Honestly every-time I think Zheng has reached his pinnacle in storytelling and art depiction prowess they go and blow my expectations out of the water. This third volume is absolute top notch fighting with some of the biggest questions being answered along with the eternal Phoenix taking stage and wrecking some gods like they are toothpicks. The action and pacing of this series just overflow with life and movement and I feel like a spectator watching a grand orchestra of battle proceed below me while going from one page to the next. I also feel like with the next issue we are finally going to start getting a step in the door towards conclusion and I’m revved up for it. 4.5/5
این والیوم از لحاظ کیفیت آرت و مبارزات دو سه لول از دو والیوم قبلی بهتره. هیجان داستان لحظهای کم نمیشه با این حال، یه نکته بهخصوص رو راجع پایانش دوست نداشتم( به خاطر اسپویل شدن داستان چیزی نمیگم). گذشته از این ایراد، مبارزات انسانها و خدایان و نیروهای تاریکی بهعلاوه یه آرت محشره که هر چپتر پیشرفت میکنه، میتونه تجربه بینظیر و باحالی برای شما باشه.
The following review is for the entirety of Feng Shen Ji and not just Volume 3.
Rating 4.5/5
Blurb: An age-old epic for the modern-times.
It's difficult to improve perfection. And in my opinion, when one tries to reinvent something that doesn't need reinvention, they must take care not to lose the qualities of the original in the pursuit and fascination of the new. Feng Shen Ji thankfully manages to balance (for the most part) the old tropes of the genre with nuanced innovations when it comes to characterizations.
The standout character by far is the eponymous Hero and Legend himself, Wu Geng/Ah Gou. He stands out because over the course of the story he oscillates from being a survivor, to a savior, to a hero, to an arrogant prat, to a monster, and by the end of the story he manages to embody all of these qualities simultaneously and still retains the ability to surprise you just when you think you've got him figured out. Aside from Wu Geng, the supporting cast of characters have also been developed adequately. And I tip my hat to the writer for giving each of them their own moments in the sunshine and not keep the story solely focused on Wu Geng. At this point I would like to thank the translators who've done a brilliant job of providing text that was not only appropriate but also followed the context of the various scenes and battle-sequences.
My only criticism, when it comes to the writing, is the lack of development of its female characters. For certain there are more than a few strong female characters in the story, however, as the story progresses they are reduced to being little more than mediums of information exposition and play very limited role in the pivotal moments. The sole exception to this would be the character of Bai Cai, who is perhaps one of the most intriguing characters in the story and yet her role has been confined to being the Yang to Wu Geng's Yin. Whether this was done as a nod to the Chinese Folklores of old, where the story was primarily male-centric or whether the writer merely wished this to be the case is anyone's guess.
Be that as it may, Feng Shen Ji captivated me partly because of its story but mainly because of its art-style and the fact that the whole thing is in color. Which was welcome refreshment. I thoroughly enjoyed the world-building and in particular the action-sequences, of which there are plenty. Overall, I was immensely satisfied with my first ever Manhua experience. The bar has been set high and I can only hope that I come across stories in the future that can equal, if not better the likes of Feng Shen Ji.
Season 3 starts off with Wu Geng leaving to "Inner Sanctum of Hell blood Mist Forest" to have YongHeng train him and there we see the Dark Ones City without him and it's like a mess lol .
My Favorite and memorable part probably when Wu Geng pulled out a damn canon/bazooka out of his ass during the fight for Dark Ones City governor position haha, thise are fun times :v.
About the ending...
ಠಗಠ
It was underwhelming for me. I think it's lack something and I can't point it out but yeah like I said, personally, the ending just it didn't do it lol but overall, I enjoyed the whole series and I'm in search of something similar B-DDD