This story which was very good at first, managed to disappoint me at every turn when the second season came out (chapter 41).
The original premise was good, well handled, and consistent.
A boy who was cast away to die, managed to survive and starts yearning for a human world he has never seen.
He receives love in the form of a leopard beast who took him in and has raised him, and a mentor who will prepare him for his future trials.
- Art is great (landscapes and action scenes).
- Characters are fleshed out.
- The writing and pacing are good. Everything is not given, so you naturally get curious about the world they live in (which is a key point for me to like a story)
Then the author and artist were changed for the second season and everything fell apart:
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Art is different obviously with key points that didn't cut it for me: the shape of the characters' face and their body. They are just not the same person. Where is the round face of a 15 year old boy? Also action scenes are less impactful.
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The flow and the mood of the story have also changed, with the main character becoming very talkative and confiding overnight, when he was a man of few words the day before. It's especially disconcerting since he asks for advice from somebody who wants to be left alone.
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Writing devolved from an adventure story in a dark fantasy world to the cliché and overused "nobles are superior to commoners" school arc.
The presence of a school arc did not actually bother me that much at first, but only if it had been handled differently, and not made into this mess of stereotypes and bad writing plot devices.
I thought the story would focus more on Helmut bonding with kids his age, learning from teachers and the man who took him in, and finally expand towards the mysteries involving his identity.
All in all, the new art is underwhelming, and the new writing is bland, which made in turn the story inconsistent.