Welcome to the latest installment of SJ Weekly Roundup, a weekly post where I discuss Shonen Jump Magazine's latest and greatest chapters of manga! Well... the chapters I have read at least. So, yet another roundup where I don’t even talk about the series in the thumbnail, huh? Worry not, dear reader! I am steadily chipping away at many currently running series, including this week’s featured Sakamoto Days, so expect longer roundup posts soon!
My goal with these posts is to cover as many currently running series as possible. However, please understand that I do not possess superhuman manga-reading abilities, and I am not caught up on every series in Jump. Check out the list below to see my current progress with series I am reading, which will be added to the roundup upon completion.
CURRENTLY READING:
Witch Watch (Ch. 5/60)
Blue Box (Ch. 14/51)
Me & Roboco (Ch. 7/87)
Ayashimon (Ch. 3/23)
PPPPPP (Ch. 8/32)
Sakamoto Days (Ch. 5/69)
Undead Unluck (Ch. 9/109)
One Piece (Ch. 24/1048)
As always, Shonen Jump offers the oldest and newest 3 chapters of each series on their website completely free of charge, If you would like to read along with me. Without further ado, let's get in to this week's chapters!
Super Smartphone (NEW SERIES!)
Story by Hiroki Tomisawa
Art by Kentaro Hidano
Chapter 3
Synopsis: A mass robbery has begun at a Tokyo high-rise, spurred into action by another anonymous Superphone user. Q isn’t getting any texts back from his childhood friend Yuika, who happens to be at the high-rise that night. He gets a bad feeling about it and decides to investigate, revealing a large influx of people at the high-rise who don’t live there, as well as a power outage in the area. Q heads straight to the scene of the crime, determined not to lose Yuika in the fray. He sneaks inside the building in disguise, calling Yuika to relay some instructions to her so she can safely escape, but she gets caught by a thug in the process, who plans on killing her. Q arrives just in time to slam the thug with a baseball bat, saving Yuika but attracting the attention of this mysterious other Superphone user who lurks in the shadows, running this whole operation from afar. Who could it be, and what are their motives?
My Thoughts: This chapter was quite the tonal shift from chapter 2! Saving Yuika has allowed the anonymous Superphone user who organized the robbery to lure Q out, bringing forth some stakes that directly affect Q! I was surprised to see Q going straight to the high-rise rather than dealing with the situation from afar as usual, with him even resorting to violence in this chapter, showing how serious he is about protecting those who are important to him. Q is in a very vulnerable position now, with a potential rival on his tail as well as a friend who will likely be very curious how he knew so many details about the robbery. Just a reminder that Q isn’t allowed to talk about the Super Smartphone with her, or his ownership will be revoked! I have no idea how the next chapter will shake out at this rate, but I am all-in on this series and glad to be along for the ride!
Akane-Banashi
Story by Yuki Suenaga
Art by Takamasa Moue
Chapter 14
Synopsis: Training with Koguma begins, and things are off to an… interesting start. He doesn’t seem to want to help, until Akane hands him a poster with Issho Arakawa’s face on it, and it’s clear that him and Akane have something in common: a grudge against Issho. Koguma asks Akane to perform Jugemu for him so he can offer his advice and she goes for it loudly and proudly in the middle of a public park, stirring up laughs from nearby kids and families. Koguma teaches her that there is an original ending to Jugemu that isn’t performed as often, in which the meaning of the story changes completely. He gives the vague advice that “When you repeat Jugemu’s name, it’s just sounds. They’re not words.” Akane asks for one final favor: to watch one of Koguma’s rakugo performances in person. He steps out on stage, revealing a completely different look and demeanor he takes on when performing! How different will his performance be from his usually stoic demeanor?
My Thoughts: This chapter introduced readers to the story “Jugemu”, and boy oh boy did that long name crack me up! I can see how the strength of that story relies on enunciation, keeping a clear and consistent speaking cadence to keep the laughs rolling in. Also Koguma is a total hard-ass, but he clearly has a deep well of knowledge and experience, and I am interested to see what Akane will gather from the tried-and-true “watch and learn” method in the next chapter. I wonder how Koguma’s rakugo will differ from the other rakugoka we’ve seen thus far. Also, what’s up with Akane’s dad? We know he’s been kicked out of the Arakawa school by Issho, but we haven’t seen him in the present day yet. It’s not like he died, as there’s been subtle hints that he’s still around. The history of the Arakawa school is slowly unraveling and showing itself to us, making an already mysterious story that much more captivating.
Earthchild
Story & Art by Hideo Shinkai
Chapter 13
Synopsis: Reisuke hesitantly enters Kareri’s room alongside her parents, where they discover a trunk full of various keepsakes. Paper cranes, chore vouchers, dried flowers, school rewards… all of these objects sharing a common thread: they are things Kareri did that her parents praised her for. They are brought to tears by this, and Mamoru gets to see just how much they loved his mom. Kareri’s parents explain that their memories of Reisuke are crystal-clear, while those of Kareri feel blurry and unfocused. Reisuke is ridden with guilt over this, and reveals to them that Kareri is still alive. They are convinced by Reisuke and WastE to undergo a procedure that will bring back their memories, and after catching up on the story so far, they are shown an image of Kareri crystallized in a space rock. Surprisingly, Mamoru looks at the image and recognizes the rock as his mom! Mission accomplished!
My Thoughts: I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t wondering what’s in Kareri’s room all week! As it turns out, Kareri cherishes being praised by those she loves, and has held onto the items from her past that symbolize those feelings. This chapter was so heartwarming, and a welcome change of pace after literally going to space and back a few chapters ago. While this ranks up there with my favorite chapters in this series, I thought that the parents being able to so easily regain their memories was a little contrived. I imagine having your memories erased shouldn’t be so easily reversible. Otherwise, I though focusing on Kareri’s parents in this chapter was really cute! I Hope we get to see them again after the 2nd (and hopefully last) trip to space. My overall mixed feelings towards this series remain, but at this point, I am cheering for it to stick the landing as I get the feeling it will be wrapping up within the summer.
If any of the series mentioned in this post caught your interest, Shonen Jump offers the first and last 3 chapters of each series on their website, completely free of charge.
Stay tuned here at the Jo's Tomorrow blog for future manga roundups and all things Shonen Jump; Happy Reading!
(DISCLAIMER: This roundup only includes series that I am caught up on, meaning some weekly chapters from the magazine may be omitted. My weekly chapter roundups do not currently include monthly or bi-monthly releases. I will not be covering every currently running series, but I will do my best to keep you up to date with my personal favorites at the very least!)
