either way.)
The basics of the story are simple: amnesiac Teito, evil Empire/military who killed Teito's family, Teito has special powers--most people can use zaiphon, but Teito turns out to be the host for The Eye of Mikael, a magic artifact that the military wants--the priests are kinda but have secrets, and the religion is distinctly not related to Christianity despite its aesthetics.
The Good The main characters are pretty fun. Contrary to what I expected form his initial appearance as a military killer, Teito is kind, and actively chooses to make friends and to help others. The priests all have their own secrets, but one ends up as a sort of surrogate brother/uncle to Teito despite them fondly arguing a lot--a dynamic that's enjoyable to read.
The plot moves at a decent pace for most of the series. There are a lot of moving pieces here: Teito's history; the Eye and how it got to be in him; how he got to the military and lost his memory; what the existing religion is and the religion affects people's lives; the priests' backstories; the main bad guys and their goals; Teito's journey forward.
It's a long-ish series, at 17 volumes, so it usually didn't have to rush, even though a lot happens.
And it's fun! There's a lot of action, a lot of mythology and backstory. And while I thought I was starting a shounen title, action aimed at boys, it was originally published in a magazine aimed at women and the focus includes a lot of emotional bonds.
The Less Good While the art is usually fine, battle scenes are a weak point. People are flung/pushed/jump around by power/fire/demons/other forces that don't often necessitate drawing a weapon, and it's often unclear exactly what's happening in a panel: I would figure out what happened with a combination of the writing (narration or characters explaining) and where/how the characters were drawn immediately afterward. It wasn't terrible but by the middle of the series I was used to having to reread a couple panels to fill in the blanks. At least the issues were usually limited to just a couple panels, rather than entire fight scenes.
Some character designs were also too similar to others. Teito's friend Mikage, academy frenemy Shuri Oak, church friend Hakuren Oak, and mentor-uncle-foundfamily Frau all had light (uncolored/unshaded) spiky hair, and while they were usually physically separated I did mix them up during flashbacks, memories, etc. when the story moved from one location to the other.
Secondary characters--the Big Bad's entourage, additional priests, etc.--who were named and popped up a lot but weren't eh main focus were also hard to keep straight. Part of this is due to the fact that most characters wore a uniform: all the military members wore one, all the priests wore another, all the apprentices (Teito, Hakuren, classmates) wore another.
For as long as the series is, it could've been a bit longer. Not much, but maybe another volume or so? The last...fourth of the series ramps things up and everything comes to a head. And while that's still several volumes of story, there are so many reveals happening as like three different plots that have been building up all converge into the main story, just a little bit more time to deal with them could've helped.
(stejná recenze u každého dílu) Kresba ze začátku ušla, ale postupně se zlepšovala až na mírně nadprůměrnou. Některé postavy vypadaly po celou dobu dobře jako například Teito a takové ty více fešné postavy. :D Trošku mě zamrzelo, že všichni nebyli takový fešáci jako v anime. :D Řekla bych, že tím důvodem, proč nebyli všichni tak pěkňoučcí, byly jejich nosy, protože byly takové orlí, prostě moc rovné, líp to říci nedokážu. :D Ale ostatní věci či stvoření mimo lidí vypadaly opravdu pěkně. Příběh byl nic moc, ale k tomu se vrátím později, protože konec mě úplně dostal. Ne, že by to vyvrcholení bylo nějaké přeborné, ale úplně mě to emočně vyvedlo z míry. Ještě asi dva dny po tom ve mně přetrvával pocit euforie, takhle v dobré náladě jsem se opravdu hodně dlouho neocitla. :D A to ta příčina tohoto pocitu byla opravdu hloupá. :D Z nějakého neznámého důvodu mě totiž hrozně moc zasáhlo to, že všude najednou nastal mír. Hlavní hrdina nevykonal pomstu a místo toho svému nepříteli pomohl. Úplně mě dojalo to, že svět může být takové hezké místo bez násilí, vraždění a podobně. :D Jako what? Vážně jsem to nechápala. :D Příběh měl hodně gay momentů, což mi bylo trochu nepříjemné. :D A taky dost matoucí, protože ani na konci jsem se nemohla rozhodnout, jak to se všemi, u kterých jsem měla velké pochybnosti, vypadá. Žádnou z postav jsem si snad ani neoblíbila. Maximálně se mi líbil jejich vzhled, ale to neznamená, že budu mít ráda i jejich charakter. :D Hodně postav se mi zdálo moc přecitlivělých, dokonce i na konci celé série byla sekce, kde vyhrál v katagorii: Kdo nejvíc plakal? (nebo nějak tak :D), Teito, který se dobral na číslo kolem 20, což bych řekla, že je celkem dost. :D Na druhou stranu se mi líbil backstory hlavního záporáka. Řekla bych, že o něm by se dalo říci, že jsem si oblíbila jeho i jeho slečnu. :D Ale dosti by mě zajímalo, kdo byl její otec. Byl to opravdu sám velký šéf? Řekla bych, že ano. Trochu mě mrzí, že jsme se nemohli o této pozici dozvědět o něco více. Mimochodem uděluji velké plus za vymyšlení "Raggs no Chinkonka", protože tu písničku jsem si, když jsem ji slyšela poprvé, zamilovala. Pamatuji si, jak jsem si hned musela zapsat celý text na papír, abych si ho mohla číst a popřípadně naučit.(ten text byl samozřejmě v češtině, japonsky neumím, tehdá ani anglicky) :D Teď se mi ta písnička nelíbí tolik jako předtím, stále ji ale považuji za dobrou. Děj mě popravdě moc nebavil a spousta věcí jsem nechápala. Možná to bude tím, že jsem nedávala pořádně pozor, ale to si nemyslím. Prostě tam bylo moc věcí nevysvětlených. Normálně by mi to ani nevadilo, ale když mě nudilo to, co se tam dělo, tak jsem těmto věcem dávala větší pozornost. Obálky vypadají docela hezky, některé dokonce i velmi dobře. Zdá se mi, že na nich jsou vykresleny lépe obličeje, než v manze. To ale není tak neobvyklé. Dávám 55% Jazyk: AJ
Why is Hyuga still alive? I don't care how cute the moment between him and Konatsu was.
When you think about it, all of this is Eve's fault for not leaving Verloren alone when he and god told her to. Verloren wasn't even the one who killed her! Her soul fell to Earth with him and he wants to find her because he loved her. Eve being inside everyone, instead of just being a reincarnation, was nice, though.
I liked learning more about Krowell, and it makes me wonder how the other reincarnations of Verloren lived. It was said at one point that they are normally found and killed' in this case it's because the seal was broken but does that always happen or were the others executed for murder? Because Krowell at least killed his mother before getting his memories back.
Teito trying to save him when he's about to be dragged into hell made me roll my eyes, and again I don't understand how Verloren is going to Heaven after all of that. If he repented I need to see more of his internal thoughts.
Teito owns Frau for a short time when he becomes the owner of Verloren's scythe. At least the whole getting the seals to go to the land of Seele wasn't wasted since that's the only way to save Teito and Frau from being consumed by the scythe.
Whatever happened to the Chainman and his coup d'etat?
2-year time skip
I had already forgotten Teito's mom was alive. The Ghosts are normal humans again and can visit people who knew they were dead; I'm happy for Castor.
Teito was reborn. His mother got pregnant in the same way Mary did. 40 years later he becomes the Grand Pope and contributes to the reestablishment of the Raggs kingdom. He's still the holder of the eye of Mikael. (The picture of him and Capella crying and the one where Frau visits baby Teito were adorable)
I know that Teito isn't the same kid and I'm glad that he's happy, but I also miss the person he was.
Frau is the new god of death.
P.S. I read the pilot and I like the finalized version a lot better.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
J'ai plutôt aimé cette conclusion sauf cette dernière partie que je trouve un peu singulière. Teito renait, sa mère (re)tombe enceinte de lui mais comme ça ? En mode nouveau Jésus et fils de Dieu (ici roi des cieux) ? Ou alors j'ai manqué des informations. Mais bref, disons que l'ensemble qui précédait tout ça était vraiment sympa ! J'ai beaucoup apprécié. Heureuse d'avoir pu finalement connaître la fin de cette œuvre !
Je constate ceci-dit qu'il y a aussi un petit teasing quant à une potentielle suite mais qui n'a finalement jamais vu le jour, ou du moins par pour l'instant. Ça aurait pu être sympa, dommage !
Anh...đã luôn mong chờ em đến thăm. Trong những ngày tuyết rơi che phủ mọi thứ một cách yên lặng. Trong những ngày xuân tươi vui khi hoa bắt đầu đâm chồi. Trong những ngày hè khi mọi sự sống nảy nở. Và trong những ngày thu khi sự sống khô héo. Và thậm chí vào ngày mà em đã ra đi...
Chính em là người đã dẫn anh đến với thứ gọi là tình yêu.
Teito is shown to finally face Verloren. Verloren remembers parts of his past, when he fell down from heaven. Ayanami is seen being talking to Eve, I so love this manga, it is so amazing I just can`t describe my feelings properly. I went through almost every emotion while reading this; I cried, laughed, loved, pitied, got mad and was so happy when I read it... It also tells you so much, it is a really nice story about relationships, friendship, loss, love and forgiveness. About the power to see the light inside of everybody and inside of the world and that everybody can choose his own path. It teaches so much by saying that you have to be yourself and that you are very important being who you are. That you can accomplish so much when you finally accept who you are. That you can take your own individual path and that you are worthy of every step you take. I will never forget this manga, with all its outstanding characters and developments, with all its truths inside. From now on it will always be a part of me.
This entire series is brilliantly done. The plot, the entire concept is not only well-executed but well-dialogued and beautifully portrayed. The story is both moving and powerful and the ending is beyond brilliant! You get majorly attached to the characters, the good and the bad, and the twisting plot and three-dimensional way they're brought to life creates a truly imaginative world. This final volume brings Teito's journey to a close and wraps up all storylines quite nicely. It's incredible how everything comes together in such a satisfying way.
Between the adventure, the drama, the humor, this is definitely one series to pick up and you will not want to put down until the end. The problem is, you won't want it to end!