Can I even call this a review? I mean, I’ll be talking about things I like. I’ll be going over aspects of the series as if it was a review. But I won’t really be talking about Real as if I’m reviewing instead I’ll just be talking about it as if I was casually discussing it in a discord chat or VC. But before we start I need to establish 3 things. Firstly, Real is still an ongoing manga as of the writing of this review. Secondly, I haven’t caught up to Real, I’ve read 13 volumes. Thirdly, Real is my 2nd favorite manga so there really won’t be any talks of criticism as quite honestly, there isn’t much, if anything I find wrong about Real. I think Real is one of the greatest works of art I’ve ever read & it submitted Takehiko Inoue as not only my favorite mangaka, but my for sure one of my top 5 favorite creators in any media (Music, Games, Manga, Anime, etc.) of all time. Sufficed to say Real is a manga that means a lot to me which is why I want to stress the question asked at the beginning of this lengthy introduction “Can I even call this a review?”.

So what is it that makes Real such a god tier favorite for me? Well it’s the whole package as a short answer but I’ll be discussing this package because I doubt anybody wants “It’s the whole package” as an answer to that question. But firstly, lets begin with that story. Real’s story is about taking these 3 (& then later 4) very different characters, exploring their minds, & finding their own paths to self discovery. If there’s one word to describe Real’s story, it’s “Human”. It gives us very realistic, & to some even relatable situations. It gets us to understand how these situations effect each individual & really understand their state of mind. I don’t think it’s a stretch to state that these characters are extremely unlikable at first, but I don’t think it’s an extreme unlikable. Like lets just think about things, Nomiya in the beginning is a lost loser who has no desire for his future, a high school drop out, brash, & he ruined the life of this girl named Natsumi by paralyzing her from the waist down due to a motorcycle accident. Takahashi is a dickish brat who steals somebody’s bike just because he feels like it, makes fun of Nomiya for dropping out of highschool & looks down upon him harshly, & is very self centered. Speaking of self centered, we’ve got Togawa, somebody who’s selfishness caused the demise of his own team. While these described traits make the characters sound really unlikable, we quickly learn of their backstories & it helps us to peel back the layers of these characters & really understand where they come from. Plus Real’s phenomenal character development turns these characters into tragic heroes in a sense. Nomiya, after rediscovering his love for basketball thanks to Togawa. Does his best to set things right with Natusmi (and succeeds). Gets his driver license whilst simultaneously getting over his fear of the road. Gets a job that sets him on the right path. Changes his attitude on life & becomes a generally more positive person. Togawa gives into authenticity, learns the value of teamwork, & gets the tigers back together after splitting them apart originally. Takahashi gets over himself, takes his rehab seriously, much like Tomiya, rediscovers his passion for basketball, & gains a newfound appreciation for life that he originally didn’t have. Character development like this throughout 3 very different, yet equally layered individuals take Real & turn it into a manga that so easily cracks the top 2. All throughout this manga I’ve been engaged & when you’re at such a point that you can’t put a volume down until you finish it because you’re that immersed into the story that’s how you know you’re reading a fantastic manga. Now is also probably a good time to mention it. But if you’re coming into this manga expecting fast paced, frantic exciting Basketball action, either don’t or turn back & don’t read this manga. While Real does have really good & exciting Basketball action like Slam Dunk. That isn’t what Real’s about. Real is a character drama at its core & it’s about character development. To put it bluntly, if you’re reading Real for the Basketball action, you’re doing it wrong. Unlike Slam Dunk which is about the sport but has fantastic characters with good pacing. Real is about character drama first & foremost with the sport of Basketball as supplementary material that helps serves as a driving force for this character development to take place. Just for we’re clear, I’m not shitting on or trying to undercut Slam Dunk. Slam Dunk is my 12th favorite manga, my favorite manga that ran in weekly shounen jump, & a manga that I think appeals to everyone. I really do love Slam Dunk but what I’m getting at is that if you’re expecting Real to be like Slam Dunk, then your expectations aren’t in the right place & you may end up disappointed.

Now onto the characters. I’ve already gone over our main 3 that Real centers around. But they’ll still get mentioned from time to time. However, there is one other character that more or less becomes a main character later on in the story that I’ve failed to mention until now. The Scorpion, otherwise known as Shiratori. Shiratori is a former wrestler who found himself in an accident that made him lose his ability to walk. But unlike Takahashi (at first anyway) he’s very optimistic, claiming that he’ll be able to walk again within a month. He’s a hard worker with a very optimistic outlook on life, & with a certain volume that I’ll be discussing later on in this segment is really impressive given the circumstances he’s had to put up with. We also got Shiratori. An aspiring manga artist. Although Tomiya paralyzed her from the waist down. It ironically ends up helping her to pursue her dreams of creating manga. Real has a lot of characters, & it makes them all memorable. We’ve got Hisayuki, Takahashi’s father who expresses extreme regret over neglecting his son for most of his life & tries his best to make up with his son after the accident. We’ve got Tora, a guy Togawa looked up to as if he was a brother. This character specifically actually has one of my favorite moments in the series in which he gives Togawa a wheelchair designed for Basketball & Togawa breaks down crying. The pure emotion this scene carries with it it powerful & I’ll fully admit this is one of the moments of Real that made me cry. I can go on about these characters but I honestly don’t think that’s super interesting & even still, there’s no way a mere text post could peel back all the layers of these characters. So I’ll give off three character moments of Real that add onto making this my top 2. We’ve got Takahashi crying & yelling at Shiratori not to lose his first match after rehab after learning that his other rehab partner was the one who sent Shiratori the letters that he talked about earlier. We’ve also got the moment where Nomiya gets fired from his job & instead of sulking takes that as motivation to continue finding his new path in life & uses it as motivation to get back into basketball. We’ve got the moment where on his death-bed, Togawa still texts Yamauchi “you’re my hero”. If I had to give 2 volumes that exemplify what makes Real what it is. It’s volume 11 & volume 13, Volume 11 we get the main , we see Nomiya trying out for the lightnings. Togawa continuing to learn the value of teamwork. & Takahashi starting to find the motivation to take his rehab seriously & gain a newfound appreciation of life that he didn’t have previously. Combine these 3 stories together & you’ve got as of now my favorite volume of Real. Volume 13 is the shiratori volume in which we learn of his backstory. We learn that he went through a divorce & lost his kid, we learn the reason he became a wrestler in the first place, we learn what wrestling really means to him, & we get to see some of the best character development Real has to offer up to this point. I think I’ve exerted about all the energy I can on the characters of Real without going into college essay territory. Honestly, I don’t feel like I’ve even began to scratch the surface of why these characters are so good but I do hope I’ve at least offered enough as to give readers an understanding as to why these characters are so good & why they only add onto how much this manga means to me.

Onto the art. To the surprise of nobody Real’s art is amazing. Takehiko Inoue is one of the most renowned artists in manga for a reason, & Real is just another exemplary showcase of Inoue’s artistic prowess. While I’m not sure if I’d say Real’s art is as good as Vagabond’s on the whole, I will say it’s better than Slam Dunk even at its best & the art only continues to go up from volume 1. The text to art ratio is on the lower end, Real’s pages can have a decent sum of text on them but it’s not huge & I found myself flying through the pages no matter if it was majority text or just art. The art itself in the action scenes flows really well & there’s never a dull moment, the hype of these games can equal Slam Dunk in all honesty. I’m sorry this section was significantly shorter than the other 2 segments but I really don’t know what else I can say about Real’s art being amazing without repeating myself.

That’s Real. If I can say 3 words. “Thank You Inoue”. Thank you for creating one of the best pieces of fiction I’ve ever experienced. Thank you for giving me some of my favorite characters with some of the best development in all of manga. Thank you for creating a story that immerses me in a way that very few manga. Thank you above all else for creating Real. I know Inoue will never read this. But I still want to thank him for writing my second favorite manga of all time & cementing himself as my favorite mangaka of all time. Please read this manga people, if you love human drama you have no excuse not to read this because I honestly don’t think you’ll get a better drama series than this one. I don’t think you’ll get better character development than Real. I don’t even know where I’m taking this anymore, but I wanna end this with a final “Thank You Inoue”.