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, Darcy and Brian check in with “Noah’s Notes” and “One Piece.” If you have any thoughts on these titles, or “We Never Learn,” “Black Clover,” “Robot X Laserbeam,” “The Promised Neverland,” “My Hero Academia,” “Jujutsu Kaisen,” “Dr. Stone,” “Food Wars,” or “Hunter X Hunter,” let us know in the comments!
Noah’s Notes: Ch. 1
Written and Illustrated by Haruto Ikezawa
Reviewed by Brian Salvatore
“Noah’s Notes,” from a plot/overall idea standpoint, is unbelievably my shit. Indiana Jones-esque professor trying to find relics that are both from the future and 100,000 years old? A time loop? Sign me up!
But there are some problems with the manga that make it unlikely that I’ll continue reading the story beyond this one installment.
First of all, and this is not solely a “Noah’s Notes” problem, I’m never comfortable with the creepy sexualizing of a child, and overabundance of panty shots that Ikezawa has put into this story. Mirai is portrayed as dumb and unnecessarily ignorant, essentially existing to be insulted by the adults in her life and lusted after by the reader. It’s a tired technique, and serves no real purpose for the story. Nothing about her being this dumb has any real impact on the story, nor does her short skirt.
Equally, or perhaps more, disturbing is the way that a gun is used in this issue. Again, I read a ton of comics, and I’m used to a fair amount of gun violence. But never before can I recall a character almost playfully sticking a gun into the mouth of a child.
Again, this serves no plot purpose whatsoever. If it is trying to be funny, it misses the mark completely, and if it is trying to be provocative, it has no payoff whatsoever. It just stands out as another gross decision made for shock value.
It is such a shame, because from a storytelling perspective, there’s a ton of interesting stuff going on here. I want to know more about all of those elements, but don’t think I want to be abreast of the other junk. Call me a prude if you must.
Final Verdict: 4.9 – An interesting concept with a disturbing execution.
One Piece – Chapter 897: Pekoms’s Cacao Island Escape Plan
Written and Illustrated by Eiichiro Oda
Reviewed by Darcy Forrester
This chapter of “One Piece” really does seem to signal the beginning of the end for the Whole Cake Island arc. With three double pages, this installment may well fly by, but the amount of content held within is significant and satisfying enough for my tastes. We manage to switch perspectives between numerous characters, all of which are converging on a single point at a single time. While some mangaka may struggle to successfully sell the manic nature of such an event, Oda’s art and effective use of double pages with expansive panels does thankfully not fall short. This is to be expected though, given Oda’s experience with the medium of manga, and the significant time he has invested into building up this specific moment.
The first two pages of this chapter are used to efficiently reiterate the placement of many of the active parties, prior to the 1:00am meeting time. Sprawling panels, successive close-ups on key figures, and an overview map (complete with a style commonly used by Oda) aid this task. Following that we are presented with a dialogue that is held between Luffy, Pekoms and Brulee in the Mirro-World, which outlines the titular escape plan that is soon to follow. While seeing a little more of Pekoms was welcomed here, as was his willingness to sacrifice himself for the good of the Straw Hat Pirates (much like Pedro seemingly did earlier in the arc), what came next was a little disappointing; although perfectly understandable.
Continued belowEver since the reveal of Carrot’s Sulong form, and the clear potential it displayed soon after, it is only natural for the readers to wonder about the appearance and fighting prowess of the other minks’ Sulong forms. So after knowing that Pekoms would be assisting Luffy in his departure from Whole Cake Island, against the wishes of the Big Mom Pirates, this curiosity appeared to have an outlet. And yet, in reality, Pekoms’ much-anticipated transformation was rather short-lived. While we see the beginning of this change, no feats can take place before he is promptly subdued by an assortment of hostile pirates. While ultimately disappointing to see this possibility fall flat, this is still shrewd storytelling on Oda’s part, in that the immediate subduing of Pekoms reiterates the threat that the Big Mom Pirates still pose to Luffy, his crewmates, and his other allies.
This is actually something that is done at several points during the chapter, which given the reputation of the Big Mom Pirates going into the Whole Cake Island arc, makes perfect sense to remind the readers of. Initially there is Oven, who disarms Pekoms from afar using his devil fruit abilities, along with Raisin who anticipates Luffy jumping and may have caused him harm if it wasn’t for Sanji’s surprise intervention, before Yuen rises high to bring both Sanji and Luffy crashing back down to the ground. All in all, the feats of these foes bring about a situation that once again feels helpless for the escaping Straw Hats. This then of course lends itself to the return of Germa 66, consisting chiefly of Sanji’s estranged family, who have been inexplicably absent for some time now.
Although the extent of Germa 66’s involvement in the climax of this arc was left as a cliffhanger, at the end of Chapter 897, I’m very much interested to see just what Oda does with this intriguing (and as of yet, arguably under-utilised) group. Given the generally antagonistic position several of them have held in relation to Sanji up until now, I’m very interested to see just how far they may or may not go in helping both Sanji, and his captain, escape; from an otherwise imminent apprehension, at the hands of the Big Mom Pirates.
Final Verdict: 7.5 – An enjoyable chapter, which seems to most importantly signal the impending end of what has been a particularly manic story arc.
