Shin Megami Tensei IV: Prayers is an spin-off manga based on the videogame Shin Megami Tensei IV. It seems to be part of a series of mangas for that game, this one focusing solely on the character Jonathan. This review will be spoiler-free for both original source and manga (without one minor point, which will be flagged), so without further to do let's jump into it.
The story already begins in an alternative universe, with Jonathan being a young boy. Therefore, it should be 'easy' to follow for anyone who doesn't know much about the series nor played the original game. There's a new character introduced, with the name of Asuma, which Jonathan finds as his typical 'must-beat-rival'. Besides this backstory and the post-Tokyo arc, everything remains almost the same as if it was the original game. Same plot, with a little twists to make it fit Jonathan. Now, why do I think the story is bad? Some chapters are really innecesary in order to understand the story. Not only that, but the 'with the power of friendship we can do blah blah blah' ending left me with a really bad taste in my mouth.
The artstyle is good, but lacks some proper proportions at times. As to put an example, when Walter threw something at Navarre, I legit thought he just slammed the table until I took a closer look into the pannel. Not only that, but there are parts where both Walter and Asuma are hard to distinguish, mostly as they share almost the same spiky hair. Besides those points, the style is quite enjoyable and has some perfect parts, as when
It's hard to give here a proper score as most of them, if not all except for Asuma, are literally the same as the videogame. They are interesting and have their unique personality, as for example our boy Navarre. The new guy, called Asuma, is rather interesting too, but as I said, with Walter being in the cast already is almost irrelevant to have an almost exact copy.
As someone who loved every main cast member from SMT IV, I personally enjoyed the manga. It isn't perfect, but as for trying to create a proper background story for Jonathan, and at the same time giving him more spotlight, I liked it a lot. The flaws that are present during the artstyle part made me enjoy it a bit less than I was when I began, though.
SMT IV: Prayers it's a nice pick to spend a short time due to its short lenghty (16 chapters, 20-30 pages each), however, it's only that, an average manga. Anyone, having or not experienced SMT IV, should enjoy it equally, as there's not requirement to have a basic knowledge on the original plot -however, it could help to understand the characters if you know just a bit of it.
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