Let's talk about Shuumatsu no Walküre/Record Of Ragnarok

 

So I came about this manga by accident while watching a podcast run by some YouTubers and it intrigued me. So I decided to read it and finished it in 3 days (the manga has not finished serializing, it's still being published, what I mean is that I have read till it has serialized) it was around 35 chapters and I do not regret a second of it. 

I will be truthful about it, I do not read a lot of manga and this manga made me want to read me also this is my first manga review on this blog so.....yesssss. 

First of all, this manga will only appeal to people who like fictitious action with a sense of good storytelling, and characters. As an action junkie myself I love this shit. I suggest that you read the first 5 chapters and then decide whether you like it or not. Also if you are here for historical accuracy, you will not get it. But I don't mind it at all, it makes up for it with its creative and amazing storytelling and character development. 

SYNOPSIS

High above the realm of man, the gods of the world have convened to decide on a single matter: the continued existence of mankind. Under the head of Zeus, the deities of Ancient Greece, Norse mythology, and Hinduism, among others, call assembly every one thousand years to decide the fate of humanity. Because of their unrelenting abuse toward each other and the planet, this time the gods vote unanimously in favor of ending the human race.

But before the mandate passes, Brunhild, one of the 13 demigod Valkyries, puts forth an alternate proposal: rather than anticlimactically annihilating mankind, why not give them a fighting chance and enact Ragnarök, a one-on-one showdown between man and god? Spurred on by the audacity of the challenge, the divine council quickly accepts, fully confident that this contest will display the utter might of the gods. To stand a chance against the mighty heavens, Brunhild will need to assemble history's greatest individuals, otherwise, the death knell will surely be sounded for mankind.

The whole of the series is just one big tournament arc with 13 fighters from each side (Humans and God). Though I did say that it does not have a lot of historical accuracies, all the gods and humans mentioned in the manga are real. If you are curious about which gods are there here are they...

This is showed after the 1st match only so I don't think you should consider this a spoiler. Speaking of spoilers I will be mentioning the fights that will happen but not the winner to avoid spoiling the manga but then again only 5 matches have happened till now as of 13 October 2020.

I won't be talking about the characters as all the characters are very in-depth and there is no specific main character in this show. A whole blog can be done on "Jack the Ripper" my favorite character so far entirely so I will do another blog just talking about the characters of Record Of Ragnarok. I will talk about the characters in a very general aspect of this review.

Ok towards the review

As you may have guessed by now the whole manga is just a huge tournament arc and it is crazy amazing. 

"People pay for what they do, and still more for what they have allowed themselves to become. And they pay for it very simply; by their lives, they lead.”
- James Baldwin

Shuumatsu no Walküre, or Record of Ragnarok, is a truly interesting manga. As the synopsis declares, we have alone valkyrie who initiates what is the record of Ragnarok. Yet there is a fascinating twist on the way this is done. Within this manga, we see the inevitable price humanity must pay, and the mindset of Gods in this world, each a result of the lives they lead.


The story is a very simple one. Simply put, essentially we follow one big tournament arc in which 13 Gods face off against 13 Humans, in separate One vs One battle, as the synopsis entails. However, while being an extremely simple premise, it is portrayed in a superbly interesting manner using intriguing undertones that embellish what it is we have. There is fantastic lore behind this story, one of which elucidates the high stakes, from Gods of mythology that we ourselves may be interested in human beings within our timeline that we may have taken note of. I believe this manga takes the idea of simple action, tournament arc, and stretches it to its greatest lengths. The only flaw I can give here is simplicity, however, this simplicity is also one of this work's greatest strengths.

There's not much I can say here. The art is truly outstanding. Each panel is so intricately drawn and, while this manga is one that updates monthly, the art that we receive in return makes it more than worth it. Truly some of the greatest art in the manga I can say I think I've ever seen, and the attention to detail here is extraordinary. Almost every scene of this manga is eye-jizzling and I know that is not the word but that's how I feel

At the start of each fight you basically know nothing about these fighters, because even if you know their historical counterpart, you won't know their backstory. The Manga takes great liberties within the history of these characters. But back to the topic. The flashbacks for the characters never feel out of place and give you an amazing feeling of hype and hope to see these people win or lose if you don't like them

So, we have our lone Valkyrie and a few other recurring characters. However, what I really like about the way the characters are set up in this manga is that it's very difficult to establish a "main" character. We have many different characters, all amazing in their own right. Each character is fleshed out very well, and yet there are so many interesting characters with such fascinating lore that it's honestly a wonder. So while I can't say something along the lines of "I'm a fan of the main character because of...", I can say that I really enjoy every single character in this manga for what they are, and how they are presented. Even so, I am very fond of the characterization done within this work.

I've enjoyed every chapter so far to a very high extent. I believe anyone looking for a good Seinen action will truly enjoy this read. It's one that is easy to get into due to the simplicity of the story, amazing to look at due to the intricacy and quality of the art, and wholly enjoyable all the way through due to the lack of uninteresting characters and lore that we are presented with along the way.

While this isn't necessarily a masterpiece (well it hasn't ended yet so it could be). In fact, it is one of the best works I've had the pleasure of reading. However, I believe that the manga being far from over factors into the overall score here. Down the line, this work could become one of the greatest in the history of manga, or perhaps it could be the opposite in which it loses traction. With that said, I truly believe this is worth reading. It is very good for any fan of the action genre and is undoubtedly a diamond in the rough within this scope.