Manga Review: Weekly Shonen Jump (2018) by various
Here we are at another anniversary for SKJAM! Reviews, and thus my annual review of the state of Shonen Jump. This may, however, be the last in this format–more on that anon.
A quick recap for those who haven’t been here before: Shounen Jump Weekly is the top-selling manga anthology in Japan, dominated by action-packed serials for adolescent boys. Weekly Shonen Jump is the official online English release, with chapters appearing as soon as they are legally available in Japan. The online version does not have all the same series, skipping ones Viz thinks are less interesting to Westerners, while slipping in monthly series from related magazines.
As of December 17, 2018, the Shonen Jump website will be ending its weekly magazine format. The three most recent chapters of any given series will be available free to anyone, while those who pay for access will be able to read the entire catalog of manga that have been released on the site. (There will be a “get some sleep” limit of 100 chapters per day.) We’ll have to see how that pans out.
Let’s bid farewell to the current format with a rundown of the current series! Weekly first.
Chainsaw Man by Tatsuki Fujimoto: The first chapter just came out last week! In a world infested with devils, Denji is a devil hunter. It wasn’t his first choice of profession. But after Denji’s father apparently committed suicide due to his insane debt to the Yakuza, Denji inherited the debt, and the fastest way to repay it was to become their devil hunter. He works with his pet chainsaw devil Pochita to kill more dangerous critters, and then sells the corpses to the Yakuza for debt reduction. It’s a miserable life, but in a few decades, he might be free.
However, the Yakuza decide to modify the terms of the agreement–to get devil power for themselves, they agree to murder Denki. Their Faustian bargain turns out poorly, while Denki’s seems to go well for him…for now. By the end of the chapter, Denki is debt-free and has found a new employer who may be marginally better.
This is pretty grim and gory stuff for Shonen Jump but the creator’s previous series Fire Punch was well-received, so it’s worth watching.
One Piece: This long-running series about superpowered good guy pirates on a world that’s mostly ocean is still going strong, though creator Eichiro Oda is now taking breaks every few chapters to avoid burnout. Stretchable pirate captain Luffy and his merry crew are currently in Wano, the local cultural equivalent of Feudal Japan. It’s been sealed off from the outside world since evil pirates took it over a couple of decades ago, and Luffy is doing his best to imitate Admiral Perry except with much more hitting. Meanwhile, there’s a meeting of the world’s leaders on another island, which will presumably tie in at some point. Still fascinating stuff, but oh so many characters to keep track of.
Food Wars: Soma and his classmates at Tootsuki Cooking Academy are now in their second year at the school, and most of the name characters are now on the Council of Ten, their version of the student council. Currently, the kids are participating in the worldwide Blue cooking competition for young chefs. In addition to the usual competitors, this time around they must also deal with the “noir” chefs of the criminal underworld, and a former apprentice of Soma’s father who’s abducted Erina, the current head of the school. Honestly, it feels like this series has lost its way.
Black Clover: In a world where everyone can use magic at least a bit, Asta was born magicless. Naturally, this allowed him to be chosen to receive an anti-magic power and become a Magic Knight who fights to protect the Clover Kingdom. Currently the Clover Kingdom is being overrun by mages who used to be its citizens but are now possessed by the spirits of elves allegedly killed by the Clover Kingdom centuries before. Since many of the possessed people were powerful Magic Knights beforehand, this has reduced the defenders’ numbers while giving the vengeful elves access to dangerous magic. Asta’s effective against the elves, but he can’t be everywhere, so other characters are getting the chance to shine.
My Hero Academia: In a world where 90% of the population has mutations known as “Quirks”, being a superhero is a possible career choice. U.A. is a magnet school for high school students who want to become superheroes. At the moment, our young hero trainees are taking a break from fighting the League of Villains to have mock battles between Class A and Class B, with special guest star Shinso, he of the compelling voice. This storyline will probably read better in the collected volume.
Dr. Stone: 3000 or so years ago, every human on the face of the Earth was petrified. Now depetrified, teen prodigy Senku is attempting to revive scientific civilization. Tsukasa’s “survival of the fittest” kingdom has been defeated, but at the cost of Tsukasa’s life. There’s a possibility that the petrification effect could be used to revive him, if our intrepid science hero can cross to the other side of the world and find out how it was done. This calls for a ship, and an expert navigator. The depetrification fluid is running out, so they’ll have to choose carefully. This is still one of the highlights of each week’s issue.
We Never Learn: Poor boy Nariyuki wants to get into a top college so he can get a good job and support his destitute family. But to get the recommendation he needs, Nariyuki must first help three girls get into the schools of their choice, despite each of them having a huge weakness in their studies. It doesn’t help that all three girls develop feelings for their tutor, and that close proximity to curvy female flesh is distracting our young scholar from his own goals. Hilarity ensues. Currently in this romantic comedy, championship swimmer Uruka must find a way to break it to Nariyuki that she’s going abroad for study, and will she finally be able to tell him that she loves him? To be honest, I find this series a bit cringy, but I am not the target audience.
The Promised Neverland: Emma and her friends were raised in an orphanage where everything seemed just fine, but in reality, it was a farm for gourmet demon food. Eventually, the children escaped only to find that they weren’t just on a world taken over by demons, but a parallel Earth where the demons have in effect always been in charge. Currently, Emma is trying to arrange things so that no children will ever again have to be eaten by demons. She and her large family are traveling to meet what may be at last trustworthy adult human allies. But she’s been burned before! Also a bright spot in each week’s issue.
And on to the monthlies!
World Trigger is the latest addition in this category. I debuted a few years ago as a weekly series, but had to go on a long hiatus due to creator health problems. There was a brief weekly return to re-introduce the concept and now it’s moving to monthly to mitigate the strain on the creator.
The basic premise that Earth is being invaded by undocumented aliens known as “Neighbors” and the only thing holding them off are the agents of BORDER. Over time, it becomes clear that not all Neighbors are hostile–some of them even join BORDER, and there are multiple “nations” on the other side of the dimensional barrier. Currently, the series is in an interminable tournament arc to determine which agents will go into the other dimension on a scouting/rescue mission to the other dimension. I will be so happy when the plot moves forward again.
Boruto: A sequel to the long-running Naruto series, features the son of Naruto as he tries to find his own ninja way. Presently the Uzumaki has a guest, a young fellow with a “curse mark” similar to Boruto’s, which gives them great power at a terrible price. If our heroes can get the newcomer to join their side it will help deal with the evil organization they’re fighting. But the guest was raised in an abusive environment which has left him with an unpleasant personality and trust issues. Can he be won over? Surprisingly good for a cash grab.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V: Yet another iteration of the popular card game-based franchise. Our hero has finally defeated G.O.D. and seeks to seal its power, but his rival from the future wants one last duel to wrest that power to his own control and reshape the world. Please, let it die.
RWBY the Official Manga by Bunta Kinami is a more direct adaptation of the webseries than the side stories that had previously appeared. Sisters Ruby and Yang are new students at Beacon Academy, a school for Huntsmen who track down and kill Grimm monsters. Ruby’s a bit young but was pushed forward from regular school due to her talent. They soon run into spoiled rich girl Weiss and surly Blake, who is of the oppressed beast-people. Despite early friction, they will become one of the top teams at Beacon. If you like the animated version, you’ll probably enjoy this.
Blue Exorcist: Rebellious teen Rin discovers that he is in fact the son of Satan, but rather than take up his father’s cause as the Antichrist, becomes an exorcist. At the moment, Rin is on an extended vision quest involving the past of his parents and just how they wound up in the situation that created him. The author is not much good at romance.
Seraph of the End: After a plague wipes out most human adults, vampires take over much of the world. The remaining humans fight back with demonic weapons. Currently, some of the human demon soldiers have teamed up with a few saner vampires to battle the creature that set this whole mess in motion, but it’s taking a lot of preparation. I’ve lost track of most of the characters.
One Punch Man: Saitama trained to become a hero that could defeat any enemy with a single punch. It worked too well. Currently, his opposite number, Garo, who decided that it was important that heroes sometimes lose, finds himself being pushed into alliance with the monsters. For as much as happens in this series, the pace is glacial right now.
Also of recent note: Hunter X Hunter had a short run as a ship filled with princes having a succession crisis heads towards a mysterious new continent. And the creator of the original Yu-Gi-Oh! series did a miniseries titled The Comiq in which manga artists solve a murder. It was okay, but I felt the ending used some tropes that were uncomfortable.
Most of these series will be continuing, but I will miss the magazine format.
