Jump Start: Black Clover
Mar. 15th, 2015 05:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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scans_dailyHi folks!
A bit behind on the Jump Start stories--I didn't even finish reading last Monday's Shonen Jump until this morning! Anyhow, the February 16 issue had two Jump Starts, and this...is the shounen one.
There's certain setups that keep recurring in Jump titles; this one is "idiot hero whose primary virture is never giving up." Eighteen pages of fifry-five from the intro chapter.
In the capital city, the current Wizard King (the upper half of his face is cut off) returns in triumph. He and his Magic Knights have fended off "the invaders." The Knigts are in soft focus, we will see them more clearly in Chaptr Two.
Far from the city, two farmers note the magical fireworks going off. They casually discuss the first Wizard King, whose statue is nearby...mounted on the skull of the gigantic demon we saw earlier. The title has been passed down through generations of protectors.
Their contemplation is broken by a loud voice from the nearby church. It's our protagonist Asta, who is proposing marriage to the nun that runs the orphanage. Again. He is well aware that she has taken a vow of celibacy and that the law prevents 15 year olds like him from getting married. This doesn't stop him asking again and again. She finally has to smack him down with a giant water fist.
Asta still isn't taking the hint, but then a sharp breeze dries him off. It's the other orphans, the oldest of whom is Yuno.
The reason Yuno turns down a magical duel is because a) he has nothing to prove and b) Asta has no magical powers as of yet. A particularly bratty orphan points out that it's pretty pathetic for someone Asta's age not to know any spells.
Asta's actually in really good physical condition, but Yuno can easily do the day's laundry and woodchopping chores with a wave of his hand, leaving Asta with no particular way to be useful.
The bratty kid goes on to remind Asta that the townsfolk all make merry at his expense. Asta runs off, but Yuno isn't too concerned, calmly believing Asta will return by supper. The nun remembers that Yuno used to be a crybaby until one day he came home with a severely injured Asta. Since then, he's always been cool and composed, and Asta goes off each day to return covered in dirt. She wonders what he does all day.
As it happens, he's doing 1000 one-handed vertical pushups, followed by swallowing a plant extract that's supposed to be good for boosting magical energy. Still no noticeable magic.
Inside the tower is row after row of shelves crammed with grimoires, all the way to the ceiling. The old wizard in charge of the ceremony explains that this neighborhood has never had a Wizard King or even Magic Knight come from it, so he's hoping this year's crop of teenagers will do better.
Some of the crowd isn't so sure that shabby orphans should be getting grimoires, even if one of them is kind of hot. Finally, the "awarding" begins, but it looks more like the grimoires are choosing their owners.
The peasants are thrilled that one so lowly has done well; perhaps their region will prosper from his rise. The upper class folk are less enthused, wondering if it's some kind of mistake; no shabby person could possibly be that powerful. Asta quickly proclaims himself Yuno's rival, to everyone's derision.
Well, everyone but this one shady-looking guy in the back of the crowd, who seems more interested in Yuno's book.
Afterwards, Asta is hanging around in a tree, vowing that he won't give up even if it does take another year for him to get a grimoire. Yuno is standing, staring at the tower for some reason. He is accosted by the shady man.
The stranger binds Yuno with chains that prevent magic use,
Yuno may have great potential, but he's still inexperienced enough to be ambushed, so legend over. Except that Asta shows up to rescue him. Yes, that sad, pathetic little boy who didn't even get a grimoire.
Revchi's first strike misses, but soon he's got Asta in his coils.
Revchi twists the verbal knife, pointing out that Asta, without magic, will never amount to anything, and is a born loser. Yuno objects, and we go into flashback mode.
The man keeps beating Asta off, but Asta keeps getting up until the man finally gives up and gives back the amulet as too much trouble. Asta vows for the first time to become the Wizard King. Yuno decides he wants to be the Wizard King also.
In the present, Yuno declares Asta his rival. This gives Asta the strength to start getting up again. He declares his intention to kick Revchi's butt, and a grimoire flies out of the tower to him. Yuno knew Asta wasn't going to be unchosen!
The grimoire turns into a sword. The narration explains that the leaves of the clover stand for "sincerity", "love", "hope" and in the case of a fourth leaf, "luck."
The sword has anti-magical properties and easily slices through Revchi's chains. Asta proclaims his magic to be "never giving up!"
Asta and Yuno renew their vow to become the Wizard King.
Given the way this chapter treats sexual harrassment as comedy, and the female character introduced at the end of the third chapter likes to loll around drunkenly in her underwear in public, I don't think this story will scor points with feminists.
Your thoughts and comments?
SKJAM!
A bit behind on the Jump Start stories--I didn't even finish reading last Monday's Shonen Jump until this morning! Anyhow, the February 16 issue had two Jump Starts, and this...is the shounen one.
There's certain setups that keep recurring in Jump titles; this one is "idiot hero whose primary virture is never giving up." Eighteen pages of fifry-five from the intro chapter.
In the capital city, the current Wizard King (the upper half of his face is cut off) returns in triumph. He and his Magic Knights have fended off "the invaders." The Knigts are in soft focus, we will see them more clearly in Chaptr Two.
Far from the city, two farmers note the magical fireworks going off. They casually discuss the first Wizard King, whose statue is nearby...mounted on the skull of the gigantic demon we saw earlier. The title has been passed down through generations of protectors.
Their contemplation is broken by a loud voice from the nearby church. It's our protagonist Asta, who is proposing marriage to the nun that runs the orphanage. Again. He is well aware that she has taken a vow of celibacy and that the law prevents 15 year olds like him from getting married. This doesn't stop him asking again and again. She finally has to smack him down with a giant water fist.
Asta still isn't taking the hint, but then a sharp breeze dries him off. It's the other orphans, the oldest of whom is Yuno.
The reason Yuno turns down a magical duel is because a) he has nothing to prove and b) Asta has no magical powers as of yet. A particularly bratty orphan points out that it's pretty pathetic for someone Asta's age not to know any spells.
Asta's actually in really good physical condition, but Yuno can easily do the day's laundry and woodchopping chores with a wave of his hand, leaving Asta with no particular way to be useful.
The bratty kid goes on to remind Asta that the townsfolk all make merry at his expense. Asta runs off, but Yuno isn't too concerned, calmly believing Asta will return by supper. The nun remembers that Yuno used to be a crybaby until one day he came home with a severely injured Asta. Since then, he's always been cool and composed, and Asta goes off each day to return covered in dirt. She wonders what he does all day.
As it happens, he's doing 1000 one-handed vertical pushups, followed by swallowing a plant extract that's supposed to be good for boosting magical energy. Still no noticeable magic.
Inside the tower is row after row of shelves crammed with grimoires, all the way to the ceiling. The old wizard in charge of the ceremony explains that this neighborhood has never had a Wizard King or even Magic Knight come from it, so he's hoping this year's crop of teenagers will do better.
Some of the crowd isn't so sure that shabby orphans should be getting grimoires, even if one of them is kind of hot. Finally, the "awarding" begins, but it looks more like the grimoires are choosing their owners.
The peasants are thrilled that one so lowly has done well; perhaps their region will prosper from his rise. The upper class folk are less enthused, wondering if it's some kind of mistake; no shabby person could possibly be that powerful. Asta quickly proclaims himself Yuno's rival, to everyone's derision.
Well, everyone but this one shady-looking guy in the back of the crowd, who seems more interested in Yuno's book.
Afterwards, Asta is hanging around in a tree, vowing that he won't give up even if it does take another year for him to get a grimoire. Yuno is standing, staring at the tower for some reason. He is accosted by the shady man.
The stranger binds Yuno with chains that prevent magic use,
Yuno may have great potential, but he's still inexperienced enough to be ambushed, so legend over. Except that Asta shows up to rescue him. Yes, that sad, pathetic little boy who didn't even get a grimoire.
Revchi's first strike misses, but soon he's got Asta in his coils.
Revchi twists the verbal knife, pointing out that Asta, without magic, will never amount to anything, and is a born loser. Yuno objects, and we go into flashback mode.
The man keeps beating Asta off, but Asta keeps getting up until the man finally gives up and gives back the amulet as too much trouble. Asta vows for the first time to become the Wizard King. Yuno decides he wants to be the Wizard King also.
In the present, Yuno declares Asta his rival. This gives Asta the strength to start getting up again. He declares his intention to kick Revchi's butt, and a grimoire flies out of the tower to him. Yuno knew Asta wasn't going to be unchosen!
The grimoire turns into a sword. The narration explains that the leaves of the clover stand for "sincerity", "love", "hope" and in the case of a fourth leaf, "luck."
The sword has anti-magical properties and easily slices through Revchi's chains. Asta proclaims his magic to be "never giving up!"
Asta and Yuno renew their vow to become the Wizard King.
Given the way this chapter treats sexual harrassment as comedy, and the female character introduced at the end of the third chapter likes to loll around drunkenly in her underwear in public, I don't think this story will scor points with feminists.
Your thoughts and comments?
SKJAM!
no subject
Date: 2015-03-15 10:59 pm (UTC)I'll keep reading it if it gets picked up, but I really hope for Kagamigami to be picked up more (great female lead, good artwork, and I'm more of a sucker for supernatural style series anyways).
no subject
Date: 2015-03-15 11:37 pm (UTC)If i had a big problem with this seires is that i think Yuno would make for a more interesting lead than Asta.
He looks like the generic "Super Genius Ace character" from naruto or prince of tennis, but the difference is that he feels like a genuine nice guy.
no subject
Date: 2015-03-16 05:53 pm (UTC)I'm still waffling over the other three. Kagamigami had some potential, but it felt sloppily put-together to me -- I didn't get a strong feel for the world, or the characters, or the ongoing plot, or anything. Ultra Battle Satellite feels, in a way, like the anti-shounen battle manga -- it's all about brutal, unglamorized fighting for no higher purpose than personal gain. That could be used to make some interesting commentary... or just to show off gore for gore's sake. Cyborg Roggy has an interesting setting, and I kind of like the main character, but the sidekick seems a little too 'early-chapters Komatsu' to me -- the normal friend whose job is to react to the over-the-top things the hero is doing without having much of a role of his own.
I wouldn't be terribly unhappy if any of them got a place in the magazine, but none of them have really felt all that compelling to me this time around. And I can't predict which ones will overcome their flaws, and which ones will succumb to them.
no subject
Date: 2015-03-15 11:16 pm (UTC)I like that the "rival" in this series is actually friends with the lead. it's not naruto and sauske's "we hate each other but then we become friends. i was expecting that. but this is an honest, developed friendhsip between the two. and i like that.
But if i had one problem iwth the series is that i don't feel the rules of magic are well defined.