[master_tonberry]

Manga Name: 『Wakusei no samidare』 『惑星のさみだれ』 『Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer』 『Hoshi no Samidare』
Author: 『Mizukami Satoshi』
Number of chapters: 『65』
Completed?: 『Yes』
Genres: 『Action』 『Comedy』 『Shounen/Seinen』 『Romance』 『Supernatural』

OK, before we get started: This review is based on my opinion(s). Some people will agree with me and some will not. Now that's out the way, onto the actual review.

A short summary:
The world is in mortal peril. Sir Noi Crezant, the Lizard Knight, has been sent to gain the aid of the great warrior Amamiya Yuuhi in hopes of finding the Princess Samidare and protecting the planet from the incredible 'Biscuit Hammer' poised to crack the Earth in two. Unfortunately Yuuhi wants no part of it, and the Princess doesn't prove to be the shining 'hero of justice' role model that Noi had hoped for.
(stolen directly from mangafox.com)

Plot:
Wakusei no Samidare starts off with a cliche storyline, in an unconventional setting. Although a group of heroes saving the world is a common theme, the protagonist shows a total lack of interest from the very start and isn't portrayed in the usual manga style of a shonen hero.
In fact he is portrayed as quite the opposite, as someone struggling against his own weaknesses both in his body and in his heart. This is not saying that he doesn't have his moments of coolness but that they are (at least at the start of the series) few and far between.

The line between black and white is often blurred, with characters often being good or evil only relative to others.

Where the series truly distinguishes itself however is in its cliches. Although it often uses cliches (such as the band of knights and princess saving the world) they are just as often viciously parodied, although this is not played so much for comedy as it is for plot twists and character development. A good example of this is the series Magical Girl Mary, an anime series a number of the protagonists watch about a slightly atypical magical girl. She uses a chainsaw.

amongst other things

Finally as the story continues a recurring theme is the meaning of being an adult, and the growth towards becoming one and assuming the repsonsibilities and lifestyle of one, which is not always what you would assume it to be.


Characters:
The series does have a relatively small cast of characters. The total cast of named characters is only about 30 people. Indeed for a fight to save the world, the rest of the world has remarkably little to do with it, with a great deal of emphasis being placed on the knights and their psychic powers.

This does however mean that all the main protagonists get a varying amount of character development. Although Amamiya gets the most by far, all the other characters recieve some whether it's as small as revealing one characters past or as large as another character wrestling with whether the world is worth saving, everyone gets some dedicated time.

Where it does fall short though is in explaining the characters motivation for fighting. Although Amamiya's motivations are explained at length they are also used as an explanation by default for several other characters who could have been developed further.


Art Style:
To be honest I don't have much to say here, the style is clean and simple, but also detailed in the appropriate parts. In several parts a rougher style is used to indicate a particular character being more savage or for emphasis.

Overall Feel:
I believe this series is a must read for any long term manga reader. The series moves between both comedic and serious storylines, and does so with a smoothness that is impressive. The series is in different parts shonen and seinen, without falling into most of the annoying cliches that most shonen mangas do, with a creative twist on a familiar sotryline.

New readers are also reccommended to read it, although they might not get several references to common cliches.

Finally, this is my first review ever, please forgive any short comings on my part.

[the space cadet]

Even if this was your 10th review it's still impressive and well thought out.

[basoes]

It was a really good manga and a pretty nice review to.

hope this will get more people to read it

[jaks]

Originally Posted by basoes

It was a really good manga and a pretty nice review to.

hope this will get more people to read it

ye man very nice manga some awesome character development in this one , sad though most people dont know of it , guess its time i also wrote some reviews

[Jioogu]

Damn, for a second there I thought it was made into an anime, oh well.

[WsE]

O god I remember reading this one, was such a good read. :3

[ecchi255]

I just finished read this the other day
This manga is awesome, specially with the whole messed up protect the prince Lol

[Hecinboston]

I would love to see an anime version of this manga, it was so well written especially with all the various twist and turns in the last chapters of the series, i got hooked on chapter 1 and read straight through loved it so much

[zagxeus]

LOL this seems to be nice. Will watch this after i finished 07 Ghost

[gonzozoid]

Very good review.