Weekly Shonen Jump November 19, 2018 Featured Columns 

This Week in Shonen Jump: November 19, 2018

By and | November 21st, 2018
Posted in Columns | % Comments

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, Ken and Robbie check in with “RWBY” and “My Hero Academia.” If you have any thoughts on these titles, or “The Comiq,” “Black Clover,” “Dr. Stone,” “Hunter x Hunter,” “The Promised Neverland,” “Food Wars,” “World Trigger,” or “We Never Learn” let us know in the comments!

RWBY Ch. 1
Written & Illustrated by Bunta Kinami
Created by Monty Oum
Reviewed by Ken Godberson III

So, “RWBY.” It’s a property I’ve only tangentially knew of, mostly from friends who enjoyed the animated series and the giant banners I’ve seen at New York Comic Con. But hey, I’m always up to try new things, as this story of the would-be huntress Ruby Rose and the other students at Beacon Academy starts in Weekly Shonen Jump. Is it able to reel me in to stick around?

Welllll… to be honest… no.

For an oversized chapter, Bunta Kinami does a passable job of introducing the major characters, protagonist Ruby Rose, her sister Yang Xiao Long, seeming rival Weiss Schnee, roommate Blake Belladonna and more. It introduces the concept of the Huntsmen and Huntress’ and the Grimm that they fight as well as explaining what Beacon Academy is. I’ll say, the chapter has a good sense of economy. It introduces a lot of information, but it never feels like too much. Just enough to create the scenes, a bit of world building and gear up for future character interactions and conflicts.

But herein lies the problem with this chapter: it doesn’t really give us a hook. The objective of a starting issue, whether a western comic or manga, should be to get me to want to pick-up issue/chapter two. And if I’m being honest, we don’t really get an incentive to do that. There is brief… and I mean brief… interaction at the beginning between Ruby and criminal Roman Torchwick, but it’s so fleeting that you kind of forget about it among the rest of the story being imparted to us. You would think that maybe you could craft an ending hook, a twist on something to intrigue us, but unfortunately not. It’s narration that this story is a fairy tale that centers around the four girls introduced. Fine, but the characterization introduced isn’t exactly strong enough to make it enticing.

On the art side, Kinami’s work is fine. It’s very sketchy, yet flowy and the brief action we get at the start is nice, Ruby maneuvering her large scythe around with grace. However, the sketchiness of the art kind of works against it later on since it kind of feels incomplete. There are parts in the chapter without backgrounds and that’s a perfectly fine technique that is in loads of manga, but the way it’s done in this feels jarring when it happens. Funny enough, the best are in this chapter were the first few colored pages. It was the first time the art felt truly alive and complete.

It’s really hard for me to say this chapter is “bad.” I do feel like that word should be reserved for works that are genuinely offensive. “RWBY” chapter one isn’t that. However, this book needed to hit it out of the park on its first go and I’m sorry to say this chapter didn’t. In short, I wouldn’t feel inclined to get chapter two if it wasn’t already in an anthology magazine I get every week.

Final Verdict: 5.0- Strong pacing and some potential concepts don’t make up for the just okay artwork and weak hooks to get us to chapter two.

My Hero Academia, Chapter 206
Written and illustrated by Kohei Horikoshi
Reviewed by Robbie Pleasant

Continued below

The Class 1-A vs Class 1-B training matches continue, following the multiple knock-outs from last chapter. One thing I must say is that they’re going all-out to almost frightening extents, between Todoroki’s hottest flames yet and Iida getting trapped under a literal ton of rubble. Yet perhaps none moreso than Ojiro, whose only quirk is his tail, yet over the course of these chapters went hand-to-hand with someone with spinning blades for limbs then got pierced by a telepathically manipulated horn. While I wouldn’t say Ojiro got to shine this chapter, he did get to stand out a bit more, not only from his tenacity but also for getting to pull off some pretty neat moves as well.

Yet in spite of all the action coming to a close, the most important part of this chapter is the character moments. After such a heated battle, you’d expect tensions to remain high between the students, as one would normally see in such a manga. Instead, we get good sportsmanship all around. While of course the characters do express disappointment at their own shortcomings, they’re not only supportive of each other but of the other class. The way they respect and encourage the people they were fighting just minutes ago is refreshing, especially when contrasted with Monoma (and Bakugo, to an extent) on the next page.

Additionally, even just quick lines help reestablish their goals and motivations. During the fight, we learn a little more about Class 1-B student Pony Tsunotori, her determination to not let her team lose, and her analytical abilities. After the fight, we see more about Iida and Todoroki and their driving inspirations.

Artistically, Kohei Horikoshi’s work remains very strong. All the various character designs and hero outfits he’s created have a lot of personality to them, and there are some intense expressive moments throughout. Every time we get a glimpse at another character we haven’t seen in action yet, the personality of their outfits and the way they’re drawn make me eager to see what quirks they have in store – ending the chapter with a claim that Setsuna Tokage will be a tough customer builds up the excitement for the next issue, as we see her appear in a skintight but scaly suit, grinning like a crocodile.

The action is rarely choppy, although admittedly with everything going on it can be easy to miss a detail or two. For instance, when Ojiro’s tail gets stabbed by Pony’s horns, half the panel is taken up by the action lines and sound effects, blocking some of the action. That’s only a small criticism, however, as the vast majority of the chapter just looks great.

“My Hero Academia” is constantly praised as one of the best ongoing series in Shonen Jump, and for good reason. This chapter provides some good action to wrap up this match, nice moments between the characters, and enough setup for the next chapter to leave us wanting more. What’s not to like?

Final Verdict: 8.5 – From the characters to the action to the art, this chapter has a little something for everyone. While it may not be the most important moment in the series, it’s still a lot of fun.


//TAGS | This Week in Shonen Jump

Ken Godberson III

When he's not at his day job, Ken Godberson III is a guy that will not apologize for being born Post-Crisis. More of his word stuffs can be found on Twitter or Tumblr. Warning: He'll talk your ear off about why Impulse is the greatest superhero ever.

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Robbie Pleasant

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