Destined Flames

VibeCheckAug 07, 2026

My thoughts on this are shockingly complicated. I can sense the passion and effort put into the comic. It's well-written, has some cool ideas, and while the art isn't my thing it does lock in towards the end. Dorago is a surprisingly engaging lead, especially with how the story progresses. However, a lot of my critiques with the comic come down to the pacing and the second half. I don't think the initial journey is paced well. It goes from a flashback to Dorago's past involving a revenge plot and training arc, to a second training arc, to a 5 month journey with random events sprinkled throughout. It didn't really flow well to me, especially compared to the second half. I feel like the start could be improved if the revenge plot was woven into the journey to find Kodayro. Plus, I think it could have led to the big twist having more impact since that's where the most emotional beats are. Instead, the events leading up to it feel a lot like filler, along with bringing up some intriguing stuff that doesn't get brought up again for whatever reason like the mysterious guy who beat Dorago (before the Triast fight) and the darkness-worshiping cult. Then there is the big twist in the middle that heavily impacts the story. I think the idea itself is really cool, as that's a sort of twist I think isn't utilized often. Plus it brings out a conceptually cool villain. The main issue I take with it is that I think it could have been built up better to feel more effective. It does have some foreshadowing like how the darkness' fuckery seems more akin to glitches, but it still feels out of left field since up to this point, as video games were never really brought up prior. In fact, discussions around comics were more of a frequent topic in the comic. Since Dorago gains a comic-obsessed frenemy, I think he would've been a good vessel to gradually make the reader attentive to video games instead. Regardless, I got more out of the comic than anticipated.