Shonen Jump 110622 Columns 

This Week in Shonen Jump: Week of 11/6/22

By | November 9th, 2022
Posted in Columns | % Comments

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 “Hunter x Hunter!” If you have thoughts on this or any other current Shonen Jump titles, please let us know in the comments!

Hunter X Hunter, chapter 393
Written and illustrated by Yoshihiro Togashi
Reviewed by Robbie Pleasant

After another extended hiatus, “Hunter X Hunter” is back! Not only that, but we’re finally catching up with the Phantom Troupe, a fan-favorite band of villains, murderers, and thieves.

It’s pretty much an unspoken rule among manga readers that Yoshihiro Togashi can and should take all the time he needs between chapters. Whenever a new chapter comes out, it’s a cause for celebration, but his health is far more important. Given his health issues, we can also be a little more forgiving for any parts that feel rough or unfinished. But even Togashi’s worst days are still miles above some other series out there, so that’s not much of a concern.

And of course, given the gap between chapters, VIZ also kindly added recent chapters back for anyone to read for free, so we can refresh ourselves on what’s been happening. This current arc is a long game of politics, plotting, and gangs, where the use of nen has become both a secret weapon and a deterrent. It expands on the ways nen can work, and really builds on its uses for both security and violence. All the while, it’s introduced multiple factions, from scheming royals to mafia wars.

The only thing it’s been missing has been… the characters. In fact, for pretty much the entirety of this arc, the only main character we’ve seen at all has been Kurapika. (I can’t even remember what Gon is up to at this point.) Which is why seeing the Phantom Troupe and Hisoka appear is a welcome return. And this chapter brings them in to the ongoing mafia power struggles, so the plots are starting to converge.

Like many before it, this chapter of “Hunter X Hunter” is mostly dialogue, with characters discussing what they want to do, making deals, and scheming. Seriously, there’s a lot of talking—at some points the speech bubbles take up more space on the page than the illustrations do. For the most part, though, it all serves a purpose to move the story and characters forward. There’s not much action to it, but story-wise, it continues to progress towards a conflict that’s been building up for… quite some time.

Plus, the chapter ends with a strange phenomenon that will be interesting to explore, so it keeps the story engaging even with all these new characters that, frankly, we don’t have as much reason to care about.

Even with all that dialogue, Yoshihiro Togashi’s artwork still has his very distinctive style. There are some masterfully composed frames, like way Phantom Troupe member Nobunaga is positioned as he readies his sword, or a chilling smile on a newer character’s face. While there are some moments where the art seems a little rough or unfinished, those aren’t as common as some other chapters. (And again, given the creator’s health, every last one of them is entirely understandable and acceptable.) In fact, this chapter gives us some nicely detailed and shaded scenes.

And of course, the distinctive but incredibly recognizable character designs come through clearly; familiar characters like Hisoka keep all those little touches about their body language and expressions that come through in every panel, while even minor characters have unique looks about them.

Overall, while the current “Hunter X Hunter” arc still leaves many of us missing the characters we’ve followed for so long, seeing the Phantom Troupe back is a welcome return, and the story continues to build towards a boiling point. It’s good to have you back, “Hunter X Hunter,” just as long as it means Yoshihiro Togashi is in good health.

Final Verdict: 7.4 – A welcome return for the series and some key characters, albeit still very dialogue-dense.


//TAGS | This Week in Shonen Jump

Robbie Pleasant

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