Nakaba Suzuki

I'm still not convinced this series has what it takes to keep my interest all the way through. I can see places where the author has contrived quick fixes to plot holes, where characters make confusing or unnecessary decisions, and the behavior devolves into simplicity or the as-yet-unexplained.

Still, there are overarching plot-lines beginning to form, new characters in each installment, and the artwork remains charming and unique. It's peculiarly rough, with huge contrasts between the show more sketchy but intricate backgrounds, and flattened, disproportionate characters. It sort of gels together - for now. At least the world is picaresque, and there is enough action to speed things up. show less

The Seven Deadly Sins stars Meliodas, a tavern owner who serves utterly terrible food and whose only companion is a talking pig named Hawk. One day a mysterious "Rust Knight" arrives at Meliodas' tavern. The Knight, who turns out to really be Princess Elizabeth, is looking for the Seven Deadly Sins, a chivalric order made up of seven criminals who each bear the mark of a beast upon their bodies. The Holy Knights disbanded the Seven Deadly Sins years ago after they were accused of plotting to show more overthrow the kingdom.

Now, however, the Holy Knights have done what they accused the Seven Deadly Sins of trying to do, and Princess Elizabeth believes the Seven Deadly Sins are the kingdom's last hope. Luckily for her, Meliodas is not only one of those famed warriors, specifically the Dragon Sin of Wrath, he's looking for the others too.

I got this first volume in PDF form via a Humble Bundle a while back. Interestingly, the file was formatted in such a way that changing to "two page layout" actually properly placed the pages for right-to-left reading - definitely a step up from the Inuyashiki volume formatting.

This was technically okay. The artwork was actually pretty good, more detailed than I expected. I loved the way Suzuki drew the foggy forest. I occasionally had trouble following some of the action, but I think that was more due to the size of the PDF pages on my monitor (I didn't feel like zooming in) than to any problems with the artwork.

The fantasy aspect felt a bit generic, but that could change. This first volume was light on details as to what, exactly, each of the Seven Deadly Sins could do. Meliodas appeared to have super-strength - I wasn't sure if his broken sword was anything special or really just a random broken sword. One of the other Seven Deadly Sins, Diana, was a giant, but apparently that had nothing to do with the mark she bore (Serpent Sin of Envy) as a member of the Seven Deadly Sins. No information was given as to what the different beasts signified, although I assume they're important in some way and are maybe tied in to what each of the members of the group can do.

Hawk, Meliodas' animal companion, was reasonably cute and got points for calling out Meliodas' frequent gross behavior. Unfortunately, the character also added to the series' overall generic feel. I was reminded of Fairy Tail's Plue and Happy - it seems like every shounen fantasy adventure group needs at least one cute and comedic animal character.

The series' overly generic feeling is part of the reason I'm not sure I want to continue on. My other issue with this series was how much fan service and boob and butt grabbing it contained. The first time Meliodas met Princess Elizabeth, he groped her breasts while she was still unconscious, supposedly to confirm that she was female. From that point on, it felt like the story was a series of action scenes glued together with boob and butt grabbing jokes. Readers were supposed to laugh at Meliodas' antics and Princess Elizabeth's reactions (she mostly either didn't notice what he was doing or dismissed it as harmless - Hawk was more disgusted and upset than she was). I not only didn't think it was funny, I found myself becoming increasingly annoyed. It was a lazy and gross way for Suzuki to try to get some laughs.

There's a Humble Bundle available for another 24 hours that has volumes 1 to 22 of this series. Wikipedia tells me that The Seven Deadly Sins is still ongoing and is currently up to 31 volumes, so this is a pretty significant chunk. That said, I'm not sure that I want to take the plunge.

Extras:

Eight pages of design sketches for The Seven Deadly Sins.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) show less

I wanted to see what the talk was about, so I checked out the first volume, and I have to say, I'll probably get around to reading the rest sometime. The stakes are rather usual for manga. Uber powerful friends and foes, betrayal, ecchi, and talking pigs. The art is pretty damn good, but it's not absolutely fantastic. The story has potential, but I'd have to read at least 4-5 volumes before I'll know for certain.

Is it grabbing my attention enough for me to continue on at this moment? show more Probably not. I'll just have it stew a bit and return to it at a later time. show less

The second volume introduces us to Gilthunder, who is Elizabeth’s older brother and an acquaintance of Meliodas and Diana. They were in the king’s service. As they exchange blows, Gilthunder reveals where the other sinners are. He tells him that “Fox sin” is in a prison guarded by four sacred knights, and “Grizzly sin” is in the land of the dead.

Diana takes Gilthunder and throws him miles away. While Meliodas is being treated for Gilthunder's wound, Diana looks for the fox sinner show more Ban. The Holy knights set a trap for the protagonists, and Ban, who has freed himself, wreaks havoc in the castle.

There is a noticeable increase in pace and action sequences in the story. There is not really a story arc as it is volume two in an ongoing series, rather a continuation of the story. With the fight and action scenes, it maintains a good balance between character development and backstory. The story does not feel choppy when it jumps back and forth between Dalmally and Baste Prison.As for the world building, I continue to withhold my opinion. I'm curious to know if there are any limitations to magic, as it seems to be a soft magic system. Despite its abundance of adventure and imagination, the world so far appears plain. As of now, its magic lies in its characters.

How could Meliodas get hurt by a sword mixed with lightning if he could handle Diane's hits? The math doesn’t add up, and it seems unrealistic. It doesn’t seem believable that a single sword slash could injure Meliodas when he took repeated hits from Ruin with no visible signs of injury.

I believe that this is a major plot hole that needs to be addressed. Without explaining Meliodas' injury, the rest of the story is difficult to believe.

A person who likes or seeks an action, adventure, and fantasy story would enjoy this manga. This manga is unsuitable for those who dislike fantasy, violence, blood, or perviness content. show less