This issue includes chapters for One Piece, Toriko, Mononofu, Bleach, My Hero Academia, World Trigger, Black Clover, Food Wars!, Nisekoi: False Love, and Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V. This issue also includes the first chapter of Samon the Summoner (the second title to be featured in this “Jump Start” initiative), the Bakuman. age 13 two-part manga, and the third chapter of Psyren (which is the current title to be featured for the “Jump Back” initiative).

I’m providing my reactions and impressions for each manga title that appears in the volume. However, be warned that this post may potentially contain spoilers.

I only started reading Weekly Shonen Jump back in late February/early March of 2014, which means there’s a number of series published in the magazine that I jumped in the middle of. Since then, I’ve been able to start reading older chapters of some of the titles, but I haven’t managed to do this for all of the titles yet. Because of this, there may be times I might inadvertently include incorrect information in the write-ups. If you see something in a write-up that’s incorrect due to my having not read earlier chapters of a series, please feel free to leave a comment and let me know. Not only can I correct the incorrect information in the write-up, it will also help provide information for me to have when reading future chapters of a series in Weekly Shonen Jump.

Of course, you can always check out Weekly Shonen Jump for yourself by subscribing to the digital publication at VIZManga.com.

Samon the Summoner CH:001

Samon the Summoner is the second title being featured as part of Weekly Shonen Jump‘s latest “Jump Start” initiative.

Shosuke Samon is a transfer student who has such an intense personality that his classmates isolated him. It didn’t help that he introduced himself as a summoner and that his hobby is to summon demons. Sakura Teshigawa, one of his classmates who has a demon on her back, serves as the narrator for the series. Sakura is class president, and she is the only person who tries to talk to him. Sakura has a reputation in class for being an angel or a saint. Unfortunately, having this reputation means that Shosuke hates her. It’s because of Shosuke that she ends up with the demon on her back. The remainder of the chapter shows Sakura trying to deal with the temptations that this demon shoves at her, as well as having to deal with Shosuke and the insults he hurls at her. When a powerful devil arrives to go after Shosuke, he leaves Sakura alone to deal with it. But Shosuke does something unexpected.

Ookay…. well, then. This is definitely not a typical manga where the main male and female protagonists are being set up to be a potential romantic couple. On the contrary, Samon is so obsessed with Sakura turning evil that he will only protect her so that she can live to make his desire come true. After reading this first chapter, I have to say that this isn’t a bad manga, but it’s not standing out to me like Mononofu did, either. I’m not willing to write off Samon the Summoner quite yet, and I’m hoping the second chapter will be able to expand on what we’ve seen
here and helps to make the series something I’d be more interested in reading.

One Piece CH:800

Not surprisingly, Luffy declines the proposal of becoming the captain of a whole fleet of pirates. I knew that he wouldn’t be interested. But in the end, the other pirates swear their loyalty to Luffy and tell him to keep doing what he’s been doing all this time. We also see that Fujitora allows them to escape as thanks for helping to clean up the government’s mess. The way this chapter ends, it’s hinting that some big event that includes all of these pirates will be taking place at some point in the future. It may not necessarily be immediately, though. But this looks like this may finally be the conclusion for the Dressrosa arc. And if this arc really is over, it’ll be interesting to see where the series progresses from here.

Toriko CH:339

This chapter primarily focuses on the battle between Midora and Joie. But after some initial action, the story slows down for Joie to impart a bit of exposition. While the exposition is appreciated, it does slow down what had been a rather fast-paced chapter up to that point. We then see Setsu, Jiro, and Chichi as they drive off Neo, a gourmet cell demon that lurks within Acacia. This seems to indicate that Acacia could potentially be back. But with the way this chapter ends, it appears that doom and gloom could be coming. It really feels like a foundation is starting to be placed to work at bringing the series to an end. Obviously, it won’t be anytime soon, since there’s still a lot of loose ends out there. But it does appear that the story is building up to something major happening.

Mononofu CH:002

Shinobu is now obsessed with studying shogi instead of focusing on his school work. After getting a phone call from Shiobu’s father, who says he doesn’t want his son picking up bad habits, Yasukane declares that there should be no more shogi for Shinobu. But one of the other residents tells Shinobu that he should follow his dreams. So basically, we’re at the point where an obstacle gets in the protagonist’s way, but he receives encouragement to continue pursuing what he wants to do, no matter what. This is a rather common shonen setup, so this development isn’t too terribly surprising. But this person encouraging him gives him a complicated formation for a game they’re going to play. Even though Shinobu ultimately loses, he has so much fun playing an actual game that he wants to play again. During this second game, Shinobu shows his strength in the endgame. At the end of the chapter, Yasukane says he had no right to try to make Shinobu quit, and instead encourages him to try to become the best he can. Obviously, the protagonist wasn’t just going to quit in chapter two, because it would bring about a premature end to the story. We’ve now made it past this hurdle of almost quitting, so what other obstacles will Shinobu encounter as he starts trying to progress to the world of competitive shogi?

Bleach CH:643

What? No, Kubo didn’t just do that. He didn’t just kill a particular character. No, no, no! But it looks like this death is having to make Mayuri become introspective… but not for long. But it turns out that this character’s death may not be in vain, and it could potentially be what turns the tide in this battle. Hopefully this will finally bring about the end of this battle with Pernida.

My Hero Academia CH:059

This chapter sees All Might meeting with Midoriya and telling him more about One for All. This includes finding out how One for All came to be, and how the first villain to come out of the advent of exceptional humanity is the brains behind the League of Villains. But after he hears the story, Midoriya is determined to step up to a challenge that could be coming. But from what we see in All Might’s thoughts, it looks like he knows something bad is in store for himself and that he won’t always be around to help Midoriya. But it looks like the story is setting the stage for the students to have a summer training camp… except for those who can’t pass the upcoming final exams. But the end of the chapter also seems to imply that more trouble is on the way, so I imagine the training camp isn’t going to be all fun and games.

Bakuman. age 13

This is a two-part story that serves as a prequel to the Bakuman. manga. This story focuses on Akito and what his motivation was for trying to make it big with manga. Akito is starting junior high, and he finds that he’s trying to figure out what he wants to do with his life in the future. The only thing he knows is that he doesn’t want to be a salaryman. Time quickly goes by, and Akito always comes in first on the tests in seventh grade. He meets the girl who always comes right behind him in the ranking. Then he’s suddenly in eighth grade and still at the top of the class. In eighth grade, Aiko (the girl who always comes in second) wants to swap numbers or email addresses, claiming they can contact each other if they get stuck while studying. But from her expression, she’s obviously interested in Akito. It’s during eighth grade that Akito learns that there are manga that are written and illustrated by different people. One thing that was really fun about reading the first part of this story is the references to various manga that were running in Weekly Shonen Jump at the time the story is set in. It definitely helps to make it feel like the story is actually set in the mid-2000’s.

Admittedly, I haven’t had a chance to read Bakuman. yet, but I could still follow and enjoy what was going on in this special two-part manga. I’m interested in seeing how this progresses in the second chapter.

World Trigger CH:116

Osamu and Jin have an important conversation after Osamu asks him to join Tamakoma-2. Osamu also explains why he wants his squad to be able to go on an away mission as soon as possible and why he feels they need to make it past the B-Rank Wars and into the A Rank. Jin gives the answer to Osamu’s request that I expected, and I think he made the correct choice here. But Jin also mentions that if Osamu is still looking for new blood for Tamakoma-2, he knows a person better suited for the job than he is. Osamu is trying to puzzle out who he means, and so am I. It’ll be interesting to see if Osamu comes up with the person that Jin was thinking of. And right at the end of the chapter, we see that an Emergency Response Meeting with the elite members is about to get underway. Is the stage being set for something to happen to disrupt the B-Rank Wars?

It should be noted that World Trigger will be off next week.

Black Clover CH:030

It turns out it’s not Yuno who defeats the witch, it’s another magic user in a nearby restaurant who thinks the witch is after her food. While I was glad to see the witch defeated, did it have to be in such a comedic manner? And, hey, we finally return to Asta! He finds the new monster who’s sent against him is a bad match for him. But Asta gets some unexpected help from the captain of the Crimson Lion King Magic Knights. At the end of the chapter, it looks like it’s shaping up to be a fight between this captain and the villain. Well, at least we got to see Asta for a little bit in this chapter, so I guess that’s something.

Food Wars! CH:135

The news of Erina’s grandfather suddenly retiring and her father becoming the new dean sweeps across the campus. However, daily life at the school doesn’t seem to change immediately. Erina’s father delivers his acceptance speech for his appointment, and he shows a different side than what he showed in the previous chapter. His first change comes about when he tells Hisako that he is relieving her of her duties as Erina’s personal secretary. Uh oh. I suspect this is the first of many changes that he plans to make at Totsuki. At the end of the chapter, the former dean pays Soma a visit, and says he has something he wishes to speak with Soma about. Hopefully, the explanation that appears to be forthcoming will follow through in the next chapter.

Nisekoi: False Love CH:186

Chitoge and Raku end up having to split forces, and Raku stumbles upon Marika’s mother. He tries to convince her to call off the wedding. In the process, Marika’s mother asks if Raku would be willing to marry her instead. Not surprisingly, Marika’s mother isn’t moved. In fact, she debates Raku about beliefs and value systems. When Honda arrives, we learn both Tsugumi and Chitoge have been captured. Marika orders Honda to place those two and Raku in the dungeon so they can’t interfere with the wedding. Her plan after that is to turn them over to the authorities. Wow, Marika’s mother really doesn’t care about her daughter’s feelings or happiness. And I’m not surprised that Raku wasn’t able to change her mind. But it looks like Marika may have found a way to pick the lock on the door of her room right at the end. What’s she going to do when she gets out, I wonder?

Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V CH:002

Even though this may not be the person they’re looking for, they decide to bring him in. When Yuto’s told he’s under arrest, he says he’ll have to duel with the man trying to arrest him. So Yuto and Sawatari (the man trying to arrest him) start to duel. And in true Yu-Gi-Oh! style, we get a whole bunch of exposition on how to play each card and the various stats that the cards have. The majority of this chapter focuses on the duel and the exposition. Honestly, it feels like once you’ve read one Yu-Gi-Oh! series, you’ve read them all. While the characters, cards, and their abilities are different from series to series, the storytelling format is very similar between each one. I have to admit that the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga series tend to bore me because of this.

Psyren CH:003

Most of the other players decide to wander outside, thinking that they have clues as to where to find the gate. When Ageha tries to warn them about the creature, they laugh and make fun of him. When he tries to show them proof, it’s gone. When Sakurako awakens and finds out about the others, she tells Ageha how to pull up a map with the phone and explains where the others are headed. After getting the info, Ageha decides to go to where the others are in order to try to save them. So it looks like Ageha will be trying to play the hero here. There’s only one more chapter left for this “Jump Back” initiative, and it’ll be interesting to see what will happen.

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