Teppuu

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Sep 27, 2020
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Hot take, but it is the best sports story out there. Like, not only is it great because it takes the whole genre and flips it but it is also great simply because the mangaka is amazing at developing characters. Within the short amount of time they had, they managed to develop all of their characters so fucking much. The only moment I personally had an issue with was the whole brother shtick with Natsuo but eh. A great shame that their health (from what I remember) forced them to axe this story.
 
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I read this manga in about 2 weeks and I'm so confused on whether or not I like this series. The character development is really good and the art is great throughout, but I never found a reason to root for Natsuo.

I also think they could've been a little more explicit with the talent vs. hard work theme because I got lost a lot tryna follow that idea. There is a lot of potential there but I feel like it wasn't explored well/clearly. So the writing is either amazing or pretentious garbage and I'm still not sure which. Maybe somewhere in between ....
 
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Oct 10, 2019
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Overall a very solid manga, short and sweet. Really competent execution, with very few glaring weaknesses. The characters are interesting, even if you can't relate to all of them, including the MC. The final fight was really hype and the ending is satisfying. Good bing read.

@roblochon she's stupid, determined, and never doubts herself. This is why she seemed strange: someone who never shows any hint of arrogance nor doubt. Just like a machine with a human face, a sort of uncanny valley.

@Goyal99Raj my understanding is that Natsuo resents her talent and the obliviousness she had as a child, because it led to her being ostracised from her family (brother who feel cornered, mother who doesn't understand why she fights) and friends (jealous clubmates and her childhood friend she beat down on behalf of her brother). Her resentment led her to act mean and arrogant to protect herself (except in front of her brother), and led her to be obsessed with the idea of taking down other girls that reminded her of herself: either because they were talented or strong yet oblivious. What she wanted was to punish herself through these girls, hence the confusion whether she won or lost: if two "her" are fighting, she ends up both winning and losing.
 
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@Mangolala Right, that's the message I got from this story. My issues lies with the narrative delivery - I got lost a lot trying to follow the themes and most of the fights didn't feel like they connected back to Natsuo's development in any meaningful way. After reaching the end of the manga, I'm still not sure if the story is saying anything unique or interesting about the weight of talent (which I think is the main theme). "Talent inspires jealousy and loneliness" is basically what I got. That's not a bad idea to center a story around, but it's not big enough to be the entire conclusion - there needs to be more layers to it or the story needs to be carried by better realized characters.

As it was, the theme was interesting, the characters were interesting, the setting was interesting, but it never really came together for me. The story needed more attention and more time to grow and develop. Again it's very possible I missed something, because I binge-read this in like 2 weeks, but I have a lot of mixed feelings about Teppu.
 
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Pretty good manga. The protagonist is an interesting choice with an attitude more typical of a sports genre rival or antagonist character (with the rival character in this one sporting your typical nakama shounen-y goku attitude) and the fight scenes are incredibly well done. Basically the (shorter, edgier) MMA version of Mou Ippon! with just as colorful of a cast...and I believe it'd be a treat to see it animated as that one was with all the IRL techniques that were executed.

That said, I wish the brother didn't exist. Garbage character. Should've had his teeth stomped down his throat. Or alternatively that whole thing given a better, more definite resolution that more chapters could've allowed but alas.

Something to hope for, along with this getting a continuation or sequel one day.
 
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You can really see artist's getting better at drawing, even already after volume 3 onwards it still continues, that's very cool to see as a reader.

Author really knows how to make his manga exciting, just by the pacing he uses. That's a great thing, since he can improve the note with the rest even more.
The drawings are quite simple, and it's also a strength, since the bases are all neat, the art looks clean even while remaining simple.

Also, the fact that the psychological and mental aspect of practicing a combat sport are depicted is really a huge plus to any competitive sport story, and this one even involves the family background and environment in it, which is giving the story a lot of depth and a strong basis.

Author is adept at writing backgroud stories without making them feel awkward, deepening our understanding of the characters and of the story a little further each time.

Recommended, whether you like fighting manga or not, it's written and drawn damn well enough that anyone could appreciate it, or that anyone wouldn't regret giving it a try, at least.
 
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After reaching the end of the manga, I'm still not sure if the story is saying anything unique or interesting about the weight of talent (which I think is the main theme). "Talent inspires jealousy and loneliness" is basically what I got. That's not a bad idea to center a story around, but it's not big enough to be the entire conclusion - there needs to be more layers to it or the story needs to be carried by better realized characters.
You said it, this story indeed isn't centered around "the weight of talent" as you said, it's more about what makes people practice a violent sport so hard they get hurt and still have the heart to continue. How are these people living their daily live and enduring it.

Obviously you'll have to compare talent and hard-work in a competitive setting, some will be talented and others won't be, some will be a mix of it, anyway it's not the main theme, what's the most important is what the characters are saying.

This is the story of the lives of multiple characters entwined with each other, in Japan and from Japan, so obviously values such as hard work and talent and their outlooks in a Japanese society are sure to be represented, since those values are so deeply rooted in Japanese culture.
 

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