Monster Hunter is one of those series where at this point I’ve explored every version of the franchise more than the games. I was the TV show with Lute and friends, I saw the live action movie, and I’ve read quite a few of the manga now. It’s pretty fun how expansive the whole thing is to the point where you can know the series really well without even diving into the games. This one has an interesting plot and some good things going for it but also gets limited by some fanservice issues due to the Fairy Tail author stepping in. I suppose you can’t have it all here.

The series starts off by introducing us to a hunter named Shiki who is a very loud and outgoing kind of main character. He’s super strong and great at hunting but isn’t always good when it comes to social cues. That is definitely his weakness in the end. Still, he knows that as long as he keeps yelling about his master then it’ll all work out. He’s already a nation level hunter so he can hunt anywhere and that’s good since he wants to find the legendary beast Myo Galuna that is said to basically be unstoppable. He ends up meeting with his master’s daughter Ailee and an expert blacksmith known as Sakya. Together perhaps the 3 of them actually have a shot at completing this mission. Can they do it?

So lets start off with the positives here. I do think that the artstyle works well in showing the impacts and big hits during the battles. It’s very intense and fits in this monster world so that’s all good. I’d also say that the pacing is pretty solid. Things tend to move at a fairly quick pace and while it can also feel a bit aimless at times, it does capture the fun day to day adventures of the travelers.

The series has a fun enough tone. It’s a light hearted title that you can really check out at any point. I’d also say the characters were reasonably good. I wouldn’t say there were any standouts that I’ll remember for years to come but some still did well enough. The best character here for example was Curlon. The guy likes the main heroine Ailee, but in the end it’s very one sided. Still, he does his best to help out and fights the villains to the end. He has a great moment near the end where he sees to it that justice is done. That’s the kind of guy you want to root for. It’s just a shame that he didn’t get to appear more because his skills were definitely the real deal.

The dragon Myo had a cool design although otherwise there’s not a whole lot to say about him. He’s the main part of the manga that feels really rushed because he’s supposed to be the strongest of all the creatures and yet he doesn’t have much time to appear. In a way that’s just how it goes with a 4 volume series but he should have just appeared earlier then. There are definitely scenes and subplots you could have cut to make more room for this guy. The final fight is still cool but it’s all too short.

Ailee is also a good heroine here. She is always ready to fight and has good skills on her end. I always like that level of confidence. Shiki often annoys her and so they have some good banter between them which works well in the dynamic. Sakya is also fun enough but she doesn’t really stand out. I wouldn’t call her timid per say but she’s not jumping into action the way that the others are. She’s good at her job of crafting weapons and aids in battle but doesn’t really add a whole lot to the mix.

As for Shiki, it all depends on how cool you are with his constant yelling. He’s always yelling for his master and having a lot of exaggerated moments. Still, he can fight and believes in the usual power of friendship. I guess at his core I’d say he’s a fairly generic main character, perhaps just with the yelling played up more. He won’t really stand out but he’s not bad either.

Then we have the villain Shadow who really ends up being a complete waste of time. He has an interesting design and a really cool weapon but basically vanishes for most of the series. When he finally does return he just ends up getting punked. Sure, I can give the title some points for that being unexpected because I really didn’t see it coming but at the same time…ehhhhh I’m not sure about this one. Sometimes a subversion just isn’t worth it and I would have liked to have seen more out of him. It made for a cool scene for someone else but Shadow really got left behind.

Now while I said the art can be really good for the impacts, there are times when it gets a bit messy. Even in the images I attached for the review, it might take you a few seconds to actually see what’s happening. It’s not the easiest thing in the world to read that’s for sure. You will need some time to comprehend some of the bigger panels during a fight with the monster and at the end of the day that’s on the artist. A series should always be fairly clear. I know it’s tougher with giant monsters but it still gets a bit too cluttered at times.

I’d also say that the series isn’t quite as funny as say Fairy Tail. The humor works sometimes but it’s more hit or miss. The best joke is definitely the way that Shiki’s master went out. That whole backstory was kind of crazy and in general I just couldn’t take him seriously. So when the series leaned into that I thought it was actually a pretty good move. Not being super funny helps to keep it from being one of the top titles. Well that…and the fanservice of course. It’s not super egregious or constant but it’s still there enough to where I’d say it needs to be mentioned. It’s always rather unnecessary to the scene so it stands out more and then you remember that this is the Fairy Tail guy. If you play the adventure straight then you could probably have bumped it up another star easy.

Overall, Monster Hunter Orage is a good manga but not a super memorable one. Put it this way, it ticks off the usual boxes you would expect in any action series and is then satisfied to stop there. It’s definitely not putting in the extra effort to go any further than that and it shows. You’ll have fun here but it’s unlikely to be one of your top recommendations to anyone looking for a fun adventure. It has more more positives than negatives but not to an extreme extent. If the series had kept on going I’m confident it really could have kept on improving but it’s hard to say. It’s also possible that the negatives would just start compounding. Either way if you like Monster Hunter then you may as well check it out. It’s a quick title and if you want action then this is a fairly safe recommendation to tide you over with.

Overall 6/10