Weekly Shonen Jump 2023 issue #36/37 cover

Weekly Shonen Jump Character Summer Vacation Picture Diaries

With 3 news series starting in Weekly Shonen Jump in the next 3 weeks, this means that 3 series currently running on Weekly Shonen Jump will get the axe. Fabricant 100 already got the axe; By my best guess, the next series to almost certainly Do Retry, based on how the main character has found his missing dad, he is fighting his dad, he had a “power of friendship” speech where his 2 criminal bosses tell him to not give up and he says the name of the manga in a line that goes “Imma Do Retry!”.

The other series that’s possibly getting axed is Tenmaku Cinema, the new manga made by Shun Saeki and Yuto Tsukuda who made Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma. It’s on the the bottom ranks of the rest of the Shonen Jump series (20th place which the second lowest place, above 21st which was Fabricant 100 which just got axed) so it’s definitely on the chopping block. Plus, I’m reading it and the story has reached a point where it makes sense to end the series in 1 or 2 chapters; the plot of the series was basically to make student film, they’ve now completed the film and they’ve put it in a student film contest which will be judged by one of the main character’s mom.

Shonen Jump Manga Round-Up(May 30th, 2023)

Another week and more chapters! The format is still a work in progress so I’m still figuring things out. There’s a semi-leftovers section at the end but after the cut we get into the meatier discussions. See ya down there!

The Ichinose Family's Deadly Sins(Chapter 26)

This was such a great chapter. It told a really solid story and had an arc that it completed all in one chapter instead of spinning its wheels like the series had been for the past little while. And for me, it helped to bridge an understanding of some of the themes it’s going for. I had been curious about the other family members now that Tsubasa is awake. And seeing Shiori sends a chilling message. Her parents have completely given up on her. This is another chance at life for Tsubasa so he’s doubly motivated but he was just like them before. They had all retreated within themselves because no one was trying to fix things. His parents worked with each other to fix things because their arms were reaching for help. They needed the encouragement of someone asking for help to help them out. And it’s valid that you can’t help someone unless they’re willing to help themselves out but Shiori is their child and they haven’t even tried to see her cries for help. And I think this blase attitude is meant to rub us wrong because despite their cheery disposition, their parents are still broken people. And at least right now the message I’m seeing from this series is that broken people can’t save other broken people. But! They can help each other heal. As we see in the panel above, where silently the siblings find comfort in each other’s company. Tsubasa acts optimistic because he has to. But he’s just as broken as the rest of them. And it’s also in this and the title that we find another major theme of the story. Separate, the family is fragmented, disjointed, and broken. Shells of their former selves because they pushed away the ones they love the most. But slowly, as Tsubasa brings them all close to each other, and they reach out to one another, they find themselves healing. As the chapter ends we get another hint that all is not right as Tsubasa is able to remember someone he only learnt about in his dreams. I hope he’s actually woken up and it’s not one of those IT WAS ALL A DREAM type of things. The twist the first time around was great but it could get repetitive and retread old ground if it happened again. Though if it does, I have faith that it’ll lead somewhere. 

Akane-Banashi(Chapter 63)

This series has an incredible skill in telling the stories of side characters. And in an incredibly meta way, this method of storytelling goes back to the purpose of Rakugo in not only entertaining but telling these little slices of life of different people. Seeing how Akane called Rakugo a time machine, this series itself snips out moments of character from it’s supporting cast. And sure that method of character development is common, with the audience learning of character’s backstories as they appear more, but what Akane-Banashi does is just like how Rakugo emphasizes behavior, little quirks of character and moments of self expression, so does the story itself. Whereas a character might make some plot related decisions before their motivations are revealed, characters in this show behave in incredibly unique ways and that little snippet in time that we see of them justifies that behavior. Take Kaichi for example. While him being boisterous in this chapter was a conscious decision, it’s also just a part of his essence, just like how the mannerisms a Rakugoka imbues their character’s with is a part of their essence. Drunk, miserly, naive. All characteristics, just like Kaichi’s people-pleasing. And just as the story stories justify their behaviors and vice versa, so does the little looks into character’s pasts we get. I love these little stories and I especially love the character of Kaichi. He’s such an interesting and unique character. He started off seeming like someone doing Rakugo on a whim because of a mid-life crisis or some such thing but he’s quickly evolved into a very complex character despite having such a simple motivation. This also shows how motivation and backstory aren’t the only factors in making character’s complex, as his open defiance of the old school judge is what really contributes to his emergence as a three dimensional figure. 

Tenmaku Cinema(Chapter 7)

Tenmaku Cinema continues its streak of being incredibly relatable by accurately relaying the feeling of shooting a short film. Especially a high school one. But before we get to the high school aspect of it, I want to talk about the above panel, where Tenmaku mentions the tension and euphoria of a shoot. The thrill of directing is like no other, and not having done any since the pandemic, I miss it dearly and have gained a lot of perspective on it. I think the best representation of it is in 8 ½ by Federico Fellini in which Marcello Mastroianni’s Guido balances the chaos of his personal life with the chaos of directing. While directing may be more chaotic and destructive, it’s a chaos that he thrived in. I felt the same too. I wonder what it is about it that makes so much sense despite being so chaotic. Perhaps it’s the finding of order within the chaos that’s the real beauty of the art. Moving on though, the idea of shooting that much coverage makes me wonder if we’ll see Hajime drop that going forward as he becomes more confident. He’s choosing a particular type of shot, while having additional hands shoot coverage. Coverage is good if you can get it, and the advantage of shooting on phones is that you’ll have enough cameras for it, but coverage can make people lazy in what should be a purposeful art. And I guess the manga won’t cover the nitty gritty of gear as different phone resolutions and picture quality could make a dissonant scene. But I think that’s for the better, as Hajime’s journey is to be a filmmaker and he needs to trust his crew. And speaking of crew, he’s got a dream team with him! I love the supporting casts' different strengths and look forward to learning about them. And them entering the film into a film competition also reminds me of Keep Your Hands Off Eiuzouken! which I read and is an amazing experience in manga form. The enthusiasm in that was more vibrant where here it’s slightly more muted in favour of Hajime, Hemeki, and Tenmaku’s characters and relationships. I love how the high school setting of this short film shows the duties of directing amateur productions other than the blocking and shot selection. The having to wait for people to leave and working around other’s schedules is an integral part of those duties. I’m really digging how Tenmaku Cinema picks and chooses aspects of filmmaking while ignoring others to make a picture that accurately reflects the feeling of shooting. It shows the authour’s mastery. 

Undead Unluck(Chapter 160)

This chapter shows off Undead Unluck’s heart in such a great way. Undead Unluck has many great qualities, but to me, its heart and optimism is what shines forward the brightest. I don’t know if it’s just me but the Phil stopping the shuttle reminded me so much of Superman and in a roundabout way, the Iron Giant. Phil is ostensibly a weapon now, a living and unfeeling artifact. But Fuuko, Gina, and Nico help him realise that he doesn’t have to be a self sacrificing tool for other people. I wonder what the twist of Unfeel in this loop will be as it seems to be incredibly detrimental. I wonder if it’s something that helps him ignore fear and consequences about himself. In that case it shows why Union is so beneficial to him as they can protect him like how Gina did. They’re his friends and Nico even feels like a surrogate father to him as he calls him my boy at a certain point. In this way, if he can still feel emotions like love and happiness and just ignore certain ones, it strengthens the point of Union as they can support him in a way that allows him to be reckless. I recently started reading Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint and it helped me understand how Fuuko’s Union is different from Juiz’s. Fukko’s is kinder and where Juiz might have left people or their lives behind as acceptable sacrifices towards a better outcome, Fuuko refuses to do so. And this whole concept of looping also shows how important the one life you get is. Fuuko’s hellbent on making sure everyone gets the most out of this one life they have whereas Juiz was okay with the people suffering if it meant it was a more optimal build. In a funny way it reminds me of how in competitive games there’s a stark difference in playing the way you want versus the way that’s optimal. Fuuko definitely listens to the heart of the cards.

Maybe Some Left Over?

The only thing I have to say about the manga I’ve dropped discussing  is Wowee! The fight going on right now in Jujutsu Kaisen(Chapter 224) is so fun!

Moving on to manga I’m still discussing but didn’t have that many interesting thoughts on, The Elusive Samurai(Chapter 111) moves away from Tokiyuki for this chapter and focuses on Takauji. It’s building up his legend. It’s an effective technique at setting the stakes as it was revealed in the horrific showdown between Tokiyuki and Takauji how Takauji actually works. And after such an impactful reveal, he’s now allowed to be as ruthless as he has the potential to be without the main character in harm’s way. I love learning about history and knowing that this manga is very lightly based on history I am having to hold myself back from searching up how the battle chowed at the end of this chapter went as it looks as impossible as the battle Battle of Thermopylae.

Me & Roboco(Chapter 138) takes us back to Roboco’s Idol days and leaves us with one of the funniest and stupidest final panel’s in its history. Roboco’s compulsive need to be liked is such a good motivator for gags.

Fabricant 100(Chapter 23) brings the story back to themes of self-sacrifice, as 100 quite literally sacrifices part of herself to ensure her and Ashibe’s survival. And bringing it back to this idea of completeness, of healing, while this fire is an innate part of 100’s physiology, it furthers something that’s been itching at the back of my mind. And that was what the correlation between the themes of self-sacrifice and completeness are? And I believe the culmination of the two messages is the idea that chasing perfection, of trying to complete oneself through improvement or a need for some sort of fulfillment like revenge is destructive, quite often self destructive. It’s an impossible pursuit. And for being a battle shounen that’s quite a zen statement. So much so it reminds me of an old favourite in Shaman King. Another thing I noticed was the chapter’s title, Prometheus Flame. Not only does it conjure up imagery of the Greek Titan but also Frankenstein’s original title, The Modern Day Prometheus. In all three, the gift given, be it life or fire, is both a blessing and a curse.

Cipher Academy(Chapter 25) gives us a better look at Iroha’s upcoming opponents and hints at Toshusai’s backstory. Two things I loved about this chapter were how it showed off how clever and characterized the dialogue was and how Iroha has adapted the characteristics of his opponent into himself, such as Yosaimura’s camaraderie and Ano’s unhinged lies. You can see how characterized everyone’s dialogue is through their little affectations and this idea of collaboration and growth through working together as well as the idea of character affectations is shown wonderfully through Toshusai stealing Kogoe’s catchphrase of “Can’t say that too loudly, though…” right at the beginning of the chapter. One last note is how Kogoe’s catchphrase encourages hiding the truth while Iroha’s encourages open communication and demonstration.

This week’s Witch Watch(Chapter 110) had me howling with laughter. While Kanshi can be mischievous, Miharu is such a devious little shit-stirrer. I’m so glad Fran has been as prominent as she has been because the gags with her are the best. Jekyll’s transformation requirements are going to stay with me for a while.

Kill Blue(Chapter 6) pulls such a great move that I see why they ended the last chapter the way they did. Series like these, where character’s get reverted in age often have to tiptoe around the line of age-appropriate romance. Kill Blue set this up as early as it could so that it could firmly establish that it wasn’t going to fall into that trap. Also as a way to establish the fact that there’s a way to get Ogami closer to Noren as we saw at the end of the chapter there but it was mainly to reiterate the heart of the series. I really appreciate how quick Ogami was to shut down even the suggestion. Just as Ogami is normalized by Ryo, his sister and Noren, Ogami does the same for Noren. It’s tiptoeing a dangerous line once again but after this chapter I have faith in the storytelling.

Blue Box(Chapter 102) starts off with a hilarious character poll where Taiki has been absolutely crushed by Chinatsu and Hina and goes on to show an incredibly tender chapter where even in the vast and empty landscapes, our two protagonists think of one another. And in a twist of fate are brought together. It would be incredibly romantic if they do meet and confess to each other within the time they’re here so I’m eagerly waiting to see how this plays out.

This chapter of Do Retry(Chapter 4) made me realise what kind of manga Do Retry is and I think I’ll hang with it. Because alongside the exaggerated characters and the hyper violence is also a world that blends realism with grounded fantasy. The twisted world of Do Retry reminds me of a Jump oneshot from around 2018 or so I want to go back and see if it’s the same authour before the next chapter. I think the harsh nature of it also shows how the war twisted Japanese society in a really effective way. It wouldn’t make sense if the point of view was gentle.

Nue’s Exorcist(Chapter 3) makes me feel like it’s starting to head towards plot and abandon the loose fights. It’s weird, and I think it’s for very few people, but I really like this unfocused and unspecific atmosphere this manga has. It doesn’t explain everything but it feels like there’s an order to things we’ll slowly uncover. While it does leave a lot of room for potential, I love how it uses this vibe to strengthen characters. Gakuro Yajima is super milquetoast, but from the get Zenno has been a unique and strong presence and in this chapter, he’s joined by Kazusa. In this we also get the experience first and understand later as we find out about her as a character before we learn her name or her occupation as an exorcist. It’s getting interesting.

In what might be my favorite chapter of the series, Sakamoto Days(Chapter 120) brings this journey into the past to a close. I can’t recall if Kei was confirmed to be Slur, but it’s no surprise he is as this flashback was mostly centered around him. After a stunning set of silent scenes where in the middle the background drops away in the heat of the fight, before picking up as Sakamoto gains the advantage. The fight scene carries weight. It’s emotional and different from the comedy of an older Sakamoto. I honestly hope Sakamoto Days pivots from it’s looser comedy filled story into this darker story it’s dipped it’s toes in because it really works. I don’t know if they will as this was only a brief journey into the past but one can hope. 

My reaction to the newest chapter of Do Retry:

SHONEN JUMP FIRST IMPRESSIONS DIGEST PT. 2

I guess this batch got split up by Golden Week. You'd think they could plan that out a bit better but what do I know. anyway.

Do Retry: Stop me if you've heard this one before. It's a shonen manga about a young boy whose primary character traits are loyalty and pertinacity. Really boundary-breaking, I know. The only almost-interesting thing about it is that it takes place in the aftermath of World War II, but the series doesn't do anything interesting with it (at least, not in the first chapter). It's just another way to make Hero Kidguy (or whatever his name is)'s life more shitty so you'll find his determination more inspiring. If you're really hurting for a new boxing manga I guess you could do worse but there's not really anything to recommend about it. Just skip manga entirely and watch Megalobox (or read Ashita no Joe, I guess).

Nue's Exorcist: They have cancelled so many series with this same basic premise that one must wonder why they keep trying it. Just because Bleach worked for a bit doesn't mean you can keep copying it ad nauseam. Anyway this shit is lame and just makes me mad that Tokyo Demon Bride got cancelled, and all that series really had going for it was Keroru.

Do Retry ch 1:

Talk about a glow-up. Chapter 1 is waaaayyyyyy better than anything in Jun Kirarazaka's previous work Bone Collection.

Do Retry series banner

The Do Retry Manga Ends in Weekly Shonen Jump

Jun Kirarazaka’s Do Retry manga ended in the 42nd digital issue of Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine. The manga is about “a scrappy young war orphan refuses to stay down.” The Do Retry manga debuted in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine on May 8, 2023. VIZ Media’s Shonen Jump service and Shueisha’s MANGA PLUS service published the manga in English. Source: ANN

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Weekly Shonen Jump 55th anniversary poster in Weekly Shonen Jump 2023 issue #33

Do Retry is a manga of all time

High hopes for this new Shonen Jump title👊

Just going by its literal and metaphorical cover, Do Retry* didn't look like it would appeal to me. I'm not into sports manga or manga centered around some other hobby with an element of competition that borrow the same set of tropes to tell their story. And this one's a period piece? Uh'uhh. I'm only giving this a one-chapter college try.

*The Japanese title is ドリトライ, indicating that the "do" is actually pronounced like 'doe.' I don't know what the title means, though. I don't think the localizers could tell either.

What I witnessed was probably not the same set of tropes. Do Retry is rough. Aozora Okami gets everything thrown at his life. Bullies, thugs, gangsters, war, poverty, dead relatives, dying relatives, missing relatives... it all sounds like a typical story setup. But Aozora differentiates himself from others in how he reacts to adversity. There are multiple moments where he gets something taken from him by a herd of big strong non-distincts, and in any other manga, that'd be end scene. your character has to live with the result of this tragedy.

Instead aozora Gets Back Up. he just, refuses to stay down regarding anything. ("Never giving up" isn't an unprecedented card for a shonen hero to pull out, but for aozora, it's currently the only one he can rely on. After igniting his fiery spirit, Aozora rises back to standing, delivers a dramatic declaration of justice, and typically proceeds to get his ass beat once more.) The ultimate inciting event is caused by him deciding, "actually, no. you degenerate extras don't get to walk out of this story scot-free. NOT after condemning my sister to death." Because this hero's actions buck the silent trends of how these stories are told, it actively feels like the protagonist is fighting the winds of fate. Aozora is actively trying to claw his way out of the 'tragic backstory' era of his life, and I am absolutely in his corner.

Okay, I know Weekly Shonen Jump is going to launch 3 new series each issue, meaning axing 3 of their current ones beforehand but not end these series in the same week…but the editors really should have ended Do Retry this chapter and give another week to Tenmaku Cinema (the series that was axed this week).

Like, what can the author show at this point? This chapter has the resolution and a timeskip epilogue. In comparison, Tenmaku Cinema could have given a more fleshed out resolution instead of ending abruptly on a cliffhanger where the female lead can suddenly also see the ghost.

Do Retry: Chapter 2

The second new series to come out as of late, we’ve got a historical sports manga, and the artstyle gives me Demon Slayer vibes, maybe Jun Kirarazaka was one of Gotouge’s assistants, or maybe I’m conflating costume design with artstyle.

Anyways, Aozora is going to need money to keep his sister from dying horribly, so he’s heading back to Yuka-san. I really really like this character design.

She wants to pull our boy Aozora into her business of underworld boxing, so I sense a training arc in the near future.

God, I wish that were me.

Anyways, it’s time for some Yakuza-style hazing, involving a concerning amount of non-boxing implements

He gets his ass kicked, but he doesn’t get kicked hard enough to break his protagonistic willpower, lucky him. He’s also good with crowds, identifying him as a sure moneymaker, and a worthy investment for Yuka to make.

I’m enjoying this series so far, but I hope we can get past the chapters where Aozora is a weakling whose only strength is a nigh-bottomless HP bar, so we can get some cool, two-sided fights.

The new Weekly Shonen Jump series Do Retry by Jun Kirarazaka is fighting for its spot with a lot of heart! But damn, this chapter is a bit depressing...

yayayaya hi