220https://soradanza.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/ravecharacters.jpg So... Im new to all of Hiro Mashimas stuff. Im super late to the party as Ive just recently finished reading this series and have only now started reading his second hit manga Fairy Tail for the first time give or take watching a few episodes of the anime. Ive always known just how split a lot of people are on Mashimas work. People either love it or hate it so I was pretty anxious to really get into his stuff. I figured that since Im new Id start with his first major series Rave Master and see what my overall first impressions are of him. And after reading nearly 300 chapters of this story I feel like I was able to properly wrapup my thoughts on it. Heads up this review might contain light spoilers... Characters: The cast in this series is a decent one. Haru and Elie are both fine protagonists with a pretty heartfelt dynamic and their companions and opponents I think of in a similar way. Musica Griff Demon Card and everyone else have their own level of charisma. But it honestly doesnt feel like much else. They really are an ultimately decent shounen cast though I dont really take that as much of a negative. In a way it works for the kind of story Rave is. My favorite character however is easily Let. From beginning to end he felt like the most complete character. He has an understandable goal that helps the reader really sympathize with him and the way his stoic personality works off of everyone elses exaggerated traits actually make him a lot more charming and likable. And once he finally does reach his goal he genuinely grows as a person thats come to rely on his companions much more than before. Let is just great. I loved him in pretty much every scene he was in and is for sure one of Raves best aspects in terms of its writing. 220https://comicvine1.cbsistatic.com/uploads/original/11/111746/4979325167.jpg Pros: One thing I think Ill always be able to give Rave credit for is that its definitely a very charming manga to read. I wasnt expecting much going in in fact I thought I was actually going to dislike this series for the most part but as I kept reading I couldnt help but feel like I was having genuine fun with it. It just seemed like a comic for me to simply stop thinking and just have a good time with. Obviously the plot becomes a bit more developed as it went on but for the most part Rave does a good job at making the reader feel humbly entertained even if it that entertainment might be surface level for some people. It reminds me more of a decent Saturday morning cartoon something you watch to just take your mind off of stuff and enjoy yourself with. Speaking of the plot I did enjoy the mystery element it had quite a bit. Usually shounen manga go about their narrative through a consistent formula or through different story arcs. But Rave approaches this a bit differently by having its lore and mystery to Elies past a major topic throughout the entire thing. It helps the plot feel much more streamlined and narrow compared to other battle manga and I actually think thats kind of cool. I also really loved the twist they did with Elies past. I guess it could be argued that it felt a little predictable but personally I thought the way it was all executed was actually engaging. I felt a real sense of satisfaction reading it and everything with how other characters were involved seemed really well put together. Especially with the character Seigs involvement in it all. Not to give too much away but it was the first time in the whole series that I was genuinely caught off guard. Such a seemingly minor role at first yet the actual truth behind his involvement left me speechless. Again it might not seem that major but that didnt make it feel any less surprising than it was. Cons: The story is a very mainstream battle shounen and I might even say its very riddled with tropes and archetypes though that feels a little harsh. There were a number of moments reading where I felt a little less invested than before as the narrative and set of events happening felt sort of predictable and reminiscent with stuff Ive seen. I wouldnt blame anyone for feeling sort of bored after a while as its hard to get truly wrapped up in everything because of the familiar tone and plot structure. While part of me does feel like the very traditional approach to battle shounen storytelling it takes is part of Raves charm its hard for me to insist that its a really standout series even compared to what Ive seen of Mashimas other works. 220https://soradanza.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/art6.png Another issue I had was with how some of the arcs were paced. I know that pacing in comics is a tough discussion to have as time within a comic format is an ultimately subject experience. But what I mean is in how arcs would be structured and how the stakes and set of events were handled. I know it should be expected of shounen manga but sometimes Rave felt like it was much more insistent on having battle after battle instead of steadily building up each arc to its climax. The biggest instance if this in my opinion is in the Tower of Din arc. On its own its a fine arc but I feel like it could have eased into itself so much better than it actually did. It seemed like it introduces the overall situation and then immediately goes into a worldshattering battle with incredibly high stakes. I wouldve enjoyed it more if it had a better segway into the huge confrontation instead of feeling like it immediately jumped into it for the sake of having more and more action scenes. Also even if its a fairly minor complaint I just found a lot of the humor way too cheesy even for a simple fantasy story like this. There were plenty of jokes that really took me out of the moment especially whenever it was in the middle of a really intense scene and that happens a lot. I get that Mashima has a very goofy sense of humor but for Rave a handful of jokes were a stretch too corny for me. And the less I say about the Jiggle Butt Gang the better... Overall Rave has its fair set of problems. I didnt have a very enthralling experience reading and a lot of its aspects could have been executed a lot better then they were. But I feel like having such high standards for a story like this is a little unfair to what its actually trying to be. Rave isnt a perfect piece of literature but it is a pretty charming action adventure story that wants to embrace shounen tropes for the mindless and entertaining form of storytelling it can be. Rave sure might not be my favorite manga Ill have read this year or even just in general but I fairly enjoyed it enough for what it is and what it wanted to be. And I think it deserves some credit for that. 220https://mediausstandrad.s3.amazonaws.com/wpcontent/uploads/2017/09/20215932/ravemasterGN35450x675.jpg