Moff’s Manga Reviews Vol. 1
This week in Weekly Shonen Jump, a newcomer’s arrived in the place of the fallen Ayashimon! Aliens Area, by an extremely hyped up mangaka Fusai Naba. I’ve been a big fan of Fusai’s one-shots and art for quite some time now, and I’m so excited that they’re finally part of Jump. We haven’t really had a successful series relating to aliens since Gintama and Assassination Classroom, so the premise and themes alone are enough to be interested. JUMP+’s Dandadan has lightly dabbled in aliens, and I believe that they’ll play a larger role later on in that story, but it’s never been a prominent theme for WSJ series.
The main character Tatsumi’s new powers remind me of one of my favorite animanga protagonists, Shinichi Izumi from Parasyte. His hand’s been infected by an alien parasite, allowing him to take on new forms with enhanced physical capabilities. The alien designs we’ve seen thus far have been fairly generic, but I’m excited to see what Fusai can come up with later down the line. This is a series that I really hope survives the axe cycle in Jump.
The other main protagonist, Sharaku’s clearly inspired by the protagonist of his Apollo one-shot. The chapter ends with Sharaku saving Tatsumi and his younger siblings using “space technology” and then offers him a job as part of a government agency that maintains the coexistence between humans and aliens. So far, it feels pretty formulaic and predictable. But… That’s okay. This story’s art is refreshing, the characters look interesting, and there’s a ton of potential for the power system and other “space technology”.
Other than that, this week we saw the end of Protect Me, Shugomaru! Good riddance. I read the first 10 pages of chapter one and immediately had to drop it. Coming in its place is Ruri Dragon by Masaoki Shindo, another extremely hyped up mangaka in the industry. The Ruri Dragon one-shot was vastly different from Masaoki’s prior works, but it had hit series written all over it. It’s got a feel good, slice of life feel to it with potential to get some action in at times too. The other series I would expect to join Shugomaru and Ayashimon in the mud are Earthchild and Doron Dororon. Despite Earthchild having this beautiful two page spread, I don’t understand the point of the story in the slightest anymore. It seems like it’s headed for a dead end. Doron Dororon surprisingly survived, and I could see it living a little longer, but that’s another series that just feels so predictable and bland. There’s definitely marketability behind this series, I mean Kusanagi plushies would sell like hot cakes.
Two series that I’ve been pleasantly surprised by are Akane-banashi and PPPPPP. Akane-banashi’s art is so incredible, and it’s legitimately got me interested in a piece of Japanese culture that I had no idea about. The current arc looks to be an exam arc, which I’m typically not too fond of, but all of the new character introductions has me super intrigued. I initially dropped PPPPPP after the first five chapters, but I have no regrets coming back and giving it another shot. The battle system is unique and allows for a plethora of different styles to come out and be showcased. Lucky was spitting straight facts this week, who cares about a competition when your mom’s dying? But of course, his brother with the absolutely overpowered technique doesn’t care and forces Lucky into the tournament.
I’ve never been too high on Blue Box or The Elusive Samurai, but both of the current arcs have been fun reads throughout the week. I never know what direction Blue Box is headed, but I’m a massive fan of the art. Super Smartphone’s been a lot of fun so far, and I hope that WSJ allows this series to develop and grow, because there’s mountains of potential with this series. I’m still confused as all hell by Undead Unluck’s plot, but I love how it’s taken more darker tones over the past few chapters. These solo Andy chapters have been so awesome and action packed. Witch Watch is a must read series each week, it’s silently one of my favorite series in all of Jump right now. Every chapter that doesn’t deal with the manga fan teacher cracks me up and this week was no exception. The entire marble fiasco and Moi getting so passionate about it was hilarious. Mission: Yozakura Family’s another heavy hitter right now, and every single chapter from this arc’s been a complete banger. I’m so happy I got into this series because it truly is a gem.
Despite Mash being knocked out for the past few chapters, Mashle has introduced a plethora of awesome designs and characters. With the news that Mashle’s in its final stages, we needed more overpowered characters to come in. I’m predicting that if Mash is at 40% next chapter, we’ll have to wait a full 10 chapters for him to be back, if he’s at 50% then he’ll be back within the next three. Sakamoto Days is one of the best series in Jump right now, and if you’re not reading it yet you need to get on that. I’m really hoping a lot of the new characters introduced join the squad or become recurring characters.
My Hero Academia’s been on a completely different level as of late. Stars and Stripes is still the MVP of the arc in my opinion, as her quirk is STILL causing problems for All For One. AFO really is such a good villain because he is evil incarnate. There’s no redeemable qualities to him, and Hawks cracking open his helmet was so rewarding. Plus, how dare he disrespect my girl Jiro by calling her a side character!
And finally, YAMATO FANS WE WON!!! I think it’s all but confirmed that Yamato is joining the Straw Hats, which I’ve been begging for since they first proclaimed they would be sailing with the crew. I loved the crew’s overall reaction to that information, especially Jimbei’s because it’s true, Yamato’s not official until our captain says so. I’m hoping to also see Tama join the crew, she’s one of my favorites from this entire arc.
Chapter of the Week Rankings:
Sakamoto Days
Witch Watch
One Piece
