Fujimoto Tatsuki being published in Shounen Jump is one of those kind of phenomenon that I can’t exactly explain. Though, looking back, I don’t think they were as out of place as I thought.
Tatsuki is the kind of author that can somehow holds the publisher at bay, as well as the readers. His works are not exactly complex, having a lot of nuances, not extremely entertaining, not really deep, nor are they innovative. Somehow, by walking in between all those characteristics, they became a phenomenon on their own. Fire Punch was his big hit that sent him onto the central stage. I recalled being quite pleasantly surprised seeing it on the nomination list for Manga Taishou. Fire Punch is relatively new, only coming out in 2016. It grabbed the attention of mainstream readers by being unabashedly Seinen while being published in a Shounen comic. For those who are well-versed in the Seinen-verse. Fire Punch will immediately feel at home. Yet, at the same time it feels, strange, out of place. I feel compelled to write it down.
I would not talk in length about the story, because I feel while it is quite a ride, it’s not exactly worth dissecting nor having much to be complained about. I guess it is a perk of not fully committed to an aspect, that the reader can’t really criticise it without sounding incoherent. The setup is quite simple. It is essentially a revenge, superhero then redemption story staged in a post-apocalyptic world. The characters are not entirely remarkable nor interesting, except one.
You might have heard of this comic through that character. It is a character with gender issue. Now, I can’t say I have much to say about this character, other than the fact that I’m surprise it got such a buzz. Supposedly, people were saying this is how the transgender community likes to be treated, with nuances and respect for their issue. My only concern is that they ignored the entire, well, character. This is an inhumane, immortal, cold blooded psychopath who have lived too long for their own good. He, she, it or they, as I shall now use to address “them”, no longer have any concern about other people. They just want to be entertained, looking to fulfil their vision, which formulated through their desire to have another identity. I don’t think you should celebrate a character who shows emotion and only connects with another person only when the issue of their identity was revealed. Imagine being so self-centred that the issue of everyone else, their life, death, emotion, dream, desire, is of no concern compares to the one of your self-identity. The character is compelling, they make perfect sense. But, to celebrate them because of representation is some extreme level of selective reading.
I have no issue with the character, I just wish people really would read the work instead of isolating the things they like to see. This is not a good representation of your community.
That weird episode asides, while I followed the comic as its chapters got released, I must admit I don’t quite remember it. I did read it from beginning to the end a few times, especially re-reading while waiting for new chapters. I know my memory is rather limited, and I often recall things through the lens of how things make me feel rather than the details. That is to say, after I watch Sherlock or Meitantei Conan or even upon reading the original Sherlock Holmes shorts, I just flush the memory of the cases out. I can only remember things that leave an emotion in me. Things that don’t, I forget them. I thought Fire Punch was emotionally drained, which led to me completely forgetting the story beats. Only after re-reading it upon re-reading Chainsaw Man did it dawned on me the recurring theme of Tatsuki’s works: Loneliness. All the characters in his works are lonely, one way or another. Chainsaw Man was much more candid about it, but Fire Punch pushed it in, slowly. From the main character suffering being entirely his own, to people who bear the weigh of the world and their birth for decades, mostly by themselves, unable to share their feelings with another. Despite the ever-evolving story and the author’s admission that he cares about the plot more than the characters, which is why he lets them perish willy-nilly. I really don’t think he’s that much concerned about the “overall plot”. If you really think about it, a lot of stuffs seem quite superficial, not that well thought out, and things are convenient to drive characters growth rather than making that much sense, “plot-wise”. But that’s the key to me. The emotion of extreme loneliness in the dying world. That world dying is one thing, but loneliness is the true killer of the human spirit.
That’s not to say loneliness is the only theme of Fire Punch. Fire Punch mixed in so many themes and ideas that it is quite astonishing how it got so much praise. From apocalyptic, nature vs nurture, education, collectivism vs individualism, exceptionalism, control vs freedom, freewill vs determinism, religions, delusion, hopelessness, human’s nature, conflict, cruelty, heroism, sacrifice, ego and so many, many more. They aren’t completely explored, either. While all of them affect the main plot, which is very welcoming compared to other “edgy” works that simply invoke them in dialogues and do fuck-all with them, don’t expect Fire Punch to really say anything about them. In the end, I think the story deserves a pat on the back for being a discount Seinen in the sea of Shounen.
Now, you might think I sounded, harsh. My reason is because almost every aspects that was presented in Fire Punch had been done better, not just by movies which Tatsuki loves so much, but also by other comics. He made so many movies references, even in his framing, and not just the silly Star Wars part. While this was quite refreshing, seeing as the masters of old (the 60s) are often fans of movies who could only realised them through the primitive frames of comic books, comic books themselves are a medium. I can’t help but think about Ningyou no Kuni (Aposimz) which is also about a journey of revenge that got out of hand, but mostly, goddamn Eden: It's an Endless World!
Eden and Fire Punch have plenty of common theme. Even the slow encroaching apocalypse is similar. They both have some form of “the end justifies the mean” thing going on. Personal vendetta and issues in contrast with saving mankind. Human’s nature is discussed quite a bit and is a central part of the narrative. The differences, though, are the things that made me ponder. Eden is rather poetic, both in its beginning and end. Meanwhile, as with Tatsuki, Fire Punch is very frank. There’s no nicety, not really an art to it. From that, I can see how Fire Punch can get on a Shounen magazine. In term of violence and gore, Fire Punch got Eden beaten to a pulp. Yet, I think Eden felt much more devastating and its world, crueller than Fire Punch, despite evidence to the contrary. Perhaps it is due to Eden portrayed most people as being rational, and there’s nothing more tragic than rationality meeting reality. Meanwhile Fire Punch is filled with broken psycho, sociopaths, who were broken by their reality or unnatural life. It made me realise how much I love Seinen, that even a unique work like Fire Punch can’t even do the genre justice.
But, let’s get back on track and move on to the art, because Fire Punch style is probably not for everyone. Scratchy lines are not something most people are comfortable with, though I think they are very clearly deliberate rather than laziness (unlike that damn Iwaaki). It is also not meant to be dreamlike, like Jiro, because they are very detailed and coherent. The notable thing about Fire Punch and what makes it standout to me, is Tatsuki’s love of movies. His usage of frames, different arrangements, angles, effects, and such to clearly portray actions and the mood of the scene is just, astounding. There’s a segment where he added a series of frames, similar to a projected movie or animation, which felt great. Those generally wore away as the story got more serious in the latter half, but the quality of the art is undeniable. Chainsaw Man was certainly “next level”, but Fire Punch was still very radical and frankly, awesome. I don’t think I can find another word to describe the art other than “awesome”. If the story isn’t quite your cup of tea, I think the art alone makes it worthwhile.
Certainly, in the annal of Seinen, Fire Punch is lacking a little bit of a “punch”, if you don’t mind. But, it reminded me that the gap between Seinen and Shounen don’t have to be “edgy” works like the “Redo Healer”, Goblin Slayer, Akame ga Kill or, let me apologise to its fans despite being an avid reader of it, “Tate no Yuusha”. Those are simplistic in themes, message, and characters. They don’t have the gut to punch the reader with a fist of introspective. The surface level emotion coming from them don’t make them “Seinen”. That’s why I respect Fire Punch and Chainsaw Man, for doing it right.
