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! The past few weeks have brought two new series to the magazine, ending with RuriDragon, a story about a girl who wakes up one morning with two pointy dragon horns on her head! I’ve heard amazing things about this series’ one-shot published back in December 2020, and with it now getting its very own full-blown series, it will slot quite nicely into the current roundup rotation!
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. 5/63)
Blue Box (Ch. 18/54)
Me & Roboco (Ch. 8/90)
PPPPPP (Ch. 8/34)
Sakamoto Days (Ch. 11/72)
Undead Unluck (Ch. 10/112)
One Piece (Ch. 24/1050)
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!
RuriDragon (NEW SERIES!)
Story & Art by Masaoki Shindo
Chapter 1
Synopsis: Ruri Aoki is a teenager who wakes up one morning to a bizarre discovery: two pointy dragon horns have grown out of her head! She asks her mom about it and she nonchalantly tells Ruri that the half of her that isn’t human might be the reason for these strange horns. In other words, her dad is a dragon, and she’s half dragon, half human! Ruri could stay home from school, but decides to go anyway. I mean, other than the horns, she’s feeling alright. She meets up with her friend Yuka and heads into school, feeling the curious stares of nearby students. Upon walking into homeroom, she is immediately dealt a barrage of questions from her classmates (and even her teacher!) about her horns, but other than that, nobody is really freaking out about it. Rather, a mild curiosity is buzzing around in the classroom.
Being swamped with all this attention has exhausted Ruri, and during lunch, she starts sneezing and feeling hot. After falling asleep in class, she is called out by the teacher and asked to read aloud to the class. She gathers the strength to stand, and right as she’s about to read, she sneezes out massive fireball and falls to the floor! Her newfound fire breath has burned her throat, and she has passed out from exhaustion, causing her mother to come to the school to pick her up. Ruri is understandably confused about why her mother hasn’t told her about any of this dragon stuff sooner. Her mom reveals that she actually went to visit her dragon dad that day who lives deep in the mountains. She has learned a lot from this time with dragon dad and is ready to teach Ruri everything there is to know about dragons.
My Thoughts: What a sweet new addition to the magazine! It is always refreshing to have a manga series like RuriDragon that doesn’t neatly slot into one genre, but rather plays around with elements from several different genres like slice-of-life, fantasy and comedy to bring a nice, balanced mix to the table. Many of the characters in this first chapter have this very casual style of dialogue, treating Ruri with curiosity but ultimately treating her in a very accepting, chill manner. Nobody is repulsed by her horns, quite the opposite actually. The students and teachers are very quick to adapt to this new change, in a manner reminiscent of the loving acceptance Nico receives from her classmates in Witch Watch.
The sense of humor in this manga is very dry and deadpan, and fuses wonderfully with that relaxed style of dialogue. The art has a softness to it that, combined with the dry humor, is likely to bring a smile to your face and maybe even a few laughs. One hope I have for future chapters is that we will see more of Ruri’s life outside of school, as the high school setting has become pretty rote in the world of manga. I want to see where dragon dad lives, and what he’s up to these days! What has kept Ruri’s mother from letting her meet her dad? Overall, RuriDragon is a promising and quite refreshing new addition to the magazine that seems to be aiming for a chiller vibe amongst a sea of hot-blooded battle manga series. It is definitely worth a read if you tend to gravitate towards cute, casual stories in manga.
Aliens Area (NEW SERIES!)
Story & Art by Fusai Naba
Chapter 2
Synopsis: Tatsumi reluctantly tags along with Hajime to see what Foreign Affairs 5 is all about. He hasn’t joined yet, but being able to see how the Foreign affairs 5 operates will hopefully make his choice clearer. The team heads deep into the woods to investigate a kidnapping, with an alien being the prime suspect. While surveying the area through binoculars, a rock is suddenly hurled at Hajime at high speed and he narrowly dodges it, with this attack revealing the alien kidnapper. The alien tries to negotiate, but realizing it is not going to be let off so easily, it tries to run!
Hajime quickly uses a new piece of equipment to stop this alien: a gravity field that can be controlled at will. Hajime activates it and darts through the trees, using the changes of gravity to spin around like a tornado and crack the alien in the head with his cane! With the alien subdued and the kidnapped civilians saved, Tatsumi is relieved and seemingly convinced in his ability to use his newfound powers to help people, like Hajime did. With the thought of his siblings safety weighing heavily on his mind, he decides to take the job and joins the Foreign Affairs 5!
My Thoughts: Chapter 2 gave us a closer look at Hajime, a guy who clearly carries years of experience and expertise but nonetheless remains pretty mysterious by the last page. Hajime has a playfulness about him that melts away in the heat of battle, where he assumes a very focused and serious role. This is a heavily action focused chapter, and I found the action panels to be clear and easy to follow, even with Hajime bouncing all over the place.
I thought the new gravity field ability was interesting, although I would have loved to see it used in combination with the rubber band, for example. A gravity field could be quite potent when used alongside other weapons and abilities, and hopefully this is something we get to see more of in future chapters. There isn’t too much to talk about here in terms of story, but the stylized art on display here continues to shine, especially in there character design department. I am hoping the coming chapters dig deeper into Tatsumi’s past, as we still have a lot to learn about our MC.
Super Smartphone
Story by Hiroki Tomisawa
Art by Kentaro Hidano
Chapter 6
Synopsis: Regardless of the risks, Q tries to arrange a meeting with Nagi and Zenichiro! In the meantime, Nagi is trying to convince her fellow police staff that the only way to deal with the two mysterious insiders is to do nothing. This is met with various flavors of disagreement, and after the meeting she gets into an argument with the unit chief about her dad, who was sent to another division for undisclosed reasons. A few members of the police staff have Nagi’s back though, and remind her that she needs to be more willing to work with them, and that she doesn’t have to solve this case alone. She takes a moment to check her email and, to her shock, a conversation between Q and Zenichiro is happening right there in her inbox!
They have cleverly circumvented the Superphone’s security features by meeting in a place where they both share a strong interest, talking indirectly through Nagi! She is conflicted… this is a huge opportunity, but in order to participate, she has to keep this conversation from the rest of the police force. She ultimately decides that it’s okay if she has to be the bad guy, as long as it’s in the name of justice! Q beats Zenichiro to the punch and initiates a call with Nagi, trying to convince her that Zenichiro is the high-rise instigator. Before he can get very far, Zenichiro hops into what could be the most significant three-way call on Earth!
My Thoughts: My gremlin detector never lies!! It’s great to finally have a more elaborate backstory on Nagi, and having her be involved with Q and Zenichiro adds another wrinkle to what has already been a very intense game of cat and mouse. Despite her involvement with the police, there is clearly some bad blood after what they did to her dad, which has yet to be elaborated on. She is more than willing to march to the beat of her own drum, regardless of how much it stirs the pot with her higher-ups. I thought it was very clever how Q and Zenichiro managed to communicate indirectly! This was a great example of how evenly matched they are.
Zenichiro is a truly formidable opponent, and if he is just one of possibly many Super Smartphone users, I could see this series going in many crazy directions and pushing Q to his limit. This is where teaming up with Nagi could be fascinating, as with her unique experience as a detective on the police force, her sharpness combined with Q’s intellect could be damn near unstoppable! Nagi even mentions briefly that she is interested in owning one of these mysterious Super Smartphones herself, once she figures out what they are. Will she be convinced to join Q, or swayed by Zenichiro? Personally, I feel like these early chapters of Super Smartphone are incredibly strong and the fan response has been largely positive, so much so that this series is all but confirmed to be sticking around in the magazine. I don’t know if any series will ever fill the enormous shoes that Deathnote left behind, but Super Smartphone is doing a truly commendable job so far.
Akane-Banashi
Story by Yuki Suenaga
Art by Takamasa Moue
Chapter 17
Synopsis: Akane has taken the stage, and in a hall nearly 400 people, she isn’t even a little nervous… if anything, she radiates confidence! She has finally figured out her own spin on Jugemu, however in the prelims, she is limiting herself to simply her proficiency repeating Jugemu’s long name. The catch is that with each repetition, she tries to take fewer and fewer breaths until finally saying the entire phrase in one continuous breath! She is fighting the worst possible odds by being the event’s first performer as well as performing such a common story, but she is determined to win entire competition with Jugemu alone! In her own words, “I’ll win using nothing but my straight right punch—that phrase!!”
Jumbo is in the audience alongside Akane’s guidance counselor, who is blown away by Akane’s performance but trying to keep it cool and professional, while deep down she is bubbling over with excitement! Nerimiya is not impressed, and doesn’t think Akane is taking this competition seriously by performing Jugemu. Koragi, on the other hand, sees Akane as her main competition. She is determined to outdo her in every possible category so she can win the Karaku Cup. Akane, Nerimiya, and Koragi are among the 8 who have qualified for the finals! Things are starting to heat to a boil, as Issho Arakawa will be in attendance during the final round, pressuring everyone to bring their A-game! Competition is stiff… will Akane get her conversation with Issho?
My Thoughts: The fact that Akane is saving this new Jugemu performance for the finals is such a nervewracking twist! Thankfully though, her talent seems to have been recognized, at least enough so to get her to the finals, and on the subject of nerves, she has absolutely none and her confidence shines through in this chapter. She has faith in her art, and nothing will stop her from getting closure about what happened to her father from Issho. I also thought that Akane’s guidance counselor’s support of her performance in this chapter was so heartwarming, and it’s so great to see these people in her life who once didn’t understand her now cheering her on.
The story is at a point right now where it is absolutely going to open up and blossom as long as it is given the proper space to do so. I desperately hope Akane-banashi stays in the magazine as I think it is one of the most inspired stories to hit Shonen Jump’s pages since the reign of the big 3. It has such boundless potential of which I feel that the next few chapters are going to realize as we move closer and closer to the conflict between Akane’s family and Issho. Shit is about to get REAL, basically, and I will be among the first in line to see how Akane’s story shakes out.
Earthchild
Story & Art by Hideo Shinkai
Chapter 16
Synopsis: In a supposed time skip, a teenage Mamoru reflects on his memories of Operation Peek-A-Boo as it happened 6 years ago and how precious that story is to him. Returning to the operation, Reisuke desperately wants to get back out there to try and save Kareri, regardless of the meteor shower raining upon them. Maromi interjects with a slap to the face, reminding Reisuke that if he dies out there, now Mamoru has lost both of his parents and become an orphan.
Kareri speaks to Reisuke through their telekinetic bond and tells him that he’s done enough, that she got to have the happiest life because of him and got to be a mother and a wife, and that as long as he and Mamoru survive, she will be happy. Regardless of everything, Reisuke is still determined to save her and Albert has been won over by his determination, the two relying on the slim chance that everyone survives. With a glimmer of hope as fleeting as space dust, the pair will both depart the ISS to retrieve Kareri!
My Thoughts: Woah, so this chapter was all over the place! We start off with a time skip where Mamoru is now a teenager who is writing about the rescue mission for a school essay, called “Family Memories,” and Maromi is now his caretaker, I think? Mamoru refers to his parents in the present tense, giving some indication that they might still be alive, although it doesn’t confirm anything necessarily. Y’all… I am trying by best with Earthchild but this is such a difficult series for me to give my thoughts on. The story so far feels as if a crew of sailors that are building the boat as it it sails, and I’ve personally had a very difficult time following all of its threads. I love these characters but I am struggling to keep up with the breakneck pace of this story. This series feels like such a prime example of how fear of cancellation is warping the way mangaka pace their stories to fit into the modern Jump landscape.
All I am certain about is that I hope the mission succeeds and I hope Mamoru speaking about his parents in the present tense was intentional and not just an oversight from the author. Things do feel though like they’re definitely setting up for a series ending and I hope that every loose end is able to be tied up. Who knows? Maybe the next few chapters will completely clear up all of my confusion and doubt towards this series. Apologies in advance though as the Earthchild section of this roundup has basically just become incoherent babbling and will likely continue to be so for the duration of Earthchild’s run. I just don’t know what to make of Earthchild, and I feel like this will be a series I’ll really need to chew on and maybe read through in full a few times before I can really provide any sort of meaningful discourse.
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!
