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This Week in Shonen Jump: April 2, 2018

By and | April 4th, 2018
Posted in Columns | % Comments

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, Ken and Robbie check in with “One Piece” and “Ziga.” If you have any thoughts on these titles, or “Noah’s Notes,” “We Never Learn,” “Black Clover,” “Robot X Laserbeam,” “The Promised Neverland,” “Jujutsu Kaisen,” “Boruto,” “Food Wars,” “Dr. Stone,” “Yu Gi Oh Arc V,” or “Hunter X Hunter,” let us know in the comments!

One Piece Ch. 900
Written & Illustrated by Eiichiro Oda
Reviewed by Ken Godberson III

900. Nine. Hundred. Chapters. Like all things considered, whether or not “One Piece” is your cup of tea or not, you have to respect a series that has gone on so long and had such a large impact on a medium. The last ongoing of the aughts “Big Three” has had its highs and lows, but I think its core strength has always been that same: mangaka Eiichiro Oda is certifiably mental. Let me give you some small excerpts from the “Previously In” Section: an island that’s actually a giant elephant, samurai and a special cake being the key to stop the arc’s villain, Big Mom. You can’t say this series doesn’t have imagination.

This chapter, “Bad End Musical,” serves as a climax of sorts with Big Mom. I say “of sorts” because a good chunk of the chapter focuses on Big Mom’s eating of the cake Sanji has prepared as a tribute to prevent her from going on a tirade. There is “some” comedy in it, the chief part being the super-detailed expression of pure bliss Oda draws for Big Mom when it’s revealed that she loves the cake. How effective these moments are will depend on if you like Big Mom or not.

But then it turns dark. Just when we think the Straw Hat Pirates may finally be in the clear, just when hope is right in front of them does everything fall apart. Luffy’s allies are routed (including fishmen boiled in the sea). As for the Straw Hats themselves, I won’t be spoiling the ending, but this is very much a turning point, something that is going to potentially impact the crew massively. This change from comedy to tragedy is a sharp one, but one that certainly lights a spark, the final image being a haunting promise of dark times ahead for our heroes.

It is truly wondrous how much Oda’s art style has evolved over the years, becoming a true master. There’s just something so . . . more . . . about his style. Yes, we have the aforementioned over-detailed expression of Big Mom, but it’s also how much is crammed into each panel. I’m pretty confident that “One Piece” has reached a cast size of over a thousand characters by this point and the design work to keep characters unique and interesting is astonishing: from giants, to the more devilish Master Oven, to the fishmen. Furthermore, just like narratively, Oda can switch from comedic to tragic visually at the flick of a switch, such as when we go from Big Mom’s visions of a wonderful, happy perfect world to the carnage she and her fleet have caused.

“One Piece” chapter 900 serves as a sharp turn for the series. It ranks up there with moments such as the Going Merry’s destruction and the death of Ace in terms of “What The Hell?!” moments. I’ll be the first to admit that this series can hit some doldrums at times, but this chapter certainly has me salivating for the next one. Congratulations on 900 Chapters, “One Piece.” You still know how to mess with emotions.

Final Verdict: 8.0- “One Piece” reignites with harrowing events that will have you gripped by the heart.

Continued below

Ziga Ch. 3
Written by Rokurou Sano
Illustrated by Kentarou Hidano
Reviewed by Robbie Pleasant

We’re three chapters in, and that means the end of the Jump Start run. So with three chapters to get to know the characters and the series, one must ask an important question: what is “Ziga?”

No, not the monster. It’s a big Godzilla-esque monster, and part of the story is the mystery behind it. What is “Ziga” the manga? Is it a kaiju series? Is it a shonen series about a young man with incredible power? A series about humanity’s struggle for survival? A military series where anyone can die? It seems like it wants to be all of these things and so much more, but can’t quite focus on any aspect to the degree where it can work as any of them.

We’ve met our protagonist. We’ve learned about his unique powers, had a shady government agency show up to recruit him, and had disaster strike as the call to action. In fact, it even actually killed off the generic-but-endearing romantic interest, severed arm and all (unless she shows up a few chapters later minus an arm, I suppose). Then last chapter we saw that he’s somehow gifted enough to use the psychic-powered guns that can harm the monster. With the exception of the actual death, it’s all very by-the-book.

Then we get to this chapter, which feels the need to repeat the disaster, just to make things even worse for protagonist Ko Hachigane. After all, with his crush dead, he’s got all the motivation he needs to fight Ziga, right?

Apparently not, because they kill off his mother as well, complete with a wrecked house from when a plane crashed into it.

It was at that point that I realized exactly what kind of series “Ziga” is trying to be: it’s trying to be “Attack on Titan.” As Ko enlists in A.D.R.A. to fight Ziga, burning with a desire to kill it, he basically became Eren Jaeger with a psychic gun. So why would we read this when “Attack on Titan” still exists and has done all this but better?

Artistically, the manga seems to be conflicted as well. Kentarou Hidano’s artwork isn’t bad – in fact, it’s perfect for a shonen series. The designs are distinctive, the characters are expressive, and he does a great job with the action lines. It’s all got a very clean and clear quality to it.

Which, sadly, doesn’t work at all with the tone. It’s hard to feel the drama and loss when just one page ago we saw a character’s eyes bulge comically as he shouted through shark-like teeth. Yes, the individual pages of the destruction and pain look fine, but it makes the entire tone of the manga whip back and forth to the point where I feel like I need to see a chiropractor.

There are a few ways this series could go down the line; twists it could make or revelations that could shake up everything the characters think they know. But I doubt we’ll be seeing enough of it to get to any of those. As it is right now, “Ziga” isn’t necessarily a bad manga, but one that has trouble figuring out its own identity, and until it does, there are better series to follow.

Final Verdict: 5.3 – Rough and inconsistent, with good artwork that’s nonetheless at odds with the overall tone. I hope it can work through its identity crisis soon enough.


//TAGS | This Week in Shonen Jump

Ken Godberson III

When he's not at his day job, Ken Godberson III is a guy that will not apologize for being born Post-Crisis. More of his word stuffs can be found on Twitter or Tumblr. Warning: He'll talk your ear off about why Impulse is the greatest superhero ever.

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Robbie Pleasant

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