Like many said the first arc is very good. I really liked the suicide thing. If that would have continued elaborating more on the aliens and having the story take place amid the apocolypse it would have been much better. The second arc i am having to force myself to read. I dont really understand the point of anything going on. I am also finding the point of the chatacters having powers to be really useless. No ones motives really make any sense and the story is loosing all of the potential it had. And thats sad because it had alot... Oh well

I liked this manga a lot. Taisuke is a very likeable protagonist and while I didn't really like most of the villains all that much, they were interesting in their own way that I didn't get bored whenever the manga's point of view shifted to show us what they were doing.

The first story arc does follow the monster of the week... err... comrade of the week formula to some extent where Taisuke runs into another comrade who he invariably ends up fighting. In some cases, this leads to a truce or alliance while others remain enemies that vow to get him later due to being already allied with Katsumata.

There are a few points, particularly in the second story arc, where things drag a bit, but it's wasn't dragging to the extent that I found myself considering the idea of dropping this manga from my reading list without finishing it. Yes, I do agree with the sentiments that the ending felt a bit rushed and could have used more chapters to let things develop more slowly. However it is also known that the author finished writing this manga from his death bed. If going for a few more chapters would have meant risking the possibility that he would have died before finishing this manga, leaving it forever incomplete unless someone else finished it off without knowing his intentions, I think that rushing it to the conclusion was the way to go.

... Last updated on June 12th, 2011, 6:43pm

This series deserves the spot, so I don't kinda understand some of your complaints. The coherency is somehow messed up at times, but fine overall. The only regret is the ending pairing. Should be the other girl you all know.

Reading this and some others, like Biomeat, ARMS or Parasites which I like a lot, I wonder how the likes of Bleach and Naruto can be so popular? because they are for kids, not quite right? Hope fanboys don't kill me

This is a pretty good manga overall. It does have its issues which probably keep it from being a great one.

The Art is pretty good and fairly consistent. My only beef is that a few of the characters on occasion resemble others. D4 looks a bit like Megumi and there are some flashbacks of Kanon in the 2nd arc which also make her look a bit like Megumi. However, that's mostly nitpicking.

The story is decent, with some originality imho. Some reviewers have complained that the 1st arc is way better than the second and not to bother with second arc. I think the first arc is stronger and as a result the second looks worse in comparison, but is not that bad. I think one of the things that's going on is that the first arc feels a lot more serious and grim, it has a more seinen feel to it. I think there is much more tragedy, pain, and struggle in the first arc. The second arc has much more comedy thrown in, which I thought was unnecessary but maybe they were trying to get away from the story being too grim. The result is that the second arc has more of a shonen feel to it.

I think what brings the story down is weakness in character motivation, character development, and some vagueness at the end. You have one character that is extremely jealous of his friend, and is manipulated by another into becoming a real monster. This jealousy kind of comes a bit out of left field, for me and maybe is too convenient. Also the character of Megumi is kind of important, but she is never really developed thru out the series. The American Sergeant in charge of the special team is intelligent, cunning, and ruthless. However, he seems to conveniently lose his intelligence and just follow orders blindly when it comes down to the heart of Akuro. There are some other characters that seem to have contradictory motivations as well and a few thrown in for comedy like the bug-eyed mad scientist (sooo cliche).

There is a bit of Anti-Americanism going on as Americans are presented for the most part as dumb, arrogant and violent. This would have been ok if it was a parody about the stereotype, but it can't be seen that way in the context of the larger story.

The end is a little bit confusing with what Mitama is actually trying to do. The epilogue 5 years later is strange and seems tacked on without much thought. One of the characters seems to be developing stalker qualities which I think was a very weak attempt at humor.

I would still recommend this series in spite of its flaws. It has solid artwork, some good ideas, a bit of philosophizing thrown in and is only really betrayed by its shonen leanings. 8 out of 10.

... Last updated on March 20th, 2011, 10:57am

A lot of the comments have been degrading the second arc, and how the first arc was all it was worth... but that's not true. Alive has a pretty linear storyline, and the difference and the gap between the first and second arcs aren't that great. There isn't any point in stopping halfway, and if you think it's confusing, then you need a better hold if the English language or read the raws. It is true that it is can be pretty ugly and dark but suck it up, there's worse out there.

the only complaint that i have is

When I read the first volume, it was great and caught my interest. But in the 2nd arc.....my love for it died out. Something happened and that the story got....weird....and boring. -__-;; I would really rate this 10, if it weren't for the 2nd arc (despite one of my favorite new character shows up)

The 1st arc is the most exciting part, where the suicides happen. I think it would had been better if the author had the entire story revolve around the suicide part. Instead, it kinda turned into "people-who-aren't-thinking-of-dying-were-the-chosen -ones" type of thing.

Then the 2nd arc is the timeskip, which I thought it would redeem for 1st arc ending. Not only it didn't make up for the 1st arc ending, but the final ending got lame for me.

Besidde the storyplot, the artwork improves greatly, so I guess that kinda helps this manga a bit.....

... Last updated on January 3rd, 2011, 2:30pm

Not the best, but not bad compare to other manga. to tell u the truth this manga was really good, and had its bad time. It ending just right.
I respect this manga ending as the author put his all into it while being on his deathbed

"tadashi kawahima, may you RIP" (salut)

This manga have almost everything for a great manga

Likable main protagonist
Brilliant side characters
Nice additions of Romance and Humor
Awesome artworks
Well developed and a nice ending

But the story... urg... I appreciate the fact this is not a boring Goods vs Bads shounen and the author added his own thought while he was in his death bed.
However, the story is so dull and it really does not make sense at the end or it's too complicated for me to understand.

Overall, it's still worth reading

... Last updated on December 29th, 2010, 9:58am

it was a very well developed manga that had me reading it to the edge freaking 9 there but after...


that seriously killed it,omg i'm like wtf!the story became confused and i lost alot of interest i gave it a 7 then, it was very anti-cinimatic and got downgraded from then on.

... Last updated on November 3rd, 2014, 5:03pm

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.