365 Days of Manga, Day 245: Nephylym

NEPHYLYM • DrMaster • Rei Kusakabe • 13+
All his life, teenage Shun has been an outcast because he has the power to control electricity, as well as to see ghostly things that others cannot see. One day, he meets “Air,” a little angel-girl in a maid outfit, whose presence causes his stubby weapon to grow into a long sword of crackling electricity. (Like the sword in Inuyasha, it’s probably best not to think about this too deeply.) His cute, busty classmate Sanari suddenly shows up and explains that – surprise! — she has an angel-partner too, and both she and Shun are “answerers,” who must use their Nephylym partners to fight “noir,” black crystals that embody negative emotions. Shun’s glasses-wearing, intellectual classmate Aoyagi (a sort of Uryu Ishida type) is also an “answerer,” and together, the three of them fight evil while the two guys fight over Sanari’s affections. This dismal attempt at a fantasy/battle manga features awful art and juvenile fight scenes in which the heroes face threats such as possessed kitties; it reads more like Shugo Chara! or Tokyo Mew Mew than Bleach. The characters look cute in a bland way, but the lengthy action scenes are rudimentary and uninteresting, basically blotches of ink fighting blobs of screentone. Bland and uninspired.
* (one star)
Today’s winner is Theepa N. of Illinois. Congratulations, Theepa! Your manga is already on the way!