My Boss Is A Demon Slaying Lycan

I give the book 5 stars

tl;dr: A manga featuring a great cast and impressive art that was evidently stretched out longer than necessary but still manages to perform decently overall.  

This manga begins rather intriguingly. The opening introduces a solid main cast with well-crafted personalities and backgrounds, hinting at the start of promising character arcs. The comedy is strong. The plot primarily revolves around introducing the main characters, but these introductions are engaging and align well with the respective characters, making the reading experience enjoyable overall.  

In volume 4, it initiates what will become its overarching story, starting off fairly captivating. However, this storyline is then essentially put on hold. It focuses a bit on advancing character arcs, which it handles relatively well, but by volume 6, it seems to run out of ideas for them. Following this, it enters a phase where it feels utterly directionless. The plot doesn't advance significantly. There's virtually no progress with the main cast; instead, it occasionally feels like characters are inconsistent merely to prolong their arcs. This is particularly frustrating with Yuuto, as it seemed like he was finally developing as a character, only for him to remain ineffective. New side characters are introduced, and some previously secondary characters receive more attention, but aside from a few, they feel entirely inconsequential. Those that do matter aren't particularly compelling or well-developed. The comedy remains decent but starts becoming repetitive at this stage, feeling much like filler. Essentially, in the afterword, the mangaka admits that this series was initially intended to be much shorter but was extended to capitalize on the anime's sales potential, and this decision is evident throughout.  

Things improve again in volume 9, where the overarching arc introduced ages ago finally makes significant progress. There's a fairly intense arc that shifts the tone to something more serious than previous arcs, leading to good character and relationship development. This arc concludes satisfactorily, setting the stage for the next and final arc. The final arc is also executed pretty well, wrapping up Yuuto and Himari's character arcs and their relationship arc effectively. Nonetheless, it felt rushed since it didn't handle other characters as thoroughly, or rather, it did a decent job but skipped over the most interesting parts instead of elaborating on them, reducing those moments to throwaway scenes rather than impactful ones, which is disappointing. The epilogue also felt too brief.  

In terms of overall impressions, the action is decent, albeit generally straightforward, but it looks satisfactory at the very least. The art is outstanding, boasting an excellent style and framing. And as a random observation, it seemed odd how much Yuuto's character design differs from the anime.  

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I've read a fair number of harem, ecchi, and similar manga types, and even when their plots are nonsensical, they usually have something decent going for them. Often, it's the comedy, like in Rysing x Rydeen, or the characters, as seen in Rosario + Vampire. However, this manga has no redeeming qualities whatsoever because everything it attempts has been done better by other manga. Nyan Koi handles the cat allergy plotline more effectively. To Love-Ru executes the ecchi elements with greater finesse. And Rosario + Vampire delivers superior action.

Story - 2  
The story revolves around youkai, which is an overdone concept at this point. Moreover, it’s executed poorly here, with both the action and the plot being unbearably dull.

Art - 5  
The artwork is mediocre at best and lacks visual appeal entirely.

Characters - 1  
The characters are painfully cliché and uninteresting, with the protagonist being one of the most spineless and useless characters imaginable.

Overall - 2  
The comedy is terrible, the characters lack depth, the story is uninspired, and the art leaves much to be desired. Avoid this manga like the plague—it’s excruciatingly boring.  

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Generic, pretty much sums up this manga. A story of a boy who suddenly gains powers and teams up with a cat demon. Throw in a childhood friend, a couple more demons, and that's about it.  

The plot is rather lacking as there's only one villain throughout the entire series. The ending feels weak and inconclusive. The main character doesn't become significantly stronger and remains an unreliable, naive individual with unrealistic dreams. I wouldn't even say the conclusion ties everything together neatly. The fight scenes are unimpressive as well. All the other characters are equally generic, with little to no backstory to evoke any emotional connection, so I never really bonded with any of them.  

I wouldn't recommend this manga unless you're trying to complete every harem manga out there. Nothing particularly stands out, making it a rather dull read overall.

Story: 3/10  

This is an extremely overused, unoriginal, and worn-out harem story. While harem stories can sometimes be interesting and cool, this one is something you could find anywhere else. There's nothing new here, not even with the typical supernatural twist that comes with every unoriginal harem series.  

Art: 4/10  

Even as someone who doesn't particularly mind moe, it is prevalent in all the character designs. But I wouldn't necessarily have a problem with that. In fact, the girls in this series are quite cute. What makes this moe different, though? Nothing. The art and character design are indistinguishable from many other series featuring bishoujo. The manga-ka is a former hentai artist, which makes this the least explicit work he's done.  

On the plus side, the reason this scores decently is because the eye candy is quite good, as expected from someone with the manga-ka's credentials.  

The fight scenes are poorly constructed; it's hard to tell what's happening from one panel to another. Plus, you won't even care about the fight scenes because the story is so dull.  

Character: 2/10  

I can confidently say that Yuuto is the first harem protagonist I've encountered whom I didn't like, not because he was a major douchebag (like Rin from SHUFFLE! or Makoto from School Days). No, it's simply that he's JUST a nice guy. That's all there is to him; he lacks personality beyond that. And his character's depth isn't explored, expanded upon, or played with. Ichika Orimura may be a moron, but his density is significant enough to make him at least somewhat interesting. That's right; Yuuto is so boring that he reflects poorly on Ichika Orimura, a character I have mixed feelings about.  

In summary, these are the main points. This series is boring, and you should avoid it if you don't want to waste your time. If you're not into ecchi harems or moe series, you'll enjoy it even less. In fact, in that case, you'll likely hate this series.

Typically, when you have an excess of one thing, you might grow weary of it. But what about having too many different things? Omamori Himari is a Shounen, Supernatural, Action, Harem, Ecchi, Romantic, Comedy, Drama—yes, quite the mouthful. With all these diverse genres blended together, it's inevitable that the experience feels somewhat diluted. Yet, amidst its unoriginality, this manga offers some refreshing elements.

Set in contemporary Japan, we follow Yuuto Amakawa, an ordinary teenage boy cared for by his childhood friend Rinko Kuzaki since losing his parents. Sound familiar? Well, after turning 16, a peculiar girl named Himari Noihara appears, claiming to be a demon cat (complete with nekomimi) tasked with protecting him from demons. The reason? Yuuto descends from a lineage of demon slayers, and more plot unfolds.

From this synopsis alone, it's clear this will be a straightforward narrative, blending high school antics with demon-slaying action. Despite some annoyances—like Yuuto frequently stumbling into misunderstandings akin to Keitaro's treatment in Love Hina—there's a commendable amount of story and character development elevating it above typical Harem fare. The tale moves from Yuuto's ambitious goal of fostering coexistence between humans and demons to confronting the main antagonist. Neither plot point is groundbreaking, but within a Harem manga, it's refreshing to encounter actual plotlines—not the other kind.

Less refreshing are the characters, who essentially embody various "dere" archetypes. We've got the classic Tsundere, Kuudere, Himedere, Mayadere, Deredere, and even some Lolis for good measure. While fans of the genre may relish these traits, characters like Rinko risk becoming mere caricatures, feeling forced and devoid of purpose. Fortunately, strong female characters such as Himari and Kuesu salvage the narrative, delivering compelling dialogue and seductive moments. As for our protagonist, Yuuto fits the mold of the spineless young male surrounded by a harem. Though he does develop a backbone as the story progresses, he remains too generic to be genuinely appealing.

Perhaps my extensive manga consumption has made me overly critical. Take the artwork, for instance—it's undeniably clean and well-executed, with meticulous attention to every panel. Sure, the character designs may appear generic, but the mangaka clearly excels at drawing conventionally cute girls. Unfortunately, the action sequences lack the intensity found in typical Shounen battle manga.

In conclusion, Omamori Himari is a solid read overall, though it doesn't excel in any particular area. The harem is entertaining yet clichéd, offering little emotional investment until the finale. The supernatural elements add depth and intrigue, but the lackluster action sequences fail to do them justice. It also leans heavily on Love Hina-style physical comedy, which grows tiresome fast. So, consider whether you'd enjoy a story blending multifaceted connections between demons and demon slayers with some titillation.

I began reading this series after I finished the anime, and by the first few volumes, I realized something. The manga is far superior to the anime, so if you enjoyed the anime, I highly recommend you dive into the manga. The storyline is truly captivating; the author does an excellent job of keeping you guessing about what happens next while sprinkling in some comedy and fan service. The manga is great because it allows us to see more of Himari and her friends, and in the manga, Yuuto actually grows a backbone and starts fighting instead of always letting the girls protect him. Overall, the story was exceptionally well-drawn and written, and I can't wait for the next volume to be released.

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This author can't keep the characters straight and I had to keep correcting the grammar in my head!!! Very hard to read without getting confused