Zuda review Kogoshii/ What if Romeo didn't die, he was just too chicken to make a honest woman out of Juliet

Kogoshii is a June Zuda comic done by Danny Donovan and Gigi. It is technically proficient in both art and writing, but didn't grab me as a reader. Here is the synopsis: War can be an awful thing. It can take something as pure as young love and turn it into little more than a commodity. When lovers born on opposite sides of a centuries long hatred are forced into a union to build a half-hearted truce, a foolish choice, a rash decision made for the most honorable of reasons, may not just escalate the bloody conflict but destroy the only thing worth fighting for. When Shinji returns home from his self imposed exile, he discovers what his choice had wrought and learns the one person he tried desperately to save was the one hurt the deepest. Love and hate, two sides of the same coin. Can he reignite old passions, or will he die at the hands of the one he loves?

I got the ending, but I didn't like the ending

The art and dialogue were fine, but the ending felt like a half hearted cliff hanger. The various guilds reminded me of the Gambit/his wife/Rogue love triangle from X-Men back in the 90's. Assassins vs. thieves is a nice genre element I enjoyed in this story. It starts off with scenes which do a excellent job of characterization. The text is well written, a bit much of it for my tastes, but the art helped it greatly. It does a good job of explaining the world your reading about. The pace could have been more focused on the future, it still fit well enough on Zuda. Something pretty important happens in the narrative on every page which keeps up a readers interest. It's too bad the creators didn't milk this for all it was worth. The exchanges between Shinji and his best friend, and between him and Satori provide well written characterization. The creators do a good job of making sure the readers get to know the characters in the space provided. Actually mentioning the whole modern day Romero and Juliet thing in the comic, was hitting the readers in the head with a sledge to make sure we got it. Any connection that obvious doesn't need to be s-p-e-l-l-e-d o-u-t by the writer. I don't read Manga regularly, but the art/look of this comic I enjoyed. It always helps when the letters are legible. This was a hefty read for only 8 screens. The creators didn't short change the readers on dramatic elements, but it was too focused on the 'now' considering the direction of the story as foretold by the synopsis. I get the creators wanted us to see how the two leads are now, so we would be greatly affected by their personalty shifts after the events of screen 8. The creators underestimated their own strengths. Who Satori and Shinji are 'now' and their clans problems with it was established by screen 4. You didn't need even more cool text along with, even more cool voice over images to further drive that point home. This month a number of other comics are a better fit for what I'm looking for in a comic. Kogoshii came close in the 8 screens, and if it wins it could get a favorite from me upon seeing more updates.

Can he reignite old passions, or will he die at the hands of the one he loves?

Danny left the best part of the comic in the synopsis, where me and maybe three other people will read it. The synopsis is damn interesting on where this comic can go, more of that dramatic excitement should have been in the comic. Sure the ending was a cliff hanger and you can peer into the future of these characters like a prophet if you read the synopsis. Why wasn't more of the impending doom new directions hinted at in the comic? Shinji comes off as the ultimate dope, I hope Satori does kick the shit out of him. That's good though, I could be tuning in again just to see the smack down. It is also a nice thematic touch that living on the run helps Shinji no doubt become the ultimate thief. The pain and anger of being dumped at the alter by a runaway groom, will no doubt become focused razor edged rage that inspires Satori to be a top notch killer. Fantastic stuff left in the synopsis makes for a pitiful 8th screen. Satori didn't look angry in the last panel, just sad. A future shot montage of Shinji , and Satori in the future doing their respect things would have been awesome, and got a favorite from me. A sequence of panels showing Satori going from sad to mad would have also got a favorite from me. They're not enough hints in the 8 screens as to the direction of this comic for me, or the creators made the synopsis too damn cool and got my hopes up.