Author: Mad Snail
Artist: Mad Snail
Publisher: Mad Snail...? (Can't find it anywhere. If you know, please contact me.)
Genre: Manhua, Rebirth, Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Shounen, Based On A Light Novel.
Release Date: August 11, 2015
Translators: Hatigarm Scans
(This Manga contains mild instances of violence and foul language)
The manga is about a man by the name of Nie Li who, after wandering for an age, becoming well versed in the workings of the world and gaining great power in the process, he meets his end to a greater foe only to wake up to the nostalgic noises and sights of all of his past classmates in the Ancient Orchid Institute.
The story itself is pretty standard for what it is but it does have it's own little twist to it which sets it apart from the rest of the rebirth, action oriented manga which is common lately.
He is Reborn into his old self instead of just being dragged to another world, Similar to Tsoyokute New Saga, in which a core item is used to fulfill a last wish of theirs without their own knowledge of this happening until it's already done.
He wakes up in his old... (young?) 13 year old state, in the classroom surrounded by those he both loved and hated, before the walls fell and the great tragedy forced him out into the wastelands of the world beyond Glory Cities mountainous defense.
Here, he starts his journey anew using his knowledge from his previous attempt at life to gain enough power to stop the great tragedy from every happening.
But it's not so simple as to just gain power. He needs allies and he needs ones he can trust. (You can't defend a city on your own, neither can you start a war on your own either) So he picks friends and companions who he knows will never betray him and creates strong bonds with them as brothers and sisters while watching over their cultivation and pushing them to greater heights.
Within this world, people will spend their lives cultivating their soul force to further expand their own power and knowledge of the world, climbing greater heights until they reach the pinnacle of strength, Legend Rank Demon Spiritualist.
Unfortunately... not everyone is able to do this. some people are born with weak Soul Seas and may never even see themselves reach Bronze Rank Fighter let alone become a Demon Spiritualist.
Nie Li is one of these people (as are many of his friends), he was born weak and would always be told he was weak, but he isn't going to let that stop him this time.
How does he acomplish this?
I'm not telling you.
There are quite a few characters to keep track of while reading and sometimes you might even think ''Why isn't my favorite one doing anything lately? where are they?''
It'll probably get back to them eventually because there is quite a bit going on throughout, but for the most part, they try to involve as many people as they can in each scene.
Sometimes they might involve too many people and it gets confusing or a bit too much but a lot of the time the others are just there for appearance while Nie Li is off doing something weird again so you can see their progression as well.
It has a solid selection of both Protagonists and Antagonists as well as a variety of neutral parties, mostly in the form of separate families such as Sacred Family, Alchemist Society, Heavenly Marks Family, etc, etc... and it can be quite obvious to tell who are the ''good guys'' and who are the ''bad guys'' of the story just by appearance
alone.
You'll see a lot of the obvious meat bags floating around too, just to fill up some space.
You can't really have a series without the less interesting but all important meat bags fighting for their lives or giving side commentary to fill out the story or large crowds.
You may also see some characters which you may have to take a second look at in the background of a lot of the panels, even if it's just some hair or a leg you can see, you may still recognize them.
To touch on some of the more notable characters. they would obviously be Nie Li and his group, the elders and higher ranks of most of the top families as mentioned above and some obscure characters which seem to hold quite a bit of significance in the story overall.
I also want to point out the involvment of Love Interests as they are actually a solid part of the story as well as creating an air of tension, drama and comedy throughout.
without going into too much detail, when it comes to the relationship aspects, it's very straight forward and there is no mincing with words or the great harem route most series tend to follow (As of yet, Can't predict the future). It feels a little bit more like people are actually interacting with one another and not some wild dream.
Kids being kids and enjoying their time with one another throughout the day, learning and growing together, falling in love and fighting, all the while Nie Li heads the group with his knowledge and abilities, like the leader of any group of kids.
Given that it's fantasy and situations escalate quickly and dramatically because of super powers or magic and the likes, it feels a bit more plausible as a story and it feels somewhat grounded.
The humor is also pretty well balanced for the most part and they time some of the more comedic sketches quite well, but then again, it doesn't always fit the moment, y'know?
Before I round this off, I just want to touch on the art style a little bit.
The world is painted to be very vibrant and there is a large mix of different colours which make everything pop, even on a similarly coloured background.
Characters are also coloured very similarly. It's not hard to tell a lot of the main characters apart as they are all quite unique to look at and have very distinctive appearances.
There are also tells of who belongs to what family due to hair colours or the way they were drawn so you can have fun trying to guess before they reveal themselves.
I'm not saying it's perfect though Far from it.but there aren't any issues which really pop out at me.
Sure I have some personal gripes with the way some things are portrayed and every now and then I come across a scene which feels out of place or where the humor is unnecessary or they've tried too hard to add humor to a panel and it doesn't feel right, but these aren't all too common and they're gone quite quickly if you just turn the page.
Though it does sound somewhat cliche given the majority of releases lately, it's actually quite entertaining and strays away from the ''died in RL, woke up facing god and the ability to cheat my new life'' style of rebirth Manga and he's also not transported to a new world.
Everything Nie Li does or knows is because he has searched for power and learned of greater things throughout his previous life and has now been offered a chance to use this knowledge to prevent ever losing his home and loved ones again. It all comes down to Nie Li and not some omnipotent being who has guided him or left him no choice nor is he at an advantage by bringing over new technology to a dated world.
It's still on-going currently but if you're interested in any way after reading this then I'd suggest trying it out for yourself.
For now though, my work here is done.
Bye!
Rhiyous
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