The mermaid story is very cute and still very Fujimoto, but almost feels so normal that its not. Like, a genuine A to B story structure with grounded and normal characters. Not chaotic or as interesting other Fujimoto ideas, but you can see the wholesome basis this was based off of and I see why he made it. Its very cute and almost idyllically beautiful? (Mermaid girl very cute, Bubble vibes??) Not much to say, possibly Fujimoto's most "normal" story ever, and you can see that was his goal according to the comment he left.
The second one-shot (that shit named gender) (not its actual name) is another cute one but MUCH more Fujimoto-pilled. MC is a fun take on "crybaby characters" (and also shares a name with the Mermaid one-shot's MC??? Why???) and I like the ending message. Feels like Fujimoto read a lot of Shuzo Oshimi then wrote a piece regarding his own thoughts on gender. Funny how a little high school story premise is one of his most mature. Pretty DEEEP mannn, gender talk and shit. (Really cute too...)
Nayuta story is the literal perfect one-shot to bridge the gap between Fire Punch and Chainsaw Man. Feels CSM as FUCK especially some of the early chapters of parts 1 and the Asa introduction of part 2, Kenji and Denji I mean come on man its one letter. However, instead of the stupid dumbass of Denji (love him for that), I feel this one shot's Kenji is more like Agni from fire punch. Literally a mix of both worlds, a fundamental transition piece, and a very cute little story. Feels like the silliest of Chainsaw Man mixed with the existentialism and... brotherism... (although not NEARLY as harsh) of Fire Punch. Nayuta is such a good character that Fujimoto just brought her back LOL! This one shot could've just been an arc in CSM part 2 and I would've have no questions about it. Probably my 2nd favorite of this bunch.
The final one-shot, and my personal favorite, "Sisters," feels like the amalgamation of everything Fujimoto had worked to thus far. Released in 2018, this felt like the perfect precursor to everything Chainsaw Man came to be and even more so the one-shots released more recently. I find this one-shot infinitely more similar to works like "Look Back" and "Goodbye Eri" than anything else in this book or the past one-shot collection. In a way, it feels like a maturing of Fujimoto (not literal, he's still immaculate as fuck with the silly little naked sister themes and stuff,) but seriously its a different feeling. The art is better, with some of the best character designs I've ever seen Fujimoto craft. (Anzu is a rough draft to Reze's design perhaps?!) The premise is short and sweet, almost like Look Back without the crazy sad and devastating twist. The good ending if you will. Loved the nude metaphors and ideas about TRULY understanding one another, gives me Blue Period's best episodes vibes. My favorite out of these 4 one shots, but these were so high quality its hard to really decide.
Its so weird how everything I read something that Fujimoto makes its so instantly recognizable as, "Yep, that's some shit only Fujimoto could write." There really are only a few authors that I feel like I could truly say that about. As good as Fujimoto's actual long-running manga are, I feel like its extremely important to point out the genius imbued in even his earliest and most crude works. One Fujimoto's SJ-spite-filled overly-horny maybe-siscon maybe-wholesome raw-and-only-Fujimoto one-shot is another mans treasure. A generational talent.
