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, Alice and Jess, two of our staff writers, as has been the theme thus far, tackle both and old and new title If you have any thoughts on the two titles discussed this week, or thoughts on “One Piece,” “U19,” “We Never Learn,” “The Promised Neverland,” “Black Clover,” “Food Wars,” or “Rwby,” let us know in the comments!
Demon Prince Poro’s Diaries Chapter 1
Written & Illustrated by Hitsuji Gondaira
Reviewed by Alice W. Castle
I want to start this review by clarifying that my experience with manga is slim to none. While this isn’t my first experience with manga, I’m not exactly versed in the style, format or culture of the medium. My goal in joining Multiversity’s coverage of “Weekly Shonen Jump” is to expand my critical reading of manga and, hopefully, learn more about something I’ve been so interested in.
With that in mind, “Demon Prince Poro’s Diaries”, despite having the most unwieldy title I’ve ever read, felt like the best place to start what with it being the first chapter of a story instead of the 800th. What was most interesting about this chapter was that it’s length allowed it to not only have the room to explain and expand upon the main premise, that the most powerful demon in line to become the demon kind has escape to the human world to enjoy the pleasures of being Japanese high schooler, and then delve deeper into the direction the series will actually take. It’s an interesting premise to be sure and one that combines a lot of of very stereotypical shonen elements (it’s the main characters first day at school, there’s a secondary world to our own that threatens to break through, demons are involved, the main character is unbelievably powerful yet refuses to conform to how people think he should use powers), but maybe this is my inexperience talking, but I found it really charming.
What works is how Poro is the audience’s connection to both worlds. Through his eyes we see the callousness of the demon world and the wonders of the human world, a fresh perspective that ties up nicely with Poro’s resolve to take what he will learn over a year spent in the human world to make the demon world a better place. This goes hand in hand with Poro experiencing more character development in one chapter than I’ve seen characters go through in entire series of western comics. He goes from a quivering mess at the though of speaking to a classroom to punching holes in reality to defend his friend. That kind of space is impressive just for a first chapter and Hitsuji Gondaira sets the scene excellently for the series to come.
Just as the size of the chapter allowed for a depth of storytelling, it also allowed for mishmash of tones. Primarily, “Demon Prince Poro’s Diaries” feels like a comedy, playing off of Poro’s fish out of water nature in both worlds. This allows Gondaira a level of exaggeration in the artwork that plays up the expressions of the characters. It’s cartoonish to the extreme and shows that this isn’t a story that’s going to take itself seriously all the time. However, that doesn’t mean it can’t have dramatic moments. The turn near the end of the chapter, where Poro’s friend is threatened and the art style changes dramatically as Poro’s demon power is shown in fully effect. The art goes from very simple, with thick, clear linework to a much more abstract line style with crosshatched shading and an incredibly impressive double page splash.
It’s an impressive end cap for the chapter that shows that while “Demon Prince Poro’s Diaries” doesn’t take itself too seriously all of the time, Gondaira isn’t here to mess around when it comes to the action beats. And that moment, more than any of part of the chapter, was what solidified my interest in the series going forward.
Continued belowFinal Verdict:: 7.5 – Admittedly, I have no real metric for what makes a good manga, but there was a lot to like about this as a first chapter from goofball comedy to impressive action. I’m really excited to check out more.
My Hero Academia Chapter 127
Written and Illustrated by Kōhei Horikoshi
Reviewed by Jess Camacho
“My Hero Academia” is one of those things that is so much better than it has any right to be. Manga in the superhero genre is nothing new and it becomes even more familiar when you throw in high school aged characters but like “One Punch Man”, it has a heart that makes it stand on its own. Midoriya’s story is one that any superhero fan can admire because all of us have dreamed of being a superhero, big difference is that he can actually live that out. In “My Hero Academia” chapter 127, Midoriya is faced with what is proving to be one of his most difficult tasks – making Sir Night Eye laugh. When that fails, he once again has to prove why he’s worth anyone’s time as a hero. It seems that every time you turn around in this series, Midoriya has to do this. He almost always has to make the speech over and over but what keeps it from becoming annoying this time around is the sort of connection the two of these characters have given how close they are to All Might. They aren’t quite like brothers since they barely know each other but it comes off as the two of them needing to prove something to each other.
As is the case with manga like this, there is a ton of action and in a short weekly chapter it is up to the creator to do more than just yelling and punching. What’s fun about “My Hero Academia” is that it can play up over extended monologues because it is firmly in the superhero genre. Horikoshi makes this chapter feel a lot longer than it is really is through genius pacing involving Sir Night Eye’s quirk. He doesn’t jump right into a fight because Sir Night Eye is far more calculated than that and it allows this part of the story to breathe a bit. His quirk also allows plenty of back and forth when the fighting does begin and Horikoshi’s work shines. The use of speed lines makes Midoriya’s all or nothing abilities soar. The rigidity of Sir Night Eye is a great contrast to Midoriya’s quickness and youthful recklessness because Horikoshi focuses on their differences. It makes for some beautiful pages and a very memorable chapter of the series.
“My Hero Academia” is entering a new phase here as Midoriya and his fellow classmates have to now begin navigating the reality of being a superhero and I couldn’t be more excited.
Final Verdict: 7.5 – A great chapter in a series that has really come into its own.
