Know this before you judge the ending when you finish reading this amazing manga: the mangaka wrote the final chapters of this manga on his death bed.

I would like to quote the typesetter's note from the FTH-AAS translations of the final chapter:
"There is some poignancy in the way the last page of the last chapter were written. As some of you may know, the author 'Alive' finished the series on his death bed. The narration you have been reading probably contains the author's exact thoughts as he faced his own death. Sort of like someone speaking to you from the grave."

The art may not be up to everyone's standard but I think that it's pretty detailed and enjoyable in its own right. As for the storyline, it goes along the guidelines of being your typical shounen. But what separates this series from the others, for me, is the concepts of life and death that the author introduces. I'm not all too sure if what I'm thinking about is correct, because I'm not a really in-depth person, but all I can say is that I find this series has got me thinking and it's likable. One thing, though, is that I hope it doesn't drag on like many other shounen titles. No matter how great a series may be, recycling the same plot for different situations tend to get boring and repetitive. If you have some spare time, it wouldn't hurt to check this series out.

... Last updated on March 10th, 2008, 7:43pm

i don't know what the hell had the others been reading, because the second arc rock my socks off! i feel this is even better that the first arc. just because it dont have a perfect happy ending you all diss it? what the hell? i love it especially because it don't try to sugar coat things. i know i'm a monster for saying this, but in a way i'm glad the mangaka write the last chapters in his death bed, it give such depth of feelings to the conclusion.

all the other aspect of the manga is amazing too. the art is pretty at the start and became progressively beautiful and detail until the end. the picture of destruction and death on the last few chapters were done in such detailed and artistic manner. the characters are interesting, from the villains to the hero. well, i feel the side characters are more interesting than the main character, but i always feel the same with most of the manga i had read. their thought, quirk and motivation...it pleases me they are dynamic and flexible with their emotions and actions. the fights are pretty cool. the pacing is brilliant, i was at the edge of my seat throughout and i finished this manga in one swoop. the theme from the first until the last chapter never waver, and the conclusion tie up nicely with the title.

the only real hangup for me is that in the second arc, the 'family' is hazy in origin. i can't understand how such family come into being, from such a person...but it just a minor issue. but others may feel the inconclusive romance a bigger hangup but since i don't care about that, it don't matter to me.
this is very heavily recommended!

... Last updated on March 22nd, 2012, 7:01am

Story = 10
Art = 9.7
Characters = 9

Well... the story developts really well and I'm against comments that say the plot is clichê. No, the mangaka has used some elements already used so many times in storys but he has changed them to shape the story in his way. We can use the fairytales for an exemple. Once upon a time a prince... to typical. What can we do to make it original? Well... the Prince will aparently be the heroe but in the end we will discover he is actually the villain behind the "curtains". It's more original isn't it? The mangaka story was also made in this style. I have no critics (that's why I give it a 10). The manga isn't repetitive and fluids very well I must say...
The art has beganning with some "defects" principally in the Taisuki case, almost unsightly. But again life isn't esthetic. When the story pogress (I would say volume 3 / 4 if I still remenber...) The art was better and almost perfect fit the story.
The part that I think failed was the charactes. Nothing to serious) disagreeing with a comment bellow the villains where better developted. They have interesting and original characters. If it wasn't because of that I would probably give 10 to the story and the rank would ingrese. Sadly it isn't. The three main heroes (even thought they aren't as godd as the villains) aren't bad at all. Take Yuta as a example. The main characters grow with us even thought I think with so much better characters on this story why doesn the author have to choose for main heroe him? The inocent type but that loves his friends and that belive one of the villains is still his friend isn't my type. But again. he grow with us and I don't think it was there he has failed. It was on the second arc on the Tezuka Family. Comparing them with the first arc villains they where no good. I would give them a 7 and (like I think I said below) I would give to the first arc villains a 10. This would give a 8.5 if there wasn't some other elements like main characters, other less important characters like the reporters and the second arc villains (army, souls...). This will give a 9.
The other mistake I found in this was the deaths. There was almost artificial (until what I read) how the heroes or "simpathic people" never die and the other not. I know the story doesn't divide between bad and good people, even the bad has a sad story or something that make use like them but the heroes and the characters that obviously has never done nothing much bad don't die. In a war the two sides have to be hurt.
Other than that is a great story.

... Last updated on July 26th, 2009, 12:56pm

Well, I rarely give anything above 9.5, but here's one of them. Out of all the mangas I have read, this is the one that has done the best job in mixing seemingly every genre into it. A sci-fi with reasonable amount of action, mixed with detailed art, hints of romance and occasional comedic moments. Mystery, supernatural powers and even time gaps are thrown in as well.

Alive has many cliches, but the thing about cliches is how they are used. Alive's authors do it very well, because instead of making the characters plain, the cliches endears them to the reader. The pace is well done as well, as new developments appear quite rapidly, but the story does not feel rushed either.

Ultimately, this is the first manga that hasn't made me go 'wow', but still forced me to give it such a high rating. In a strange way, it is what I would call a perfectly well balanced manga.

... Last updated on June 3rd, 2009, 1:21am

Artwork is very impressive, concept is refreshing, characters... slightly stereotypical, but then so many things have been done before it's hard to have truly original characters. At least they're likeable.
As mentioned, there are one or two slightly morbid scenes (suicide is never really pretty) but they don't go overboard with the gore.
Storyline looks like it is progressing quite well, there's a purpose behind everyones actions, and an eagerness to find out what they are going to do.

I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoyed the likes of Biomeat, king of thorns, Highschool of the dead, and similar.

Even if it's not the greatest, this series is still underrated.

The first arc was interesting, it is a typical journeying battle manga. The parts with Nami were pretty funny. And the characters were very complicated yet their motives and intentions were quite clear.

After the 2 years, that's when the story became extremely convoluted. Heart? Soul? Hirose is like invincible but he can be stopped too? The military is not good or bad - they're just there to get in the way with no clear goals... The Mitani kid or whatever he is, the soul guy - what the heck is he, good or bad? Megu becomes a total shell of a character, and she is there to confuse rather than to bolster the story. What the heck is Katsumata's real goal? They explain it superficially that his role was to gather the heart, but it doesn't make sense in terms of his real motives, and (spoiler) he is removed from the story in such an anticlimatic way. For someone so central to the story he just fades out throughout the story until later you realize that when he's gone, you didn't know why he was there in the first place.

The strongest characters are the mains - Taisuke, Nami, and Yuuki. The rest of the characters come off as sympathetic, but their goals and their means change so many times you don't really know what's going on. And Hirose - he's just like Tetsuo from Akira I think. And he makes even less sense than Tetsuo did. He has no clear goals. He wants to see his friends, but he doesn't. He felt alone in the past but he still loved his friends in the past. He regains his senses but still wants to kill his friends. Was he controlled by Katsumata all along? But how come he doesn't turn back to normal? Was he really a bad person? It makes no sense. Hirose is one of the worst villains in all of manga I think. This whole is-he-good-or-bad confusion is as strong here as in Tenjou Tenge.

The abilities are pretty cool, the action is well paced, and the superficial story is quite structured and good. However, you'll be scratching your head over the true intentions and limitations of the villains, the roles of the various factions in the story such as Katsumata and the Army, and what exactly this story is ultimately about.

I've read the whole thing so far and I am not satisfied with the way the characters and their motivations has been written. There is no solid resolution and it's merely conflict piled over conflict over conflict. So many of their actions contradict each other without a clear change of heart or a true epiphany. This makes it very frustrating for the reader.

Much like a drive down an empty desert in a drunken stupor, you'll find yourself with a lack of awareness about your surroundings, but you'll enjoy the ride.

this manga took me by surprise. dont be fooled by the last 2 comments. when it starts off ur like ''ok normal good shounen manga'' but then just like its title it comes alive and totally evolves into something grand. one of my top favorites. do yourself a favor and read this

This is one of my very favorite comics. I have some sentimental attachment to it. The main character, Taisuke, is awesome. I've heard people say that this series isn't a lot different then other series, but the characters are awesome and pretty unique. The artwork is also really good. The artist, Adachitoka, is really good at drawing perspectives, especially during fight scenes. The perspectives make the comic really cinematic and fun to read. I also like the jokes alot. Alot of them are puns that were meant for Japanese, but if you read the translation notes they make sense. This is a great comic.