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Comedy is subjective based on who you ask about it. Mashle quite possibly embodies that statement as it throws everything it has on its comedic aspects whilst lacking in all the others. As such, the watcher’s enjoyment of the show in contingent to whether or not the comedy will hit right or whether it ends up cringey and miss miserably.

The story of the series is the very epitome of mediocre and generic. Magic in itself is a very overused trope in not only the anime or manga mediums, but in all sci fi mediums in general. Mashle follows the usual shonen formulaic story progression where ... Mash faces an opponent, defeats the opponent in a satisfying fashion then either befriends them or never speaks to them again. This story formula has been used countless times in shonen but in Mashle’s case, it is quite literally all that it amounts to. However, the end of the season shows signs that the story will pick up in the subsequent seasons which is certainly a good sign but at the point of the first season, the story was certainly mediocre at best and the build up was quite unbearably slow.

The characters of the series were extremely monotonous and repetitive. Which for a comedy anime, isn’t necessarily always a bad thing. To some extent, repeating the same jokes again and again may start to make you feel attached or even nostalgic for each character and their unique quirks and tropes. However, in the case of Mashle, it treads more on the safe, overused and trope-filled side of humor through their characters. The series sacrifices character writing for the sake of comedy but even the comedy is something you see in various other series before it. Its main characters can be simplified into the dense main character, the simp character, the female character whose entire character is to love the main character, the badass character with a weird side and the cowardly character. All of these descriptions have been used countless times in various other series out there, while Mashle decides to stick by these tropes rather than develop them properly or even shift to a different style of character comedy.

Mashle is a series that some may enjoy because it unabashedly uses the comedy and tropes employed in various other shonens. It’s a satirical series that makes fun of these tropes in the same way One Punch Man and Gintama do. However, it treads the fine line between making fun of these tropes and becoming the very series that relies on these tropes. Those who enjoy the style of humor in Mashle, will very likely enjoy the very same humor in other series that execute it better.

Hell’s Paradise is a show that had very good potential but had an execution that felt lacking.

It has an interesting premise that falls well within what is popular in Shonen series today. Though the story is very straightforward, its use of various religious references keeps it grounded in reality despite the presence of ethereal beings and supernatural abilities. However, the general premise of the story lacks a unique aspect that makes it stand out from the multitude of other dark shonens out there. To some extent, what you read in the synopsis is all that you get in the first season of the series. ... It’s intriguing but lacks intricacies that would have made it unique and memorable.

The characters of the series are likely its main saving grace. All the characters in the story are self centered in the sense that each and every one of them possess their own goals, unique personalities and build relationships with one another. In short, they feel like actual people rather than a monotonous character repeating the same lines over and over. It’s very befitting of the series’ main premise of criminals and executioners to have these characters exist for their own self interest rather than be used as a way to merely prop up the main character.

Then there’s the animation, which is part of the reason why the execution was lacking. To an extent, it wouldn’t have been out of the question to have expected this series to reach the highs of its other dark shonen anime predecessors such as Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man or Attack on Titan. However, it’s easy to tell that the studio didn’t put as much effort in the animation of Hell’s Paradise in comparison to aforementioned series. There are not many memorable fight scenes in this series and there are times when the manga’s art looked far better than the anime’s adaptation. Normally, animation isn’t a major issue for a series, however a character driven series like Hell’s Paradise, which utilizes fight scenes in almost every episode, certainly would have benefitted more had it gotten slightly better animation from these fights.

In the end, Hell’s Paradise is an anime that will likely be forgotten in a few months and will be remembered as a decent anime at best from a season that was stacked with far more memorable shows. However, it certainly still has a chance to improve its execution in its upcoming season, which may subsequently lead to its fulfillment of the potential that it could have had.

Fabricant 100 is a series that has had a decent start thus far, offers an interesting premise, is relatively unique and has a decent story overall. However, it currently still lacks that certain charm that will cause it to survive the dreading Shonen Jump Axe. It has begun to build up towards a more long term story but as a result, sacrifices its short term story for the sake of building up future events. This is a series that would likely be very good once it starts running but will be relatively slow on the build up.

Ashibi, the main character, has a very tragic ... and intriguing backstory. It's a great foundation for a main character however, he severely lacks a standout personality thus far. He's extremely serious, which is certainly justified due to his past, and extremely intelligent and cunning but that's about it. He has no interest nor goals but to merely hunt down every Fabricant and matures almost immediately by the time Chapter 1 is done. Usually with child characters like these, it's interesting to see them mature over time as the story goes on (such as Thorfinn from Vinland Saga for instance). Unfortunately, Ashibi will no longer be able to follow this character route and as it stands now, he really seems to lack a personality as a whole apart from his sole goal. In other words, he's a very one dimensional character that has had a tragic past.

No. 100, the other main character, certainly has far more of a personality than Ashibi does. Between the two, I'm quite certain she's the one that fans like more thus far. The character dynamic between her and Ashibi certainly conveys the relationship between the two, which I assume will be constantly developed as the story progresses. Her presence in the story is what makes it far more intriguing and unpredictable as a whole which is possibly due to her unpredictable nature, in which it's hard to tell whether she'd commit a good or a bad act. This moral ambiguity that she possesses certainly makes it exciting to see what act she will do in every succeeding chapter.

Unfortunately, the story premise thus far leaves a lot to be desired. the goal of hunting down all existing fabricants, or the potential goal revealed in the recent chapter to hunt down No. 1, is something that has been done countless times in preceding series before. Find an enemy, (maybe an enemy backstory), Defeat the enemy. Rinse and repeat. The story seems to lean on the fact that No. 100 may potentially betray Ashibi, which if done well may certainly be one of the most dramatic scenes out there. However, the series will certainly have to do something very unique to stand out from its predecessors that used the same formula as it is using now.

The main scenario which can cause the series to skyrocket in quality is if it focuses on a character driven narrative than a plot driven one. If it focuses more on developing Ashibi and No. 100 then it will enhance the potentially dramatic conclusion that this series seems to be aiming for. Ashibi in particular should be the main focus of the development. Perhaps a similar development to Gintoki Sakata from Gintama could benefit Ashibi, A broken character that lost everything slowly builds up relationships and the desire to keep living. Aside from this, giving Fabricant no. 1, which I assume may be a major antagonist in the future, a very good character development and motivations can potentially enhance the average story that the series has had thus far.

To conclude, the series certainly holds a bit of potential but unfortunately, its start really restricts the potential character development, plot twists and story progression that it can do. It's good that the series has already begun to think about its long term story through the establishment of the long term goal of the two main characters. However, it needs to stand out far more in its early chapters instead of simply building up to a long term goal. Otherwise, cancellation may find it before it even reaches the point of its story which it has already began to build up.

Tokyo Revengers is akin to consuming Fast food. It feels good as you consume it and it leaves you wanting more but once you're done, you reach a point in clarity in which you realize that despite feeling good consuming it, it probably tasted average at best.

This perfectly personifies the entirety of Tokyo revengers. It grasps your interest enough to get you reading it all the way but the entire series as a whole feels average for a series that countless people hyped up. This review will be quite long so feel free to skip the the summary paragraph at the end.

The story is ... a 6/10 at best. It certainly is intriguing and keeps you on the edge but it does not seem to understand whether to tread the world of Fantasy or Realism. The series is set in a real world setting but with supernatural phenomena such as Time Travel involved. It would have been interesting if it focused on this realistic setting, it set it apart from many other big name shonen that were set in a Fantasy world. The issue is where it seems to conveniently and suddenly tread the Fantasy world to create intrigue or just plot convenience. Mikey's Dark Impulses and Takemitchy's overuse of the Time Travel ability as well as the phenomena in which he can see the near future are a few examples of this. These two were explained in a way that somehow left more questions than answers, the existence and overuse of supernatural abilities like this made stakes far lower than they already were. The story in a nutshell is basically Takemitchy goes to the past to fix the future, tries his best, somehow fails to change the future. Rinse and repeat. The final arc went against this trend, which I had been looking forward to, but plot convenience went at its worst (Spoiler alert. No one dies in the end, even the ones who died were revived anyway.)

The characters are a 5/10 to me. The series should have focused on being a Character driven one, it seemed that way early on but character development felt non existent for everyone. Takemitchy cries and claims he'll save everyone but refuses to train to get even remotely stronger yet he somehow wins over everyone's hearts because of his "never give up" attitude. Mikey was interesting at first but was nothing more than an inexcusably overpowered character that became twisted because of the fantasy element of Dark Impulses. Draken was better developed than Mikey in my opinion, but was killed off and made absent in the final arc without a reaction from his Best friend, Mikey, then immediately revived in the end. Female character development? Non existent. Hina, Yuzuha, Senju and Emma were all just background characters with virtually no development. Their existence only seemed to serve as character development for other characters (Hina for Takemitchy, Emma for Draken and Mikey and Yuzuha for Hakkai and Mitsuya). Various other characters were extremely interesting but nothing happened for their characters, haitani brothers, Waka and Benkei and Hanma for insance. While characters who did get interesting backstories were killed off soon, such as Izana, Kisaki, South and even Draken. It's a shame that Tokyo revengers created such a memorable cast but without much substance to them.

The art is probably the best aspect of the series. I'm impressed with Wakui's art's consistency throughout the series and he definitely makes fight scenes very dynamic and intense to read. His character designs and clothing designs were also quite good throughout. Art was undeniably the strongest point of the series.

In Summary, Tokyo revengers is an enjoyable read that will leave you hooked for the entirety of the series. It's not the best however and will leave you in disappointment in the end. If the finale had been done well, plot holes were fixed and characters were properly developed then it likely could have been a solid 8/10 series. Unfortunately it ended without fixing any of that and the series will merely leave a bad taste in your mouth.

One of the newest additions in the Shonen Jump roster, and one that I cannot see lasting very long. In its first few chapters, Tokyo Demon Bride Story fails to assert itself in the long run.

It has virtually no story nor build up and fails to build up to an end goal. To some degree, its first few chapters make you think "what exactly is the end goal to all this?" Every chapter just seems to have the main cast doing repetitive odd jobs around town and none of the characters seem to be interesting enough to catch anyone's attention. Furthermore, its fights are relatively ... bland, quick and straightforward. Are these all necessarily bad things? No. There are various series like Gintama and Mob Psycho (Web Comic) for instance that tended to focus on odd jobs and seemed to lack a story and interesting characters in their early stages but made up for the lack of those through other means.

Gintama made up for that through its comedy and Mob Psycho made up for that through its relatability to its younger audience. It is also worth noting that both these series ended up having great stories and well developed characters later on.

But what exactly does Tokyo Demon Bride Story have that makes up for its lack of story and interesting characters? It's extremely lacking in the comedy department with its dependence on already overused Shonen Humor tropes. Despite having an implication of a marriage in its title, it also fails to build up any sort of romance. In fact, the "bride" relationship you come to expect is more akin to a stalker and victim one sided relationship that was caused by a childish promise that half the parties can't even remember. It lacks any sort of relatability due to its bland characters and to be honest, it's hard to see any qualities that makes it stand out.

It could be good as a Slice of Life series but as mentioned earlier, it fails to have a unique X Factor aside from the presence of demons that makes it stand out as a slice of life series. Perhaps Slice of Life fanatics would find enjoyment in this series but personally, I feel that there are much better SoL series out there than this one.

Overall, Tokyo Demon Bride Story is a series that does not know what to focus on and as a result fails in all the aspects it attempts to be. I think that if it chooses to focus on one aspect and executes that well then it may have a chance at survival. Particularly either a proper romance or comedy (or even both). It could also have a shot at survival if it decides to switch to being a battle shonen however a battle shonen about fighting demons has already been done countless times in the past (Yu Yu Hakusho and Demon Slayer for example). If it keeps up at its current rate however, I cannot see it surviving past 30 chapters. To me, this is probably the weakest link in the current WSJ roster thus far.

Hyped up by many as the next big thing in Shonen Jump. Does it truly deserve the hype it receives? The current shonen jump roster has no shortage of battle shonens, with big names like One Piece, Jujutsu Kaisen and My Hero Academia as well as rising series like Undead Unluck, Mashle and Mission: Yozakura Family. With such an oversaturated lineup for the genre, how exactly does a battle shonen like Sakamoto Days stand out among the rest?

The biggest standout it has as a battle shonen is the extremely well drawn art of its fight scenes. It has such a gorgeous display of dynamic movements ... and intensity that it is such a joy to read the fights, it's almost as if you can "feel" the characters' movements with how dynamic the fight scenes are. I find the art to be one of the best I have ever seen in the current era of Jump. Any reader who loves a good fight scene need no look further than Sakamoto Days. Its fights have a certain charm to it with its focus on unrealistically realistic fights (It tends to use real world elements in an unrealistic manner) over the usual fantasy filled fights (Magic, superpowers, supernatural abilities etc) seen in most shonen. A charm that is certainly quite unique and different from countless other battle mangas I have seen.

Its story is relatively simple and straightforward. A retired top assassin merely wishes to live a quiet life but is constantly threatened by many due to his reputation. You could argue that the fact that there is no clear and established end goal makes the series less intriguing. However, the randomness of certain events that befalls Sakamoto, the main character, really creates a lot of suspenseful moments that keeps readers on the edge of their seats. Though it's one of the more average ones in comparison to other series I've seen, perhaps its because it hasn't had the time to build itself up yet.

The character writing on the other hand, is an aspect that will surely catch the attention of many. The protagonists and the antagonists are all extremely intriguing in their own right. Even side characters tend to exude a sense of mystery that gets you interested in them. Are they well written? well that remains to be seen as the series goes on but they will surely be interesting enough to keep an eye out for.

Sakamoto Days is a series that goes above and beyond for a battle manga. It's the type of series that puts all its eggs in one basket. It may be average in certain aspects but it really excels in its specialties. Fans of battle shonens will certainly love this series though if you're the type who cares more about a well crafted plot than fights then you may find the series to be "good but forgettable" at best

The series that unexpectedly stole the show last season. Chances are you're planning to watch it for either: The waifus, the action or the animation or maybe you're one of those people with great music taste that decided to watch it because of the banger intro and outro. Is the show actually worth watching beyond those that I just mentioned?

Probably not. I feel that the characters, action and animation are the strongest aspects of the series, if you only care about these three aspects then you will probably enjoy the show. However, I find that there is not much substance to its story and is ... more akin to a Slice of Life show than an Action anime. In fact, the Slice of Life scenes is an aspect of the show I like over the action scenes of it.

I discourage those who plan to watch the show and expect a great story or an interesting plot, as you will find none of those. Though if you enjoy Slice of Life series or if you approach the show with the expectation that it is a Slice of Life show instead of an Action packed one then you may end up enjoying the series as a whole.

Arguably one of the biggest mangas to ever exist in the industry, Does it live up to that title though? Allow me to give you a quick spoiler-free rundown of the goods and the bads of the series in an objective manner so you'll know if this series is for you or not. You may have already heard countless praise about the series so I'll focus more on the criticisms and imperfections of the series through the eyes of a massive fan.

Lets start with the good. One Piece is a series that is praised for its world building and rightly so. Its world is extremely ... diverse and well built that its always enjoyable to see a new island in every arc. I can assure you that it won't disappoint you in the adventure aspect. The plot and story is well intricated and beautifully built up in every arc, I personally feel that the story is the strongest part of the series (even more than the world building). It has a surprisingly dark setting for a series where you only expect lightheartedness. The character writing is a hit or miss, sometimes even the most minor characters get rich backstories but at times even major characters tend to lack development or even a simple backstory.

Contradictory to what many fans would say, One Piece is not perfection nor is it peak fiction. A common criticism given is that it is far too long. Though I disagree with it, it is worth noting that the pacing of the series gets quite slow in its longer arcs. This is more commonly an issue if you're a weekly reader but is not too noticeable when you binge-read the series. There are far bigger criticisms than this.

The biggest and most valid criticism about the series is the lack of character deaths. I won't state any character names to avoid giving spoilers but there are times when a character would be given an extremely emotional death that would have perfectly concluded the character's story...but then suddenly turn out alive the next chapter/arc. It's one of the most frustrating aspects of the series at times since there is usually no reason to even leave these characters alive (since they normally tend to be extremely minor characters anyway). Though in the rare instances when characters are killed off, it tends to be a perfect one.

Another criticism of the series is the handling of the development of the main cast. Each of the Straw Hats have a certain unique trait or charm in their personalities that tends to be influenced by an event in their backstories. They do develop as characters throughout the story but it's usually far too subtle. In hindsight, it sometimes seems like they barely even developed in the 1000 chapters of the series. Luffy is probably the biggest example of this. He is a seemingly stagnant character from start to finish and seems like he hardly even develops as a character at all.

However, It is arguably a good decision to keep the characters' development subtle. The main cast is lovable in their own right and changing them too much might take away what makes them so special in the first place. Do you ever wonder why Luffy is so well liked despite being a stagnant and seemingly generic protagonist? It's because of the fact that he's such a lovably generic protagonist that is put into such a dark setting like One Piece's world. His presence brings a smile on the faces of the gloomy and hopeless masses he saves in the setting and as a result makes you feel the same joy he does.

Finally, here is the one single aspect you need to keep in mind as it is this one thing that will make or break your love for the series. Comedy is and always will be a central aspect of the series. A thing that makes One Piece different from other shonens is its blatant implementation of humor in dark aspects of its story. I understand why it may be a turn off for many, since can you imagine a serious all out war being interrupted by a random gag? However, you will come to notice that this aspect is only ever present when Luffy is onscreen or involved. The One Piece world is dark, corrupt and filled with despair for the masses who are constantly oppressed and it's so refreshing to see a happy-go-lucky and optimistically childish character break that cycle of despair and bring joy in the hearts of the characters.

So to those who are expecting a dark story like Berserk or Attack on Titan, this series is not suited to you. Humor and gags are and always will be a part of the series. However, if you plan to approach it with an open mind and let the story do its thing, then I can assure all newcomers that you will witness a masterfully written story, a wonderfully crafted world and a cast of memorable and lovable characters that will take you on an adventure you will never forget. If you think that the good outweighs the bads I mentioned, then I can assure you that you will love this series as much as millions of others do.

One of the few romance/sports series in the current Jump roster. Chances are you might have heard of this due to its consistently high spots in the Jump rankings or maybe since the art looks absolutely beautiful. Sports and Romance series are always a hit or miss though, but is Blue Box worth following?

As a heads up to Sports manga enthusiasts planning to read this series, This is likely not for you. The sports aspect of the series becomes very minimal later on in favor of the romance aspect (whether it shifts back to sports instead of romance later on remains to be seen). However, ... the romance aspect isn't necessarily the best I have seen either. The romance plot tends to get quite repetitive and a stereotypical love triangle even ensues early on. So if you're expecting the series to be a revolutionary and unique romance or sports manga then this series is not for you.

Though it constantly adheres to overused stereotypes, Blue Box executes these stereotypes in a very good manner. I have seen countless romance anime and mangas that have a similar romance plot to Blue Box, but for some strange reason, Blue Box is the one that grasps my attention most. It's as if the mangaka knows how to pull you in and keep you wanting more in the next chapters. The sports aspect, though it becomes a secondary focus in the later chapters, is quite good in its own right. The art perfectly encapsulates the dynamic movements of the athletes and it makes the sports competitions to be very intense.

In short, I believe the series is a great addition to the sports and romance genre. Both of which are really lacking in the current Jump roster. It isnt the best sports nor romance manga out there, but it certainly does decent enough in both genres to get you to keep wanting more every week.

Let's be honest. Most of us average Shonen Jump folks have probably never even heard of Rakugo, which is a practice that this manga revolves upon. You're probably wondering why you should even bother picking up a series about a practice you never even heard of. I had these same doubts too until I picked it up.

The series makes Rakugo to be far more suspense inducing, interesting and intense than you would expect it to be. It has incredible art and a realistic story that has you coming back for more every chapter. The protagonist, Akane, is head strong and determined (like every Shonen Protagonist ... I guess) but it's interesting seeing her improve in every chapter. In fact, it feels like almost every arc until now could be considered a "Training Arc" for her. It feels so realistic and somewhat refreshing to see the series paced like this. What I enjoy most though is how simple the explanations are for Rakugo in the series. It's extremely catering to newcomer fans who are unfamiliar with the practice.

If you're an avid sports manga fan then this series is certainly for you because of this familiar arc structure. This series doesn't only cater to those who love Rakugo, but rather it gets its audience that are unfamiliar with it to love the practice. This series is undeniably the best out of the Shonen Jump Newcomers this year and is definitely worth a read.