Double Taisei

Posted on by

Double Taisei

A manga about a genius shogi player Tai with a split personality that changes into carefree Sei during night. When Tai suddenly disappears during during a shogi tournament, it’s up to Sei to win for both of them.

We’ve discussed this on an older podcast.

While I thought the dual protagonist bit was not great, I knew this manga was destined to fail. Shogi manga just do not do well in Weekly Shonen Jump. Whether it be Momiji no Kisetsu or Mononofu, shogi manga just do not do well in Shonen Jump. Ryu to Ichigo is serialized in Weekly Shonen Sunday so I’m pretty sure it will survive. However I think anyone including Kentaro Fukuda should think twice before trying shogi manga in Jump again.

~dakazu

320 – Triple Dip 45 – Everyone’s Getting Married, The Prince in His Dark Days, Complex Age

Posted on by

320 – Triple Dip 45 – Everyone’s Getting Married, The Prince in His Dark Days, Complex Age

We are back with a new Triple Dip! This time we focus on Josei series including Everyone’s Getting Married, The Prince in His Dark Days, and Complex Age. We also visit some of our favorites like WOMBS Cradle during our Whatchu Been Reading segment!!!

Continue reading →

Beast Children

Posted on by

Beast Children

A manga about a young rugby player who competes against the son of the late rugby player who inspired him to start playing.

We’ve discussed this on an older episode.

The rugby world cup was held in 2019 in Japan. While Japan became crazy about rugby numerous manga popped up to try and cash in on the zeitgeist. Beast Children is one of them. It’s a pretty mediocre series that should’ve been cancelled quickly but Weekly Shonen Jump let it stick around for a bit. I kinda feel like this along with Tokyo Shinobi Squad and Double Taisei all got to survive while Japan got swept up in rugby fever. You can read this series by Kento Terasaka on Manga Plus.

~dakazu

Tokyo Shinobi Squad

Posted on by

Tokyo Shinobi Squad

A manga about an elite shinobi squad that tackles jobs in the crime-ridden city of Tokyo in the year 2049.

We’ve discussed this show on an older episode.

This manga debuted in Weekly Shonen Jump and actually survived for almost twice the amount of chapters of Bone Collection. A surprise considering the strange premise of super globalization turning Tokyo into a horrible future city. Not sure what writer Yuki Tanaka was going for with the setting but their choice of focusing on shinobi is ballsy considering Naruto still holds a stronghold over ninja content. I wasn’t particularly impressed with Kento Matsuura‘s art here either. Matsuura is currently drawing Phantom Seer which is much more visual impressive, though I have my doubts about it lasting any longer than Tokyo Shinobi Squad did. You can read this over on Manga Plus while it’s still up.

~dakazu

Mitama Security: Spirit Busters

Posted on by

Mitama Security: Spirit Busters

A manga about a teenager girl Rena Haze who is haunted by a procession of spirits. An elite SecuREIty agent Joh Mitama comes to protect her but he is terrified of spirits.

We’ve discussed this on an older episode.

I absolutely loved this quirky comedy of a manga. I think Tsurun Hatomune has had amazing comedy chops since his previous series Mukidashi no Hakuchou. Everything involving the character of Shakejiro was hilarious. While Mitama Security: Spirit Busters lasted longer than other newer series in Weekly Shonen Jump, it was unfortunately canceled in under a year. I hope to see Hatomune come back soon with another great comedy series soon.

You can still read it on Manga Plus for now.

~dakazu

ZIPMAN!!

Posted on by

ZIPMAN!!

A manga about a young man who zips into a special suit that houses his dead twin brother’s consciousness in order to battle against an evil organization.

We’ve discussed this on an older episode.

ZIPMAN!! is not Yusaku Shibata first foray into the highly competitive battleground known as Weekly Shonen Jump. His previous series Yoakemono was also canceled due to lack of popularity. But while Yoakemono failed to make an impression on me, I thought ZIPMAN!! had some fantastic action scenes that grabbed my eye. Unfortunately I think this manga suffered from the overly complicated backstory with it’s main characters. Twin brother storylines are overly complex and splits the focus for the reader, even if the story focused primarily on Kaname. Double Taisei also suffered from the same problem. And while the focus is here is more on sentai heroes, you can see some overlap with My Hero Academia.

Yusaku Shibata is a talented artist so I really hope he’ll eventually make a series that works for him, whether it be in Weekly Shonen Jump or not. You can still read this on Manga Plus for now.

~dakazu

Guardian of the Witch

Posted on by

Guardian of the Witch

A manga about a young knight who betrays his kingdom when he learns that his final mission as the guardian of a witch is to kill her before the evil seed inside her grows out of control. Together they escape the city and set off to explore the lands to find a cure to save the witch’s life.

Yet another manga that did not survive in Weekly Shonen Jump. I think this fantasy series from Asahi Sakano is too similar to Black Clover. It was too easy to compare his art to Yuki Tabata‘s and they just don’t stack up. I actually think this series could have had a place to grow in maybe Weekly Shonen Champion but it just wasn’t made to last in Jump. You can still read it over on Manga Plus for now.

~dakazu

Bone Collection

Posted on by

Bone Collection

A manga about a mediocre exorcist with the forbidden ability to use yokai powers trying to hide his connection to a mysterious beautiful girl who happens to be the great yokai Gasha Dokuro.

Here’s another manga that debuted in Weekly Shonen Jump, only to quickly be canceled and ended in 15 chapters. I feel bad for Jun Kirarazaka but this series felt ill equipped to garner popularity. The art work is distinctive but not what I would call impressive and the main character felt like just another shonen protagonist motivated by his libido. Nothing stood out to me and I think that was the general opinion on this series. You can still read it for yourself on Manga Plus while they leave it up for now.

~dakazu

319 – One Shot 32 – Tokyo Tarareba Girls Returns

Posted on by

319 – One Shot 32 – Tokyo Tarareba Girls Returns

This week we’re excited to return to the “what if?” ladies with Tokyo Tarareba Girls Returns! What has happened to Rinko, Kaori, and Koyuki since the ending of Tokyo Tarareba Girls? Akiko Higashimura gives us the answers with this sequel that the hosts have been dying to read!!!

Continue reading →

Time Paradox Ghostwriter

Posted on by

Time Paradox Ghostwriter

A manga about a talentless manga artist who ends up plagiarizing a god-tier manga sent from 10 years in the future.

We’ve discussed this on a previous episode.

The latest manga to debut in Weekly Shonen Jump and then end in 14 chapters. I feel bad for the writer Kenji Ichima but especially for the artist Tsunehiro Date. Date has not had success with any of his previous series of Cross Account or Tokyo Wonder Boys. Date is very talented and I was really impressed by their art of this series but unfortunately didn’t gain any popularity which lead to it’s cancellation. It joins the long list of series that have come and gone from the Weekly Shonen Jump lineup.

You can read it on Manga Plus while it’s still available.

~dakazu