The sweet taste of variety
2019 has been a remarkable year for Weekly Shonen Jump Magazine, and that can mostly be attributed to their current approach of variety between series. For example, there's Dr. Stone, a story about a determined scientist on a mission to save a society frozen in stone bodies. Act-Age, the story of an extremely talented method actress trying to realize her potential. Samurai 8, the tale of a sick young boy with a dream to become a samurai. These are just a few among many examples of diversity in Shonen Jump's current lineup, and with this week's latest addition, yet another heaping dose of variety has been added to the Shonen Jump melting pot.
I spy with my little eye...
The best way I could describe Mission: Yozakura Family is to call it a spy family comedy series that plays out like a sitcom. That sounds like a ridiculous combination, huh? Judging by the first chapter released this week, this new series is ridiculous in all the best ways! The lead-up to the spy family part of the story is actually pretty somber in comparison, but lays the groundwork for our main protagonist.
Taiyo Asano was a normal teenage boy until being caught in a tragic car accident that killed his entire family, leaving him as the only survivor. This left him living in fear of getting attached to people, just to have them ripped away in an instant. His response to the tragedy is to keep everybody at an arm's length and not form any meaningful bonds with people. Enter Mutsumi Yozakura, a persistent young girl from Taiyo's childhood who makes him school lunches every day and cares for him, whether he likes it or not. From here, Taiyo gets tangled up in Mutsumi's family affairs only to find out... her entire family are SPIES???
Till death do us part
Things only get more ridiculous from here. Mutsumi's oldest brother Kyoichiro is freakishly overprotective of her and not very fond of her relationship with Taiyo, so he kicks into spy mode and sneaks up on Taiyo and the gang. Fighting ensues, and Taiyo is told by one of the Yozakura family members that the family has one golden rule that could save his skin: no killing in the family. The only way for him to avoid Kyoichiro's wrath is to marry Mutsumi.
I won't spoil any further details, but I highly recommend checking out the first chapter yourself and seeing what these spy antics are all about; with a delightful cast of characters, a hilariously endearing premise, and plenty of goofs, this brand new Shonen Jump series is well worth checking out. With only a single chapter out so far, It's difficult to judge the future of this series, but I can only hope it holds the same qualities that this 1st chapter contained!
If any of the series mentioned in this post caught your interest, Shonen Jump offers the first 3 chapters of each series on their website, completely free of charge.
-- Stay tuned here at the Jo's Tomorrow blog for future manga reviews and all things Shonen Jump; Happy Reading!--
