Hideo Shinkai, a former assistant to JoJo creator Hirohiko Araki with several jobs behind him, returns to Jump with Earthchild, a story of love and superpowers
A masked girl saves a young man from a truck that was about to run over him. For him it is love at first sight, but a flash from her cell phone erases her memory, a la Men in Black. However, this is not enough for Reisukewho will not give up until he finds his savior.
These are the first tables of Earthchildthe new manga by Hideo Shinkai that promises a love story on a planetary scale. The work debuts on Weekly Shonen Jump and On MangaPlus this week.
The first chapter is a prologue showing Reisuke’s love story and Kareri, the masked girl with special powers. The latter, after realizing that their destinies are destined to cross, she explains that she is an Earthchild, a human being who has inherited her superpowers from the earth itself. They are employed by the government for the good of humanity.
The two marry and have a child, but, shortly thereafter, Kareri perishes on a mission, sacrificing herself to avoid the impact of an asteroid. The son proves to be an Earthchild himself: he is the real protagonist of the story.
Earthchild’s first impressions
Shinkai has on his resume several jobs published on Jump, since the early ten years, and a period as an assistant to the sensei Hirohiko Arakithe author of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. However, none of these titles ever achieved notoriety. Today, the author tries again with Eartchild: will it be the right time? This first chapter does not seem to be enough to be sure.
The story of the protagonist’s parents is something that is frequently seen in manga, but usually comes when the plot has already developed, and you have an interest in the characters. In the case of Eartchild, on the other hand, it is more difficult to try something for characters whose lives we see flow quickly, and in a summary way. Moreover, the characters are flat. In terms of setting, nothing shown is truly original.
It is difficult to notice that Shinkai worked with the sensei Araki, based only on his trait. The style is modern but not very refined, and ends up reminding us of the superficiality of webtoons.
Shinkai has an uphill road ahead, to carve out its own space in the competitive contemporary Jump.