i just finish all 35 volume of rave and i gatto say that it was one of the best manga ive read. when i read 33 and 34 i though that it was going to be a sad but it turn out be a happy ending after all. it is sad though that it is finish so early though i think they should have mad the final battle a little long but other than that the ending was really good.
what i found hilarious in this manga was the expression they give to the characters, i was like laughing death for certain scenes.
For the story, there is never a time you are bored and there is alway something funny well not ever time like during a battle or something like that. And also there would be time were there would have sad time but for the romance there was not much of it except in the last few chapter which was good in a way and not good in another way and wat suck is that it was not long enough in the ending but oh well it doesnt mean it was not good casue i was still a very good manga and that i really enjoyed it alot.

Let's see. Think about a most cliche shounen plot in your mind. A normal teenage boy suddenly got a great power and was destined to be the man save the world. Then he set out for adventure, he got new companions, they met the enemy and each defeat one after one, the enemy got stronger they learn new skill then blah blah final all out battle against his rival.
Well, this exactly the way this shounen go. Is it a bad point? MaybeIf yes, maybe no. I mean it's cliche because it's the most popular shounen plot after all. If you are full of that cliche, stay away from this one, if you just like to read shounen, this is a fine one. You know, If it's not good, it couldnt reach to 300 chapters.

My comment about Rave master.
The art is fine at the beginning as a manga in 1999 and it quickly get better later.
The plot is predictable but it still have enough twist to surprise you.
It's a pretty emotional shounen, at some points it's near the level of a tragedy. And sometimes it can make u lol.

I think this manga meets the standard. You are looking for a complete shounen w/ a pretty decent story, you may want to try this one. Have fun.

I like it...if your lookin for a comedy action with a lil bit of romance then this is one of the best you'll get.

This was a really nice manga, one of the few Shounen, if any, that I actually stayed up all night to read. Scratch that, read whenever possible WITHIN my school time.

The beginning, as most manga, isn't heart-racing, but rather a bit curious. You would generally read into it more, wondering who this "old guy" is and such. Rave does, I'll admit, take some time to really get pumping; but once it does, you might as well say goodbye to your social life.

The characters are basically what you'd expect, at the beginning, of any Shounen manga. But what I like about Rave is that, this all changes once you get to the midway point.
You like the side characters.
You love the enemies.
You ADORE the main characters.

Now, I never cry when watching anime or reading manga with the exception of two pieces.
One being Clannad, and the other being this.

The deaths were so heartbreaking that I wanted to curl up into my bed and give up on humanity.
I didn't even realize I was crying, I was just tearing up when

I really recommend this manga for anyone that's beginning the transition from shoujo to shounen. As well as for anyone who's looking for a good pulse-racing and heart-tugging tale.

The ending, though, is a main highlight of the story. Most shounen have a tendency to...*cough cough* end abruptly and make you want to bang your head in disbelief because you didn't realize it was over until the first comment you see is: "I CAN'T BELIEVE IT ENDED!"
But Rave was definitely one of the best concluded Shounen manga that I've read, and I've several.
It' ends all the loose ends you could conjure up. Closes all wounds. . And, the best part for me, is that the small side-omake actually coincides with the real story at the end, closing with a funny short.

So, in conclusion, I highly recommend this manga. Hiro Mashima really did his best here, and I hope he continues in Fairy Tail, another great piece by him.

... Last updated on November 30th, 2012, 11:18pm

Addicting... true at first the story and characters were sub-par but later on into the series, it really starts to get alot better. Everything about it changes. The character and plot and the atmosphere and tone went drastically better . Just leaves you wanting more and more.

Bare in mind it's still a typical adventure and fantasy type shounen. But it's exceptionally different. As said before at first it was slow but later on it gets much better. There isn't much side tracking or "fillers" The story moves fast and never drags around. Plus the characters are interesting to say the least.

... Last updated on June 28th, 2007, 8:27pm

Right now, I can say where the others are coming from with the whole Shounen cliche but to be honest, it has a great plot, very likable characters, and a great ending. NO! Scratch that... having an ending is amazing enough. The cliches were over-ridden by character's likability. I really can't say anything bad about this because I truly liked every single character in it--even the villains.

I'm a shoujo fan, BUT this is my very first manga. Ever. So Rave getting me hooked into the manga world deserves a 10/10 in my book.

Nevertheless, the characters are deep, storyline's clear. This is the manga I won't ever forget (because this is one of the few series I collected in my manga shelf)

the story: main stream but there are some really surprising twists in the plot.
the characters: totally main stream. but thats not bad, it fits well with the story.
the ending: leaves you thinking: that was a nice read.
quite a bit of romance sometimes almost tragic
all in all it's definitely worth reading for those who like shounen manga,
action, fantasy and romance manga or dont have anything better to do
personally i think this is one of most enjoyable reads i had though its cliche
the plot captivates you. only thing that could have been better:
the characters abilities... seriously. they are waaay too convenient =D
but hey its the authors first serialized work so forgive him ^^
so my rating is:

This is a great manga. I'm reading it for the 2nd time as I enter my 30th year (and I've watched the anime as a kid). Still as amazing as the first time I got into it.

Style and tone of manga change over the years, different audiences are introduced. Still doesn't downplay the quality of any works. All opinions are subjective. I believe this is an amazing manga. Still subjective, but amazing in my books.

The world building, style, humor, characters, story. There's always something that pops out from the page with this manga. I can easily see Heart Kreuz being a real clothing line in our world. Even if some stuff is recycled into Fairy Tail, still great.

JMO, but I'd say this is a good blueprint for adventure shonen manga.

Starts off well enough but later on it shows its colors, well hard to expect anything serious from the same guy who makes Fairy Tail, still I'm not particularly fond of dumbness and the "I'll fill the world with darkness because I'm evil" reasoning is annoying, "I'll stop you 'cause I'm good and light", that goes around in circles, that's the depth of the plot which by the way is full of holes, might be enticing in your early teens but I'm not in my early teens.
Also, it's way too naive, how many guys turn good after being defeated, chars die and revive all the time and as in FT the "emotions are strength" setting is boring, as a is the overused "I won't kill" preset, most manga simply can't use it without being cliched, dumb and naive so they fail, as far as I can remember the only series that managed were Trigun, History's strongest disciple Kenichi and Gundam seed. But the worst part is how they keep talking about justice yet let a guy that killed thousands go just because he had "a change of heart" since even if he did have it he can't change what you have done, that, is not justice, it's BS.
Even so, I like it more than I like Fairy Tail at least (only saw FT anime thou, needless to say I didn't like it much). Chars are actually likable and funny at times, the action is good and there are a few moving and exciting moments. And, as I said the start is good and as it happens, I liked the last 1/4 of the manga too.
Other than that, I agree with much what Jools said thou I don't find the chars that terrible.

... Last updated on October 20th, 2015, 7:11am

Read this if you want a typical feel good, good over evil, happy ending shounen manga. Nothing new here, but I give this one credit over similar mangas like Fairy Tail and One Piece for few reasons.

1. It's not infinitely dragged on. The pacing is good and it has a nice ending that ties up everything. Actually, it feels slightly rushed near the end, but that's OK with me because by then I had already seen enough of good guy fights impossibly strong bad guy, gets beat up, comes back through his will power stuff.

2. People die. Really. This is very unshounen-like in my opinion. Mangaka does pull some typical shounen style "he's-beat-up-so-bad-everyone-thought-he-was-dead-but-he-was-actually-bar ely-hanging-on-to-life-and-will-be-perfectly-fine-after-resting-few-days-with-no-side-effects" . But, some good and bad guys do die. For me, this made the fights feel a lot more epic and meaningful.

3. Ending didn't have any surprises, but it was satisfactory. No wondering whatever happened to...? Or why didn't they do...?

I recommend reading it if you're a fan of the genre.

... Last updated on December 20th, 2013, 11:22pm