Kuro (original) (raw)

Whimsical, cute, mysterious, it's all you need for one of those bedtime stories.

I liked "Kuro" as a quick, small little mystery manga about a girl dealing with problems that even adults have a hard time with. I really liked the setup, and even how it tries to have some fun with it. However, I didn't enjoy the sum of its parts. I've had a lot of experience with stories about a mystery world, where the woods, or the outside is this dangerous place, and the concepts of hybrids, jealousy, ostracization, loneliness, it's a combination I've seen before, and done a little better. If anything,... I'd say my experience reading this type of story, is what makes my experience all the more lacking.

Predictable, a little bit melodramatic, with some good world building. It does pose a question that's interesting to look at, but not one that's well explored. I wished we got more about the world, but we had too little runtime to allow for it. It's a snack sized manga, and as just that, it does develop the concepts it tackles with enough interest to keep me interested. What I liked the most was probably the depth of the characters.

People with backstories, with tragic lives, with opinions, trauma, feelings. If this series does something really well, it's taking a look into the psyche of people who're hurting. Great chapters that show us a new perspective from a still unknown world, and I really liked those, but not so much the normal bits. The main character is the most predictable one. We know she'll eventually change what's set up at the beginning, and the questions will be answered. If anything, I couldn't predict anybody, except the people we follow the most. I wish we got more from them, instead of the little vignettes of slice of life. Those pages could've been cut, or used for a greater focus on the big picture.

At least the art was good. A cute, homey style that lets us get comfy with the characters, even if it contrasts with the horrible things roaming the world. I liked it, it works, no criticisms there.

5.5/10, all my problems stem from a story I'm not interested in. If it wasn't that small of a story, I don't think I'd finish it. However, it's not bad, and it has value.