#ohgreat

Original Title: 灰仭巫覡

Author: Oh!Great

Format: Manga

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

(I definitely started to ramble because I got too excited feel free to skim lol)

I've either watched or read every single one of Oh!Great's works. From his original ones to collaborations. He's a SSS-tier artist in my opinion, his panels are always a joy to look at. So yeah, I'm a bit of a fan.

So imagine my utter surprise when I realized I had no idea this series existed until like a couple weeks ago.

I may be a fan with a loose wallet but I'm also cautious by nature. I still read the synopsis and first couple chapters online before buying the first volume. And honestly? Oh!Great may have done it again for me.

Several of Oh!Great's works, particularly his more well known ones like Air Gear, tend to have some sort of sci-fi elements in them. While I'm more of a high fantasy person, Oh!Great's art, framing, and mastery of paneling developed over decades makes machinery look so damn cool. On top of that, we have a theme Oh!Great hasn't used before. Dance. Traditional Japanese ritual and folk dance at that.

One of the biggest reasons I adore Oh!Great's art is the way he draws bodies in motion. The poses, the angles, the movement. It's why I love Air Gear so much. All that flying and flipping and running around. I love every bit of it. So when I read that this story would be about dance? Traditional Japanese dance? I'll have you know I simply adore any and all cultural and traditional dances by default. I stood no chance.

This volume did the usual for the introduction of a new series; some initial world-building, showing off our presumed main cast, their first-glance dynamics with each other, and a bit of the powers our protagonist duo wield. But the delightful fusion of sci-fi, dance, shinto, action, and comedy all depicted through SSS-tier art was just sooo much fun to read.

I haven't formed much of an opinion on the main duo yet. They seem to compliment each other well though, both in terms of personality and circumstances. They seem to get along quite well and since they share similar pain, it definitely appears that they lean on and support each other in a way only they can between the two of them.

As a bonus, I also quite like that Jin doesn't have the same pervert character Ikki (Air Gear MC) had. In fact, he seems to reject/ignore playful flirting, which is consistent with his circumstances and personality. Ikki almost always found time to be a pervert so I already like Jin a lot more. At first glance they're practically complete opposites which is very nice.

I may be biased but I still think this was a fairy strong start. I'm super excited to see how all the different elements and themes of this story mesh together under Oh!Great's direction.