I forget if I posted anything in this thread before about how I was going to start reading this, but I read the first few chapters a while back and got distracted. I think it's probably common knowledge that it starts off with a lot of potential, so I won't reiterate all that, since people whose taste I understand and respect say it totally gets good later so it will live up to it eventually.
The first chapter was a good introduction and the writing isn't really bad, the world-building feeling like it's gonna keep being neat (I like when things feel almost close to the real world but make it very apparent very fast that this isn't at all– a couple step further from magic realism where it's definitely not real life but there's enough parallels that it's kind of zany), but it's good that its merits were pretty apparent in the beginning because I would've dumped this pretty fast if I had just like, without any context or knowing anything about it, read just those first few chapters.
Annie as an MC is kind of weak so far (super weak) but it's nothing that can't be remedied with barriers, powder kegs, opposition and flaws over time to make her actually become more interesting. Her design is weird tho. Prior to Ch 8, before Siddel's art started drastically showing signs of definitive improvement, she kind of looked like Bratz meets Phineas and Ferb hilariously. That is to say, her makeup is entirely what I find kind of goofy about her, but since nobody else except her wears it I just consider it kind of a character quirk.
But yeah suddenly in chapter 8 out of nowhere ~the artist found his art~ and I like it and he's already drastically improving from where he began and it's kind of interesting how it was a very, very smooth segue.
I also like that things like the ghost and the robot/shadow from early on are coming back. I like seemingly episodic stuff fitting into continuity.
Also this goes without saying (it better) but Kat is clearly the best character because fuck yeah science inventors. IDK how I feel about their gym teacher
I forget when I started really liking this but I guess it was Chapter 9 because then the lore started getting real ground and footwork
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Oh yeah Spacemonauts