This story has it all : a seriously cool storyline, beautifully done action scenes, an incredible cast of well-designed and well-rounded characters, fabulous art (and I mean FABULOUS here), drama, comedy, and a little bit of romance. It has something for everyone. "Until Death Do Us Part" moves at lightening speed. There's never a dull moment. It's like a perfectly done action film in manga form. The twist in the beginning of the story is great. I certainly didn't expect it, and while it could have come off as strange or creepy, the author pulled it off with class and intelligence.

The two main characters, Haruka and Mamoru, are perfect foils for each other. They see each other very differently, as you'll find as you read the series. On the outside, it may seem like it's been done before, but it's never been done like this. Yes, Haruka is a little girl, but she's smart, serious, and useful as all get-out. She's nothing like your average anime/manga kid. She doesn't whine and rarely if ever cries (unless she has a seriously good reason to). Her old life has been obliterated, and because of her gift (or curse), she can never, ever, be safe. She becomes a prize worth dying for. Even with all that, she's still a just an innocent kid. She enjoys playing with friends, cooking, and going to school. Her power gives her strength, but she's no ninja bad-ass. She needs Mamoru.

Mamoru is awesome. Yes, he's a blind swordsman, and we've seen that before, but it's who Mamoru is (and not what) that makes him so cool. He's an incredible fighter, but he's not invincible. He needs help sometimes. Haruka and Mamoru's partner, Igawa, as well as others, come together to fill a great supporting role. Mamoru isn't the type of guy who'd let a little girl fend for herself against the bad guys, but it doesn't hurt that he has a beef with those bad guys himself. He seems like a good guy, but it may not have always been so. He's got demons of his own to fight, and those are slowly revealed as the story goes on.

The rest of the characters are just as good. As the cast grew, I, like other readers, became worried that it would be too much for the author to handle. My fears were unfounded. I've never seen a large cast done so well. Every character has an interesting back story, but the author's real skill lies in being able to fit that back story in with the main plot, and to do it succinctly and beautifully. He never gives it all away at once, but throws us bits and pieces to hold our attention. Each character is unique and complicated, with multifaceted personalities and relationships. I found myself believing in and caring about every single one of the characters in "Until Death Do Us Part".

For me, this series is a 10/10. It deserves way more love than it gets. I'd love to see it licensed in the U.S. by a company that will keep up with the Japanese releases, and do it well. Until then, the scanlation teams that have been working so hard on it have been getting the word out and doing a fabulous job. Please, if you like this series as much as I do, tell your friends and family to pick it up. Buy copies and support the mangaka. It's worth it. ^_^

It's GOOD!
I'm starting to get into these precog mangas. This is one of the firsts I've read.
Plot: complicated, with good twists in there. Naturally with these long series, it's divided by arcs, with each arch presenting new obstacle/enemy. But the overall plot is as the summary says, the girl with the precog ability (see into the future) seeks out the only person in the world who she believes (sees into the future) is able to save/protect her from harm. Since she's a precog, a lot of people want to use her.

The characters are strong. Recently, around 100th chapter of so, we finally get to see the background story behind Mamoru, the blind swordman. I wish Haruka's character is a bit stronger, but she is still young (12-13), so she's still developing. She is growing stronger, no doubt about that, as Mamoru is teaching her some stuff about tactics and ways to survive while in a pinch using her precog ability. She's smart, but is still a child, so her physical ability is way limited. She is one of the few people in this manga who doesn't have any physical abilities at all. All she's got is her ability to see into the future. Even though I keep wanting her ability to be a bit stronger, but ultimately she's not a God.

The scope of the plot is huge. Not only involving Japanese yakuza or police force, but also international crime groups and crime-fighting groups.

If you are looking for a good action manga. This is it. There are tons of action in this, usually sword vs. guns; guns vs. guns; snipers. Going into this manga, be warn that you should never underestimate the sword that Mamoru wields. It's powerful. It can cut through just about anything, including walls, armors, and bullets. Since this is a manga--a fiction-- don't expect the action sequence to make a lot of sense, or be realistic; I think some comments here complained about the unbelievability of the fights. haha.

The art is really cool. Shounen-like. Rough at the right places. Being an action-packed manga, getting the human anatomy (abs, etc.) right is a given.

If you are looking for romance, this is not it for you.
Don't get me wrong; there IS romance in there, but that won't develop for a while; I'm guessing until Haruka, the heroine, is at least 15-16 (she's around 13 right now- chapter 126). We do get glimpes that Haruka and Mamoru will eventually get married (in a vision)--hence the name of the manga "Until Death Do us Apart." There is no side romance that's important to mention. The main pairing, Mamoru-Haruka, would qualify in the "Age Gap" category since Mamoru is maybe about 10 years older than Haruka. Yep.

This manga has the hallmarks of being a great series. It has good art (sometimes a bit inconsistent, but still good), an interesting set of characters, and some reality based science. Unfortunately, it all gets dumbed down with shounen-esque cliques.

So main lead wants to fight people for the sake of getting stronger and he wants to fight strong people. (face palm) How many times have we seen that?

At first we get treated to some cool science and sci-fi stuff like echo location, monofilament coatings, drones, etc. However around volume 5 Mamoru goes from being a high tech street samurai to basically being a superhero. Some of the stuff starts to get ridiculous we get people snatching bullets out of the air, breaking laws of physics like vehicles that can stop instantaneously with no forward movement (mass be damned), bad guys having unlimited resources just to give Mamoru a few extra levels to clear before meeting the final boss. I could go on and on. Some of this would be ok if yea it was dragonball or something like that, but if its a series somewhat based on reality when it isn't real things start to stand out like a sore thumb.

The characters haven't gotten much in the way of growth or development. Its all very shallow mainly because its turned into a battle manga. The pieces are all there for this to be an excellent series, but inconsistencies and shounen qualities are bringing it down. If you like constant battling, characters posturing about how badass they are then you will probably really enjoy this series. I'm a bit disappointed in it myself, but I'm still going to stick with it for a bit more. There's still time for the series to get better, so I'll give it a few more volumes before I decide to drop it or not. Right now, I'll give it 7.5 and adjust it if the series gets better or worse.

Fast paced action and incredible storyline, this manga is definitely one that action manga lovers should not miss. Although in the beginning one predicts that there will be romantic feelings arising from the two main characters, so far there has only been endless fighting. However, it's not boring because Mamoru's abilities continues to surprise the reader. The side characters have depth and are complex; to the point that the reader sympathizes them as well. It's quite surprising that Haruka's ability as a precog can become false in the future and the mangaka clearly explains how there could be a precog in this day and age. (the mangaka really did some research.)

I recommend it to definitely males but females as well. For I am one, yet I appreciated this manga very much.

Let me start out by saying that I really enjoyed this manga at first. Sure it had more than its fair share of cliches, but the interesting premise and strong characters carried it forward. Not to mention the gorgeous artwork. It had a lot of potential.

But when I read the latest chapters I feel like I'm doing so more out of obligation and any actual enjoyment. This manga has completely jumped the shark. The current story arc doesn't make any sense. It just randomly introduces new characters who then fight for some reason. Sure Hijikata is still around, but half the time is spent watching battles between characters that you know literally nothing about. Not even names for a lot of them! You have no idea who these people are or why they are even fighting. And then they fight using a bunch of contrived weapons and techniques that push suspension of disbelief to the limit in what was at least a semi-realistic manga at first. The whole school-full-of-assassins plotline doesn't help either. That might be a good premise for a gag manga, but the other is completely serious about it here and it's just...dumb.

At least the artwork is still gorgeous.

First of all, the art is quite wonderful! All the characters have bodies that feel and move like actual humans. The action scenes are well-choreographed and neatly drawn so you can actually tell what is going on. I find some action series have barely comprehensible action scenes, so this is definitely a plus in my book.

Second of all, I like the idea of the precog, it's well done and very interesting. The main girl, Haruka, is likable and eager to use her skills to help others (or, you know, fight terrorists). I like most of the other characters as well, particularly some of operatives on the good side. They are quite sympathetic characters once you learn more of their back stories. Everyone's awesome and capable of dishing out the pain. It's wonderful.

The story was very engrossing up till chapter 90 or so, since then the story seems to have less focus and is dragging a bit, in my opinion. Still, very enjoyable, fighting terrorists is always fun to read about. Also, the manga has interesting uses of potentially-feasible technology, like sonar glasses and more advanced drones.

I would recommend this to anyone looking for a good action series with awesome art, likable characters, and a generally engaging story.

One Word: Addicting.

And if that's not enough, I can still remember you about the Great Art, Strong Characters, Wonderful Plot and we could spend the rest of our lives pointing the Best Parts.

It proves that even some elements considered 'clichè' can work out wonderfully when you put a lot of effort, talent... and a blind swordsman in it.

I really needed to read something like this.

A Remarkable Manga Series.

Read, and let yourself be Overwhelmed.

... Last updated on May 7th, 2009, 8:20pm

This series started out amazing, and by chapter 120, I sort of got bored because it was being released so slow and the plot didn't seem to get anywhere... until chapter 136!!! Then it's bam! All the epicness falls like a storm! I just finished chapter 147, and I must say I fell in love with this series all over again. This isn't something you can read one chapter at a time, continuity is important, reading 131~147 in one go just reminded me of everything I love about this manga! The art has amazing details, and the actions are extremely well drawn. Highly recommend.

I thought that it wasn't going to be good from the description because it sounded somewhat cliche to me. However i gave it a shot anyways and fell in love with the art, the plot,the action, the characters ,everything is just so Good!
If you haven't started reading it do it!lol
but seriously its good

Despite most of the plot elements being nothing new, the plot creators still have managed to make it very refreshing. Everyone has their own motive, their flaws and even the opponents are fairly intelligent too.



Plus, the various technologies are quite rational and thought-out. All of it works out very well within the plot.

The pacing is very well-done too and the action is brilliantly done. Plus, I really love the idea of a blind man kicking ass.

... Last updated on April 20th, 2009, 10:59pm