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Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok #1
Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok, Vol. 01
These mysteries are stranger than fiction! Private Investigator Loki is certainly an extraordinary fellow with an incredibly demanding profession. While his boyish good looks disguise his true nature, no challenge is too tough for Loki. Not only is it Loki's job to solve mysteries, but he must also protect his own interests, namely his family, especially when those who want him rubbed-out enter the picture. Loki must dig up evidence surrounding kidnappings, murders, suicides and the like. When old adversaries strike too close to home, Loki must prepare, not only to solve the crime, but to survive the vicious attacks! If the action's hot, you can count on Loki being there!
186 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2004
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219 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
April 19, 2019
Loki remained in the human world and is back with his detective work. But the question as to why Odin wants to have Loki killed still remains. Slowly, the other gods also begin to doubt Odin's motives. When a young girl with memory loss named Spica turns up, even more questions are in need of answers.
What a mess - what a disappointment!
Firstly, it is absolutely ridiculous how this was published in English without the direct prequel being released first. Why would any publisher do something so absurd? Ragnarok picks up right after the events of the original series. The story is told in a way that you need to be familiar with the original. If you go into this without having read the prequel, it would be absolute chaos - you won't understand the characters, the motives, why it's even called 'Detective' Loki - everything will simply appear as random or irrelevant.
That being said, Ragnarok is a mess even if one has read the prequel. There is no consistent flow of the story. The chapters seem disjointed and there's no smooth transitioning between them. Even the events within the chapters have a very strange flow, almost jumping from one random thing to the other. It was a real toll on the characters as most of them just showed up at random and disappeared again for a good long time. This was particularly noticeable with Mayura and Naru who were both major characters in the original.
Spica was a bit of an odd character. I mean, I loved her design and she was cute - but I didn't fully grasp her purpose. It is never properly explained who she is, why she is there and what brought up the memory loss. She also serves as a form of love interest for Loki and, based on the few things we do get to know about her, it seems like a complicated matter. In any case, I wasn't too happy about this additional romance option as there were already more than enough female characters who are interested in Loki. Ragnarok also completely ignored the teased Romance of the original and only brought it up again at the very end.
The randomness and choppy chapters settle down after the first three volumes and the story finally gets properly going with the final two volumes. Unfortunately, these final volumes are far too short to bring a proper explanation of what is actually going on. Things are explained in a rush (or not at all) and the ending leaves us hanging in regards to many of the characters' fates. That being said, I did love how things ended for Loki and the original love interest. It is, once again, very subtle - but it teases many possibilities.
Getting to some of the better aspects: the art style has improved a lot when compared to the original. So even when the story is chaotic, at least it is still nice to look at! There is also a bit of drama towards the end which was quite nice in this otherwise humorous series. Unfortunately, due to the lack of explanations, you don't get to care as much - I think most of my care came from my love for the characters based on the original series.
It's a real shame that Ragnarok made such a mess of things - it could and should have been a great conclusion to the hilarious original Mythical Detective Loki series.
August 29, 2011
This is honestly the first manga I've read and haven't liked at all. Actually, I didn't even finish the whole book because I got so disgusted with it. There's like, no plot whatsoever. The characters are all so cutesy and wishy-washy that even when the writers try to make it have some plot (they find this girl who doesn't remember anything about herself, even her name. They name her Spica and let her stay at their house, and then she tries to kill the main character in his sleep) it totally falls through ("Spica tried to kill me in my sleep! Look, she's got the knife in her hands!" "Aww, poor Spica, is he being mean to you!?" Those aren't exact quotes, but that's pretty much how it went T_T). The next thing you know, they're on some side-story about the main character going to the dentist or something. It nearly drove me insane while I was reading it, I'm amazed I got as far into it as I did.
If you like plot and characters with actual personality (and I know that's kind of a stretch, thinking that other people might actually want those things in their manga. I mean, who wants a storyline, right?!), it's pretty safe to say you can pass this one up and not regret it.
If you like plot and characters with actual personality (and I know that's kind of a stretch, thinking that other people might actually want those things in their manga. I mean, who wants a storyline, right?!), it's pretty safe to say you can pass this one up and not regret it.
June 8, 2017
Although this whole manga has some details that wouldn't make me rate it with 5 stars, I wanted to give it that rating for many other (yes, personal) reasons:
Sakura Kinoshita is one of my most important inspirations in my work. When I was 14 years old I discovered her artwork and fell in love with it. And with Loki, of course. I wanted SO BAD to read all this series that I bought volumes 2 to 5 immediately when I saw them in my city...But volume 1 wasn't available that time. It took me 2 years to find the first volume and finally read it -and enjoy it- as a whole manga series.
As I already knew from before, the Artwork is gorgeous. Loki is kind, intelligent, cheerful and even likes to flirt and sometimes he gets naughty. I loved every panel he appeared.
BUT: Sometimes the narrative isn't clear. I don't mean the story, I mean the sequential art. Even if the story has some mystery within their character's actions and reference to Norse mythology, the pages and scenes and even drawings sometimes got very confusing. That saddened me a bit. So I choose to put that rating for a very subjective point of view: I choose to enjoy Loki as a character and the artwork of the story. I know there are manga series with no problems of storytelling at all, but I like to keep this one close to my heart. Take it as a guilty pleasure, if you want.
Now I have to look for the standard version of 7 volumes. Wish me luck.
Sakura Kinoshita is one of my most important inspirations in my work. When I was 14 years old I discovered her artwork and fell in love with it. And with Loki, of course. I wanted SO BAD to read all this series that I bought volumes 2 to 5 immediately when I saw them in my city...But volume 1 wasn't available that time. It took me 2 years to find the first volume and finally read it -and enjoy it- as a whole manga series.
As I already knew from before, the Artwork is gorgeous. Loki is kind, intelligent, cheerful and even likes to flirt and sometimes he gets naughty. I loved every panel he appeared.
BUT: Sometimes the narrative isn't clear. I don't mean the story, I mean the sequential art. Even if the story has some mystery within their character's actions and reference to Norse mythology, the pages and scenes and even drawings sometimes got very confusing. That saddened me a bit. So I choose to put that rating for a very subjective point of view: I choose to enjoy Loki as a character and the artwork of the story. I know there are manga series with no problems of storytelling at all, but I like to keep this one close to my heart. Take it as a guilty pleasure, if you want.
Now I have to look for the standard version of 7 volumes. Wish me luck.
October 26, 2023
(review for entire series)
"Observing the present qualifies one to speak on the past. In other words... the past is empty until it is defined by the future."
I remember this anime being super cute (and adult Loki being super cute) but I'd never read the manga. I did kind of assume it was going to be longer, but at least it didn't drag like some manga with a single moment dragging on for a billion chapters.
It's cute.
"Observing the present qualifies one to speak on the past. In other words... the past is empty until it is defined by the future."
I remember this anime being super cute (and adult Loki being super cute) but I'd never read the manga. I did kind of assume it was going to be longer, but at least it didn't drag like some manga with a single moment dragging on for a billion chapters.
It's cute.
September 5, 2021
It 100% saddens me that ADV did this series so dirty by starting on volume 8. In Japan the title changed at volume 8 because it switched to a new publisher, but its definitely one continuous story. Thankfully I had already watched the anime and this part of the manga picks up roughly where the anime ended. Still I would love to see the rest of the series in English.
March 23, 2021
Continuación de las aventuras de Loki, quién sigue atrapado en el terreno mortal. Nuevos personajes, nuevos misterios, y viejos amigos. Gran combinación de manga junto con mitología nórdica.
P.D: Primero se tiene que leer la colección de anime "El misterioso Loki". Esta es la segunda parte
P.D: Primero se tiene que leer la colección de anime "El misterioso Loki". Esta es la segunda parte
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December 11, 2019i really enjoyed it but i felt a bit lost it was kinda like a book came before this one in the series
May 8, 2023
Am amazing hidden gem there is an anime adaptation available on prime video.
October 6, 2023
No plot, art style was meh. Only cover and title pages were good
February 4, 2017
A very interesting and different way of seeing the norse gods, well worth a read if not for the gods then for the crazy manga madness. Loki god of tricksters or the trickster god as he is better known, runs a detective agency. Follow the craziness as it unfolds towards ragnarok.
February 4, 2017
That was weird.
When I was looking around Wikipedia for answers, I found that the original series, Mythical Detective Loki, was published by a different publisher in Japan than Ragnarok. I had assumed Ragnarok was a re-branding to distinguish the different publishers. Turns out, Ragnarok is a sequel, and for some reason, ADV opted to bring over the continuation, Ragnarok, and not the original series.
Imagine my surprise and confusion when I started reading this one expecting the start of the series I'm already familiar with and got thrown into the thick of things. I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that ADV figured "Eh, people watched the anime. They're familiar enough with the characters and all to jump right in."
Ragnarok seems to pick up where the anime leaves off with the introduction of "Spica" (who appears in the last minute or so of the anime), though I can't be sure. The stories are somewhat episodic in this volume and fairly lighthearted. Some are more supernatural in nature than others, which is different from what I remember of the anime series, as I remember each story being almost exclusively magical. The artwork is also much cuter than what was in the anime and it's a little goofier in tone in general.
While the story, art and everything else probably would've earned a 4, the absolutely out-of-context start as provided by the ADV release definitely knocks it down a bit. If you haven't watched the anime for this series, don't bother even trying to read this manga. I was big into this series a while back, and even I was lost.
When I was looking around Wikipedia for answers, I found that the original series, Mythical Detective Loki, was published by a different publisher in Japan than Ragnarok. I had assumed Ragnarok was a re-branding to distinguish the different publishers. Turns out, Ragnarok is a sequel, and for some reason, ADV opted to bring over the continuation, Ragnarok, and not the original series.
Imagine my surprise and confusion when I started reading this one expecting the start of the series I'm already familiar with and got thrown into the thick of things. I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that ADV figured "Eh, people watched the anime. They're familiar enough with the characters and all to jump right in."
Ragnarok seems to pick up where the anime leaves off with the introduction of "Spica" (who appears in the last minute or so of the anime), though I can't be sure. The stories are somewhat episodic in this volume and fairly lighthearted. Some are more supernatural in nature than others, which is different from what I remember of the anime series, as I remember each story being almost exclusively magical. The artwork is also much cuter than what was in the anime and it's a little goofier in tone in general.
While the story, art and everything else probably would've earned a 4, the absolutely out-of-context start as provided by the ADV release definitely knocks it down a bit. If you haven't watched the anime for this series, don't bother even trying to read this manga. I was big into this series a while back, and even I was lost.
January 1, 2015
(This review may contain spoilers).
As much as I love manga books and Norse mythology, I have a few mixed feelings about this book. I'm not sure if this a second series, or just that the book started in the middle of the story.
I liked the artwork, but I did feel that some of the characters looked a bit too much like each other. I was disappointed not to see much of Loki being an actual detective, though I did really like Fenrir in the book. I was confused about who was involved in the storyline and why.
Most manga books I've read are fairly lighthearted, but this did potentially cross into the realm of silly a couple of times. The storyline with Spica in the book was really interesting, but I was left completely confused about how they'd figured out her identity... and why she'd started off trying to kill Loki.
Although the Norse myths are alluded to in this book - at least some of them - it's not very clear how they relate to the characters in this book. For instance, Fenrir isn't chained... but it's stated that he was at one stage; just not how he escaped. (Having said that, Fenrir is quite cute).
The plot of the second chapter in this was really intriguing, but I felt it was missing something by the end. There wasn't much of a mystery.
It was interesting to see the Norse gods in the Japanese culture and I would have liked to see more details about why Loki was de-aged and why everyone else was around him. The plot of the story was a really intriguing one, but I would have liked a bit more background to everything.
As much as I love manga books and Norse mythology, I have a few mixed feelings about this book. I'm not sure if this a second series, or just that the book started in the middle of the story.
I liked the artwork, but I did feel that some of the characters looked a bit too much like each other. I was disappointed not to see much of Loki being an actual detective, though I did really like Fenrir in the book. I was confused about who was involved in the storyline and why.
Most manga books I've read are fairly lighthearted, but this did potentially cross into the realm of silly a couple of times. The storyline with Spica in the book was really interesting, but I was left completely confused about how they'd figured out her identity... and why she'd started off trying to kill Loki.
Although the Norse myths are alluded to in this book - at least some of them - it's not very clear how they relate to the characters in this book. For instance, Fenrir isn't chained... but it's stated that he was at one stage; just not how he escaped. (Having said that, Fenrir is quite cute).
The plot of the second chapter in this was really intriguing, but I felt it was missing something by the end. There wasn't much of a mystery.
It was interesting to see the Norse gods in the Japanese culture and I would have liked to see more details about why Loki was de-aged and why everyone else was around him. The plot of the story was a really intriguing one, but I would have liked a bit more background to everything.
April 15, 2013
This is such a cute story, and I love the Norse mythology roots. However, I found that the way this manga was set up is very confusing, and I had trouble following the story. I've seen the anime as well, and I think the plot is a little more linear in that format. I love Fenrir though, what a cute little puppy ^w^
May 15, 2017
Enjoyable, nice supplement to the anime.
January 12, 2013
Very cute artwork. Just a bit boring for me- couldn't keep my interest and I couldn't finish it.
March 3, 2015
Reread the whole series a few times. Nice work
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews