The Last Saiyuki

A manga about a boy who must protect a girl with prosthetic limbs that has the power to shape fears into reality.

Welcome to the latest manga to come and go quickly in Weekly Shonen Jump. When this debuted my initial thought was this is way too complex and it wasn’t in a good way. When you have to explain the way the girl’s power works in the 2nd chapter with text so much text it fails to “show not tell”. A shonen battle series really needs to present it’s characters doing some cool stylish actions instead of discussing them. Especially a new one trying to win popularity against the likes of My Hero Academia and One Piece.

Also establishing the girl as a limbless character with a potentially evil power isn’t bad but why does she need to be helpless and saved by her adoptive brother? This protector and protected scenario is overplayed and can be seen in lots of shonen series like Samurai 8: The Tale of Hachimaru. I would have preferred it if they removed some prosthetic limbs from the girl and have her on a journey around Japan, meeting comrades, all while trying to control her powers that manifest fears. It would’ve made more sense when the title is a reference to Journey to the West.

~dakazu