I loved this manga--the dark moments, the fighting, the uncertainty, all of it. Sure, it wasn't perfect, but it was interesting enough that I read all 18 volumes in one sitting (I started reading it a while back, dropped it, and then decided to restart it last night). Character growth is great, and I enjoyed the occasional narrative explaining things. It was fairly realistic as well, especially on points such as the asphalt and the importance of hand protection. Every manga has its flaws, but I'd be hard-pressed to point out any specific flaw that particularly bothered me.

Concerning the ending: some people have said they were not satisfied with it, but I personally thought it was great. I've always thought that it'd be difficult to determine how open-ended an ending should be, so I think the mangaka did a great job. TBH, by now I'm satisfied with anything that doesn't scream "axed!" though.

Oh man this manga....Just so perfect. The story, characters, and emotions are so real and are developed perfectly. I really loved how Yuu and Shougo's characters progressively found themselves. I also like the parallels each character gives to one another, plus the action is too addicting! And that plot twist ending, man I thought I was gonna be bawling for a while. I really like also how even the 'side-kick' -esque characters would have their spotlight, and there were really no minor characters, because everyone was together and united. Just bottom line everyone should read this, it goes beyond just a regular underdog story, has relate-able characters, and a story that's a Legend within a Legend.

I would have vomited blood if the penultimate chapter was the last chapter. You'll know why when you read it. I'm glad that the author didn't force a stupid tragic ending on us.

Holyland has a way to really grab you into its world. I am a girl, I hate fighting and violence, but I wasn't put off by this manga because Holyland focused on the search for self, the holyland, and not focused on the cliche shounen stuff such as power ups. I dropped this manga for about a week or two because I hate delinquents/gangs stories before picking it back again because I can't get its gritty atmosphere and dark tone out of my mind.

I have always hated gang, delinquents stories, but Holyland actually made me think the streets are cool. Like in Chapter 172 when the streets lead that King guy and close up on him so that Yuu and him could fight. Or when Masaki and Yuu are about to fight and you could feel it in the streets' atmosphere. It just makes the streets feel alive.

I think the way the author ended the story was so perfect, though he almost tricked me into thinking he was gonna end it in a blood vomit inducing way. Preceding every volume, we always have this monologue about how Yuu was there, without a doubt. To have the last chapter basically dedicated to demonstrate the fact that indeed, he was there is so perfect. The streets have always been mysterious so to end a manga about the streets with a legend was definitely the right choice.

Since this manga is about the search for oneself (on the streets), there are definitely character growths from almost all main characters. You won't feel disappointed. The one who transformed the most is definitely the protagonist, Yuu. He went from a scaredy cat, to accident hero/target, to dark avenger, to unstable fighter, from a fightened boy to enlightened man, then finally immortalized into an unmatched legend on the streets. What can you say, Holyland is great.

To sum up, Holyland is not your typical power ups battle manga even though it is about fighting. It's about discovering oneself, to find a place that is your Holyland. Definitely a masterpiece in the delinquents/gangs category, or very close it.

... Last updated on January 26th, 2014, 7:23am

I really liked the way the author was able to show the growth of Kamishiro from the beginning to end. Also, the art and direction of the story was consistent, which is great. I appreciate how the fights are realistic and thoroughly explained, it added my understanding of what was happening. Additonally, the fights didn't grow in magnitude until the main characters had power levels of super saiyans. It was believable, while maintaining a feeling of tension in many of the fights. Thank you! One of the things I can criticize is the predictability and pacing of the story. At times, I feel like some scenes just drag on for a little longer than necessary, causing me to lose some interest...The art was also a little iffy to me, but that's a small detail. I am glad the characters don't look like clones of each other. To conclude, I overall found this to be a great read!

... Last updated on July 30th, 2013, 12:50pm

Okay, let's just put it this way: I sacrificed sleeping hours, breaks at work, and even free time just for this manga. That's how seriously fvcking good it is. LMAO !! And I honestly have never been into martial arts manga before.

The art is very simple, characters are memorable and developing. These are the kind of characters that whoever reads this manga, can relate to. It's almost as if they're real human beings (for one thing, unlike most manga, this mangaka doesn't exaggerate on elongating physical parts such as arms or legs). Because this is pretty much my first martial arts manga, the mangaka does a pretty good job of thoroughly explaining AND drawing into details of what a performed move looks like so this definitely helps heightened my imagination.

My favorite character is Shougo; the kind of guy that gives tough love to Yuu, honest guy, true to himself (even though he does get egotistical at times), and definitely wants to protect those he cares about. He really speaks to me and I can seriously relate to how he feels. I'm only at a point in the story where I'm mildly aware of what happened to his father and why he's so stubborn and extremely driven.

This storyline is pretty straightforward, it doesn't have multiple storylines to it. And if it did, I would've been confusing for me and I would've dropped this a long time ago. This manga deserves a good solid 10.

the character development, the fighting scenes, the blood, the crazy look in his eyes!!! I just don't know how to express how amazing this manga is. I was never bored at any point and I was always excited to find out what was going to happen next! I have to say that I am so happy that I found this manga and I hope to find more like it! the best part is that there is no frilly annoying romance scenes! its all pure fighting like a manga in the fighting genre should be!

Kamishiro Yuu, a young boy, is bullied but he refuses to back down, so he practises some boxing moves and then… Defends himself with these skills. It would be nice if this was the end of all his problems but it's not. Yuu is desperate. Without single friend, he is chased by street gangs because he took down in self-defence some of their members. What now? Suicide... Maybe, but is he brave enought for such thing? Maybe... Just maybe... The right answer is somewhere in the streets. In these very streets where (at least for Yuu) danger lurks behind every corner. Yes, this frightening place may be... his Holyland.

Almost all adults keeps thinking that kids at the age of eight or so are completely harmless. But in fact, even these little kids can get pretty violent when they're fighting between themselves. Reasons for this little fights are various... Some kids just likes fighting, some are refusing to back down before their bullies, others are these very bullies and so on and so on. Most of these violent kids realizes that violence isn't actually a nice thing. These petty fights are part of almost anybody's childhood. It's somewhat natural to fight at least once in your child years, but so is completely natural to grew up from this very violence. However, some kids just can't separate themselves from it.

Holyland is martial-arts realistic story with strong emphasis on psychological state of main character. The plot is good, characters are somewhat sympathetic, detailed explanations of martial-arts are interesting and make sense, reflections about life are kind of intriguing, drawings are nice. It's not perfect but It's definitely worth of anybody's time.

This manga is driven by its characters.All of them have their own problems and they are trying to find answers to some of the difficult questions in life. Its a story of self discovery and even redeeming your own self esteem. The action in itself is amazing,however, it isn't unrealistic like many manga's out there.

Absolutely amazing, everything i like in a manga, the characters are good, the plot is much better than the typical fighting manga, it is as realistic as a manga gets and the technical notes about the fights are really cool, this is the height of seinen manga