Welcome to This Week in Shonen Jump, our weekly check in on Viz’s various Shonen Jump series. Viz has recently changed their release format, but our format will mostly remain the same. We will still review the newest chapters of two titles a week, now with even more options at our disposal. The big change for our readers is that, even without a Shonen Jump subscription, you can read these most recent chapters for free at Viz.com or using their app.
This week, Zach and Vince check in on “Hell Warden Higuma” and “ne0;lation.” If you have thoughts on these, or any other current Shonen Jump titles, please let us know in the comments!
ne0;lation – process 4: Hacker ne0 vs. Hacker Lemming
Story by Tomohide Hirao
Art by Mizuki Yoda
Translated by Christine Dashiell
Lettered by Brandon Bovia
After being reasonably intrigued by it’s opening chapter, I wanted to check back in with “ne0;lation” to see if it could flesh out its Mr. Robot premise and build on the balance of the bad boy anti-hero with the pathos of its other featured characters. After reading up to this week’s chapter 4, even though the creators have pivoted the focus away from the aforementioned pathos to a different conflict in order to extend the potential lifespan of the series, “ne0;lation” is still pretty darn good. What I mean is that we’ve essentially put the story of the orphaned teens stuck shouldering their parents’ Yakuza debt on the backburner for a while in favor of a battle of wits against a hacker who’s developed a sinister Pokemon Go-style mobile game. The game itself is a fascinatingly dystopian entry into the genre. Fitting in its namesake, “The Lemming Game” asks its players to perform tasks and submit proof of their success, offering a new task each day. The objectives begin so deceptively simple (“find 3 cats”) that I could imagine a real game asking us to do the same sorts of things in real life. By the 50th day of following these commands, however, the player is asked to commit suicide. How’s that for dark? It’s a slight bit of obvious social commentary, but that fact isn’t hammered over our heads, rather simply used as a high stakes and relatable ticking time bomb of sorts for the heroes to race to.
Mizuki Yoda’s art has an angular quality to it that gives the book an appropriately edgy quality to it. It doesn’t overdo it on “edgy” though; the game at the center of the plot may be a suicidal one, but this series isn’t “Death Note”, tone-wise. It’s just that the main character is still attempting to come off as a bad guy, when we know he’s more of a Robin Hood figure, and the art helps get that particular personality across. If anything, the “Lemming” villain is an unmemorable design that underwhelms a bit, but seeing as he’s supposed to be an administrator or professor at a college, perhaps a less conspicuous look makes sense. On the other hand, there is a killer drawing of a nasty wild lemming in this comic, so there’s that. This particular chapter doesn’t get a chance to stretch its artistic legs all that much, but it’s still a very handsome looking series, and does a great job of using clear visuals to explain computer jargon to the reader, which is naturally a little dumbed down or fudged for the reader’s benefit in the first place. The translation from Christine Dashiell does a great job of accomplishing this smoothly in the translation too.
All in all, “ne0;lation” continues to be a ‘Jump Start’ series worthy of a permanent spot in the new “Shonen Jump” rotation. In a larger sprawl of shonen series coming out in a less regular fashion and format, I hope it doesn’t get lost in the shuffle.
Final Verdict: 8.0 – “ne0;lation” is a breezy and satisfying read with a modern feel and confident stride when dealing with technological details
Hell Warden Higuma Chapter 3
Written and illustrated by Natsuki Hokami
Continued below
Translated by Nathan A Collins
Lettered by Mark McMurray
Reviewed by Zach Wilkerson
With the core cast seemingly established, “Hell Warden Higuma” enters into a new storyline titled ‘Life Force.’ This story centers around a harpy-like figure that steals the, you guessed it, life force of the elderly. It’s a relatively standard set up that nevertheless allows for some sweet moments between the developing characters.
The supernatural premise, mythological world-building and “definitely-in-over-her-head” POV character are all familiar tropes of classics like “Bleach” and “Yu Yu Hakusho.” There have been a recent string of supernatural and/or demonic themed Shonen Jump titles that have failed to find footing with an American audience. Over-saturation is a concern and it’s hard to say this book offers anything or innovative compared to peers like “Blue Exorcist.”
However, compared to the other recent Jump Starts (are we still calling them that?), “Hell Warden Higuma” feels most like shonen comfort food. I’ve read a lot of manga, and these humble early chapters check a lot of the boxes necessary to grow into triple-digit chapter series. Higuma is kind, affable, and generally likable. The more serious Ayaha is a good foil for the more goofy HIguma. The art is technically strong, but not particularly noteworthy.
In short, the book is comfortably generic. That may sound like disparagement, or at best a back-handed comment, but that everyman quality of “Hell Warden Higuma” may just be the thing that helps it find footing with a larger audience.
Final Verdict: 6.0 – A fun chapter that cleanses the palate following the book’s darker opening and sets a status quo for the series to grow on.
