Nabari no Ou Animanga Review
So, today, I shall be reviewing an animanga called Nabari no Ou.
Opening theme. CRAWL by VELTPUNCH.
First ending theme. HIKARI by ELISA.
Second ending theme. Aru ga Mama by Anamu & Maki.
Total Episodes: 26
Total Volumes: 14
It’s a copy/rip off of Naruto!
[/u]
No, I’m sorry, my Naruto fans, Nabari no Ou is
not a copy/rip off/whatever you want to call it of Naruto. First of all, I don’t see any orange jumpsuits. Second of all, Nabari no Ou is set in the modern world. Thirdly, do you really think Naruto is the first anime/manga to use the plot of “main character has some awesome/epic power sealed inside him/her”?
Please don’t tell me that Nabari no Ou is a copy of Naruto because of the ninja aspect and the ninja weapons. Shuriken and kunai are not, believe it or not, Naruto-exclusive weapons. They are actual weapons that were historically used by ninjas. In addition, unlike Naruto, Nabari no Ou is not exclusively about ninjas. It has an aspect of ninjas to make it more interesting, but it is not ninja world-centric, like Naruto. And that’s about enough mentioning Naruto in this review.
But, Lyss, it’s too gay!Okay. It might be gay. And? What’s your point? Does that mean it’s bad because it happens to have gay characters? In addition, let’s do a little deduction, shall we? Without inserting any fanon facts, of course. Tobari is obviously not gay, since he is with Hanabusa. Kouichi isn’t gay, since he likes Raimei. In my opinion, Yukimi acts like a straight man. Raikou is very refined and polite – whoever said that polite men can’t be straight? Miharu is too apathetic (in the beginning at least) to seem interested in either gender. Gau is really the only character that could be called “gay”, simply because of his character and personality. Even the “main pairing” that cause many people to classify the series as shounen-ai (Yoite and Miharu) can’t be called gay because of reasons in the manga that are revealed in volume nine. So really, it’s not a “gay” series. While there are very large undertones of very deep love and friendship (particularly between Miharu and Yoite) that does not mean that it is a bad or gay series. But even if I am mistaken, and the writer meant for the characters to be gay, that doesn’t change my opinion of it, and it shouldn’t change yours either. It’s very pitiful to watch a movie or read a book and debate about a character’s sexual orientation, as characters are usually made to pass on a message. If we will only concentrate on their sexual orientations, we should never watch, read, or listen to any stories. So please, guys, be aware of what Nabari no Ou is trying to show us: we do not have control over what we like, but we do have control over our actions. Only for our actions should we be judged as human beings.
The fact that Miharu has the Shinrabanshou and can’t use it makes the entire plot illogical.[/u]
Really? How so? What’s your ideal ruler – someone who can’t resist pressing the big red button, or someone who has the common sense and self-control to not press the big red button? To become the King, Miharu needs to learn about its responsibilities, not only its desires, which is what Nabari no Ou is about.
The pacing is too slow. And it’s boring. There aren’t enough fights.[/u]
The pacing is slow? It’s boring? Not enough fights? Maybe for someone who wants blood and guts and death flying all over the place. You should watch the movie Ninja Assassin instead. It has all that and more. Nabari no Ou is not an animanga for someone who wants to see people (or ninjas, rather) in a deathmatch to become the ruler of Nabari. The point of this anime and manga, in my opinion, is not to show people killing each other. The point of this animanga is to show the relationships of individuals and how people can change for the better, merely by seeing, speaking to one another. The pacing is slow, yes, so that we may get a grasp of each and every character and learn to love or hate them because of who they are and how they act, not because of their signature move or how hard they can land a punch.
The character development is shoddy.[/u]
The character development of Nabari no Ou is absolutely gorgeous. The characters change and grow throughout the series, and you can easily grow to care for them. In addition, their growth is realistic and, most importantly, undetectable. Take Miharu, for instance. In the beginning, he’s emotionless, apathetic, and doesn’t want to get involved in anything. Read (or watch) to the end, and you’ll only notice how much he’s changed when you go back to the beginning again. For those who say that the characters of Nabari are one-dimensional – it’s because people are one-dimensional. We like certain things, and we hate others. We act certain ways toward certain people. We change, mature overtime, but still ultimately like or dislike the same things, still ultimately have the same “base” character we always had. That is what makes the characters of Nabari no Ou so realistic.
The bad guys aren’t even bad![/u]
Wait, what? Are you talking about Yukimi? Or Raikou? That’s because they weren’t
bad in the first place. There are very few truly “bad” characters in Nabari no Ou, which is exactly what makes them so life-like and easy to empathize with. Their moral ambiguity is real. In my opinion, no one is really bad. Events in someone’s life can make that person forget how to be good, and for some, the moment of awakening never comes. Although I feel very sorry for bad characters, some are simply born bad and nothing can change them.
All right, I think I’ve covered all the points people complain about. Now it’s time to get to the actual review. I’ll try to say as much as I can without spoiling anything.
This animanga is a great anime or manga for people who want a meaningful story, with realistic, believable characters that grow and develop throughout the course of it. Every single character is well-developed, with their own pasts, quirks, and personalities, and most characters have at least one thing that we can relate to. The plot of the animanga is fairly straightforward at first: Rokujou Miharu finds out that he has the Shinrabanshou sealed inside him and is destined to become the ruler of Nabari. (Hence the title, Nabari no Ou, which means, “Ruler of Nabari” in English.) From a boy who is totally oblivious (or simply doesn’t want to notice) the hardships of the world, he is thrown into the violent alternate world of Nabari, where crimes are punishable by death, and the law is very strict, written one hundred years before. Things quickly become more complicated as Miharu becomes acquainted with the Kairoushuu, ninjas of the Iga village. Their leader, Hattori, intends to remove the Shinrabanshou from Miharu and use the Hijutsu (secret technique) himself. As the anime, and especially the manga, progresses, we become acquainted with a variety of colourful characters. When you watch the anime or read the manga with your eyes wide open, you can learn about love, friendship, sacrifices, and survival. Most importantly, we learn how beautiful the world is just because we are.
10/10 stars (yes, even with all its shortcomings I will give it a solid 10 out of 10. why? because I'm a biased, unashamed fangirl, that's why. /sagely nod)
CreditsThis review was written by
me, Lyss. Please do not redistribute without my permission, or claim as your own. Criticism and suggestions are welcome. Thank you. Nabari no Ou is the property of Kamatani Yuuki-sensei and Square Enix.[/blockquote][/sup]