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ホーリーランド [Holyland] #1
ホーリーランド 1 [Holyland 1]
Yuu is a high school kid who doesn't really fit anywhere. To find a place he can belong, be accepted, he will do anything. However one thing leads to another and he is forced to fight to keep his place, his holyland.
203 pages, Paperback
First published June 29, 2001
12 people are currently reading
526 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
March 23, 2015
It is the review for whole series.
I can't say much. For me, the martial arts explanations are the best factor of the story. The selling value of this manga is the street fightings and "realistic fighting techniques" of the characters (so don't expect energy blast, and there is no ninja tehniques).
The plots and character developments are standard.
I have some concern after reading 3 volumes. My concern is for "realistic martial arts" issue. The protagonist has no martial arts training background (with a dojo/teacher/school activity). But he could defeated a judo expert and a karate expert.
Recommended for fans of martial art manga. The technique explanations focused on street fightings. There is no martial arts manga (yet) that treats equal value for all martial arts technique in the world, but I believe the author had tried it as best as he could.
Mentioning "street fighting", the graphic violence illustrations are not too extreme for most of the fighting scenes. Well, for my personal taste, the violence contents are mild. There is only one gross violent injury at the near of the series.
I can't say much. For me, the martial arts explanations are the best factor of the story. The selling value of this manga is the street fightings and "realistic fighting techniques" of the characters (so don't expect energy blast, and there is no ninja tehniques).
The plots and character developments are standard.
I have some concern after reading 3 volumes. My concern is for "realistic martial arts" issue. The protagonist has no martial arts training background (with a dojo/teacher/school activity). But he could defeated a judo expert and a karate expert.
Recommended for fans of martial art manga. The technique explanations focused on street fightings. There is no martial arts manga (yet) that treats equal value for all martial arts technique in the world, but I believe the author had tried it as best as he could.
Mentioning "street fighting", the graphic violence illustrations are not too extreme for most of the fighting scenes. Well, for my personal taste, the violence contents are mild. There is only one gross violent injury at the near of the series.
April 5, 2014
A masterpiece! I read all of the 18 volumes! It relates not just to reality but to the depths of a human soul! The story, the characters, the events, and the dialogues are very deep even though it's all about high school delinquents!
April 19, 2022
Art style is meh at times but the in depth martial arts explanations are stellar. I just have to laugh every time they put emphasis on existing, “in the streets.”
February 18, 2021
Well wow that was a really worthy lengthy ass manga that I read nearly all night (well I read it from 7pm to 4am yeah I’m dumb so what....?). I found it worthwhile to read because nearly all the characters (cmon who doesn’t like Shin, I need him as a bestie seriously!) grow on you and omg the fighting scenes are just so amazingly drawn man! You even get a description of each martial art moves that the characters would make and yeah I admit, they are pretty forgettable since this is of course, a 182 chapter manga so all I remember is just full on great gangster action. 😹
I AM NOT HAPPY ABOUT THE ABRUPT ENDING THO, I DEMAND MOREEEEE😭😭😭😭😭😭😤😤😤😤
I AM NOT HAPPY ABOUT THE ABRUPT ENDING THO, I DEMAND MOREEEEE😭😭😭😭😭😭😤😤😤😤
April 29, 2022
I didn't want this manga to end.... it broke me entirely. Made me cry so many times, made my heart almost explode out of fear for Yuu, countless times. I didn't want it to end. It feels like separating with your best friend, never to see him again, and if you do, then you know it won't be the same as before. It is a bittersweet feeling. I dreaded this moment while I was reading it. One of my favorite mangas of all time. Read it, friends.
March 7, 2013
I am not sure what is driving the main character to put himself in danger,and defend himself. I will try another volume to try ti figure this riddle out. Bought to you by the creator of "Suicide Island", which was a pager turner for me.
December 24, 2016
Check the Full review in Volume 18 Page.
June 24, 2025
I'm not for the streets. I am the streets. 🥊
January 26, 2021
I like seeing him become stronger
January 21, 2021
It has a solid beginning that pulls you in immediately.
January 1, 2021
Represents having read all volumes without cluttering my Reading Challenge.
Truly delightful and engrossing stories of street violence and martial arts minutiae from, as best I can figure, someone who experienced it firsthand. The art style grows on you, don't worry.
Truly delightful and engrossing stories of street violence and martial arts minutiae from, as best I can figure, someone who experienced it firsthand. The art style grows on you, don't worry.
November 15, 2012
Akmfmemansksns bsbmsmsn
May 24, 2017
i did another read of all the manga, and this time i wanted to put it on gooreads
May 14, 2019
It's a really good start, but I have a feeling I'm not going to like it later because it makes me anxious.
July 22, 2020
A great start! Looking forward to read all of it soon
April 15, 2024
I've goofed in a way, but I also blame Wikipedia for being kinda shitty. I've been aware of Holyland for a while; indeed, I've had a sort of to-read manga list in "Sticky Notes" on my computer since ~2012, and this series is near the top of the list. I guess I never looked too deeply into the mangaka or the magazine. So I saw Kōji Mori mentioned again more recently, taking over direction of Berserk after Miura's passing. I saw some news somewhere about Berserk returning from its latest hiatus soon, and there was mention of Mori's new manga, D. Diver, and I thought "Oh cool, that guy's doing his own manga now!" When I looked into it further, I saw Mori created Holyland, as well as Suicide Island which I'd known of as well. I blame Wikipedia for my ignorance because Wikipedia doesn't have a page for this dude.
The manga itself is pretty cool so far, but not enough has happened to get a real grasp on what it will really be about. Right now, it kinda just feels like a less-violent Ichi the Killer. This wimpy-looking guy is actually a talented fighter, but he always kinda shits himself with nerves when he gets into confrontation. I mean, that's about the only connection to Ichi, but whatever. I guess some gang elements as well, but more in a Juvenile Delinquent thing than a Yakuza thing. The charm seems to be mostly in the explanation of fights, so I hope that continues. It's fun. Not a lot of characters have been introduced so far. Well, there are a lot, but no one is established firmly enough to tell who will be definitely important. Just the main guy, maybe his friend, the older gangster fighter guy, and his sister.
****
Felt it was about time I added a few more tags to accommodate the amount of manga I read. With this, I've added tags for Action, Sports, Martial Arts, and Nekketsu. An "Action" tag is honestly a necessity because of the amount of battle manga I read that may not immediately fall under "Fantasy" as well; I'd been falling back on a "Thriller" tag when reading more "grounded" action manga like Sakamoto Days. Unfortunately, I have not read many sports manga so far, and at this point it's hard to tell anyway if Holyland will focus on "combat sports" or just "combat," in a way where street fighting isn't necessarily sports-like in structure. "Martial Arts" as a tag means I have to go back and add it to a lot of Dragon Ball, which is fine because I frequently re-read the series. There is a definite distinction, in my opinion, between "structured" martial arts versus "general battle manga." I wouldn't say Naruto pays much mind to "proper" martial arts, whereas at least Dragon Ball featured "schools" for a good while. The "Nekketsu" tag is to function for "hot-blooded" manga, at severe risk of overlap with the way I use my "Power of Friendship" tag; if memory serves, I started using this tag for Black Clover which included a lot of "power of friendship" surges in strength, and which "moved" me with its sincerity, as happens a lot when watching tokusatsu shows. Over time, I started treating the tag "ironically" - first, to signpost "this is shōnen manga," then to kind of undermine the assumed seriousness of Berserk which gets pretty lighthearted and almost family-friendly with Isidro and stuff. I'll probably have to go back and edit tags on a bunch of shit to remove "Power of Friendship" in favor of simply "Nekketsu." Might have to do a tag for gang manga eventually....
The manga itself is pretty cool so far, but not enough has happened to get a real grasp on what it will really be about. Right now, it kinda just feels like a less-violent Ichi the Killer. This wimpy-looking guy is actually a talented fighter, but he always kinda shits himself with nerves when he gets into confrontation. I mean, that's about the only connection to Ichi, but whatever. I guess some gang elements as well, but more in a Juvenile Delinquent thing than a Yakuza thing. The charm seems to be mostly in the explanation of fights, so I hope that continues. It's fun. Not a lot of characters have been introduced so far. Well, there are a lot, but no one is established firmly enough to tell who will be definitely important. Just the main guy, maybe his friend, the older gangster fighter guy, and his sister.
****
Felt it was about time I added a few more tags to accommodate the amount of manga I read. With this, I've added tags for Action, Sports, Martial Arts, and Nekketsu. An "Action" tag is honestly a necessity because of the amount of battle manga I read that may not immediately fall under "Fantasy" as well; I'd been falling back on a "Thriller" tag when reading more "grounded" action manga like Sakamoto Days. Unfortunately, I have not read many sports manga so far, and at this point it's hard to tell anyway if Holyland will focus on "combat sports" or just "combat," in a way where street fighting isn't necessarily sports-like in structure. "Martial Arts" as a tag means I have to go back and add it to a lot of Dragon Ball, which is fine because I frequently re-read the series. There is a definite distinction, in my opinion, between "structured" martial arts versus "general battle manga." I wouldn't say Naruto pays much mind to "proper" martial arts, whereas at least Dragon Ball featured "schools" for a good while. The "Nekketsu" tag is to function for "hot-blooded" manga, at severe risk of overlap with the way I use my "Power of Friendship" tag; if memory serves, I started using this tag for Black Clover which included a lot of "power of friendship" surges in strength, and which "moved" me with its sincerity, as happens a lot when watching tokusatsu shows. Over time, I started treating the tag "ironically" - first, to signpost "this is shōnen manga," then to kind of undermine the assumed seriousness of Berserk which gets pretty lighthearted and almost family-friendly with Isidro and stuff. I'll probably have to go back and edit tags on a bunch of shit to remove "Power of Friendship" in favor of simply "Nekketsu." Might have to do a tag for gang manga eventually....
October 23, 2025
Full series (Vol. 1-18)
I want to become strong no matter what. In order to protect my Holyland.
It’s good. “Realistic†martial arts manga that incorporates many different martial art styles. It gets kinda repetitive with all the insecurities, even after the first fights.
what I’m afraid of isn’t pain. What I’m really afraid of, what I’m truly afraid of, is not having anywhere to go. I’m afraid of losing my place in this world.
It delves into mental health, depression, anxiety, suicide, which really puts it above other manga of the same genre.
It also really made me wanna pick up martial arts again.
See you later, in the streets.
I want to become strong no matter what. In order to protect my Holyland.
It’s good. “Realistic†martial arts manga that incorporates many different martial art styles. It gets kinda repetitive with all the insecurities, even after the first fights.
what I’m afraid of isn’t pain. What I’m really afraid of, what I’m truly afraid of, is not having anywhere to go. I’m afraid of losing my place in this world.
It delves into mental health, depression, anxiety, suicide, which really puts it above other manga of the same genre.
It also really made me wanna pick up martial arts again.
See you later, in the streets.
July 28, 2023
Acheté parce que l'histoire se déroule à Shimokitazawa mais on ne voit que 2 ou 3 plans non-indentifiables du quartier (peut-être a-t-il trop changé depuis?)
L'histoire est très maigre dans le tome 1 et les dialogues répétitifs et peu convaincants. Les dessins ne sont pas beaux et parfois presque grotesques (mains gigantesques, bras extensibles) ce qui n'aide pas à rendre les personnages attachants. On dirait un guide illustré, et bien expliqué, de combats de rue.
L'histoire est très maigre dans le tome 1 et les dialogues répétitifs et peu convaincants. Les dessins ne sont pas beaux et parfois presque grotesques (mains gigantesques, bras extensibles) ce qui n'aide pas à rendre les personnages attachants. On dirait un guide illustré, et bien expliqué, de combats de rue.
March 19, 2024
I did expect for this book to be about street fighting, I was expecting more of a fantasy fiction approach based of the series name. As I continue to read this series the more I am captivated by the plot. Personally I would rate this series 4/5 so far because it does have a good plot, but it is kind of basic in terms of the underdog being the one with great power.
October 26, 2017
Rating for the complete manga - 3.5/5
July 8, 2021
nice book
February 6, 2022
I'm gonna ad the first and last volume so as not to inflate my book count with manga but this here is dope
March 9, 2022
Well, the artstyle is a bit funky but the theory of hand-to-hand combat is really informative. The plot goes in weird directions but that's ok.
March 27, 2022
It's weird but I like it.
May 31, 2022
Like the characters and action. Nothing blew me away but I enjoyed it.
June 23, 2022
El dibujo me parece horrible pero tiene buen dinamismo. En cuanto a la historia, quiero ver cómo sigue.
May 23, 2023
Full series review:
Where were his parents???
Where were his parents???
May 24, 2023
انغمست فيها، تجعلني أتساءل متى سأجد أرضي المقدسة...
June 23, 2023
Whole series review:
I so desperately wish I could find physical copy of this at Barnes and Noble because this is just so good.
I so desperately wish I could find physical copy of this at Barnes and Noble because this is just so good.
September 23, 2023
you won't believe who masaki reminds me of
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews