The only real flaw with Beck is that when you're just reading it, you don't really have a proper sense of how the author intended for the various songs to actually sound. It's almost like the actual manga books should have come with a soundtrack.

I otherwise found this manga to be very enjoyable to read just because of how all the characters were handled. The art may not be the greatest and some of the characters would not be nice to look at even with super pretty art, but it does work for Beck.

I started reading this manga and watching the anime at the same time. And I didn't expect to even like it, but I started and I wouldn't stop. I just started it yesterday and now I'm on volume 29, yeah all in one day. I really like it, and I recommend it. The characters develop very well(except for ryusuke and taira tho, taira stayed good the whole time, but I don't think ryusuke changed that much at all). All throughout the manga, I keep asking when Koyuki will ever grow taller, like real taller, haha. But I seriously do recommend it, if you haven't read it yet, read it now.

The beginning is kinda unsteady but if you persist, you'll really be rewarded with lots of fun.

...the romance. If you're looking for a good romance manga, this isn't exactly it; this is a music manga that happens to have romance - not that it's a bad thing. What's particularly annoying is the author's penchant for introducing romantic interests... only to conveniently write them off. It does pack romantic drama, but I'm really not fond of how the tension just seems to get written off.



Probably another pet peeve I have with Beck is how everyone just seems to stand agape whenever Koyuki sings. Yes, he's supposed to be good... but does everyone really react like that, and in a concert no less? And it just gets cheesier every time it happens.

Joking aside, Beck is an excellent read. Music buffs will definitely enjoy this, and non-buffs... may suddenly get the urge to pick up an axe in the end. I know I did.

(might contain minor spoilers, just to warn you)

Beck is a brilliant manga.
The first 2500 pages are great, you constantly get to see something new, showing the character/band development.
The main selling points of this manga are the character development and the emotions it manages to create in you even if you can't hear the songs.

It has it's weak points, too, for example, in the beginning it has a really weird art style, but that changes over time, I think it was gone about 2000 pages in.
It kinda loses it's pacing in the middle, the exciting points are more spread out than in the beginning and in the end.

The last 1400 pages are truly amazing, everything that was built up to that point truly comes to shine, allowing for a magnificant finishing marathon with a very great ending, wrapping up every loose thread remaining.

To finish it up, my 3 favorite scenes from the manga:

this manga made me feel a whole variation of emotion, from sadness to happiness to anger to disappointment...but the most important of all it can bring out the sense of wonder and awe out from a couple of page of just shots of the band and the fans and made my heart beat fast as if i was hearing the song at that moment.

out of hundreds of manga i had read, this is the most realistic group of 'nakama' i had ever read - there's no blind sense of loyalty or people putting up with other people for the convenience of the plot, but their friendship actually blossom slowly from a little seed to a very strong bond that will never be broken.

and the romance - well, the romance is beautiful. koyuki is possibly the most romantic guy ever. who the hell just drop everything and run to his lover's side just by hearing her name? their love ring true - there's no sappiness, no cheesiness, just undying love that's no need for hollow declaration but shown through their actions.

the only reason i don't give a 10 is because it's my policy to never give a full mark for anything.

The one fault this manga possesses is, ironically, its emphasis on music. You can see when the band pulls off something to the point of getting goosebumps, but you can't experience it. You can't taste the elements that make the main character's voice so special. Instead of recognizing that the band members improved, you have to believe what the other characters are saying. Other than that, I did enjoy the series and the characters immensely. It did seem odd, however, that all their outside lives ended up in the rain.

... Last updated on February 5th, 2011, 5:14pm

this is one of my favorite manga

If you like rock bands, this is a must read manga!!
I also like the anime, great OST!!!

Beck was a great manga. The storyline was decent and there was a lot of fun to be had while reading this. The characters each had their own different personality and there were some good relationship conflicts that seem plausible but a lot of the story conflicts were meh. It was fun to read but it was kinda impossible to fully experience BECK's awesomeness because it's a manga and there's no sound. Despite that it was a fun and engaging experience. Although there were some parts that were unsatisfactory at the end such as But one of the great parts of the end was