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 “Neru: Way of the Martial Artist.” If you have thoughts on this or any other current Shonen Jump titles, please let us know in the comments!
Neru: Way of the Martial Artist chapter 1
Written and illustrated by Minya Hiraga
Reviewed by Robbie Pleasant
The first thing that caught my attention about “Neru: Way of the Martial Artist” was the art style. From the very first page, it’s drawn like an ancient scroll, before bringing us into the title page. This sets the scene for the new series that is to follow, before introducing us to the cast.
The art remains solid throughout the issue. The linework is strong, making good use of solid outlines and shading, but there’s a quality to the designs that has an almost calligraphy-like style to the penmanship. Sometimes it’s subtle, like in the linework around the grandfather’s hands, but other times it shines through the imagery. The way a character’s hair flows, the shading on the designs, the curved shapes of the action lines, and even the very outline of the characters draws to mind ukiyo-e style artwork with a distinctly manga twist.
The rest of the manga uses artwork that’s heavy on the shading effects to add detail. It’s less bright than many of the other series currently running in Shonen Jump, but it’s akin to an older style of manga. The character reactions are also strong, providing nice reaction shots that can add to the moments of comic relief.
(There’s the occasional mid-fight panty flash that feels completely out of place, but we’ll see if that becomes a recurring issue.)
Now that we’ve confirmed the excellence of the artwork, let’s move on to the story. The first chapter of a new series needs to catch users and draw them in with both characters and plot, and “Neru: Way of the Martial Artist” is… decent.
We’re introduced to Neru, our protagonist, and shown his motivation and goals. He’s obsessed with martial arts, which makes him feel that his desires are out-of-sync with that of his classmates, who are more focused on their education and career aspirations. We’re shown this both through the way the characters talk to each other and through his own narration, which gets us into his head well enough and makes him a relatable character to readers. He’s also given a moment to show he has a good heart, while building on his own interests. So as far as character introductions go, it works.
That brings us to the mysterious girl who shows up and changes his life. You know the type. Fortunately, she’s introduced as an independent character in her own right, one whose interests are aligned with Neru’s, whose backstory ties into his without being dependent on it, and whose own skills outweigh his. That leads us to a wonderfully-illustrated fight scene before bringing Neru (and us, by extension) into a wider world of martial arts.
Is it the most original story? Not yet. But the story moves at a good pace, and the artwork has a unique style to it that is absolutely stunning, so that can absolutely be forgiven.
The chapter ends with a hook bringing us into the setting and plot of the story to come, so it sets up the first issue nicely. Where it will go from here has yet to be seen, but “Neru: Way of the Martial Artist” has a very promising first chapter, so I’m feeling optimistic.
Final Verdict: 8.5 – Beautiful artwork helps draw us in to a decent story and solid characters, kicking off the latest manga in Shonen Jump to a strong start.
