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Reviews for 51 Ways to Save Her

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D
Dunkjoe

almost 16 years ago

9

It's a shame no one has written a review on this series yet. Based on my findings, this manga is based on a real incidents, the 1923 Great Kanto or Tokyo Earthquake. Here's a reference link, photos are available too: http://www.eas.slu.edu/Earthquake_Center/1923EQ/ Story:9 The story is basically about a 21 year-old young man who saw his middle school mate, also his crush hours before the earthquake happened. He also has some regrets towards her too. After the earthquake, the 2 of them begin to head towards (somewhere) and met new friends etc. Tragedies are common in the process of their journey. The story is vastly different from several mangaseries out there today. Real life catastrophes which are told in such a realistic yet not-too-dark way in a manga, there aren't that many out there.

There are explanations for what happened during the earthquake too, like fire whirls, liquefaction etc. which helps the reader understand more about catastrophes.

Now, to more in-depth about the storyline itself. The story is intriguing and interesting, in the way that not only the tragical parts are presented well but there are also some comedic times to lighten the mood. Plus the 2 main characters shed some of their past and impressions of each other over time, so that the story is not filled with disaster-related content oso. There is variety in content and you can see the characters grow over time.

Art:9

Amazing. It seems that the mangaka is a great artist, using various art techniques like cross-sketching (or something), and I can identify some parts where charcoal is used to draw the panels. I must confess, I am not a great art student but I watched Canvas 2 too :D.

Expressions are amazing, and aftershocks were expressed very well. The disaster scenes, panicking scenes etc. were expressed very well too. And there was an overall dark environment to it with the amazing art.

Character: 8

Characters are understandably tough to develop given that the main focus of this manga is the earthquake. But in-between the disaster scenes the characters were constantly developed, of their past, of interactions with each other and so on. And the characters are constantly growing in terms of willpower and trust in each other, etc.

Enjoyment:8-9

Well I must state that I do not like dark manga series a lot, but this is really nice. The mangaka didn't put it to some kind of doomsday for every chapter, and that is really good. Cause the content is depressing and the story seems to paint a starker and starker picture for the main characters for every chapter progressing.

Overall:9

Amazing piece of work. Tons of storyline, and amazing artwork. A masterpiece regarding the Great Kanto Earthquake.

20
Preliminary
Recommended
Preliminary
l
lolqwerty

over 12 years ago

8

This is the first time I stumbled upon a survival manga based on real life disasters. The story line isn’t propelled by generic disasters such as being stranded on an island, or stuck in a boat but is driven by realistic phenomenon and encountering people while attaining a new outlook on life. The story is nice and simple, it’s simple in a sense that as a reader you will be able to understand pretty much anything the story throws at you. However behind this seemingly simple story is riddled with the complex human psyche and philosophical notions. The great thing about this manga isthat whenever you encounter an event driven by the human psyche, or a phenomenon caused by the disaster, the author will take the time to explain why it occurs and you will be nodding your head in enlightenment. This adds a great deal of realism to the manga, which honestly what most survival mangas lack these days. Despite the pragmatic nature of the story, the atmosphere wasn’t excessively dark, and the pacing was right on the money. Overall, the story telling was top notch.

Just like the story, the characters are also very realistic. Authentic emotions and realistic actions are masterfully blended into creating our hero and heroine. As readers, we can actually understand why they feel a certain way which allows us to actually relate with them, and through that relation, us audiences can feel a sense of connection so that we can further empathise with them. This is actually one of the strongest points in this manga, which kept my fingers occupied with clicking till the very end. You can expect a few heart-warming relationship development scenes, but don’t anticipate too much, because character development is the intended focal point of this manga.

The art is skilfully done, it expressed the atmosphere of the manga with precision. However there were early cases where characters faces were quite distorted, but this can be overlooked as it doesn’t happen again. Furthermore, the drawings looked clean so that you don’t need to glance twice to understand what’s happening.

Overall, I enjoyed this manga quite a bit, and you might have guessed that I read through this manga in one sitting. If realistic manga isn’t your type, then you should probably shy away from this piece of gem. But if you like realistic mangas, then look no further.

18
Recommended
R
River_Cloud

almost 13 years ago

7

Kanojo wo Mamoru 51 no Houhou suffers from BTS (Bad Title Syndrome) [I read about this from another review], as in the name has nothing to do with the manga at all. It is mentioned in the end, but still doesn't make sense. And no, there is no romance depicted. Sci-Fi - I have no idea as to why that genre is given. Action is not your usual one. People running around saving themselves and stuff, that sort of action....if it is considered in the action genre. KwM51nH :P is not for childern. Not for the faint-hearted either. It shows the true colours of human - good, bad, really badand sometimes plain dumb.

This manga is basically a guide to a calamity (here, the earthquake) that takes place and it's after-effect on the people physically, mentally, psychologically. Many unite and help each other, others do bad...really bad considering their world is soon to end. Some are just plain dumb who go along with crowd or their thoughts, not taking responsibility. Women are especially not safe. Just when you think you've faced it all and that it couldn't get any worse, It does.

ART: 8/10

The art is really good where it should be. Since its a calamity, theres bound to be dead bodies and stuff, so it is kinda gory at places. But its all fine. Crying faces, however, is not the artist's speciality.

STORY :

So there is this guy Jin who has a job interview, meets a former classmate Nanako who has changed from a charismatic sporty girl to a gothic lolita. They are reminiscing when strikes the earthquake of 8.1 magnitude. It has a devastating, horrifying effect on the entire city and everything falls apart in 2 minutes. These two survive the earthquake, but the affter-effect is what is terrifying. They together, who later meet another girl, Rika, that tags along, go over obstacles, saving people, meeting people, working out the problems that come as well as their personal ones.

ENJOYMENT:

Well, its honestly like reading a newspaper or article giving detailed info. that people should know about calamitites.

All and all, its good.

8
Recommended
F
Florten

over 14 years ago

8

Story: 8 The story is based on real life events with some fiction added to the story line. The manga reveals how humans can be cruel and merciful during a life threatening crisis. But the work also reminds us that humans do not have to resort to cruel and heinous acts such as rape, looting, or other crimes that people normally would not commit. The author shows that humans are savages by nature, but there are good in people too. I personally believe this story was very well thought out. The main character is a good-nature 21 year-old that is in conflict with himself. Art: 7 As youread you can see that the artist put lot of work into the drawings. The panels of the manga are well distributed. Well organized, as you read you can tell where to read and so on. Emphasis on significant events, so that people will realize that the event will be important in the story later on. Although, the artist did not put anything spectacular in his work, but his subtle changes make the manga a whole lot better.

Character: 8

The main character is a man that is very straight forward with good intentions. The author made the main characters sense of justice his down fall. The character starts to have internal conflicts which poses problems for others around him.

The extras of the work are either supporting other victims of the earthquake or causing more mischief, I believe the author is correct with this. In the work you will see people taking advantage of the crisis by either committing crimes or recruiting for religion beliefs.

Other people are lending out a helping hand and putting their all into helping others. I believe that the author is correct about this decision of making it this way.

In a real life threatening crisis the helping people will be the minority and the people that give into temptation of committing crimes would most likely be a majority.

Enjoyment: 9

If you dislike cruelty and reality of life, chances are you're not going to like this manga. This manga shows the cruelty of humans. If you wish to read something that will life your morale up this is not the manga for you. I personally enjoyed this very much.

Reality of life is something I enjoy reading about, it shows that the live I am currently living should not be taken for granted and that I am actually extremely lucky, no matter what kind of ordeal I am faced with. When I read this, I can tell myself that what I'm facing right now is pale in comparison to those that experienced events such as the earthquake taking part in the manga.

5
Recommended
P
PunPun-

over 7 years ago

8

A story that will disturb you psychologically. The story shows how some real life situations are handled by different types of people in a fictional yet grounded depiction of a natural disaster. I say "real life" but in reality not everyone has or will experience this level of tragedy in their life and as much as you would like to imagine how you would react if something like this occurred, you can't know for sure unless you experience it first hand. Personal Opinion: I read this in one night and honestly some scenes disturbed me, I like to think that nothing fazes me anymore when it comes tohow sex is portrayed in hentai/doujins etc. but something about the realness and how human emotion is portrayed in this manga flipped a switch.

Overall: this is some fucked up and disturbing shit

4
Recommended
A
Alessandro_99

11 months ago

9

It has finally arrived in Italy with a great edition, the post-apocalyptic manga in which the city of Tokyo is brought to its knees by an 8.1 earthquake, leaving a massive number of displaced people and taking the lives of 100,000 of them. Let's talk about the characters: Jin is a young office worker, a former delinquent, who feels inadequate and incapable of making courageous and impulsive decisions, only out of fear. Throughout the characters: Jin matures a lot, managing to save Okano and bringing out the altruism and confidence he has always kept inside. Through 51 small acts, he saves the girl, whom he was never ableto help during their middle school years, and after 5 years, he gets the chance to live a life with her.

Okano: She is a sweet, kind girl who has found her path in gothic rock music after years of suffering violence.

Through this tragedy, she, like Jin, finds an inner strength to react and gain the trust she needed to grow and mature.

I found this work really complete and interesting. We have many characters, each of whom brings a different color to this manga thanks to solid and diverse characterizations.

We have the sunny musician, who, after watching his girlfriend die, commits suicide; a cult that only wants to take control with lies; a group of vigilantes trying to counter the thugs who are after the girls, who in turn unite to defend themselves from the more primitive and violent men. And we also have a rock singer, who Okano considered a legend, acting like a star and treating everyone poorly, a woman about to give birth, a clumsy boy who helps the women, a gal who, despite appearances, considers herself one of the most humane and least snobbish, and finally, a little girl who has lost her mother.

Drama, romance, psychology, and even philosophy. This manga shines with themes such as ethics (some do good, others do not), the transience of life (just one earthquake and countless lives are lost), the sense of sacrifice (the vigilantes or Jin himself), and humanity (if in normal life people are selfish or distant, in such a situation they degenerate and reveal who they really are, like the men who rape young girls).

A manga that is absolutely unmissable for the sheer number of concepts and themes present, and the beautiful personal growth of the two protagonists.

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