After the success of Jigokuraku – Hell’s Paradise, Yuji Kaku lands on the flagship magazine of Shueisha with Ayashimon, a manga of crime, yokai and beating from orbi
A young, naive protagonist, endowed with superhuman strength, must take down dozens of enemies with the features of yokai giapponesi. One could not imagine a more abused premise for a manga published on Weekly Shonen Jump.
Especially in recent years, the series that have attempted this route are now various, some with success (Ayakashi Triangle, Jujutsu Kaisen), others less (Phantom Seer, Bone Collection).
But, this time, at the bottom of Ayashimon the signature of Yuji Kaku, and then everything changes.
Kaku is a new star in the manga world, but his pedigree is already excellent: his first long serialization, Jigokuraku – Hell’s Paradisand has been a hit on Jump +, and the anime series is coming soon. From a pupil of Tatsuki Fujimoto, himself a rapidly rising genius, one could not expect less.
A title to keep an eye on regardless, then, but let’s see the details.
The first chapter of Ayashimon
The yakuza mourns the death of his boss. As if being criminals weren’t enough, it soon turns out that the members of this organization are all monstrous-looking yokai.
Somewhere else, Maruo he is looking for work and a place in society, but his every effort is thwarted by his monstrous physical strength. By destroying any object he finds himself in his hand, it is impossible for him to lead a normal life.
Maruo is a simple human, who trained as he saw the myths of the manga world do, like Goku e Jotaro. He would like to experience a story like that of his favorite comics, but, in a seemingly normal world, it is impossible for him.
The arrival of the young woman Urara it also seems like a cliché: chased by criminals and in need of help, all the pieces seem to fall into place, and Maruo has found the purpose of her life. The yokai, or ayashimon in this context, are no problem for the well-trained boy.
Suggestions and subtexts
The first chapter of Ayashimon, as already pointed out at the beginning, at first glance does not seem to have anything that stands out, and indeed it appears banal. It is necessary to know the production and the inspirations of Kaku, to understand what we are really reading.
Maruo claims to be inspired by the heroes of the golden generation of the shonen, Goku, Ken the warrior, Jotaro. But his condition, excessively strong and bored, is much more reminiscent One-Punch Man, a critical and revolutionary figure of the aforementioned classic shonen hero. Easy to suspect that Kaku wants to retrace the steps of ONE in the development of his work.
We also consider Kaku’s work as Fujimoto’s assistant in Fire Punch. Even in that title, a character insisted on framing the protagonist in the frame of the shonen hero, but then the story turned out to be much more cold, cruel and real.
Ayashimon deserves to be monitored: the publishers have invested everything in this title as the next possible big hit. Give it a chance: as always, you can read it for free on MangaPlus.