Shonen Jump #97 Review

   So I had a subscription to Shonen Jump for quite a long time, I own MANY issues. I figured I'd do a quick review of an issue. It's not very recent but it's one of the last issues I got before my subscription was up. This issue of Jump is not only the first of 2011 but it's also the WILD NEW EVOLVED edition of Jump. Well, the layout is a little different and...that's it. Alright. There's an large image on the side of a Naruto chapter cover but it looks like it's alrighty partway through? It should be the far left of the image but it looks like the middle to me. Oh well. We've got some YUSEI goin' on in the cover. We'll get more into the Yusei business later. As a note, I've read this issue before but I just wanted to review some more Jump on my blog.


Psyren - First up, we've got chapters one and two of Psyren. I'd heard of Psyren many times but this issue was actually my first time reading any of it. I gotta say, it's pretty interesting. Since it's a mystery/thiller, I think it would be a hard series to jump right into from the middle. I've read so little of it overall so a lot of it is still pretty confusing, not much has been answered as far as I've read. It makes it fun to keep reading but definitely difficult for someone starting up at a later chapter. The art is really good, I like the inking a lot. I won't give away any surprises, check it out yourself if you get the chance!

4/5


Naruto - Ahh, Naruto. Such a love/hate relationship. Overall, it's one of my favorite series but sometimes I think a chapter is just awful. These chapters are about Tobi and Kabuto teaming up, their evil secret plans of doom starting to unfold. Naruto goes to a secluded island to train with Killer Bee. Overall, good bunch of chapters. One comment I have is VIZ's HORRIFIC translations of Killer Bee's rapping. Oh my god. I've read a good amount of Naruto scanlations online and the translations the fans make are so much better than what VIZ makes, it's kind of sad, actually. I've caught up with reading Naruto weekly on many different occasions but I can never keep up with it. Most of the time, it's just not good enough to keep me reading EVERY week. Nevertheless, I still have a special place in my heart for Naruto and company.

3.5/5



One Piece - It's One Piece. What else should I say? It's One Piece. I've praised Eichiiro Oda's comic on here before. The chapters featured in this issue of Jump have the death of a certain hugely important character *HINTFIREFISTHINT* One Piece is superb and never disappoints. Honestly, The death of that certain beloved character is one of the saddest things I've ever read. I feel bad for those people who are alienated by Oda's artwork and don't give One Piece a chance; they are missing out on some gold.

5/5




Ultimo - This series has gotten pretty damn awesome. I can't tell if it's going to be a long series or really short. It seems like it could go for years or it could end in a month. Regardless, it's a pretty interesting story with amazing art by Hiroyuki Takei. I don't want to say much about the story because lots of important things happen almost every chapter. In my opinion, it's no Shaman King, but it's still pretty rad.

3.7/5



Bleach - Yeah, I just don't even care. I like looking at Bleach for the art but trying to read it and figure out the story is just pointless to me. Nothing very important ever seems to happen, it's just constant fighting that goes on for chapters. I'm really surprised Bleach is still running, it seems like everyone I talk to who likes it  thinks it should have ended a long time ago. Granted, this issue of Jump is still very behind to where Bleach is currently, there's a lot of catching up to do. It seems to me that Kubo doesn't like drawing backgrounds, so much of Bleach is just white surroundings. I guess I can understand not wanting to draw so many backgrounds but it makes me really appreciate series like One Piece that have extreme detail in all the backgrounds. I'm curious to see if Tite Kubo makes another series after Bleach, I could possibly get into that. We'll see!

2/5



Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's - The original Yu-Gi-Oh manga (volumes 1-7) is one of my favorite series out there. It's clever and witty and awesome. But since the original I think YGO has just been on a downward spiral. Now we've got 5D's, people are dueling while racing on motorcycles, it really seems like a joke. This manga isn't even related to the actual creator of YGO, Kazuki Takahashi, so I really didn't care about this from the start. Everything about is over the top and corny, YGO just keeps going to new heights of ridiculousness. At the end of this chapter, a massive grim reaper of death shows up to battle Yusei. So now we've got the main character preparing to play a card game with death itself (who is riding a skeleton horse) while racing him on a motorcycle. There you have it.

1.5/5