Manga Review: Weekly Shonen Jump 2023 by various creators
It’s the eleventh anniversary of this blog! As every year, let’s take a look at the long-running colossus that is Weekly Shounen Jump!
One Piece has moved on from the Wano storyline to one involving frequently referenced mad scientist(s) Dr. Vegapunk, who is not as cool with his research being coopted by the World Government as you might have assumed. My Hero Academia is on its most definitely final arc and somewhere in the middle of what’s probably the final battle. Mashle ended, but got an anime. Black Clover is on hiatus for a switch to monthly. Blue Box is getting an anime. Me and Roboco got an anime. The Elusive Samurai is still running with a major status quo shift, having left strictly historical events behind. Undead Unluck got an anime, and is still going strong. Witch Watch had a major status quo shift–very likely to get an anime. Akane-banashi is still going strong. Chainsaw Man has a Part Two which is just as weird. Oh, and Sakamoto Days is good too.
Let’s take a look at the new stuff from the magazine and official North American website!
Nue’s Exorcist by Kota Kawae stars Gakuro Yajima. One day, he discovers a hidden room in the school which contains a powerful spirit being called Nue. She encourages/forces him to become an exorcist to deal with the many hostile spirits around the school and city. As an unaffiliated ghost hunter, he comes into friction with more conventional exorcists, but soon builds a friend group. This one quickly leans into the romantic comedy angle, and is I am told very popular in Japan for the cute female character designs.
Martial Master Asumi by Kawada takes place in the world of mixed martial arts. Nito Asumi wants to be a nurse when he grows up. He doesn’t want to be like his selfish older brother Kazuro, who abandoned the family (especially senile martial arts master grandfather Baku) to pursue a career as a professional fighter. But he trains each day with his father anyway. Yuyu Fuchida, his best friend, is an easily bullied boy who wants to learn MMA to build confidence and be able to defend himself.
Cute girl from the next class over Nao Okiba also is training in mixed martial arts–her father owns a gym, and she’s hoping to go pro herself in the women’s division. She tries to intervene when Nito and Yuya are being bullied, though Nito tries to make peace. At the gym, Yuya signs up for lessons, but Nito seems clumsy and wary. Afterwards, Nito’s jumped by the bullies again, but this time he finds the fire to fight back and show his actual potential. Nao is impressed, and while Nito still dislikes fighting, he finds he likes winning.
We then follow him learning MMA and moving towards professional status, coming into conflict with his older brother. I like that Nao’s fights also get attention. (Yuya, who had to start training from scratch, falls out of focus.)
Mamayuyu by Yoshihiko Hayashi is a fantasy story. An alternate world has had two major sentient species, humans and demons. Into each generation are born a Demon Lord and a Hero who lead the two sides in conflict. But over the course of time, demons and humans learned they had much in common and began not to hate and fear each other. The previous Hero sacrificed his life to end the last war, allowing the two species to live in peace. The Hero’s Mark migrated to an orphaned infant named Corleo, who has been raised by the Demon Lord Mamama for the last eighteen years.
Corleo is confused as to what to do with his status as the Hero, as this is a time of peace. His conflicts with the Demon Lord are just the squabbles you’d expect from a young adult and his adoptive parent.
Then one day, a Hero from another world, a much harsher world, appears, and Corleo must learn what being a “hero” truly means. I haven’t kept up with this one.
Kill Blue by Tadatoshi Fujimaki has hitman Juzo Ogami stung by a genetically modified wasp. Somehow this has caused him to physically regress to about twelve. The head of the syndicate still has a use for him, though. Infiltrate a private middle school the boss is considering sending his daughter to next year to make sure it’s up to standards.
Turns out that while Juzo has no idea how to handle children (there’s a reason he’s divorced), he never got a chance to go to school in his own childhood, and it turns out he loves the actual learning part of school. Plus, this particular school has some problems that his combat skills come in handy for. Not quite as good as Sakamoto Days, but pretty enjoyable. The one big downside is the forced “romantic” subplots that have Juzo trying not to have middle schoolers crushing on him.
Two on Ice by Elck Itsumo starts with Hayuma Minekoshi, a boy from Hokkaido, visiting his father in Tokyo. They happen to see a figure skating competition for kids his age, and there’s one little girl who’s super impressive. Hayuma decides he wants to become a figure skater too, especially one that can do the fancy jumps, but his small town has no instructors, so he has to practice on his own. He followed the girl’s career, but she disappeared from competition after fifth grade.
In his third year of middle school, Hayuma’s father gets a promotion and the family moves to Tokyo full-time. Hayuma finds a nearby ice rink. He’s never learned any of the “rules” but his raw talent interests a girl about his age, She invites him back for actual practice time. While he’s sloppy because of no formal training, Hayuma does have amazing talent. The girl turns out to be the same one from back then, who disappeared because she wanted to go into pairs skating but was unable to find a partner. If Hayuma can learn the correct way of skating, he and Kisara Saotome might just become partners!
I…haven’t kept up with this one either.
Kagurabachi by Takeru Hokazono stars Chihiro Rokuhira, the son of a famous swordsmith. After his father is murdered and the mystical katanas stolen, Chihiro goes on a journey to recapture the swords and get vengeance against the Hishaku sorcerers who committed the crime. It’s not clear from the first chapters if this is an alternate Earth or a future after sorcery is rediscovered. Very violent. Another I haven’t kept up with.
Green Green Greens by Kento Terasaka is another attempt to make a compelling golf manga. High schooler Haku Yaesaki wants to strike it rich in some activity, but hasn’t found anything he actually has talent for yet. He spends most of his time talking up his friends. Haku has to a degree given up trying, because there’s always someone better. His classmate Nadeshiko Oga. by comparison, knows exactly what she wants, going to America.
Haku intervenes when a scammer tries to shake Nadeshiko down for money, and winds up escorting her to her job at a driving range. Turns out she plans to go pro as a golfer in the U.S. Haku is impressed with the income potential, but she calls him out on his poor attitude. She encourages him to try hitting a golf ball to see how hard it is to do properly.
After a lot of tries and some coaching, Haku keeps going until he gets a really good hit. Nadeshiko pretends she isn’t impressed, but Haku has noticed an odd sense of satisfaction in himself. Maybe he should at least try golf for a while? This will only have its third chapter in the next issue, so early days. (There’s a flash forward indicating that Haku will get much better.) Golf is a difficult sport to make exciting, so we will have to see how it goes.
Shadow Eliminators by Kento Amemiya is another fantasy/horror title, with only one chapter out at this writing. Yayoi Asakaze loves rules. He’s so rigid, his word balloons have square corners. Naturally, he’s on the school’s “morals” committee. In D&D terms, he’s “Lawful” believing that strict adherence to the rules is the best way to avoid injustice or unfairness.
The new student in class is Aoba Kuromori, who seems carefree, is a walking dress code violation, and doesn’t seem to comprehend the concept of rules. He’s more “Chaotic”, believing that personal freedom is the best way to bring justice.
Turns out that Aoba and his grandmother deal with “hollows” in the natural world where Threads can use the shadows in human hearts to take form. And right now, Moribe City is full of Threads just waiting for a chance to invade and become monsters called Kasane.
When a teacher is bullied by students and turns into a Kasane, Yayoi and Aoba must team up. Now they are the Shadow Eliminators, saving the city one crisis at a time! Clearly this is going to be a buddy cop story, contrasting the two leads’ personalities and philosophies. (Mind, Aoba isn’t as free as he pretends, and Yayoi does understand that sometimes rules get in the way.) Might be fun.
Dogsred by Satoru Noda is an ice hockey manga from the creator of Golden Kamuy. Rou Shirakawa was a rising figure skater until his mother died and he had a violent meltdown shortly thereafter. (Not clear if causation or just correlation.) He and his twin sister are taken in by their grandfather in Hokkaido, and Rou winds up joining an ice hockey team. Probably not going to go as over the top as the author’s previous series.
Shojo Null by Kanae Nakanishi & Akima is set in a future Japan where slavery has been reinstated. The slaves are Gijins, artificial humanoids made from mostly organic materials, putting them in the “android” class. They are mindlessly obedient and utterly disposable.
High schooler Riaha knows that last sentence is a lie. Gijin have something called a “gamma device” installed in their brains to remove their free will. Behind their impassive faces and absolute obedience, they’re constantly suffering. Riaha’s father and his resistance group were massacred by the government when they learned this. Riaha’s been lying low ever since.
But now an escaped military grade gijin has somehow found her way to his door. He’s trying to hide Fuji-93106, real name Marie, which is not made easier by the fact that while she’s still got a gamma device, she’s learned how to interpret orders to do more of what she wants.
They’re captured by some Youtube (still exists in this future) prank streamers who regularly torment gijin, Marie somehow manages to influence the housemaid gijin into chainsawing her forehead, wrecking the gamma device. Now fully free-willed, Marie murders all the Youtubers. Riaha finds himself…mostly okay with this. Now, maybe, he can help Marie build a better society.
Extremely violent, not for those with weak stomachs.
The website also now has a “Viz Manga” area with free chapters (and more for an extra fee) of other series they own, like Komi Can’t Communicate and Zom 100.
Okay, I’ve fallen behind a lot, but Shonen Jump is still one of the best manga collections available. Looking forward to what next year will bring!
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