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, Kerry and Brian check in with “Undead Unluck” and “Mashle: Magic and Muscles.” If you have thoughts on these or any other current Shonen Jump titles, please let us know in the comments!
Undead Unluck – Ch. 2
Written and Illustrated by Yoshifumi Tozuka
Reviewed by Kerry Erlanger
I know we’re only two chapters in, but I’m going to go out on a limb here and say this series is probably not for me. I’m hesitant to label anything ever as gender-specific as someone who grew up liking a lot of traditionally “boy stuff” — like comics! — but I do feel strongly that ‘Undead Unluck” is a very shonen manga, very geared towards boys. That’s not to say that girls can’t and won’t like it (and who knows, we’re only two chapters in, so things could change for me as the series develops), but I just find it unlikely at this juncture given the levels of casual sexual harassment being waged against our poor protagonist Fuuko Izumo, the unluck half of “Undead Unluck.”
Here are the things I hate so far: I hate that Fuuko, despite having some interesting and dangerous superpower that she’s grappled with alone for her entire life, is reduced to a sexual object. I hate that her strength is masked in chapter 2 by some sudden, and I can only assume Stockholm Syndrome-like, feelings for Undead Andy. I hate that the only thing “nice” Andy has done is lift her chin with his finger and cut her hair, as if that’s all a girl needs to fall in love (I hate that it works). How about he not constantly accost her while naked, or just stop being naked 24/7? How about he stop going on and on about how the only purpose she serves is to give him what he desires? Saying he’s not going to let her die until he gets what he wants and then dressing her up like some sort of doll is not cute and it’s not romantic. Also not cute is basically outlining the mission statement of the manga to be Fuuko eventually agreeing to have sex with Andy so he can, what, experience a really cool death?
(Side note: it just occurred to me that the French word for orgasm is “la petite mort,” or little death, which if this is a play on words and that’s actually the death that kills him, I will be less mad about this because that’s at least somewhat amusing/clever.)
I will say that the one thing that “Undead Unluck” really has going for it so far is its artwork. While Andy’s design isn’t necessarily my cup of tea, I appreciate that the insanity of his personality is reflected in his appearance. To me, the series’ artwork is classic shonen — cute with a side of burliness colored by male-driven sexual tension. Shonen artwork always makes me think of bubble letters if they were writing softcore porn and this is… very much that, at least so far. Also, despite my dislike for the story, I will say that Yoshifumi Tozuka has a good handle on his characters. They have vibrant, distinct personalities that, had I enjoyed this series thus far, would probably make me like it even more.
I mean, listen, like I said, we’re only two chapters in. I do see how this manga could potentially be fun. Still, for that to happen, I think Fuuko needs to be given more agency. Her and Andy need to be made equals, more partners than stalker and stalkee. I’d love to see their dynamic transform and for Fuuko to grow in her abilities along with Andy, because they do complement each other! And hey, if they happen to fall in love along the way? Cool. I mean, their complementary abilities do make them weirdly perfect for one another. I just think compatibility needs to be built on more than him groping her while completely naked every now and then, call me crazy.
Continued belowFinal Verdict: 5.0 — I can admit there’s potential here, but most of the good is so far overshadowed by uncomfortable sexual harassment.
Mashle: Muscles and Magic – Chapter 1
Written and illustrated by Hajime Komoto
Translated by Nova Skipper
Lettered by Eve Grandt
A new series always has a bunch of hurdles to overcome in its inaugural chapter: it has to give the reader a sense of who these characters are, reasons to car about them, and enough of a hook to come back next time. “Mashle: Muscles and Magic” does all three in spades, and creates one of the more moving and funny new series to debut in Shonen Jump in some time.
Mashle, the titular character, has been cloistered away from the city due to his lack of ‘mark,’ a sign of his magic use. He is, essentially, a manga muggle, and this is not allowed in society. Hajime Komoto illustrates him with such a sweet face and writes him with such an understated demeanor that it is impossible not to he sold on him as a protagonist about five pages into the book. Dude loves cream puffs, who can’t relate to that?
His father is an equally sympathetic character, a man who clearly loves his son, and wants just to protect him. The book drips with heart and compassion for these characters, and it is the love between them that sets up the book for success. What knocks it out of the park is the humor.
The book has a few very funny moments, really sold by Komoto’s flawless facial expressions, and the combination of real emotion and slapstick comedy is a winning combination. The whole book is set against a world of magic, but we get very little magic in this first chapter. That is likely to change, but it also gives the book things to aspire to/grow towards. This first chapter really does feel like the start of something, and gives the reader plenty of reasons to stick around.
Final Verdict: 8.4 – A really fun and heartwarming debut.
