Shibatora is a series starring a vertically challenged MC. He is a police officer who is in a part of the youth division section. They deal with crime committed by the underage. The series deals with various youth committed crimes and the after effects of those crimes and what not.
The series isn't just 1 whole story. Its several laced together in a sense. Their are a total of 5 arcs i believe. Each dealing with minor's and how they have their own problems. I think the author did a good job in trying the make the children not the bad guys. One of the main themes is that every child becomes a criminal because of their parents, something i disagree on personally, however for some of them i think the author did a decent job for making them seem like its not their fault. I mean i don't think anyone would think it is just his or her fault but it has the intended effect the author is going for.
Due to this its not your fault mindset the main character believes that every child can be changed. Their in lies the problem. Originally the first 2 arcs were solid. I really liked it they had a lot of intense moments the main character was badass and amazing double page spreads really made the series enjoyable to read. However the next 2 arcs were more of a problem. Honestly I hate the fact that main character tries to reform every single delinquent. Part of his technique to do this is believe everything they will say to the point where i was verbally saying come on. Part of this got annoying but the main reason it pissed me off was because it worked. But it didn't feel deserved more like he got lucky and in turn the delinquent reformed as well. This happens on more than one occasion and this part didn't have the intended effect as the author wanted.
Which is why i also kinda liked his supervising officer but her turned out to be a bit of a waste. I also felt like his friend the white haired dude wasn't utilized well enough. Some of the other characters also feel wasted and were used as comedy routines too many times. I liked the heroine though. She was funny and her personality brought a lot of funny and cute moments in the series.
Though dealing with Kids in this series can be a hit or miss, dealing with adults is just amazing to see. The MC has 2 side to him. The kind soft calm side dealing with children, and super sayain mode dealing with adults. This contrast is very satisfying to watch and unfold. Though i do not like how adults are almost always blamed i do like how the main characters deals with it though. One of the situation is the main character playing the cat and mouse game with a very professional law student and its so insane. I won't say its on par with Light vs L but i did very much enjoy the word game they had.
Most of this stuff though actually occurs in the beginning. The dealing with adults and charisma or likability of the main character is why i really enjoyed the first 2 arcs. But beyond that it start losing it. The dealing with Kids is a hit or miss like a mentioned because the 3rd and 4th arc just aren't as good as the beginning. They aren't bad, but you'd expect more after being hyped from the first 2 arcs. Now the last arc however is well written. Author starts taking risks and it pays off. Character's are more interesting. Situations are more dangerous and the stakes are the highest they've ever been. I didn't think the ending was bad either. However the resolution of the last arc got too political, unnecessarily and the ending ending was too nice personally.
Another thing i didn't like was that the main character could see whether or not a person was about to be in mortal danger. It's related to his backstory stuff but honestly the entire thing felt unnecessary. I don't think it was poorly implemented but its not something I thought i want in this manga.
TLDR: Good manga, I was upset at the lack of hype from the first 2 arcs in the 3rd and 4th arc however the last arc was solid and considering it ends in a solid note, I guess i'll let this get away with a 7/10. Also their is a reddit mod moment.
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