Welcome to the very first 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. I will mainly be sticking to my personal tastes at first, but I would like to expand these posts in the future to include as many currently running series as possible. Please understand that I do not possess superhuman manga-reading abilities, and I am not caught up on every series in Jump. If time allows, I will try to catch up on everything that I can, so I can provide a more thorough roundup for the readers here on my blog (you guys!) As usual, 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 last week's chapters!
Samurai 8: The Tale of Hachimaru
Story by Masashi Kishimoto, Art by Akira Okubo
Chapter 16
Synopsis: Hachimaru's home planet is in jeopardy, as the two halves of orbiting planet Muun are suspended in freefall. Master Daruma knows what they must do... to save their planet, they must summon a powerful atmospheric blade called the Star-Breaker and smash Muun to bits. Through the blessings of Princess Ann, Hachimaru and his master manage to successfully summon the Star-Breaker and save the day!
My Thoughts: The quality of Samurai 8's story has been on a steady incline since the very beginning, and this chapter is no exception! Since the (spoiler) tragic death of his father, Hachimaru seems to be coming into his own, and realizing his true potential as a samurai. This week's chapter features an incredible two-page spread of the Star-Breaker summoning, which has become one of my favorite art panels from Samurai 8 so far. The massive scale of the Star-Breaker makes for a truly spectacular sight; I hope you'll see for yourself and enjoy it as much as I did. I admired watching Hachimaru, his master, and his princess work in tandem during this chapter to accomplish the monumental task of defending their planet. This victory was bittersweet however, as Hachimaru and the gang needed to leave immediately, leaving his home and his friend Nanashi behind. I hope we get to see more of Nanashi in the future, as they were quite an intriguing character in past chapters. Overall, I loved this chapter and can't wait to see what awaits our gang in the further reaches of outer space!
Mission: Yozukura Family (NEW SERIES!)
Story & Art by Hitsuji Gondaira
Chapter 2
Synopsis: Taiyo experiences a rude awakening (quite literally) when Mutsumi and her brother Kyoichiro kidnap him from his home... Come to find out, an assassin nicknamed "King Bomber" planted a bomb in the kitchen of the house! Kyoichiro decides to teach Taiyo the ropes of spycraft by giving him his first mission: protect Mutsumi from assassins for the day.
My Thoughts: Another great chapter of Yozakura Family! The story has been moving pretty quickly since chapter 1 and Taiyo is already being thrust into his first mission as a Yozakura family member. I particularly enjoyed the assassin that is after Mutsumi: a guy named "King Bomber" whose weakness is his hopeless addiction to social media! The last panel of this chapter has our bomber sending out tweets like "now in flames" and "I think I'm going to die" while in the middle of an explosion and it's just as hysterical as it sounds. 😆 This brand new series is shaping up to be a wonderful addition to Shonen Jump's roster and I hope that future chapters can keep the lighthearted, yet thrilling atmosphere that the first two chapters had!
Fun fact: this chapter has a lovely color page that features background art from the author's brother!
Tokyo Shinobi Squad
Story by Yuki Tanaka, Art by Kento Matsuura
Chapter 13
Synopsis: Coming down from a high-stakes warehouse battle, team Narumi-Kai decides to take a breather and attend a shinobi seminar. Meanwhile, they run into some old friends and are given a mission during the seminar that will determine their squad's ranking. The higher the ranking, the more access they will have to new missions and intel!
My Thoughts: A relatively chill chapter in comparison to the previous warehouse battle chapter with the Seigan squad. There honestly isn't too much to say about this chapter as it seems to be a moment of peace in between high-energy missions, but I like the dynamic between Jin and his goofball friend Kenryu. I am curious to see what comes of the next arc, which will be taking place in the slums of Tokyo in a community torn apart by a prison riot. Commenting on the previous arc, I thoroughly enjoyed the battle segments and Jin's super cool maglev motorbike, as well as the incredible "ninpo" techniques! The battle segments are what drew me into this manga initially, and they're what keep me reading today. That said, I can see this formula eventually becoming stale if it keeps its current trajectory. I hope to see the author try new ideas in this upcoming arc that could shake up the battle manga formula a bit! Dipping further into the futuristic, cyberpunk setting could be something that helps this manga differentiate itself from other titles in the magazine.
Mitama Security: Spirit Busters (NEW SERIES!)
Story & Art by Tsurun Hatomune
Chapter 1
Synopsis: Rena Haze is a girl haunted by 100 spirits. Joh Mitama is a "secuREIty professional" who specializes in protection against spirits and ghosts. Is Joh a lifesaver, or is he more of a foolish obstacle? I'll let you be the judge!
My Thoughts: Last but not least, the latest brand new series to be added to Shonen Jump's illustrious lineup! I will say this: I wasn't expecting to enjoy Mitama Security as much as I did. Battle and sci-fi manga are my personal favorites, but I am starting to develop a soft spot for gag manga series like this one! Joh Mitama is my favorite character in particular for now, as his completely over-the-top personality gave me plenty of laughs through this somewhat short (41 pages) debut chapter. There is a panel where he does a running flip into his car that cracked me up! His bizarre ability to unleash psychic powers through crying is also pretty funny in a cool, shonen way. I'm not very well-versed in gag manga, but Mitama Security seems like the perfect gateway into that world. I will happily check out the next few chapters to see if this series sticks. At the very least, this first chapter was a pretty pleasant and comical read!
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.
-- Keep it locked 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!)
