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At this moment, I'm merely 7 chapters into the series. And I've already given it 9/10. This is the first time I have given such high rating when I'm only 7 chapters in. I've been following this series right from the beginning and it has been amazing; in fact, it is nearly on par with the manga the main character makes!!!
Let me explain the outline - Our main character Teppei Sasaki is a failed manga artist. He has been trying for a long time but owing to his lack of depth, he is not successful; plus he tends to steal ideas from successful works. Just as he was about to give up on his dream of being a mangaka, he gets an Issue of Shonen Jump in his microwave!
As it turns out, its an issue of Jump sent from the future! This leads to great changes in his life, as it takes a whole new direction with new hurdles to overcome.
Our Hero tries to counterfeit a series "White Knight" that appears in the future Shonen Jump and takes it for himself, creating two parallel world lines, one where the manga is originally made, while in the other, our hero is the mangaka of that series. And then, he meets Itsuki Aino, the original mangaka of 'White Knight"!
Microwave Time Machine? Why is that familiar? Oh right, its a direct inspiration from Steins; Gate, the most popular time travel anime. The series is about a mangaka's life. Now before you think this is a second coming of Bakuman, let me stop you. It's not. Its completely different without the elements being a lot different.
One thing that strikes me in particular is how well it is suited to current Weekly Shonen Jump. Right now, Shonen Jump is extremely impatient with it's series and demands a lot too early. They barely let the story bloom before they axe it. This is of course due to the readers, who judge a bit too prematurely. Lets see, I've been following Guardian of the Witch, Tokyo Shinobi Squad, Red Sprite, Zipman, etc. What do they all have in common? They were all axed before they even reached 30 chapters. Lets see what some of the popular series were doing at 30? One Piece, the face of jump, was at Syrup Village arc and back then, it was barely good. Naruto was at Land of Waves, a mediocre arc. Bleach was still busy with Ichigo defeating low tier Yokai with Soul Society far away, so it sucked. Dragon Ball just finished giving panties to Oolong and was setting up the first tournament. So you see, the Big 4 weren't doing so great either and would probably get axed.
In this time of low security, all the starting chapters must be one hell of a banger, creating enough impact for the reader to want more from it. And that is where this series is shining.
- Chapter 1 ends with our hero finally becoming a published mangaka (one-shot) while the original writer in that timeline discovers that someone has beat them to the punch. Fantastic pilot chapter from all angles.
- Chapter 2 leads him to steeling his resolve about drawing the manga for real, whilst wondering why he got it in the first place. Great character writing done here. And then he meets Itsuki Aino! Didn't see that coming, did you?
- Chapter 3 was dedicated to create an amazing chemistry between our leads - slightly weird and funny, a whole lot of tension, a bit of a romantic pull too. It ends with our hero finally starting serialization.
As you can see, every chapter leaves us wanting more. We want to see how this progresses. We don't know if there is some ultimate goal here, we just want to know the near future. Waiting a week for every chapter seems like an eternity. And even then, the chapters don't end on cheap cliffhangers. How about that?
The story has been absolutely amazing. It gets deeper and somewhat darker as it passes. It never drags, but there is no rushing either. Our hero faces issue, he solves them, he moves forward. We see him go through all the stages needed for someone who is trying to create a counterfeit. And there is always the bigger mystery - why is all of this happening and how? So with clear short and medium term goals, the story progresses smoothly. I can't even imagine how it will go on.
SPOILER OF CHAPTER 7 - Skip to next para if you don't want this.
Our Hero has been copying the original work from another timeline well enough. Suddenly, a chapter is skipped. Turns out, the original mangaka has died in the other timeline. Our hero has nothing to do, as he is not capable of maintaining the quality of the series. He then receives a note which says he must keep drawing so that the cause of Itsuki's death can be removed. He now has to deal with his manga, as well as somehow figure out the Itsuki in his own timeline.
The characters department has been great. Our Hero feels surprisingly real. He has a good moral compass and still, he is not a total drudge either. He manages to settle his internal conflict and his resolve to make a superior piece of art only gets stronger. That is quite admirable. Our deuteragonist is a colorful girl as well. She is similar to our hero but dissimilar as well. With immense talent, she keeps working in her own way, trying to surpass our hero. They have a strange Sempai-Kouhai type relationship. Every one of their interactions is beautiful.
The rest of the characters have only received borderline characterization but they are all lively. But its only been 7 chapters, they have a lot of ground to improve on.
But all this was praise for Kenji Ichima, the writer. Now we check out Tsunehiro Date's artwork. Vibrant seems like an appropriate description. The pilot chapter has mindnumbingly beautiful art - clear, sinister and completely realistic. Its digitally made, so the clarity is impressive. The paneling has been great so far, showing us all the events in a way that's easy to follow and understand. The character designs are memorable - our hero is meant to look average and completely normal; that is achieved perfectly and yet, he sticks to the back of our mind. The genius deuteragonist is excessively cute and has an aura of genius and eeriness about her. The time machine looks scary and so realistic! Not to mention the stress, desperation, happiness, etc all emotions are so vivid for us. A truly amazing art.
I ranted so much based on just 7 chapters. I'll return if this makes 30 chapters and update all this. Boy I hope this doesn't get axed. Actually you know what? It wont'. This series can't get axed prematurely.
