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, Brian checks in with “Sho-Ha Shoten!.” If you have thoughts on this or any other current Shonen Jump titles, please let us know in the comments!
Sho-Ha Shoten! Chapter 20
Written by Akinari Asakura
Illustrated by Takeshi Obata
Lettered by James Gaubatz
Translated by Stephen Paul
Reviewed by Brian Salvatore
This chapter acts as the (perhaps) final piece before the big championships that have been in sight since “Sho-Ha Shoten!” began. The chapter also acts as a recap of the first 19 chapters, reminding the readers of the other teams in competition with One Way Ticket to the Top, and giving each of them a little bit of space, both as splash page title cards and also in their interactions with OWTTT. It’s an effective last deep breath before things get real in the next chapter.
However, because of the nature of this series, we’ve had a number of chapters like this, and they’re never quite the respite they’re intended as because of the monthly release schedule. That’s not a new complaint from this column, and this chapter navigates that issue a little better than prior examples of this because of something that Takeshi Obata does very subtly throughout, which is show Azemichi just freaking out in every panel he appears in. It’s a very funny gag that, wordlessly, shows just how nervous he is. While he’s been the nervous parter throughout the series, he’s now unable to hide it. It’s a nice addition to the story and gives Obata something to do in the background while the relatively expected story unfolds.
Aside from that, the big piece of information in this chapter is the order of the competition, with OWTTT going ninth out of ten. This is a very good spot theoretically, though we see some chicanery afoot from the fourth slot, some overconfidence from the first slot, and the nerves of Azemichi as a ticking time bomb for the eight performances before his. We are also reminded of some of Taijo’s history here, which is helpful because his story seems to get lost in the shuffle at times.
Final Verdict: 6.9 – A pause chapter, but an effective one.
