Each week we will be providing some thoughts on what we read in the latest issue of Weekly Shonen Jump magazine. We also detail the T.O.C. (table of contents) for each issue and preview the following week’s issue.
This week’s table of contents order:
Class 2-B Hero Destroyerz (Debut/Cover/Lead Colour Page/66p) by Sorachi Hideaki
1 – ONE PIECE
2 – Ichi the Witch
3 – SAKAMOTO DAYS
Drawn to the Fire (Colour Page/25p)
4 – Witch Watch
5 – Shinobi Undercover
Someone Hertz (Colour Page)
New – Roku’s House of Oddities (23p)
6 – Akane-banashi
Blue Box (Colour Page)
7 – Ultimate Exorcist Kiyoshi
8 – UNDER DOCTOR
9 – Kagurabachi
10 – Nue’s Exorcist
11 – Himaten!
12 – Me & Roboco
13 – Kinato’s Magic
14 – Alien Headbutt
Quick Thoughts on the manga we read:
Kagurabachi – Chapter #119
Frog F: Hokazono is just a mangaka on another level. The panel direction and framing in this chapter is top notch. It’s really interesting the way that Hokazono is completely recontextualizing the Seitei War. It throws into question, was Akemura justified?
K Bug: The peace talks have well and truly broken down…also a bunch of guys died. Another guy drank some bugs and these new antagonists (who are actually old antagonists) want to kill Japan because a family back in the day fought them, won, and then a magic rock made an underwater cave for them to live… This is a weird series.
One Piece – Chapter #1180
Frog F: Things have well and truly gotten out of hand (literally). Imu is running through the competition this chapter but he has come face to face with Loki who may very well be one of the only hopes we have against this hellspawn. Next chapter is gonna be a big one.
K Bug: So, this Imu guy is bad news. Kind of surprising he cares enough to save his subordinates, though. Especially since they suck and are evil.
Ichi the Witch – Chapter #79
Frog F: It’s a battle of the mentors and a new villain enters the fray. Look’s like the next story arc will be dealing with an evil witch. The revelation that there is a traitor in the Mantinel Witch Association is an intriguing one but it’s pretty well trodden territory in modern shonen with a lot of notable series running a traitor storyline in recent memory. Let’s see how Ichi handles it.
K Bug: So, there’s a new villain on the board. Not sure why a human would team up with a Magik who wants to kill everybody everywhere, but I’m sure she has her reasons…her crazy, crazy reasons.
Under Doctor – Chapter #13
Frog F: The battle against Maxell continues. Not a lot to remark here. The series seems to have gone all in on being a battle manga. The fighting is not that interesting and there isn’t anything ground breaking here. It is still a relatively fun and harmless read.
K Bug: Shouldn’t have skipped ear day, assassin. Now you got poked by the Under Doctor’s Over Finger. I’m gonna need a compass to keep track of these fights.
Kinato’s Magic – Chapter #12
Frog F: Please don’t be axed. I really dig this manga a lot. This was a nice closing chapter for this arc and it was awesome to see Jien enter the fray. I really liked the other guild’s captain who seems to only speak via a sketch pad. There is a lot to like in this manga, I hope they give it a chance to grow.
K Bug: The bad guys ran away? But I wanted to see that skull guy gets punched again. Oh well, turns out the captains are tough, who’da thunk?
Roku’s House of Oddities – Chapter #3
Frog F: This chapter was hilarious. I loved seeing Johan mog that hospital professor into submission. This series has a lot of potential. The character dynamics are already quite well established and I like them all a lot so far. The meeting with Roku’s grandmother was real cute. Keen to see this one continue to grow.
K Bug: Vampire kings sure are built different. Also, apparently everyone can see the curses in this series. Also, was Johan a king who was bit by a vampire, or a man who was bit by a vampire king? He’s a polite guy, either way.
Class 2-B: Hero Destroyerz – Chapter #1
Frog F: Sorachi-sensei has still got it. This chapter was freakin’ hilarious. It’s been a wild since a manga was able to make me laugh out loud and this one did it. Sorachi just has impeccable comedic timing and the manga was start to finish a total riot. I love the concept and it feels like an intentional piss-take on the isekai/demon king to earth genre. The poop jokes were so absurd that they totally landed for me. I am keen to follow this one and see what directions Sorachi decides to take this. Also can someone please just let our boy Akira Kumon take a shit in peace?
A look towards next week:
Next Issue (#22/23):
Cover: All Main Characters
Lead Colour Page: SAKAMOTO DAYS
Colour Pages: Class 2-B Hero Destroyerz (2nd Chapter); Himaten!; Tensai Futsu Gakusha Raro Papuru no Hatsukoi (Oneshot/47p) by Kato Yuta
Additional Pages: Drawn to the Fire (3rd Chapter/23p)
Credit and thanks to Weekly Shonen Jump reddit for T.O.C.
All images belong to Shueisha.
