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 one title 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 checks in with “Super Smartphone.” If you have thoughts on this or any other current Shonen Jump titles, please let us know in the comments!
Super Smartphone Chapter 1: Super Smartphone
Written by Hiroki Tomisawa
Illustrated by Kentaro Hidano
Translated by David Evelyn
Lettered by Kyla Aiko
Reviewed by Zach Wilkerson
“Super Smartphone,” the latest serialized title in the Shonen Jump magazine, looks extremely generic at first glance. Everything from its title to its stereotypical underachieving genius protagonist gives the sense of “mid.” However, as they say, you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, or a manga by its first ten or so pages. Behind this veil of generic manga tropes is a surprisingly compelling drama with shades of “Death Note.”
The premise of the story centers on the titualar “Super Smartphone,” or Googugu phone as we come to know it. This little plot device allows the main character, Kyu, to search for almost any piece of information. Like the “Death Note,” its great power is limited by certain rules that require Kyu to get creative in his use of the phone. Thankfully, Kyu himself is a veritable genius, who gets so bored with scoring perfect scores on tests that he makes a game out of barely passing. While Kyu’s lackadaisical attitude is unattractive at first glance, we quickly learn of the previous trauma that has led to his current state. It’s this trauma, combined with the advent of the “Super Smartphone,” that drives this opening chapter and, presumably, the rest of the series.
The phone itself, while an inanimate object, becomes a compelling character on its own due to its uncertain origin and motives. By the end of the issue, Kyu notes that the phone is capable of showing emotion, something it rebuffs. In explaining the phone’s function, we are introduced to “Googugu points,” an achievement system wherein points are accrued by performing certain actions with the phone. Think “Bing Rewards” on steroids, I guess. When pressed about the nature and purpose of these points, the phone’s only reply is “Please…collect…points.” This ominous message is repeated several times throughout the chapter, hinting at the possible nefarious and even addictive qualities of the phone.
Stylistically, Kentaro Hidano’s pencils feel quite similar to the work of Horikoshi, which is certainly not a bad thing. Hidano-san’s characters are bright and expressive with moe-esque eyes, creating a sense of levity in the story’s darker moments. There are not a lot of opportunities for the artist to flex their artistic muscle in the opening chapter, though the climactic sequence towards the end of the chapter features good use of panel layout and perspective to create tension.
Overall, “Super Smartphone” is a surprisingly compelling start to a manga that has great potential. The origin of the smartphone, the implications of its use, and the mystery of Kyu’s past are all fantastic areas for the comic to explore and I genuinely look forward to future chapters exploring these plot points.
Final Verdict: 8.0 – A seemingly generic premise belies a genuinely compelling drama with plenty of potential for future stories.
