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, Zach and Vince return, and cover both a first chapter of a Jump Start and the one-hundredth chapter of a long-running WSJ mainstay. If you have any thoughts on the two titles discussed this week, or thoughts on “One Piece,” “Blue Exorcist,” “Demon Prince Poro’s Diaries,” “Hungry Marie,” “The Promised Neverland,” “Food Wars,” “Seraph of the End,” let us know in the comments!
Dr. Stone Ch. 1
Written by Riichiro Inagaki
Illustrated by BOICHI
Review by Vince J Ostrowski
You can tell from the first page that “Dr. Stone” is one of those fun, bombastic manga where everything is “over 9000” levels of intensity (or literally in this case, “10,000,000,000%”, as one of the main characters likes to say), but it’s the sly sense of humorous subversion that makes it a deeper, more rewarding read than it first appears. The comic opens with Taiju-kun screaming to the heavens about finally confessing his love for classmate Yuzuriha under the school’s camphor tree, a romantic gesture that Yuzuriha immediately recognizes upon his arrival to comedic effect. Yuzuriha, Taiju-kun’s rival Senku, and some of the other peripheral characters, act as a vocal comedic reflection of these sorts of tropes and this aspect really makes for a legitimately funny read. Taiju-kun’s act of confession is cut short, though, by the central conflict that the manga is based upon – an apocalyptic event that turns the entire world (yes, even including United States President Donald Trump) into stone.
But being a bombastic manga means that the power of love can keep you alive for literally thousands of years encased in stone, until you emerge through sheer willpower and determination to finish your confession to the love of your life, and that’s the heart and the hook that keeps “Dr. Stone” going. Being one of only a handful of people alive at the end of the world is almost always a solid narrative concept, and it will be interesting to see how this manga spirals out of that. Pairing Taiju-kun with science genius Senku promises a brain-meets-brawn approach to problem solving in a world encased in stone, and already presents several good comedic foil moments for our main characters. The elements are really all there for a full throttle and funny read.
The art is a bombastic as the writing, and maybe even the most impressive thing about the comic. Characters yelling confessions of love or touting their own brilliance are a dime-a-dozen in manga, but really well-staged and horrifying scenes of total aren’t. BOICHI does a magnificent job of turning the story on a dime from being a high school comic soap into a doomsday nightmare on the page. As the wave of stone transformation passes over the world, the writer and artist both take the time to focus on the massive scope of the destruction, as well as to focus down to the individual person to show the devastation. And again, Donald Trump gets turned to stone, so it’s got that going for it too.
Final Verdict: 8.5 – “Dr. Stone” is a legitimately funny comedy book that also nails the big apocalyptic moments with the heart and gravity they deserve
Black Clover Chapter #100
Written and illustrated by Yuki Tabata
Reviewed by Zach Wilkerson
For an American comic book, reaching issue #100 would be a considerable achievement accompanied by much pomp and circumstance, an oversized page count, and likely a hefty up-charge. For “Black Clover,” chapter #100 is just another piece in Asta’s quest towards wizarding royalty.
Continuing the ongoing Witch Queen arc, this chapter finds our hero under the control of the Witch Queen, mother of fellow Black Bull member Vanessa. For a large portion of “Black Clover,” Vanessa has played the role of token buxom fan-service girl, regularly seen prancing about in her underwear, clutching a bottle. In the most recent arcs, Vanessa has taken on a somewhat more serious tone. This chapter situates her squarely in the role of hero, as her string based magic advances to a new level. This is a very standard shonen battle manga trope, but the mechanics of this new magic are interesting nonetheless. Tying in destiny altering magic to the myth of the red string of fate (coincidentally, a concept also explored in recent Jump Start “U19) is a smart evolution for the character’s skills. The fact that said magic takes the form of an adorable cat is even better.
Continued belowVisually, “Black Clover” is still as captivating as ever. Tabata-san’s heavy use of inks in the battle sequences create a stark contrast with the minimalist backgrounds, evoking a “Bleach”-esque tone. Furthermore, the contrast between the demonic Asta and Vanessa’s adorable string magic creates an amusing tonal dissonance. His decision to only show the Witch Queen in close-ups, focusing on her unique eye design, gives the character an extra helping of menace, while also making the chapter’s final panel more effective.
Fellow Manga Club co-host Walt Richardson recently critiqued “Black Clover” for dragging out its arcs. This is a sentiment I quite agree with, but with a caveat. Decompression is a common trope of shonen battle manga. However, I would argue that the current problem stems from a sort of over-compression. This arc, which began with Asta seeking a cure for his injured arms, has featured an continued escalation of danger over its relatively scant 20-ish chapters. Once a threat as been despatched, another appears instantly, without resolving the consequences of the previous battle. It’s analogous to a song that never resolves the melody, but continues on and on.
With Vanessa seemingly gaining the upper hand on her mother, it seems this arc may have finally reached its climax. With all that’s happened, these characters could use a breather to unpack recent developments. Otherwise, the constant battle fatigue threatens to unravel this story’s thread.
Final Verdict: 6.4 – A bigger focus on developing Vanessa and great art are the highlights of 100th chapter of “Black Clover”
