I'll be honest with ya, the only reason I even registered this account, despite lurking around this site as a guest for years, was to review this one manga (no pun intended). And I come just short of giving it a perfect 10/10 because I'd feel that such a rating would be too cheap. Hoshi no Samidare (or however you wanna call it) is no perfect series, after all:

The storyline itself, while certainly unique, is basically tripe. It takes a back seat. It exists purely for the sake of fleshing out the characters and giving the story a, well, story. It is with the characters that this series really shines.

Rarely have I read such a shonen-ish series with such well developed characters. Every character is given a backstory. Every character has a motive. And every character has their own heartwarming or badass moments. While Samidare and Amamiya may be the undeniable "heroes" of the story, almost every other supporting character could easily be elevated to the same level of importance. The mangaka makes use of the "passage of time" throughout the manga to show you how the characters deepen over time. How some characters redeem themselves, or deal with grief, or even just simply grow up a little on the inside. Its my own personal opinion that one of the themes of the manga is that "people change over time, for better or worse".

So, don't be fooled by the absurd premise of the manga. Give it a try, if only for the first few chapters. It truly is a diamond in the rough.

I'm a man. I had a hard time holding my tears back... And well, I just couldn't hold back my stupid grin.
This was one of the most, if not the most, satisfying endings ever. The whole manga is rad. Thank you for this amazing read!

Truly an amazing piece of work. Hoshi no Samidare builds a touching story from a seemingly typical shounen setting. This is far from cliche though, with atypical characters/leads and some borderline ridiculous plot twists thrown in throughout. In 10 volumes the author is able to successfully incorporate fantasy, comedy, romance, tragedy and action/adventure into one epic masterpiece. In addition to a wonderful and satisfying ending, there really is not much left to ask.

However, the one true aspect that stands out are the unique characters in this manga. You really won't find a more atypical cast of main characters, and they truly grow on you. The depth and development of each character is outstanding; I believe the only comparable manga with such an unbelievably endearing cast would be One Piece.

Give this one a shot for a couple of volumes. Don't be put off by the seemingly ridiculous setting and average art: the amazing character development and tremendous storytelling will easily surpass your expectations.

... Last updated on October 16th, 2010, 12:10pm

This manga has a bit of romance, a bit of action, a bit of comedy, a bit of everything, but it doesnt go all the way to the extremes and forgets its main feature: the beautiful story. It's not a twisted or complex story but it's still one of the best storys I've read so far. You wouldnt draw mona lisa abstract with twisted drawings, would you?
Edit: Oh! Almost forgot to mention the characters. While in the beginning the plot develops slowly, the characters feel like "real" human beings, unlike your typical shounen hero, with their own character traits and interesting past. Even non-plot chapters are getting interesting this way

I can recommend this manga to everyone, most notably because of its epic main parts and satisfying conclusion. Missing this masterpiece should be a crime
I'm excited what awaits us in the future from this author.

... Last updated on September 3rd, 2010, 7:09pm

Nooooo, the manga is coming to a end. 1 or two more chapter for the conclusion, the battle has come to an end. <Ohwell, it was a veryy good manga you dont usually see these days, always kept interested. Beautiful plot, and sadly looks like it comign to an end.

Hoshi no samidare's setting is not your normal one, earth is about to be smashed to bits by a giant hammer by the power of a godlike being! Another godlike being will try to stop him (which happens to be his sister) and for that needs the help of some people that are not so good in the head...... why is this for me not ridiculous Because i have already have read "one hundred years of solitude" you get to accept it with time. but at first, that plot is not what makes this series so good, it is the characters... they are complicated, funny, courageous... almost like real people, not your usual shounen like hero (i'll save the earth because is the right thing to do!!!!) heck, they could be classified as antiheroes or even villains sometimes!
So, why you HAVE to read this series? Well… cause you will laugh, you will shed tears (probably not, but it is a possibility XD) you’ll fall in love with the characters and the way the story tell us their struggles and ambitions and the way love develops. You’ll get hit by the epic side of the story rather frequently and enjoy some short but well drawn battles. Seriously… this is a good read.

Not so much of a review, but more of a comment on how well done this manga is. The Scenario is setup sort of like X (just take Clamp out of the equation). Theres a fair amount of comedy that actually makes you lol, but its paired off with enough seriousness to buy yourself into flowing into the ridiculousness of the story. There is romance and while it has a strong presence in the story line, it isn't reflected in the scenes itself; it a certain points its mainly implied.

This is a good manga for those who just wants to the take the ball and roll with it. The characters are easy enough to understand and while a few of them seem unnecessary, no one really detracts from the experience.

Just read it.

I loled at first charpert by own wierd it was
but couldn't stop reading it I wish more people would know about it

A refreshing departure from most similarly themed manga, I've read before. There are just too many shounen and seinen which attempt to tackle such storylines like "saving the world" but in the most annoying fashion possible. As in: endless fighting, horrendous characterization, "textbook psychology", over-drama, endless conspiracies that rely on one too many rather obvious coincidences, etc.

Well, in Biscuit Hammer, less is more. And although much of the plot is rather cliched and often too ridiculous to be taken seriously, there is a lot of depth: strong characterisation, implied thoughts and relations, layers upon layers of emotions and motivations that are subtle and not "in your face". In short, there is nothing pretensive that tries to take on too much than it can chew and thus the plot does not appear contradictory or overtly contrived.

And as mentioned, the cast is quite huge but like many other titles that work by establishing immense layers of plot and writing like 7 seeds, Music of Marie, Koori no Mamono no Monogatari, Bokurano, Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou and so on, you just cannot build a massive world without having enough characters to fill it with. Otherwise, such an ambitious story would feel empty and incomplete.

The plot itself is fun and because it doesn't always take itself too seriously, there's a very strong flavour of subtle humour. Instead of terrible gags, you get to chuckle and laugh when the various characters behave unexpectedly and light-heartedly. As a result, even though there is tragedy, those tragic moments truly do not over-burden the plot but instead, are touching. And thus, we're spared from over-sappy moments that might have turned the story into some soap opera, in the hands of a lesser writer.

Also, there is a very strong slice-of-life feel that to me, seems more common in yaoi manga, than in any other genres, that have such storylines and in Hoshi no Samidare, both the action and slife-of-life are well balanced-out. When the pacing changes, the writing does not drop in terms of standard and quality. And also, the "slice of life" ties the characters better into the plot because reading about their daily life means that the characters have even better reasons for their actions, thoughts and motivations. In a lot of action stories, you don't always get to really understand why the cast is doing this and that, only flashbacks and bits and pieces of their daily lives. Even more important, everyone seems more human with concrete reasons for "wanting to live and protect others and themselves" instead of being portrayed as "fighting machines" whose goals are to commit as much destruction and bloodshed as possible.

The art, btw, is quite good and it is very fitting for the story and its content. It's very expressive and excellent at depicting the characters' thoughts, emotions and their actions. Truly, this is an artist whose lines gently and subtly invoke emotions.

Now, what it could have done without: all those "panty flashing" moments, though few, were a bit bothersome though I am now used to it. Now, I'm no prude but fanservice is often bland and sterile, since it's not even stylish sexuality or anything interesting.

... Last updated on April 11th, 2010, 7:19am

the previous commenters have told most of this; using cliches and turned it into an interesting, different thing altogether, being very creative with tropes and cliches, etc. And I have to completely agreed. I've been running away from Shounen manga since Naruto and if all mangas are like this underrated manga, I'll run back towards them. Now.

Now, commenting on other stuffs.

Just as every other shounen manga recently, this manga plays with loads and loads of characters. Suddenly there's one, two, five new characters around. But within 6 volumes (the scanlated ones), they're given a defining traits, distinction. This is a wonderful feat, compared to other mangas who'd compensate with long volumes (mostly inbetween empty fights and brilliant effects).

But that's pretty ordinary. What's extraordinary is the way it's unfolded. This has a very slice of life feeling, and it shines brightly here. Every interaction are treated ordinarily, but with huge impacts. And every single one of them; even the dead ones, has longlasting impact. People in refrigerators they aren't. They aren't usually remembered, but they aren't forgotten.

And when the heartstrings are pulled, they're pulled. Mercilessly. The premise and the universe basically sets the motion that no, nobody is exactly safe, but add that with the slice of life feel and you feel like you know those characters since the very beginning, even the newest ones.

About the angst and self-importance part, I have to disagree tho; there are angst moments here and there, and lots of selfish intentions, but they're told very matter-of-fact, and they grew.