Can I even call this a review? I mean Ill be talking about things I like. Ill be going over aspects of the series as if it was a review. But I wont really be talking about Real as if Im reviewing instead Ill just be talking about it as if I was casually discussing it in a discord chat or VC. But before we start I need to establish 3 things. Firstly Real is still an ongoing manga as of the writing of this review. Secondly I havent caught up to Real Ive read 13 volumes. Thirdly Real is my 2nd favorite manga so there really wont be any talks of criticism as quite honestly there isnt much if anything I find wrong about Real. I think Real is one of the greatest works of art Ive ever read it submitted Takehiko Inoue as not only my favorite mangaka but my for sure one of my top 5 favorite creators in any media Music Games Manga Anime etc. of all time. Sufficed to say Real is a manga that means a lot to me which is why I want to stress the question asked at the beginning of this lengthy introduction Can I even call this a review?. So what is it that makes Real such a god tier favorite for me? Well its the whole package as a short answer but Ill be discussing this package because I doubt anybody wants Its the whole package as an answer to that question. But firstly lets begin with that story. Reals story is about taking these 3 then later 4 very different characters exploring their minds finding their own paths to self discovery. If theres one word to describe Reals story its Human. It gives us very realistic to some even relatable situations. It gets us to understand how these situations effect each individual really understand their state of mind. I dont think its a stretch to state that these characters are extremely unlikable at first but I dont think its an extreme unlikable. Like lets just think about things Nomiya in the beginning is a lost loser who has no desire for his future a high school drop out brash he ruined the life of this girl named Natsumi by paralyzing her from the waist down due to a motorcycle accident. Takahashi is a dickish brat who steals somebodys bike just because he feels like it makes fun of Nomiya for dropping out of highschool looks down upon him harshly is very self centered. Speaking of self centered weve got Togawa somebody whos selfishness caused the demise of his own team. While these described traits make the characters sound really unlikable we quickly learn of their backstories it helps us to peel back the layers of these characters really understand where they come from. Plus Reals phenomenal character development turns these characters into tragic heroes in a sense. Nomiya after rediscovering his love for basketball thanks to Togawa. Does his best to set things right with Natusmi and succeeds. Gets his driver license whilst simultaneously getting over his fear of the road. Gets a job that sets him on the right path. Changes his attitude on life becomes a generally more positive person. Togawa gives into authenticity learns the value of teamwork gets the tigers back together after splitting them apart originally. Takahashi gets over himself takes his rehab seriously much like Tomiya rediscovers his passion for basketball gains a newfound appreciation for life that he originally didnt have. Character development like this throughout 3 very different yet equally layered individuals take Real turn it into a manga that so easily cracks the top 2. All throughout this manga Ive been engaged when youre at such a point that you cant put a volume down until you finish it because youre that immersed into the story thats how you know youre reading a fantastic manga. Now is also probably a good time to mention it. But if youre coming into this manga expecting fast paced frantic exciting Basketball action either dont or turn back dont read this manga. While Real does have really good exciting Basketball action like Slam Dunk. That isnt what Reals about. Real is a character drama at its core its about character development. To put it bluntly if youre reading Real for the Basketball action youre doing it wrong. Unlike Slam Dunk which is about the sport but has fantastic characters with good pacing. Real is about character drama first foremost with the sport of Basketball as supplementary material that helps serves as a driving force for this character development to take place. Just for were clear Im not shitting on or trying to undercut Slam Dunk. Slam Dunk is my 12th favorite manga my favorite manga that ran in weekly shounen jump a manga that I think appeals to everyone. I really do love Slam Dunk but what Im getting at is that if youre expecting Real to be like Slam Dunk then your expectations arent in the right place you may end up disappointed. Now onto the characters. Ive already gone over our main 3 that Real centers around. But theyll still get mentioned from time to time. However there is one other character that more or less becomes a main character later on in the story that Ive failed to mention until now. The Scorpion otherwise known as Shiratori. Shiratori is a former wrestler who found himself in an accident that made him lose his ability to walk. But unlike Takahashi at first anyway hes very optimistic claiming that hell be able to walk again within a month. Hes a hard worker with a very optimistic outlook on life with a certain volume that Ill be discussing later on in this segment is really impressive given the circumstances hes had to put up with. We also got Shiratori. An aspiring manga artist. Although Tomiya paralyzed her from the waist down. It ironically ends up helping her to pursue her dreams of creating manga. Real has a lot of characters it makes them all memorable. Weve got Hisayuki Takahashis father who expresses extreme regret over neglecting his son for most of his life tries his best to make up with his son after the accident. Weve got Tora a guy Togawa looked up to as if he was a brother. This character specifically actually has one of my favorite moments in the series in which he gives Togawa a wheelchair designed for Basketball Togawa breaks down crying. The pure emotion this scene carries with it it powerful Ill fully admit this is one of the moments of Real that made me cry. I can go on about these characters but I honestly dont think thats super interesting even still theres no way a mere text post could peel back all the layers of these characters. So Ill give off three character moments of Real that add onto making this my top 2. Weve got Takahashi crying yelling at Shiratori not to lose his first match after rehab after learning that his other rehab partner was the one who sent Shiratori the letters that he talked about earlier. Weve also got the moment where Nomiya gets fired from his job instead of sulking takes that as motivation to continue finding his new path in life uses it as motivation to get back into basketball. Weve got the moment where on his deathbed Togawa still texts Yamauchi youre my hero. If I had to give 2 volumes that exemplify what makes Real what it is. Its volume 11 volume 13 Volume 11 we get the main we see Nomiya trying out for the lightnings. Togawa continuing to learn the value of teamwork. Takahashi starting to find the motivation to take his rehab seriously gain a newfound appreciation of life that he didnt have previously. Combine these 3 stories together youve got as of now my favorite volume of Real. Volume 13 is the shiratori volume in which we learn of his backstory. We learn that he went through a divorce lost his kid we learn the reason he became a wrestler in the first place we learn what wrestling really means to him we get to see some of the best character development Real has to offer up to this point. I think Ive exerted about all the energy I can on the characters of Real without going into college essay territory. Honestly I dont feel like Ive even began to scratch the surface of why these characters are so good but I do hope Ive at least offered enough as to give readers an understanding as to why these characters are so good why they only add onto how much this manga means to me. Onto the art. To the surprise of nobody Reals art is amazing. Takehiko Inoue is one of the most renowned artists in manga for a reason Real is just another exemplary showcase of Inoues artistic prowess. While Im not sure if Id say Reals art is as good as Vagabonds on the whole I will say its better than Slam Dunk even at its best the art only continues to go up from volume 1. The text to art ratio is on the lower end Reals pages can have a decent sum of text on them but its not huge I found myself flying through the pages no matter if it was majority text or just art. The art itself in the action scenes flows really well theres never a dull moment the hype of these games can equal Slam Dunk in all honesty. Im sorry this section was significantly shorter than the other 2 segments but I really dont know what else I can say about Reals art being amazing without repeating myself. Thats Real. If I can say 3 words. Thank You Inoue. Thank you for creating one of the best pieces of fiction Ive ever experienced. Thank you for giving me some of my favorite characters with some of the best development in all of manga. Thank you for creating a story that immerses me in a way that very few manga. Thank you above all else for creating Real. I know Inoue will never read this. But I still want to thank him for writing my second favorite manga of all time cementing himself as my favorite mangaka of all time. Please read this manga people if you love human drama you have no excuse not to read this because I honestly dont think youll get a better drama series than this one. I dont think youll get better character development than Real. I dont even know where Im taking this anymore but I wanna end this with a final Thank You Inoue.