Category: Ongoing Investigations

Ongoing Investigations: Case #199

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With Bleach and Naruto in their final arcs a lot of people are wondering what in Shonen Jump is going to take their place in terms of an internationally popular series that rakes in tons of money. If you were super curious I don’t think One-Punch Man is going to fill that void. But that said I think it is a fairly fun series that is worth checking out from the one chapter I have seen.

I was amused that the whole first chapter was essentially a shaggy dog story building up to a single joke. But anyone who knows me in real life will know that I delight in a convoluted build up to a punchline. So when this uberpowered villain who looks suspiciously like Piccolo goes on this long rampage to show exactly how overpowered he is with his various high level powers the conclusion to the chapter is fairly predictable but still amusing.

I have heard a decent amount of buzz about this series. I knew this series had a bit of a fan following so it was distinctly on my radar. So it seems like a good series that easily could become popular. It has one major strike against it. It is a comedy. And Shonen Jump comedies have historically never done as well as their action based siblings. And despite the fighting that makes up the core of the storyline the soul of this series is comedy. And that so far has condemned any Shonen Jump in America to a second tier status.

But I wonder if the new digital format has the ability to change that. I’m not thinking it will do so on any major level but I do wonder if it might give an action/comedy combination show like this a little boost it would not normally have gotten. I am curious to see how this series does in the future. Either way it seems a refreshing addition to Shonen Jump’s weekly English line up.

The weekly English version of Shonen Jump has now come day-and-date with Japan. The online magazine also premiered a new series One-Punch Man (ch. 1).

The story is about a superhero named One-Punch Man, his power should be obvious. He is a hero just for fun and he looks out of place when he goes to take down a menace terrorizing the city. The humor in this manga extends all the way to combining two art styles on its pages; One-Punch Man is simply drawn in a way you might see in gag manga, while everything else is drawn with the detailed and gritty look one might expect of an action series.

I really enjoyed when the big monster got upset that One-Punch Man didn’t have a back story for being a hero.

This first bite gives you everything you’ll probably need to know for the continuation of the series. I for one am looking forward to more.

The Ongoing Investigations are little peeks into what we are watching and reading outside of our main posts on the blog. We each pick three things that we were interested in a week and talk a bit about them. There is often not much rhyme or reason to what we pick. They are just the most interesting things we saw since the last Ongoing Investigation.

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Ongoing Investigations: Case #198

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narutaki I had the pleasure of reading the wonderful U.S. release of Heart of Thomas. It is an over-sized hardcover, it is quite a heafty book.

But I have to say the cover is less than appealing, I think it is the muddy colors. The story though, the story is magnificent and great and you will forget all about that cover. Interior art is crisp and there are a few limited color pages within as well. Hagio Moto’s artwork is stellar with moments were it is incredibly 70s (like the eye glints) but with an overall timeless quality to it. Good page layout rounds out this classic release.

Set at a boys boarding school in Germany, the story starts in grim fashion with the suicide of a young man named Thomas. The next day a letter is delivered to the boy he was in love with, Juli, and just a few more days later a new student who bears a striking resemblance to Thomas appears. All of these things bear down on Juli who is harboring a secret and just can’t seem to move past it or Thomas’s death.

The complexities of the relationships in the series making it outstanding . Juli’s relationship with his past, Oskar’s relationship with his father, Erik’s with his mother. And then all the friendships and love that surround it all, everyone is dealing with a lot of emotions.

All the boys at the school have their demons to grapple with. And despite the ominous tone of the first half or so of the manga, characters are able to grow and move through these things leading a positive if not a happily ever after ending. I really thought it was going to all end in tragedy and I don’t think I would have enjoyed that.

I feel really grateful that I was finally able to experience this seminal manga.

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I can’t say I am ever exactly sure what to expect from Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic. I am still fairly in the middle of the road on the show even after watch episodes 8 through 11 but I do have to say it keeps itself from being complete formula shonen action. But for all the surprising little differences it has this last batch had one thing I could not have ever expected to be touched upon in a shonen fighting anime. Magi decided to touch upon the economics of large-scale debt,  monetary politics, and shady investment baking. It’s not exactly Spice and Wolf levels but it sort of threw me off guard that it was a plot element at all.

My roommate and I agree that the greatest obstacle any of the characters in this series need to overcome is not trapped dungeons, vile monsters, or enemy sorcerers. It is the fact that they tend to make some very odd principled decisions and then stick with them no matter what evidence is thrown at them until the last conceivable second. Morgiana spends forever getting over her slave mentality and it is a refreshing end to the aggravation when she finally through off those mental shackles. I wanted to like her right off the bat with her cool fighting style and shapely curves but they make it really hard.

So you figure it is the standard shonen prejudice against women. But Alibaba is just as bad with his fanatical devotion to his old friend Kassim who is repeatedly shown not to be acting in his best interest. I know they were childhood friends and that Alibaba has distinct guilt issues but man oh man. He seems determined to believe this guy has a white knight until the bitterest of bitter ends. Normally I don’t mind such things but it seems more out of an almost silly naivete more than some insight into his former friend’s true character.

I think I might have dropped Magi but my roommate will throw it on in the living room which then makes it simpler to watch than to ignore. Still the series keep wandering into this realm where I want to like it more. It has a unique setting, some interesting plot elements, and Morgiana being a wonderful mixture of sexy and competent. It just never reaches that vital stage where I love it. It just keeps dropping out one step before it can deliver the goods.

The Ongoing Investigations are little peeks into what we are watching and reading outside of our main posts on the blog. We each pick three things that we were interested in a week and talk a bit about them. There is often not much rhyme or reason to what we pick. They are just the most interesting things we saw since the last Ongoing Investigation.

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Ongoing Investigations: Case #197

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This might be a slightly controversial analogy but I would say that  The Unlimited – Hyoubu Kyousuke is to Zettai Karen Children as Legends of the Dark King is to Fist of the North Star. They are both prequels that show how an overpowered villain came to be the head of his own army before he started clashing with the heroes. But the thing is Zettai Karen Children is hardly Fist of the North Star therefore the mass murder of soldiers by the protagonist of The Unlimited is a bit of a shift in tone from the normally comedic series.

The best way to think about The Unlimited is as if it were one of those silly OVAs from the 90s. It has lots of action and killing but it does not have the gore and tits you would find in an 80s OVA. Hyoubu Kyousuke has always been very much a dark reflection of Koichi Minamoto but his darker activities are usually alluded to in the main series more than seen. Here we see him in his full Magneto mode.

The story of the first episode is pretty simple. Kyousuke purposely gets captured so he can break someone out of a prison for psychics. While on the inside he meets a seemingly powerless psychic (who of course is hiding a super powerful ability) and they team up to stop the evil wardens who are killing prisoners to use their bodies to make super soldiers. Kyousuke defeats everyone almost effortlessly and then nukes the facility with his powers.

He also saves a pre-teen girl because this is still a prequel to Zettai Karen Children. No amount of bloodshed gets a leopard to change its spots.

The real question is if fans of Zettai Karen Children are going to like this series and vice versa. I’m going to say that Zettai Karen Children readers are more likely to be happy with The Unlimited than people who new to the series via the Unlimited are going to get into the main series. While there are some harder themes and action in Zettai Karen Children for the most part it is a goofball comedy. It shares many of the themes of the X-men but not nearly as much action. So I see people being a bit bored with the antics that make up 70% of Zettai Karen Children. One the other hand Kyousuke is popular enough that I see more (but not all) Zettai Karen Children fans wanting to see an action series that is the same universe is more likely. Some fans are going to check out of any series without the Children or the light feeling they bring without a doubt. But I feel like anything with Black Phantom has eased Zettai Karen Children into some darker stories.

Still a fun little series if a bit trashy. I think it is worth a look if you like a popcorn action series.

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Barrage came to an end before its time. I thought it had a lot of fun elements. Also there was a space whale!

But anyway, things were wrapped up with ch. 16. Everything after they defeat the rock bandit takes place in a town that was supposed to be under military rule but has been corrupted and taken over by the aliens. There aren’t a lot of humans left, and those that are either end up underground or as slaves. Astro and Tiamat meet the heavily armed Tiko who is out to take down the aliens one at a time.

I could tell that Astro, Tiamat, and Tiko would have had a good dynamic were the series to go on. I was really pleased that Tiko was had a lot to offer in the end and she plays a role in the major town battle and even gets her revenge.

I thought they were able to get a lot in, reveal the most important mysteries (and surprise me!), and have an enjoyable final confrontation. So even though it was clearly supposed to be longer, it wrapped up in a satisfying way.

The Ongoing Investigations are little peeks into what we are watching and reading outside of our main posts on the blog. We each pick three things that we were interested in a week and talk a bit about them. There is often not much rhyme or reason to what we pick. They are just the most interesting things we saw since the last Ongoing Investigation.

Continue reading →