Impressive art-style in regard of characters, the world and the battles, very detailed, makes great use of shadows and the fluidity of it, how simply it reflects how fights go from panel to panel is simply great. I don't understand how I had not heard of the artist before, instant favorite, it's a pity none of his other works are translated.
As for the story, it's a little bit lacking on the explanation so I found it hard to get invested, stiill it's was a nice short story set in an interesting world, I would certainly like to read a manga in the same universe but with a greater scope. There is already "The demon heart" but it's not translated, my take my time reading it in japanese if I can find it.
Still, I don't like it when characters do things they obviously shouldn't and no reason is given (ej: V4 Ch1) .
Fortunately the characters are interesting, not only the art design but their personalities, they lack however development or growth but it's only 6 volumes so other than the depth of their relations the author didn't cover much else.
Last, the mix with humor while it's not my style of comedy is not bad unfortunately I think it should have been restricted to ecchi and the created world localized jokes. I would have liked it to take itself more seriously, it puts me off while in the middle of a battle there is a dumb joke that ruins the immersion, or a stupid Popeye allegory, or equally unappropriate parody, wth? Imo fantasy is one genre where the author should avoid putting unnecessary alien things, if he creates a world he should stick to it, taking the reader back to reality just for a lame joke... such waste, suck dumbness... can you imagine your deception if in the middle of LoTR you got a Coke joke? exactly. All the rest aside this is the main flaw of the series imo.
In all, it was a nice surprise, I was expecting squat and had a good time, interesting fantasy are not easy to come by either in anime or manga. Extra score for the excellent art-style, would be 6.5 or 7 otherwise.

Just as a remark the author name sense is really bad, Monster collection made me thing of pokemon, I was lucky I gave this a try.

... Last updated on October 1st, 2017, 7:13pm

besides the obvious sword/sorcery this slightly parodies the RPG style. Slayers, however, parodies this, like a double parody. And this still has some serious drama where in Slayers, not so much. Oh, and if this had romance, it would be much worse. Don't ruin a female fighter like that. Don't even know why you'd read when there's no romance tag anyway; should know what to expect.

... Last updated on February 23rd, 2014, 12:26pm

For some reason this remembers me of Slayers, the art its quite good and the story its also good, the jokes are sometimes unncesesary XD, the only thing that this manga lacks its romance... if this manga had romance it would be so much better... -_-

Dont be fooled by how average and generic the summary of the manga makes it sound. At first, Monster Collection may seem like standard action fantasy manga with a dash of ecchiness and comedy. However, as we progress through the narrative, each of these elements is combined in a very skillful way by the authors (Itoh and Yasuda) in order to create a very entertaining and enchanting tale.

Story wise, dont expect a deep and involving storyline in this manga. Its quite a straight, point A to point B ride and serves mainly as a framework for the character interactions. The narrative flows fast and easy to serve the action.

Its the characters and the way they deal with each other that bring this manga truly to life. Unique design and interesting personalities clash and collaborate to create comedy, flashy violence and impressive summons. Almost every character (save for the main villains) has an unusual twist to him/her and at some point the main heroine exclaims - if anyone were to read a story about us, they would assume WE are the BAD guys

The quality of the comedy bits is very high and consistent throughout. The humour feels natural and not forced and there were several laugh-out-loud moments scattered throughout each volume.

In the initial volumes, the art is good but has that "seen-it-all-before" feel. However, around volume 3 it really takes a turn for the better and really impresses with detailed and beautiful drawings of various monsters and creatures.

Overall, this manga was a fast-paced and immensely enjoyable ride. It does not offer anything deep and truly profound. However, it is not meant to be. Its a quick and easy read that you can go for when you want to take a rest for all the serious manga.

Rating - 8/10

In this case the story/art were better than the covers. Decent for a light read. Fairly bloody but no more than other action titles like Bleach or One Piece. The reptilian characters were definitely the most interesting in the read and, by themselves, make the series worth a peek if you are just waiting for other stories. The villains were a bit lackluster though.

This series starts off at a fast pace, but it is expected since it ends at 6 volumes. Though it is short and I feel it leaves me hanging at the end I'd recommend anyone to try it. The drawings are beautifully executed. A lot of details and great characters. I've been hoping that the mangaka would write a prequel or a sequel^^

this is to be read for fun. because it is fun. pure entertainment. absolutely loved the 7 lizard squad.. the way I see it, every single introduced character entertains. really good.

Sometimes, i felt it was a bit similar to Houshin Engi for the quality of the characters (exceptional), except that the story's really well done (6 volumes, but well made). I really recommend reading this.

You will enter a fantasy world that will make you dream for a good while =)
Enjoy

Among my favorites, it's a really quick read at 6 volumes, but the characters are fun, and the story is well done.
The only qualm i have with it is that a lot of characters are introduced, especially at the end, which i thought could mean prequels or sequels, but havent found any.
For comparison's sake, id say this is most similar to Slayers, but better imo