Discovered a neat manga I've been reading since yesterday
Ossan Boukensha Kein No Zenkou: Kane is a low rank adventurer who supports his local church/orphanage with simple herb gathering quests. This changes when he comes across a magic fruit of revival. While his first impulse is the money he can get from it, when he meets a girl who needs the fruit to save a friend, he gives it to her without a second thought and his life changes forever... mostly because that girl is a high ranked adventurer and princess who, in gratitude for his kindness, is now determined to see Kane rise in the ranks (whether Kane likes it or not).
He's an annoying Stock Shōnen Hero. As in, he exhibts all the worst aspects of the archetype (imo).
@Arha: Yes, he is. Ichigo starts off as a bushleague loser and catapults to being powerful enough to oneshot his first Hollow (which Rukia was struggling with). Barely two months later, he had achieved shikai, achieved bankai 2½ days later, and was taking on captain level shinigami and winning.
Ichigo's power level fluctuates, but it didn't change the fact that a 16 year old became one of the most powerful shinigami in only a matter of monthsnote . So he's a hotblooded Instant Expert.
He's also an Idiot Hero (re-read his battle with Grand Fisher and his first Menos). The only reason he survived either one is because he had a crapload of reiatsu. Rukia even noted that Ichigo should've been dead given the extent of his injuries. She said his only savings grace was (paraphrasing): "Thankfully, this idiot's excess reiatsu is sustaining him". Injuries that could've been prevented had he not kept charging Grand Fisher in a blind rage, despite Rukia's repeat attempts to warn him.
About the only difference between Ichigo and a straightup shonen hero, is that Ichigo has an undying need to protect everything under the sun. Whereas a shonen hero believes and exposes The Power of Friendship. Otherwise, he fills almost all the main criteria.
Edited by MiinU on Apr 12th 2021 at 11:42:31 AM
The shonen hero archetype Arha is probably talking about is the wide-eyed, boisterous, Big Eater, goofy kids. In which case I would agree Ichigo doesn’t fit that mould quite as cleanly.
No, I mean, those things happened, though I disagree with how you interpret things. The problem is that you don't understand what the stock shounen hero is: Bright, optimistic, not terribly intelligent, goal oriented and often out to just have a good time. Like compare him to Luffy. Do they have much in common? It's rare to see Ichigo even smile.
You can find Ichigo annoying if you want, won't judge you, but saying he's annoying because he's a stock shounen hero is simply wrong.
Edit: Heh, I used the same word to mean two different things within the same sentence.
Edited by Arha on Apr 12th 2021 at 11:32:37 AM
@Arha: Tropes and character types are both flexible. Goku isn't a carbon copy of Luffy either, but they're both shonen heroes.
Ichigo may not smile 24/7, but he's hardly johnny raincloud and smiles plenty when he's with his friends. Ichigo also has a goal, it's just that his isn't career oriented. He doesn't care about being the best whatever, unlike Ash Ketchum, Luffy, etc., Ichigo's goal is simple: All he wants to do is protect. He plainly states as much at the end of the prologue chapter. The power to smash fate. The power to protect his friends. That's all.
Those differences aside, Ichigo exhibts the hallmarks of a typical shonen hero: he has The Gift (i.e. accelerated power gain), he's a quick learner (i.e. Instant Expert), he's as strong as he needs to be, gains new powers as the plot demands, he's not too bright, but he has good instincts, and he's got a gruff exterior with a heart of gold underneath, and so on.
Edited by MiinU on Apr 12th 2021 at 11:09:50 AM
A weird little manga I discovered recently: Jyaken San Wa Sugu Bureru
Set in a fantasy world that has developed modern technology, Lucas Hopes raises his little sister Monika. One day, Monika discovers a magic sword and claims it as her own, naming it the Blessed Justice Braver and swearing to defeat the demon lord... never mind the demon lord is now more of a celebrity who's turned his dungeons into theme parks. Also never mind that the sword looks like something out of the mind of Junji Ito. After all, once he regains enough strength to spout legs and talk, Justice Braver, or J.B. for short, is pretty chill. Still, Lucas's hopes for a peaceful life in the works of Might, Magic, and Mobile Phones have been shot straight to hell.
Edited by sgamer82 on Apr 17th 2021 at 2:45:45 AM
Yumemigaoka Wonderland’s tenth chapter is out, this time starring two childhood friends who Cannot Spit It Out and centering on the premise of "What if there was a device that automatically translates what tsunderes are thinking?"
Not the strongest story in the series, though it still had funny moments and the end was super cute. It does play with the idea of friends trying to force two lovebirds to confess their feelings and suggests that love-hate relationships aren’t necessarily all bad. Though it’s a two-parter so it’s not quite over yet.
At least the anthology format allows the author to explore this kind of idea that are funny in a short story but would wear off pretty quickly in a full series.
Edited by Lyendith on May 13th 2021 at 7:39:31 PM
Last Order: Hitori Bocchi no Hyakunen Sensou
A post-apocalyptic world. Following her last order, the mechanical soldier Ria has been fighting an endless war for over a hundred years. With the people she was meant to protect gone, and her comrades-in-arms lost, Ria spends her days fighting alone.Then, a human appears before her once more..!?
Only a few chapters out, but it looks like this could be interesting.
Edited by Zarastro on May 13th 2021 at 12:38:13 PM

Here to recommend Maken-ki! again for anyone who hasn't seen, or even heard of it.
On its surface, it's a shounen battle series with a harem subplot. But it's more accurate to say that it's sort of like X-Men, in that ability users have to stay hidden from the general public (much like X-Men's anti-mutant hysteria) and attend a school for the gifted where they're taught how to properly hone their powers (ala, the Xavier Institute). And, the students at Tenbi have to defend themselves and the rest of humanity from an ancient shadow organization, consisting of evil ability users (much like the Brotherhood).
Or, if you prfer, it can also be described as Bleach done right (i.e. no unnecessary padding, common sense approach to storytelling, etc.). The only caveat is its MC, who's basically a more annoying version of Ichigo Kurosaki. But thankfully, Maken-ki! has a cast of well-written support characters that makes it easy to forget he even exists.
Really, I can't recommend this one enough. Don't let the haters dissuade you, give it a chance. You just might like it.