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, Vince and Zach check in with “Food Wars” and “Robot X Laserbeam.” If you have any thoughts on these titles, or “Black Clover,” “Dr. Stone,” “The Promised Neverland,” “Boruto,” “Yu-Gi-Oh Arc V,” “We Never Learn,” “One Piece,” or “My Hero Academia,” let us know in the comments!
Robot x Laserbeam Chapter 38
Written and illustrated by Tadatoshi Fujimaki
Reviewed by Zach Wilkerson
“Robot x Laserbeam,” to this point, toed the line between grounded realism and spectacular fantasy. This is mirrored in the character of Robo, who oscillates between a relatable human character and an actual “robotic” being. This issue tips the scales in favor of the fantastic, as Robo taps into a new ability that drastically alters the course of the game. In spite of this, Robo gains a bit more depth beyond his cold, mechanic persona.
Taking a page from a more action oriented sci-fi or martial arts type story, Robo learns that by limiting his concentration to short bursts, he’s able to increase his accuracy drastically. We’ve seen other characters exhibit use of miraculous “themed attack” shots, hinting that this book is more about golfing super heroes that true to form golfers. If there was any sort of doubt based on his previous exploits, Robo has now definitely unlocked his super ability. True to my DC3 roots, I’m reminded of the mental abilities displayed by Barbara Gordon in the pages of the terrific “Batgirl.”
One might argue that this sort of power creep is not a great step for the series. It’s certainly a powerful technique for a character who already seems unreasonably skilled for his age and relative level of training. However, within the confines of the series, I think it actually puts a reasonable degree of restraint on Robo, as well as giving him a small degree of depth and nuance.
We see this at play in a somewhat haphazardly framed flashback, in which the concept of a “plateau” is explained. Robo, fearing his plateau is at hand, reverts to his old ways of pushing himself to the limit, only to learn that it’s his overexertion that’s holding him back. The sequence’s placement within the context of the present story is a little confusing, but the payoff is satisfying. Robo’s “Super Saiyan” moment, as he hones and focuses his concentration to net his first (if I recall correctly) hole in one of the series, stands out as perhaps the most exciting event of the series thus far. Well, except for the skydiving entrance from a few chapters back.
While the story itself reaches new levels of spectacle, the art remains grounded in realism. Fujimaki usually renders to the various courses with terrific detail, but this issue’s more character driven focus leaves a little to be desired in this area. Fujimaki’s character work also continues to be a bit of a conundrum. Many characters are rendered with similar hair and facial features, making it difficult at times to distinguish between the cast members. Characters are also rendered differently throughout the issue, as in the flashback, further muddying the reading experience. Overall, however, Fujimaki’s art is crisp, clean, and dynamic. It’s not the most stylish book running in Weekly Shonen Jump, but it’s certainly consistent.
This chapter of “Robot x Laserbeam” shows a potential for the series to become more of a traditional “action” style sports manga, incorporating character specific attacks and skills. We’ve seen similar scenarios in other non-action manga, such as “Food Wars,” play out very successfully. I think this is a great move for both the series and its characters, both of which have primarily struggled with a crisis of identity.
Continued belowFinal Verdict: 7.5 – Robo’s newfound ability lays down exciting potential for the series moving forward.
Food Wars! Chapter 244
Story by Yuto Tsukuda
Illustrated by Shun Saeki
Addition Unspecified Contribution from Yuki Morisaki
Review by Vince J Ostrowski
One of the most unique things about following manga is the way that fanbases form online and how labyrinthine and minutia-packed the fan discourse can get. Of course, every form of entertainment has some sort of fanbase, but there is no doubt that die-hard manga fans engage with the material in a way that just doesn’t happen with other forms of storytelling. But this is a review of Chapter 244 of “Food Wars” and not an essay on fandom or anything like it. Still, I felt I needed to lead with that, because of the way this particular chapter seems like it’s engaging with its fanbase. You could call this a “filler” issue, because it takes place entirely in between two big cooking battles, but also not really, because there’s a lot of chess piece moving that goes on here. You could say it’s a transitional chapter, and while that’s probably more accurate, it’s still not quite right. Transitional chapters imply that nothing much happens other than acting as a breather between events, but there’s so much character work being done here. There’s actual reflecting on how far some of these characters have come. I think Chapter 244 doesn’t deserve the kind of connotation that comes with “transitional”, even if it doesn’t accomplish a lot.
Soma Yukihira (our main character) has just defeated Somei Saito, so the beginning of Chapter 244 is a total catharsis. There is a palpable and undeniable satisfaction at seeing Soma come as far as he has. To see the friends and allies he’s gained along the way celebrate alongside him feels like a big deal, but I suspect that impact will mostly be felt by longtime readers. For all of the intriguing character beats Chapter 244 teases, I do think it would mostly be lost on readers who are trying to jump in now. Another aspect that Soma’s victory reveals, is just what a positive story “Food Wars” tends to be. Even though defeated, Somei Saito learns a lesson and regards Soma with honor and even seems to feel legitimately happy for his opponent. It’s a breath of fresh air to read a comic that takes the spirit of its subject matter to heart. A cooking competition should be a challenge fiercely met, but not one of hard feelings or violence. “Food Wars” usually tends to hit just the right tone, in this way.
The rest of the chapter is spent deciding who will take part in the next match, which is how the chapter ends. Again, for longtime readers, the final choice of competitor for the 4th round of the competition will be exciting and satisfying, but for those trying to jump on now the impact might not be felt. “Food Wars” has become a surprisingly dense long-game, but one that’s worth the emotional investment. The most impressive thing about Chapter 244 is the way that it can take the suspense of who is going to compete next and build an entire issue out of it, with each character offering their own unique personality toward the discourse.
As far as the art, this is the one area this chapter where the series doesn’t get to showcase its full skillset. Since this is a downtime chapter of the story, there isn’t a lot of room for the undeniably dynamic cooking action work that Shun Saeki usually infuses in the title. There’s nothing wrong with that; sometimes you need chapters like this and they don’t lend themselves to dynamic art. I will note that there is one double-page spread near the end of the chapter that shows off the group’s remaining opponents, featuring some nice character design and dynamic posing. It’s not much, but it’s goofy and fun. And that’s what “Food Wars!” is: goofy, fun, and positive.
Final Verdict: 7.5 – Chapter 244 may be an in-betweener of an issue, but it’s a strong enough one, with a positive tone and character work that has paid off over the long haul.
