First thing about this is you can't go by the synopsis; it becomes apparent very quickly that PhD has a much more complex plot than the first couple chapters suggests.

It's actually somewhat sad, because there was definitely potential in this series. There are definitely some unique plot lines running through this, memorable characters, and the art is a crisp and appealing.
Sadly, it almost felt like the author couldn't decide what they wanted this to be. There were so many characters, so many settings... it was both simple and ridiculously complicated.
I actually think the vast number of casual character deaths in PhD is partially due to the fact there were so many characters that most had to die just to keep the plot even partially straight in the reader's mind!

One of the most glaring disappointments alongside the rushed ending were the missing chunks of time that became more and more frequent as the series continued. It definitely reads as though the author realized they had far too much plot for the space given.
I'm far from opposed to time skips, but nonsensical gaps are present between volumes that don't so much build mystery as create frustration.

Overall, there are parts of PhD that I enjoyed, but it's hard to recommend a work that was so clearly rushed.Hee-Joon Son clearly had many unique ideas but was either not offered or did not want to commit to an epic-length series.
That being said, fans of shounen fantasy may find PhD a refreshing bit of something different.
... But, really, there is literally no ending. No answers to anything. Not a one.

... Last updated on August 6th, 2015, 3:34pm

You call that an "ENDING"? I read this series a long time ago and I liked it, despite the fact that

It felt like this manga is just impulsively thrown together with a bunch of random ideas, and when the author got tired of it he just ended it in the middle of the story. What is this? I don't like that nothing makes sense. I don't know what anyone is doing, the entire story is random as hell and everyone seems to do things just for the hell of it.

I give this series a 3 score because I liked the art and I enjoyed some of the characters (although see spoiler above.) This series has a LOT of potential - unfortunately the beautiful art and GREAT potential is left in the wrong hands.

Let's see...for the first three volumes or so, you sort of have a clear idea what this series is about and where it's likely to go. Then most of your ragtag group of heroes gets annihilated. That's okay, we start off with a new group. Repeat.

It's a bit difficult to make sense of the overarching plot of PHD, as we're treated to heroes fighting the bad guys, retreating to power up, then coming back and still getting squashed anyway. Development of the main main character happens largely off-screen, which is not helpful.

Good guys and bad guys fight, and fight, and fight, and I don't think we ever really figure out what exactly their motivations are. Like I said, too much happens off screen, leaving the reader to try and fill in the blanks.

Still manages to be somewhat entertaining, despite being confusing as hell.

Especially the ending. What the heck was that?