Red Sprite is a manga that started in SJ right after Bleach ended, yet it received close to zero hype, thus not many people have heard of it. The author, Yagi Tomohiro, is also relatively new to the manga industry, having only drawn one more series for SJ, which never took off and ended after 20 chapters. It's safe to assume that the expectations for this series are not set too high.
STORY: I was pleasantly surprised by the story. The mangaka has managed to create a unique setting, which is a huge plus in today's saturated shounen industry. In only 11 chapters he has managed to create a solid world and has given the reader enough information, so as to prevent confusion, while also not giving out too much. The ordeals thundercore humans face are also very realistic, hence the main cast's troubles stick with the reader.
The progression of the plot is also a potential selling point for this series: this series is quite fast paced. For example, the main character doesn't start off as a total weakling as in other popular shounen. Instead, the first arc begins after a time skip, during which the MC has acquired enough strength to be able to protect himself and his crewmates.
The first arc is both unique and standard. That sounds contradictory at first, but while the premise of the arc is the search for the protagonist's childhood friends, the way the mangaka goes about developing it is different to what we've seen in most other manga so far.
As for complaints I have with the story, I guess I'm not entirely sure where exactly it is headed at this point. Sure, the protagonist has set a goal for himself, but since it's different to the goals of other shounen protagonists, I can't see where this is going. That might be a huge advantage to this series, but the mangaka is treading on new ground, which means that there isn't a set recipe he can follow. Instead, everything depends on his skills as a writer, something which he hasn't proved yet.
CHARACTERS: There is not much to say about the characters at this point, since it's too early. The main character is a classic shounen protagonist, somewhat similar to Luffy in my opinion, since he is quite strong, confident and immature, yet has those few moments where he exhibits unexpected maturity. There is a relatively large cast of characters, but most of them haven't got enough time yet, so I can't comment on them. Two people that stand out are his two childhood friends. They have been fleshed out quite well for the time being.
ART: In the beginning the art was average. It wasn't bad, but it left no impression on me. I'm happy to say that lately I have seen steady improvement and certain panels, where the mangaka "flexes his muscles", were very impressive. I can see this turning in a very good looking manga in the future.
(I'm not in the position to write a paragraph about enjoyment yet. This is too early to judge)
OVERALL: I think this series shows a lot of promise and I hope it turns into something great. However, I can't be sure about it for two reasons: First of all, it hasn't got much attention. That's very scary, since this could indicate a premature cancelling of this series, which would be a huge shame. Secondly, I feel that, while it has the potential to become a relatively popular series in SJ, there is also a high chance of the author making a mistake developing the story, due to not following any paved path. This means that there is a high risk of it crashing and burning.
Ultimately, I feel this deserves more attention and would definitely recommend that you check it out.
Edit: Well, it got axed. Sad, but expected I guess.
