The author is keeping his awesome monster designs from Jigokuraku and I love it. Crazy kid went through bone-busting Training from Hell at seven years old, and actually gets disappointed when his abusive dad can't put up a fight.
The concept of youkai/ayakashi as yakuza reminded me of Nurarihyon no Mago, one of my favorite late 2000's/early 2010's series.
Edited by jun_kagami on Nov 18th 2021 at 5:00:57 PM
I do think there is danger of this manga getting axed so I do think its bit early to make thread, but first chapter is pretty decent start
Chapter 2:
More lore: We meet Hashihime, the kijin guard of Shinjuku. We also learn more about Urara: she's the illegitimate child of Kioh (the dead guy that left without an obvious heir) who's out for revenge for her father's murder. Of course, fighting ensues as Maruo fights Hashihime and wins! Yay! Then, we get a warning of things to come: four groups to watch out for - New Enma, Todoroki, Ayakashi, Kori... I gotta admit: Maruo's head figuratively exploding is amusing especially since it sorta calls out the audience.
Edited by thuse on Nov 21st 2021 at 11:36:09 PM
Yeah the literal head popping was funny. And I hope we continue the ridiculousness of this kid running on Shonen manga tropes.
Chapter 3:
Maruo and Urara head for Kabukichou to find an office! Maruo is impulsive as always, looking for fights to get into...
Edited by thuse on Nov 28th 2021 at 11:35:40 PM
Chapter 4:
We meet Ten, an Ayashimon working under an Amamehagi who constantly gives him shit. He knows about how Urara and Maruo are looking for an office, so he welcomes them to kick the asses of his boss and coworkers. They do so in a ritual duel, which is basically a more serious fight than the last one. It's pretty standard, but hey, at least the plot's moving...
Really enjoying it so far, I'm quite interested in the supernatural world and Urara's plans
Urara has some sick tats.
Also how funny is it that Ayashimon are literally made of money
Chapter 5:
Maruo beat Ten's boss to the point that the office floor broke, but just when things were starting to go well, public safety in the form of the Onmyou Bureau got her: No. 11 and No. 4... It also looks like they'll be telling all about Urara and Maruo to the Enma Syndicate. This isn't looking well...
Edited by thuse on Dec 12th 2021 at 11:38:38 PM
Gotta love how chill the goons were about using their boss’s remains to pay for drinks.
Urara makes a good point about how exploitable the ritual duel is. Too bad the big shots have already set their eyes on her. The Onmyo Bureau already shows there are ways around Maruo’s freakish strength.
Chapter 6:
Chairman Doppo, an artist(?), a creepy artist... He and Mizuha got Hashihime, oh God don't mess with the Onmyo Bureau, and Doppo declaring to his goons to find Urara and Maruo... Well it looks like things escalated quite a bit...
It seems that the author's penchant for Body Horror is on full display.
Chapter 7:
As word of Maruo and Urara spread throughout Kabukichou, it seems that Doppo Akari has got to them first with Hashihime as a threat. Looks like it'll be Maruo vs Akari next chapter.
I bet on Maruo deliberately dragging the fight out cause "In manga, doesn't like, the serious bad guy introduce some magic system!?" and either it does happen, then he punches akari's head off, or it doesn't, and he's disappointed, and punches akari's head off. I don't think akari is going to survive beyond chapter 15 at the most, the series is a bit too self aware to not kill him off.
Burritos are the most convenient and delicious food in the universe. Change my mind.
Maruo was reading a boxing manga so I assume he’s going to bust out a counter jab, or something.
The Head of the Hydra
Unlucky bunch meeting the head honcho of one of the syndicates already.
"I am Alpharius. This is a lie."
Chapter 8:
We learn Doppo's ability: the ability to steal heat. It was used to great effect to get Maruo to not move so much and to force Urara to reveal her lineage. Of course, Maruo won't go down so easily...
I’m glad Maruo’s enjoying himself.
Chapter 9:
Maruo's bloody and down for the count, a bit of a flashback to his harsh life and him reiterating that he wants to be a manga protagonist that doesn't lose, and Urara, with Ten's help, transforming into an awesome wolf to fight!! Alright!!
Maruo will now learn that it’s common for manga protagonists to lose because it gives them the impetus to level up. I do wonder what he can do to make up for not having anything except his super strength.
Ohhh nice, Urara’s fox form looks great. The author’s really good at monster designs.
The Shounen Jump Channel recently uploaded in separate parts an audio version of the first chapter with Nobuhiko Okamoto playing Maruo and Maaya Uchida playing Urara.
Part 1:
I feel really silly for needing to hear Kaidou Maruo it in Japanese name order to realize that he's named after Kaidoumaru. Chapter 5 uses Sakata no Kintoki as its first example to explain what a marebito is and it somehow didn't hit me.
From the creator behind Jigokuraku (Hell's Paradise) comes a new manga involving yakuza, the supernatural, and one boy with the power of shounen manga protagonists of likely around the Golden Age of Shounen Jump!
The first chapter just released, and I'm hooked! Can't wait to see more of Maruo and his oddly-meta journey!
Edited by thuse on Nov 15th 2021 at 3:21:56 AM