Welcome to This Week in Shonen Jump, in which a rotating duo of Multiversity staffers take a look at two stories contained in each installment of Viz Media’s Weekly Shonen Jump. For the uninitiated, Weekly Shonen Jump is an anthology that delivers more than 200 pages of manga of all varieties. We hope that you’ll join us in exploring the world of Weekly Shonen Jump each week. If you are unfamiliar, you can read sample chapters and subscribe at Viz.com.
This week, Vince and Zach return! If you have any thoughts on the two titles discussed this week, or thoughts on “The Promised Neverland,” “Black Clover,” “One Piece,” “My Hero Academia,” “Robot Laserbeam,” or “Food Wars,” let us know in the comments!
Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Chapter 11
Created/Supervised by Masashi Kishimoto
Written by Ukyo Kodachi
Illustrated by Mikio Ikemoto
Reviewed by Zach Wilkerson
Moving beyond the extended adaptation of 2015’s Boruto: Naruto the Movie, “Boruto: Naruto Next Generations” sets out to carve its own path in chapter 11. While there still some fallout to be dealt with regarding Boruto’s snafu at the Chunin exams and the subsequent showdown with Momoshiki, this chapter is primarily geared towards reacquainting readers with the “modern” shinobi world. Much like the jump from Avatar: The Last Airbender to The Legend of Korra, the world these characters inhabit has advanced from a more “traditional” setting to something decidedly more contemporary. The era that Boruto and company inhabit is one of trading card games and handheld video game. While the world of Naruto and Sasuke’s youth was not devoid of technology, it never permeated their daily lives in the way that we see here. It’s an interesting generational aspect that parallels changes in our own world.
The impetus of this chapter, and seemingly this arc, is a meeting between Naruto and the Daimyo of the Land of Fire. Without getting to far into political hierarchies of the shinobi world, suffice it to say that this meeting is very important. Of course, while the grown-ups work, the kids are left to their own devices. It falls on Boruto to play liaison to play host to a foreign dignitary, in the form of the Daimyo’s young son. This dynamic, while not entirely 1:1, echoes the early chapter of “Naruto” in which Konahamaru and Naruto form their long lasting “rivalry.”
One of the strongest parts of “Naruto” was its diverse and lovable cast of characters. So far, it seems that “Boruto” continues this tradition. The dynamics between Boruto and his cell mate are fun and playful, particularly thanks to the spunky Sarada. Boruto and Sarada make great foils for each other, without falling prey to the same tropes and dynamics that defined their respective famous progenitors. The duo is rounded out by the enigmatic and aloof Mitsuki, a character with a lot of unrealized (thus far). The rest of the new cast, however, have yet to set themselves apart from their parents. Shikadai and Metal Lee are, essentially, clones of Shikamaru and Rock Lee, respectively. It’s still quite early in this series life, so the lack of development is understandable. However, it demonstrates just how much “Boruto” relies on its predecessor for foundational knowledge.
Visually, “Boruto” fares well. Ikemoto-san’s expressive and detailed character work is nearly on par with Kishimoto-san. However, Ikemoto’s fight sequences fill somewhat stiff, lacking the the extremely dynamic quality that was another great strength of “Naruto.” Of particular note are the chapter’s well designed backgrounds. Whether a forest path or the densely packed streets of Konohagakure, Ikemoto-san does a great job of adding notes and details to enhance the scene and expand the world.
Ultimately, while I hate to draw so many comparisons to “Naruto,” it becomes almost necessary due to the strong reliance on that series. “Boruto: Next Generations” still rests under the shadow of its famous predecessor, the main character of which continues to play a large part. As the series moves into new territory, it will be very interested to see how these new elements, both creative team and cast, continue to differentiate themselves.
Verdict: 7.5 – “Boruto” sets out for new(ish) territory in this fun start to a new arc.
Continued below
One Punch Man: Chapter 69
Written by One
Illustrated by Yusuke Murata
Reviewed by Vince J. Ostrowski
When we last left our hero Saitama, he was engaged in a classic shonen-style fighting tournament disguised as Charanko. One of the things that “One Punch Man” excels at is taking common shonen fighting tropes and turning them on their heads, while also being extremely competent as an entry into the genre itself. At the opening of the chapter, Saitama is engaged in a staredown with his opponent Suiryu, but almost immediately there’s a twist that ends up hilariously sealing Saitama’s tournament fate. It’s something so simple and silly that it wouldn’t work in a traditional fighting manga, but here the joke feels perfectly timed and executed, especially considering the fight goes on anyway. “One Punch Man” also excels at escalating – every story, every fight, every new power level is more ridiculous and braggadocios than the last. So, while One takes time to write in a killer joke that also advances the plot, he also moves seamlessly into the conflict regardless and the reader immediately accepts it, even as the stadium announcers protest in disbelief. It doesn’t hurt that the ensuing fight is as artistically well done as any in comics, as is One Punch Man’s tradition.
Yusuke Murata has always done a tremendous job blending the blank slate appearance of Saitama (from his body language to his expressionless face, he intentionally looks like no one else in the comic) with the extreme fighting manga styles of characters that look like they could be easily dropped into something like “Bleach” or “Dragon Ball Z.” As Saitama takes on blow after blow, he always remains the same stoic, nonplussed hero. Again, One Punch Man escalates the trope of the hero or villain going out of their way to show how unaffected they are by whatever the opponent is doing. Instead of using mocking or arrogance to achieve this, Murata imbues Saitama with a constant expression of pure boredom. Of course, this infuriates Saitama’s opponent, causing things to escalate even further. This has become a formula for One Punch Man battles and it’s still effective 69 chapters in.
“One Punch Man” really is the total package. It can be outrageously funny, but also sly and subdued in its humor at times. But when it needs to turn up the heat on the action level, it’s as good as this sort of thing gets. And whether it’s wavering between humor or action, the art does a lot of the heavy lifting. There are full sequences, like in the 2nd half of this chapter, where dialogue is kept to a minimum, but each punch or ridiculously-named fighting technique lands with impact and bombast. Shonen manga have a reputation for sometimes being packed with filler or for drawing out their battles, but Chapter 69 was a wonderful example of how “One Punch Man” wears all of its Shonen traits on its sleeve, but never wastes your time.
Final Verdict: 9.0 – “One Punch Man” is still one of the funniest, most action-packed comics running right now, Japanese or otherwise.
