Manga Review: Mephistos

Meet Maria & Meths

Title: Mephistos [Here Be Demons series]
Artist: Naniiebim [Deviant Account]
Genre: Comedy, Romance, Drama, Supernatural
Volumes (Thus far): 3
Buy them HERE
Read Sample HERE
Rating: 










Summary: What do you do when you find yourself living next to an unusual neighbor?


Review: So, my mind was blown by this manga. Seriously, Naniiebim is a genius.

Collection of Books of Mephistos & Peeks at
the contents inside! :D
ORDER THOSE MARIA AND METHS PINS NOW!!

Basically, this story is about a woman, Maria and a man, Mephistos (Meths)... who happens to have a tail. Their first encounter is struck with a frozen chicken, and both characters are thrust into this unusual relationship between a woman and a demon. After Maria had met Meths, she begins to encounter a strange black shadow that follows her around, not understanding what is going on. The story progresses at a steady pace and keeps the reader wanting more. Naniiebim's intriguing story seriously is making me save up money for her books (I wish I had a job!!.. ). The story isn't a typical romance or supernatural drama at all. From page one, I have always wondered about Maria's character, especially the first page! (NO SPOILERS. GO READ IT!!) The use of panels (We'll talk about that in a few) and the expressions of the characters are excellently displayed and keep the flow of the story moving, especially with Naniiebim's unique style.

Characters:

Maria and opening to Chapter 6

Maria: You know what I love about Maria? She looks like a normal woman. No, that is not at all bad. What I mean by normal is the comparison between mainstream manga and Naniiebim's artistic interpretation of Maria. Maria isn't that large eyed "woman" who looks like a 14 year-old girl; She looks like an average woman, who was living a peaceful life. Maria in the beginning and later on are how any person would react to situations (I.E. when she first sees Meths). I love Maria because 1 - She's my own definition of beautiful. Her character design is simple yet gorgeous, especially her eyes and hair. (Black hair FTW!) 2 - Her character is somewhat mysterious. From page one, like I said in the Review, Maria interests me. At first, I was wondering what she was looking at and what she was doing before hand and if it had anything to do with what is happening to her now (Maybe I am over analyzing it.. I tend to do that...) However, Maria is a perfect female protagonist and isn't some angsty woman on the edge because of love or something cliche. She's just normal, and to me, when someone or something is normal, there is totally another layer beneath he/she or it.

Meths & Maria

Meths: Beautiful character. Maria's 0.05 evaluation of Meths had be laughing my butt off. Meths' personality is totally the proverb "Don't judge a book by its cover." That is exactly what happened; Meths' personality is rather endearing, funny, and adorable. His facial expressions fit his character, and his character design is beautiful. I love the part (SPOILER ALERT) after Maria had grabbed his tail and he kept asking her what he say, when he broke down, I nearly peed myself from laughter. My stomach hurt for a good 30 minutes. XD It was especially worse because I kept reading it and seeing his expressions. (SPOILER ENDS) Meths has a unique personality compared to his protagonist counterpart, Maria, which balances the calmness with the hyperactive-ness that is Meths. Naniiebim was genius in incorporating two some-what contrasting personalities between the two protagonist. I feel that if Meths did follow the book with his personality matching his physical look, then Meths just wouldn't be as great of a character.

Panel Planning and Art Uniquity: Generally, I do not add this to my reviews when I do manga or anime, but I slightly mention them to support the claims I make. However, because Naniiebim is somewhat of a developing Mangaka, I wanted to incorporate this.
First, panel planning and viewpoints = GENIUS. Naniiebim uses unique perspectives (I love her use of the Fish-eye VP) that creates an interesting scenery in a possibly boring panel if she had not used that unique perspective. Another point that leads to is panel planning which is actually a very good aspect of any manga. Naniiebim uses panels in a simplistic way, but within every panel, it creates a build-up and conclusion, even when she might not mean to (No idea what she is thinking, but she is very clever and a genius). This build-up creates such a huge emotion in the reader that they just desire more with a passion. Seriously, I was always so excited when I saw she had added a new page.

Maria & Meths :D

One thing that scared me a little bit was Naniiebim's style. I am so used to the finished lines in mangas, pictures, or even in my own art. (I'm a perfectionist.. /lesigh...) It used to bother me a lot when I would see unfinished lines in pictures. However, Naniiebim's style just slapped me outta that. Seriously, this art is so expressful and fluid that it literally flows the manga together.

Overall: Entirely, I give Mephistos a 4/4 polishes. It's story line is well paced, and its art is beyond expression of creativity and uniqueness. Naniiebim's creative use to character expressions, gestures, and realism-meets-fantasy & fantasy-meets-realism encounters is magnificent. I really can't describe how much I wish I could buy all of Naniiebim's art work and books (Jellyfish Prince is sooo adorable!). Sadly, I am too poor... i need a job Hmm. What was that? ._.

Mephistos ~ Maria and Meths

P.S. I'd like to give a special thanks to Naniiebim who allowed me to use the art seen in this review and also allowing me to write this review about her Manga. Naniiebim, I wish you great success and you will be seeing me order your books and art very soon! Keep on drawing!

Inked with Brilliance and Love,
Sara