Welcome to This Week in Shonen Jump, in which a rotating duo of Multiversity staffers take a look at two stories contained in each installment of Viz Media’s Weekly Shonen Jump. For the uninitiated, Weekly Shonen Jump is an anthology that delivers more than 200 pages of manga of all varieties. We hope that you’ll join us in exploring the world of Weekly Shonen Jump each week. If you are unfamiliar, you can read sample chapters and subscribe at Viz.com.
This week, Robbie and Ken check in with “Robot X Laserbeam” and “Black Clover.” If you have any thoughts on these titles, or “My Hero Academia,” “One Punch Man,” “We Never Learn,” “One Piece,” “Food Wars,” “The Promised Neverland,” or “Dr. Stone,” let us know in the comments!
Black Clover Ch. 127
Written & Illustrated by Yuki Tabata
Reviewed by Ken Godberson III
You know, there is really no one format that is perfect. When you have a weekly series, you run into the chance of your series pacing that is a lot quicker and the chapter moves on from things that you wish it didn’t. “Black Clover” chapter 127 feels like that. It’s the conclusion to the fight between Finral and his little brother Langris and the chapter feels like it ends very quickly. However, while plot wise the chapter is lacking, we get a further look into Langris’ psyche behind his animosity for his big brother.
Perceiving that you live in the shadow of someone else is not a healthy way of living. The flashbacks we see of Langris have shown that and it continued here. In spite of Langris’ talent and his competency, he never felt that he could escape from Finral’s shadow, even with Finral being as kind to his younger brother as he could. Langris clearly has a deep-seated inferiority complex toppled with the magic he pulls off here, it makes him a bit unstable as he seems willing to go too far in his fight with Finral. We do have a nice moment at the end with the Black Bulls putting themselves between the brothers. However, at the end it does set up a fight between Langris and Asta, which is kind of a let down for a simple reason:
Asta is a boring protagonist.
Because he is so stereotype to what a “shonen action hero” has been for so long, with the hot blooded nature, the idiot hero tendencies, the power of friendship, e.t.c., it’s come to a point that when he comes back to the focal point of the series, the series starts going down for me. You can’t exactly call that “good”, right? When your main character actively doesn’t make you want to pick up the next chapter?
Art wise, Yuki Tabata is okay. Composition-wise, the story flows well and the action is executed fine enough, but it isn’t something you haven’t seen before in other action manga and done better. Well, except one thing that I couldn’t unsee: Langris’ attack. It looks like… well… there’s really no other way to put it: it looks like energy sperm. I’m serious: the vice-captain of the Golden Dawn’s attack looks like magic energy sperms and I couldn’t unsee it after thinking that, and now I hope neither can you.
“Black Clover” continues to have the problem that’s become endemic: there’s pieces of a good story scattered throughout, but they’re mired in the cliche the genre has to begin growing out of. It wants to keep the action going a lot that it will pull away from the bits that are (at least I find) more interesting.
Final Verdict: 5.8- The interesting parts end too quickly and return us to some of “Black Clover”’s problems.
Robot x Laserbeam Chapter 27
Written and illustrated by Tadatoshi Fujimaki
Reviewed by Robbie Pleasant
I’ll be honest, I’ve never been a fan of sports manga. “Robot x Laserbeam” has not changed my mind in that regard… but it’s still not bad. Tadatoshi Fujimaki has done a good job introducing a nice array of characters, each with their unique personalities and play styles, and has managed to make a manga about golf (of all things) moderately entertaining and accessible for someone, such as myself, who has no understanding of golf other than “hit the ball into the hole.”
Continued belowFujimaki-sensei’s artwork remains solid, with clear character designs and nicely-drawn scenery. Even the crowd shots are active and filled with distinct character designs. In particular, the expressions he gives the various characters stand out the most, whether it’s cocky smirks or the look of surprise everyone inevitably gets when Robo swings. It’s almost ironic, since the protagonist tends to have “lack of expressiveness” as a character quirk, though as we’ve seen in previous chapters, there are subtleties in his expression when things grow serious that help build the character.
That said, the best character work in that regard tends to go to Tomoya, given his reaction shots; he tends to serve as the “comic relief best friend” character, but that gives him some very humorous moments that lighten the mood and help the pacing.
As this is a breather chapter right after a competition story, it’s relatively light on plot. We learn a little more about how great a golfer Yozan is, and the complications it presents for Robo’s goal, but it mostly serves to get characters from the previous story point and location to the new one. There’s a brief moment where we see Robo’s laserbeam in action again (and I rather enjoy how all the golfers get their own “special moves” complete with attack names and special artwork), though that’s set up with an intentionally odd contest to win a special toilet.
The gag is not wasted, though, as it brings in a new plot point, regarding Robo’s father. We knew from previous mentions that he used to enjoy golf, but apparently he was a pro-level golfer in the past, and Robo inherited his swing. I have mixed feelings about this revelation; until now, we were led to believe that Robo’s laserbeam was the result of his intelligent, calculating nature and his dedicated, constant repetition of a proper swing. Instead, just like it turns out Ichigo’s father was also a Shinigami, and Naruto’s father was a previous Hokage, it’s all in the blood. On the other hand, being good at golf isn’t exactly a superpower that one can inherit, so this doesn’t invalidate everything we know about Robo, it just adds on another layer to his characterization, and can add some more depth to the plot. So for now, I’ll take it.
Overall, it wasn’t the most exciting chapter, but it was still a fun one. The art is solid, it has some nice little gags here and there, and it adds to the characters and story in small but meaningful ways. I never thought I’d be following a manga about golf, but it shows you what good character work can do for a series.
Final Verdict: 6.7 – an overall decent chapter, which sets up some important points without hitting you over the head with them.
