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, Robbie checks in with “Kill Blue.” If you have thoughts on this or any other current Shonen Jump titles, please let us know in the comments!
Kill Blue Page 6: Morally Unacceptable
Written and illustrated by Tadatoshi Fujimaki
Reviewed by Robbie Pleasant
The past few chapters of “Kill Blue” have done a good job setting up the story and central characters while giving our hitman-turned-child protagonist at least a little development and depth to make us like him. Now the story progresses, in a slightly uncomfortable direction but one that’s acknowledged as such.
Recent chapters have introduced us to Noren Mitsuoka, heir to the Mitsuoka Pharmaceutical Corporation, who presumably has some connection to the bee that turned our protagonist, Ogami, into a child. This chapter adds on the reveal that her father has decided that whoever marries her will inherit the company, which adds a new conflict to the mix, including the concerning possibility of Ogami (who, as a reminder, is actually in his late 30’s with an ex-wife and child) needing to marry a girl who’s still in school to find a cure.
Fortunately, the manga is aware enough to immediately say “No, nothing about this is okay” and focus on how Mitsuoka is completely against what her father is doing. Unfortunately, it still ends with the classic “girl claims to be dating the main character to get other guys off her back” trope. So it is still edging towards uncomfortable territory, but at least in this case it knows that this is a bad situation for Ogami. It also helps create internal conflict by having Mitsuoka say how nice it is to have a friend “who doesn’t have some weird agenda,” so this story beat is designed to carry on the plot and character work while putting Ogami in a difficult situation.
In fact, Noren Mitsuoka is quickly becoming one of the best characters in “Kill Blue,” given her desire to run her uncle’s ramen shop, complete disinterest in boys and romance, and how her father’s position as CEO has caused her nothing but trouble, which she actively rebels against. So as long as the manga keeps going in this direction without trying to have her or Ogami start to develop feelings, it’s on a good track.
Visually, Tadatoshi Fujimaki’s artwork is quite nice. While manga is typically a black-and-white medium, the judicious use of dark colors gives the manga a lighter feeling overall, which also helps emphasize the action lines and shading more when they do pop up. The start of the chapter also uses visual storytelling well, giving us a few pages with no dialogue. Instead the characters’ body language, expressions, and actions carry the story quite well.
The characters also have clean and distinct designs, brimming with personality. They have a nice level of expressiveness for conveying emotions, whether it’s Ogami’s delight at the taste of ramen or the cartoonish look of frustration on Mitsuoka’s face. There’s a moment at the end of the chapter where the expressions of characters and onlookers alike go completely blank-eyed, and the artwork shifts to a more rough and exaggerated style to match, hitting the right beats of shock and surprise, emphasized by action lines in the background to make the moment hit hard. In short: it’s quite solid.
So while many other manga would have me concerned about the direction the “fake boyfriend plot” might take the story in, “Kill Blue” is aware enough and handled well enough that I’m not worried about its development, and continue to look forward to seeing the story develop. (I just hope it doesn’t prove me wrong down the line.)
Final Verdict: 7.0 – While the story is starting to veer in a worrying direction, the way it’s been handled so far has me feeling confident in it, and the artwork remains clean and enjoyable throughout. It’s currently one of the stronger new series in Jump, let’s see if it can keep that momentum.
