when i started reading this, at first, i got bored easily since i'm new to shounen genres but as the story develops, i can't help but hold onto the story until the very end - true enough, i've made the right decision! this is one heck of a series! it made me cry and laugh hard a lot of times. also, the romance in this manga is definitely great! ---> great enough for the likes of a shoujo reader like me!

It may start out quite strange, and it does have a few small moments where it seems purely absurd, but when you finish reading the series you will be glad you didn't stop.

This is an amazing series, and I highly recommend it.

I liked this Manga.
There are cliches but it felt good read.

But After i finished it, i felt totally overwelmed for characters.

.............Also i wondered what happened to Jegan.......



... Last updated on September 18th, 2010, 11:13pm

after reading Fairy Tail (his other work) this seems to pale in comparison, but after reading further on the storyline becomes much better and the art seems to grow as well, plotline develops into something leaving me wanting more. a must read for shonen enthusiasts.

... Last updated on March 23rd, 2007, 10:37pm

I finished readning it fourth or fifth (can't tell for sure) time and I'm sure that it wasn't my last time. No matter how many times i return to Rave, i'll be always be crying . Sombody may say, that it's cliched etc. but i don't care. Besides, i've read many shounen mangas, but no other was like this one! Feelings that it gave me - absolutely uniqe!
I love main characters and enemies too. It's rare that i don't really hate anyone. I was really attached to everyone, thats why i'm always crying while reading it
One of the few mangas, with satisfying ending "right in time".
I like Fairy Tail, but for me Rave far is better. Story is much deeper and has suspense moments ( which FT lacks).

I recommend this manga to EVERYONE! I't will forever stay in my heart. Too bad that anime wasn't so good. I hope that someday there will be remake and it'll contain all volumes.

... Last updated on August 12th, 2013, 7:41am

one of the few manga that actually has good ending, I am often frustrated by how author seems to have problem with ending.

I actually prefer a short battle scene and more story,so this is actually perfect.
those that have battle scene goes on for chapter making me begging it to quickly finish and get on with the story is tiring me and making me lazy to read.

It was a wonderful read, a very long one too. The manga is quite slow paced. I find it boring from time to time, but nevertheless, it all serves as a good build up to a great climax and a decent ending. I thought the ending could've been a bit more grand, but it was still pretty good, no complain about that. The characters development was decent, not so much the main characters though. The romance was the initial reason why i read this manga, and i have to say, after the first 100 chapters, i was quite frustrated since there was no romance development at all. Now, after over 200 chapters, the romance between the main characters started to pick up the pace a bit. It is one of the manga's main theme, but for many reasons, it feels more like a bonus. It developed very slowly, but it was definitely well developed and believable. The actions were pretty good too. I'm sure glad it didn't drag on forever like bleach or naruto. I guess this is probably one of the best "typical shounen" out there.

Overall, Rave have a great plot. When I discovered the meaning of the scattered puzzled and traps that showed up in the earlier chapters, I even felt like I've been struck by lightning. This manga make you felt like you know the plot, but you'll be amazed by the really well and unpredictable planed story line. The only downside that make this manga less enjoyable are the battle scene. In the earlier chapters, it is good. But as the story progress, the battle became annoying (sometimes a battle against boss can be finished by only one swing of sword). Overall, the story is really epic except the annoying battle.

Story takes quite a while to get going, feeling very episodic at the start. It definitley picks up and gets interesting later on. I felt that it was spoonfeeding too much. The tropes are very strong here. Charcters brought back from "death" multiple times, heel turn villians, main character wins through sheer force of will, " the power of friendship" and etc. There were some genuinly funny moments spattered thoughout, but a lot of it was mediocre and really ruined more serious moments. Tries to have some darker themes, but it's overall lightharted nature. All that combined makes things poitnlessly edgy instead looking cool or giving the story depth.

The setting is generic medieval fantsy, nothing really descrptive to give any unique vibe. Almost everyone dresses like they are from the early 2000s, unless they are a warrior or mage.

Our main character Haru is no Naruto, but still very much a shounen lead, he does have some likebale qualities. Heroine is a spunky yet gullible girl with memeory loss, also typical but likable. Some side charcters are interesting, even with being heavily tropey. There are at least three joke charcters at a time who can really push your tolerance for that kind of thing. No charcters development aside from the villins who "see the light."

Art definitley gets better as the series goes on. All the charcters look unique and have something interesting to look at. Mashima has very good fashion sense and chracters have a variety of outfts that all look cool. The overall style had some unique quirks that helped more than hindered in my opinion. My only gripe is that the extreme expressions looked way too similar to the super deformed style used in the comedy bits. More work on subtly in charcter movements would have helped immensley. Backgorunds aren't super detailed. Full page pieces are alright. Action scenes are pretty standard and offer just barely enough to keep you interested.

For being Mashima's first project and not having worked under another mangaka, I'm quite impressed. If you love all the tropes that shounens have to offer, this is pretty good read.

... Last updated on April 3rd, 2017, 8:09pm

I feel the need to finally review based on more and more people bringing this up. "Rave has a better storyline."

I am not denying that Rave's story is interesting, because it's certainly is. But the fact of the matter is that Rave follows many of the storylines featured over and over in Japanese RPGs. And some manga as well, but throughout this story, it was like playing a "Tales of [...]" game.

However, with Rave, it is ONE story. There are side stories, small adventures, but from the first chapter there is one and only one objective. "Save the world using Rave" (basically.)

Fairy Tail, on the other hand, has a few large questions (like the dragons and Lucy's mom), but is not one single story. It is a series of connected stories, the arcs, featuring the same characters.

Both manga Plot Shield like mad, but all shonen manga do. Good guys are crazy hard to kill, don't lose twice to the same enemy, power up for seemingly no reason other than being a good guy and having friends, being able to fight when there is ABSOLUTELY NO WAY THAT IS EVEN PHYSICALLY POSSIBLE! Every action manga has this. Heck, every action ANYTHING has this. Rave has this. FT has this. FT has it a bit more because FT is longer (now) and has more boss battles.

But it's certainly a fun ride. Laughter was laughed (omg chapter 170), tears were cried (...like, lots), and enjoyment was had. My only real complaint was that Let and Julia didn't get much "screen time" together! Even in cover shots, Julia was more often placed near Musica than Let. Granted, Musica's got a bit of the womanizin', but JULIA.

In the end, Rave is good. It's not the be-all-and-end-all of manga, but it's certainly worth reading. (But, if you're coming from Fairy Tail looking for a second Fairy Tail, let me just say... Hiro didn't quite have the S&M thing down yet.)

... Last updated on August 22nd, 2014, 5:02am