To put it bluntly, this series appears at first to be an action/adventure comedy, but reveals itself, in fact, to be an epic mystery/tragedy.
At first glance, it appears to be Kubera Leez' story of survival and revenge, as she sets off when her village is instantly destroyed. However, the true story is unveiled not just through her, but through 10 main characters (not counting major side characters), with a wide range of motives from saving their loved ones, to revenge, to aiding their declining races or more.
And through them, the true story unfolds, as events that transpired across half a dozen races, several generations, several centuries, multiple planets and even multiple realms are progressively revealed. And the current events are just the next chapter in this "war with no villains, only victims."
Strengths:
- A diverse and endearing set of characters (including excellent female characters), where "each character is the protagonist of his own life." The characters are not locked into the standard roles of protagonists and villains. Instead, depending on who they're with, they're family or a friend, a monster, manipulator or a victim, an idealist or a heinous hyprocite, or even all at the same time. And even though they initially seem based on standard tropes, the way they're pit against one another and against the harsh realities of this world is anything but standard: family, friendship, love, the power to accomplish one's goals and even one's ideals and convictions, all too often the characters are allowed to choose just one and forced to sacrifice the rest, or end up losing everything instead. None of the characters are extras, instead all of them bring their own piece to the core story, and interact in surprising ways with one another.
- A vast, interesting world, with complex dynamics between the races (8 Sura races, the Gods and the humans, each with their own alliances and enemies, and individuals with their own conflicting agendas). The truth about the cataclysmic events that occurred in the past is still slowly being revealed.
- Complex plot told through an unusual narrative model that mixes the present, past events and even glimpses of the future. With each new revelation however, more questions are raised than answered. You'll think you know the whole plot by Chapter 2, but by Chapter 100 you'll be struggling to guess the true motivations of the characters.
- Yet the cohesive writing never falls into retcon or plot holes: the story was originally planned as a novel, and the consistency of the trail of clues shows that the author knows where this is going. There will be dozens of instances where you'll want to go back dozens, or even over 100 chapters back to find back the clues relating to the ongoing events (I have the equivalent of a 25 page document just to keep track of what was revealed, and in which chapter, lol).
- It has a rather... unique atmosphere. The series will often make you laugh, only to shock you with the brutality of what the characters have gone through. The series never shoves the drama into your face though, in fact you'll often forget that the characters are completely miserable because they pretend to be fine.
- The art starts out weak, but improves greatly over time. The characters have great visual designs, and the diverse facial expressions are hilarious.
Weaknesses:* Slow pacing, especially at the beginning. The story is about 80% plot and characters, and 20% action, moreso since it takes the time to gradually reveal the past of the characters. This is made worse by...
- Weekly cliffhangers. They burn. I'm not even joking...
- You may be disappointed with how little the "main" character does in Part I, as the story unfolds through many characters at the same time. In fact, most of the characters in this series are suppressing their true motives and feelings, and you will only see through them if you pay attention. Kubera Leez, for example, is only pretending to be alright, but she is so good at pretending that even many readers seem to be fooled. =.=;;
- Story can be confusing to read. If you just plan to spend a few minutes reading it every week, you'll likely get lost pretty soon. If you enjoy piecing together pieces of the puzzle together, however, this series is for you. In fact, I would say this series is actually best the first time you re-read it.
- Art-wise, background art is the author's weakness.
Read it if you like a good mystery. Don't read it if you're looking for weekly action.
Overall, Kubera offers a blend of genres that I don't think I've ever seen in any other series. This was so novel that I initially didn't even know what it was about the series that I liked so much. Because its strengths are so different than typical manga stories, it can be easy to miss them: readers who approach it expecting to read a traditional journey of a hero's ascendancy will soon walk away confused and disappointed, not realizing that the meat of the true story lies (initially at least) in the mystery aspects that he's likely skimmed over. (basically, it'd be like trying to read a crime novel like an action series, then complaining you don't know who the culprit is)
For readers that persist, however, they will be rewarded with an amazing reading experience, where each new re-reads yield new pieces of the puzzle, hinting at huge and incredible events leading up to the current story.
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