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 “Mitama Security: Spirit Busters” and “Black Clover.” If you have thoughts on these or any other current Shonen Jump titles, please let us know in the comments!
Mitama Security: Spirit Busters – Code 6: Tempting Tapioca
Written & Illustrated by Tsurun Hatomune
Review by Vince J Ostrowski
When I was a regular subscriber to the print version of Weekly Shonen Jump all those years ago, I looked most forward to the series that I knew had a good sense of humor about them. Even as a kid, I would sometimes tire of shonen manga that took itself a little too seriously, or worse than that, overused and rehashed pervert tropes or “dumb guy/girl” characters in mining for situational comedy. Rarely does Shonen Jump feature a series that is almost entirely comedy, but entries like “One Piece” always struck a nice balance for me, and felt like deeper experiences as a result. Enter “Mitama Security”: the latest palate cleanser for anyone who needs a break from the deep, long-running lore in a lot of Shonen Jump’s other series. It’s almost entirely comedy, with just enough plot and lore to get by. Perhaps “Mitama Security” could have found a place in the old format, but it definitely feels like there’s more room for this sort of series in the current format, where they appear unrestricted by page count or strict publishing regularity.
The premise of the series is simple: Joh Mitama has tasked himself with protecting first year high school student Rena Haze from the spirits that follow her around all day. The only trouble is (insert record scratch here) he’s afraid of ghosts. Now that sounds like a recipe for a classic comedy caper. And it is! But it’s not all that “Mitama Security” has to offer in the comedy department. In fact, some of the most laugh out loud moments of the series lie simply in the way a character phrases something, a phenomenon that could easily get lost in translation (kudos to translator Amanda Haley for making sure the verbal comedy comes across). Look to the featured image in this very review for one of the funnier moments of the series. Mitama raves about a Tapitapi dessert, before pulling back and saying that having it seven days a week would be one day too many. The visual humor is your standard manga fare: wacky facial reactions and exaggerated, full-body emoting are par for the course here (and maybe even a little overdone), but it’s the wordplay and verbal comedy that zigs when you think it’s going to zag that is the real stand-out aspect here. The plot is a little thin, by design. It’s more of a delivery system for the character-based humor (there’s a twist late in the chapter that subverts Mitama’s personality, creating even more potential for humor later). This chapter’s story entirely concerns Mitama and Rena attempting to obtain a delicious tapioca treat. There’s a bit of a dust-up while doing this, of course, but it’s pretty ancillary, and used for comedy more than anything else. It’s super refreshing, if you’re looking for a lighter story in your manga life.
The art is fairly standard, but not unattractive. Joh Mitama’s character design is instantly memorable (somehow manga-ka Tsurun Hatomune found a wholly unique hair design even after decades upon decades of manga and anime hair designs), but none of the other characters are as successful in that regard. What the art mostly has going for it is its ability to deliver lots of manic, comedic action in small spaces. This chapter takes place almost entirely within a cafe, but the sense of environment and the characters’ roles within are well-defined and then appropriately utilized in the comedy. I can’t think of anything specific “Mitama Security” does exceptionally in the art department, but it’s a solid effort. In this particular case, the art isn’t the primary feature you’re coming to the series for. More than anything, “Mitama Security” will win you over with its spirited and unique sense of humor.
Continued belowFinal Verdict: 7.5 – “Mitama Security: Spirit Busters” is almost slice-of-life to a fault, but it’s so genuinely funny and charming that it’s near impossible not be won over by it.
Black Clover Chapter 223
Written and illustrated by Yuki Tabata
Translated by Taylor Engel
Lettered by Annaliese Christman
Reviewed by Zach Wilkerson
Just in time for the Halloween season, this week’s chapter of “Black Clover” is mysterious and spooky, and all together ooky. In an attempt to learn more about curse magic and the devils, the Black Bull crew joins Gordon for a bizarre family reunion.
The Marilyn Manson-esque Gordon is the center of this chapter. Gordon has never been one of the the Black Bull’s standout members, but this chapter may look to change that. Tabata plays his family as a bit of an Addam’s Family pastiche, which is good for a couple of laughs. Along the way he manages to weave in some neat world building along with the humor, which is a win-win overall.
Going back to the Halloween note, Tabata balances humor and horror well. abata’s style tends to shift between more lighthearted chapters and the action-oriented ones. Here, that same dichotomy is at play with a looser, more gag oriented style used in the dinner scene, while a more detailed style is used the chapter’s back half. There are some genuinely spooky moments, as Tabata attempts to channel his inner Junji Ito.
The revelation of the true nature of the Gordon family curse magic is an interesting development, one that I could see putting Gordon on a new arc as the series progresses. The plot device of the curse map was also interesting, sowing seeds for potential threads with Henry and the newly revealed Heart Kingdom. The world of “Black Clover” has grown at a dizzying rate, but this chapter seems to provide some much needed focus.
At a scant fifteen pages, Tabata does a lot with a little in this chapter of “Black Clover.” After the overlong “Reincarnation Arc,” it’s great to get back to the Black Bulls, whom Tabata has always done a great job of writing. Here’s hoping that this renewed focus continues while moving into the next arc.
Final Verdict: 7.5 – A brief but fun set-up chapter that will certainly get you in the spooky spirit.
