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 two titles 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, Rowan and Vanessa check in on “Chainsaw Man” and “Black Clover.” If you have thoughts on these or any other current Shonen Jump titles, please let us know in the comments!
Chainsaw Man Chapter 25
Written and illustrated by Tatsuki Fujimoto
Reviewed by Rowan Grover
Fujimoto brings the latest chapter of “Chainsaw Man” a huge amount of emotional depth. Himeno’s arc comes full circle here, as do her sacrifices to Ghost. Fujimoto plays up her deep connections to Aki, who she still sees herself as a mentor to. She wants to position herself as the noble sacrifice that drives his career, or in her own words, “CUZ… WHEN I DIE… I WANT YOU TO CRY…”. It’s powerful stuff, and works especially as we slowly see herself sacrificed to Ghost to protect Aki. It’s drawn out, but feels inevitable, which leaves the reader with an unavoidable, impending sense of dread. However, it’s a little annoying that Fujimoto essentially fridges her to spur on Aki’s own career. The relationship is a little differently than how that trope generally plays out in western comics, but the aftertaste is somewhat the same, and feels like a wasted character.
One thing I love about this issue, and about the series as a whole, is the cold, ridiculously cynical detachment of the villains and of our titular character himself. The unknown sword-wielding devil is silent for most of the issue, only expressing anger at his superior’s cold ignorance of the fight going on. The superior herself is fantastically ruthless, if a little cliche in being so. I love how dismissive she is of Aki and his futile resistance, and her clean-cut objectivism in fighting for Denji’s heart. However, she does feel a little familiar, cut from the same cloth as other cold, female Shonen antagonists, however it’s such an entertaining trope that I don’t mind seeing it. Denji’s resurgence at the end of the issue is appropriately ridiculous, and the fact that Fujimoto caps his dialogue with “I LOVE ME SOME BAD GUYS. CUZ NOBODY’S GONNA COMPLAIN WHEN I MURDERIZE ‘EM!” is so deliciously on the nose and yet fits everything we’ve seen about this character so far.
Fujimoto gets to play with heavy emotions really well here thanks to Himeno’s sacrifice. We actually see this focalized initially through Aki. It’s an interesting juxtaposition as we see the once self-confident Devil Hunter brought low in one blow, where Fujimoto does a two-panel zoom on Aki’s shocked and wounded face. However, Fujimoto really runs wild once we see Himeno decide to sacrifice the rest of her body to save Aki. Interestingly enough, we see this decision is made largely without dialogue, with Himeno inspecting her own injured state, and then looking at Aki before realizing what the selfless and more leader-like decision would be to make. Fujimoto avoids gratuitous blood and gore from this point as we simply steadily see Himeno’s limbs disappear, with the resolve appearing more solidly on her face. The final shot of her limbless torso is harrowing, as she obviously still filled with shock, but there’s a steely determination Fujimoto injects into her that makes the scene that much more affecting.
The action sequences are appropriately bizarre, yet they are never regarded as such in text or made to look ridiculous, which lends a lot to the more emotional tone of this issue. Watching Ghost lend it’s power to Himeno is disturbing and intense as we watch a torrent of limbs build up into a creepy figure pulled straight from Japanese horror films, yet it’s more awe-inspiring than terrifying because of the nature of the material that has come before it. We see the sword-wielding assailant fight endlessly against a storm of arms in an almost “Naruto”-esque ninja style, yet it feels like a triumphant fight to the death rather than a supernatural power display. Similarly, when we see the alarming shot of the unknown superior use her powers to summon a giant fleshy snake to eat the rest of Himeno’s power, it’s more alarming that we see Himeno disappear before we get to the nature of this mysterious new power showing up, which is a testament to how well the action and emotional sides of Fujimoto’s art work together.
Continued below“Chainsaw Man” is still beset by some Shonen tropes, but this issue’s high emotional stakes make it feel moving and powerful. Fujimoto is at his best when coming up with weird concepts and designs, yet somehow it’s the human element of this issue that shines here.
Final Score: 7.8 – Whilst it’s held back by some cliche Shonen tropes, “Chainsaw Man” still delivers a highly emotive installment.
Black Clover Chapter 208
Written and Illustrated by Yuki Tabata
Reviewed by Vanessa Boney
Black Clover is no stranger to inconsistency. Sometimes Tabata hits it out of the park with surprisingly fantastic storytelling, and sometimes…he delivers disappointment.
Chapter 208 is a disappointing entry to this current arc, as it is merely filler and does not progress the story much. Not that a filler issue can’t be a success, but this latest chapter isn’t; as no interesting plot points are introduced, many unanswered questions remain, and there is no payoff from the (contrastingly) epic previous chapters.
Chapter 208 sees our heroes pull out all the stops against the devil, and just when it seems as if there will be some gratification to all of the built-up anticipation, they fail yet again to defeat him, dragging out an already lengthy arc. What is most disappointing is although many references are made, (most notably by the devil himself), and after 208 chapters, we still do not know what demon is in Asta’s grimoire; nor how it is linked to the devil they are battling. Yuno and Asta both experience power-ups, and an explanation is given for Yuno’s new spell, but the reader does not bear witness to him go through the process of obtaining his new power, while the exact opposite is true for Asta. It would have been more fulfilling if both transformations were delivered in the same way.
The art also falls victim to inconsistency. Some panels are absolutely stunning. Tabata’s lines are clean, the character illustrations are clear and neat with an obvious attention to detail in getting the physical attributes of the characters just right. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the action panels, which, let’s be honest, is what is looked forward to the most. The battle scenes seem rushed and lack fluidity at times. Visually, some fight scenes are heavy and dark, making it hard to understand what is happening.
Final Verdict: 5.0 – In an arc that has already been drawn out long enough, it is unfortunate that Black Clover Chapter 208 offers no real satisfaction for the suspense built up from the previous chapters.
