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, Vince and Zach check in with “The Last Saiyuki” and “My Hero Academia.” If you have thoughts on these or any other current Shonen Jump titles, please let us know in the comments!
The Last Saiyuki – Chapter 19: Awareness
Written & Illustrated by Daijiro Nonoue
Review by Vince J Ostrowski
“The Last Saiyuki’s” 19th chapter opens on a quiet moment of reflection before an oncoming storm of activity for our main characters. An image of a brother and sister holding hands as they go to sleep, while their “opponents” wait quietly on the rooftops. This willingness to let the characters breathe is the sort of thing that I’ve found so appealing about this series, while some have found its languid pace to be a detriment. I would disagree that the series has been too slow, or is taking too long to get where it’s going, and I think Chapter 19 is a perfect piece of evidence for my side of the argument. A lot of that slow and steady work that was done over the first several chapters to take Ryunosuke from the reluctant (even cruel) step brother figure and bring him into this place of real connection and warmth with Koharu has felt very earned, not something that a lot of faster moving manga stories can always boast. Without putting in all that work at the start, the nascent relationship between these two characters simply wouldn’t feel as real.
But even if you grant complaints about the series pacing, I think that has been remedied by now, as once the Ryunosuke wakes up to find his sister has entered a portal to another place, the tension in the story doesn’t let up. With the reflexive protective instincts of a typical shonen protagonist, Ryunosuke lunges at the portal with his nyoibo staff in an attempt to break through, while Estelle’s father tries to hold him back. As an aside, has Estelle’s father/sensei been given a name? It would be super helpful if Shonen Jump would keep including something like the recap/character pages from the weekly magazine. Nonoue’s artful depiction of Ryunosuke straining to break the barrier recalls so many times that one of the major influences on this story (Son Goku) has mustered the will to accomplish an impossible task. When Ryunosuke finally breaks through, however, it’s because of a clever trick that subverts shonen action “power level” tropes. It’s quite funny and sweet and I dare not spoil it here.
It may have taken longer than readers have liked to establish itself, and it may draw upon some deceptively deep lore that unfamiliar readers may bristle at, but if you let those hangups go, “The Last Saiyuki” is a thoroughly satisfying and mature (in presentation, not content) read week in and week out. The art is clean and light and always tone appropriate – if the scene calls for white-knuckle tension, the art supplies it. And when the story requires the art to be minimalist, quiet, and even creepy, those feelings come through too. “The Last Saiyuki” is one of Shonen Jump’s better current offerings, but I’m afraid it’s not as easily digestible as your more action-based series, which some are speculating may bring it to an abrupt end soon. I certainly hope that isn’t the case.
Final Verdict: 7.9 – “The Last Saiyuki is a breezy, but very quality read that unfortunately might be moving so fast because cancellation is in its future. Let’s hope not.
My Hero Academia Chapter 235
Written and Illustrated by Kohei Horikoshi
Translated by Caleb Cook
Lettered by John Hunt
Reviewed by Zach Wilkerson
It feels like this villains arc has been going on for ages, in no small part because of the numerous diversions as we recount the “good” villains origin stories. On one hand, this chapter delivers by highlighting Tomura Shiragaki, one of the series’s most interesting characters. Learning about his family life, especially the legacy of his grandmother Nana, is something many fans have been wanting since that revelation many chapters ago. The central conflict of an abusive father is a well worn trope, but no less troubling to observe.
Horikoshi has always seemed to focus on quirkiness characters, or characters with late developing quirks. The late developing misfit, or “ugly duckling,” trope, is a powerful idea for those who feel like they don’t belong or are unfairly dismissed. With the Meta Liberation Army arc, Horikoshi has highlighted the other side of the “quirk” coin, those with quirks who are discriminated against by the quirkless. As one of the former, Shiragaki is painted as a tragic figure, and despite his past misdeeds he is for all intents the hero in the fight against Re-Destro. The messaging is certainly a little muddy, but everyone likes a good anti-hero.
Artistically, what is there to be said for Horikoshi’s work that hasn’t already been said? The opening pages of this chapter are stunning. Horikoshi’s level of detail is astounding, a testament to him and his team as they deliver this level of work weekly. In the flashback sequence, Horikoshi captures the wide range of conflicting emotions portrayed by the family. The father’s misplaced anger, Tenko’s timid fear, his mother and grandparent’s helpless resignation, are all on full display.
This chapter doesn’t fully expound on Shiragaki’s origin, as we end on the first ominous notes of his quirk manifesting. We can likely expect another chapter or two continuing his story. While I’m certainly here for that, I would also appreciate a reprieve from the start/stop, staccato storytelling we’ve had over the course of the arc. These villain origins have been very good, Twice’s origin in particular, but they add little to the ongoing conflict against Re-Destro, besides adding a degree of sympathy for our new de facto protagonists. Shiragaki is seemingly the last origin we’ll get here, unless we’re treated to an extended flashback involving Re-Destro, which is certainly possible at this point.
Final Verdict: 7.0 – This look into the history of one of the book’s best characters is appreciated, though it comes at the expense of the book’s central conflict.
