Shonen Jump Heroes Finally Get the Refresh They Need in New Manga
Warning! Spoilers ahead for Akane-banashi chapter 1!
The newest manga in Shonen Jump called Akane-banashi perfectly sets up what would have been an unconventional shonen hero by somehow managing to cause readers to feel shocked when her whole world gets flipped upside-down despite just having been introduced to it.
The debut chapter in Akane-banashi by storyteller Yuki Suenaga and artist Takamasha Moue essentially serves as a prelude to the true hero of the story — Akane Arakawa — by first focusing on her father Shinta. Despite his age, Shinta is the stereotypical shonen hero. He's gifted at his trade but fails to deliver when it counts, resulting in few people recognizing his true genius and those close to him suffering. The differences, however, are that instead of possessing an incredible superpower, Shinta is a rakugo performer, and rather than failing to protect others from some dastardly villain, he can't provide for his family, and his daughter is subjected to relentless teasing at school.
Related: My Hero Academia Just Missed a Huge Opportunity With Its Traitor
But, of course, the opening chapter provides a ray of hope for its down-on-his-luck hero. He's facing a pivotal competition that can change everything for the better if he's successful, and the way in which he tackles this challenge is through unprecedented means. In essence, he channels all of his efforts into his hidden talents while neglecting what others more successful than him would have embraced in what's essentially the Hail Mary in rakugo — a form of Japanese verbal entertainment of yose. This is a stereotypical but highly effective formula that shonen manga usually leverage with great success including My Hero Academia and Black Clover whereby
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