pokoko said:
Seven Deadly Sins: He's a medieval Goku. I believe I've already mentioned this but he's the sole reason I gave up on the series, despite loving Diane, King, and others. While they struggled, Meliodas just overcame everything without even trying. It nulified all the build up. I got stick of thinking, "okay, NOW is when it gets tough."
An author blindly masturbating over one of their own characters is a fast way to ruin the intergrity of a work. Reminds of the Gap Cycle by Stephen R. Donaldson. It was, for the most part, fantastic, especially the third book, A Dark and Hungry God Arises, which delved deep into the psyche of Angus, a person as twisted as he was vulnerable. After that, though, it all became about the heroine. The author had all the other characters reflect on how wonderful and pure and indomitable she was, to the point that it felt silly and unrealistic.
Fairy Tail: I like Juvia. Please keep in mind, however, that when I say I like Juvia, I'm not talking about the gag character she became but the character she was at first. I don't count the joke character as being the real character. She could have been a really strong addition but instead she became a running punchline. It pisses me off, to be honest. Fairy Tail leaves the impression that the author can barely manage the main team, leaving all the other character he's created to dissolve into goop in really unsatisfying ways.
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7DS: Yeah, that's a pretty good analogy. Personally, I've learned to live with Gary Stus in manga like this, since it seems to come with the genre. If they amuse me with some quirk, I usually won't mind. With Meliodas though, his only real flaw is his perverted side, which I honestly don't find very funny...especially since his advances are only rarely openly rebuked. It just seems like Suzuki is just going around showing off Meliodas to everyone constantly. "Hey guys! This is my MC! Isn't he awesome? Isn't he the best! I love him so much!" He's not my cat, and so I can't possibly understand why he'd act this way.
FT: I thought Juvia had potential up until the Magic Games arc. Her interactions with Lucy, Meredy, and sometimes Gajeel did a much better job fleshing out her character. The problem has always been her interactions with Gray, which have never felt deep at all, just Hiro forcing the obsessive waifu gag down my throat. I honestly grew more attached to the Gray/Ultear pairing shortly after their first meeting, their bond easily trumped whatever he'd set up with Gray/Juvia beforehand. Actually that probably explains why he sacrificed Ultear during the Games arc; he'd written himself into a corner that would have forced him to develop Juvia as a character.
Honestly, there are a few pairings I love in Fairy Tail, but overall they just feel really tame. Rave Master handled romance much better IMO. The couples actually felt compatible, he wasn't afraid to write bittersweet endings, and above all, he didn't feel the need to pair off every freaking character.
Cloudman said:
Huh, I'm wondering now if I should give Seven Deadly Sins a try. I've considered it a couple of times, but it sounds like it's far from perfect at times. |
Like most things, I'd recommend trying it out before taking our word for it. The support cast is pretty awesome, and the setting is unique. The only drawback is an annoyingly perfect MC...so it depends how big of a deal that is for you.
If you're looking for a big Shounen adventure manga to start, a few of us are reading Hero Academia here, and I can highly recommend that one. It starts off following familiar templates, but really stands on its own later on. The last big arc was fantastic, and I still find myself daydreaming about it at random times of the day. Last time I was this hooked on a manga like this was while I was catching up on One Piece.
