With a universe dominated by devils with chainsaws, super-powered pirates, and pocket monsters that help save the world, the new comedy manga from Death Note's artist, Show-Ha Shoten! navigates a decidedly less traveled, riskier road to success, that is ultimately a rewarding experience.
With its first volume releasing on February 7th from Viz, Show-Ha Shoten! by Akinori Asakura and Takeshi Obata follows the story of high school students Azemichi Shijima and Taiyo Higashikata. For most of his life, the bookish, socially awkward Shijima (the exact opposite of Death Note's Light) has always avoided attention. He made up for his nerdy nature by becoming of the best under-20 joke writers in the nation. An accolade he hid from others by using a fake name to submit his jokes. On the other hand, Taiyo a social butterfly. A child acting prodigy, there was never a crowd he was scared of performing in front of, nor winning over with his infectious personality. Although he was not a natural comedian, his acting skills are versatile enough that he could turn a well-written humorous situation into comedic joy. While Shijima and Higashikata are not the type of students who become friends in high school, their interest and desire to "do comedy" brought them together. With Shijima's comedic genius and Higashikata's Thespian smoothness, they plan to take over Japan's comedy culture.
Show-Ha Shoten! Redefines Shonen Just Like Death Note
Show-Ha Shoten! is proof positive that there is still room for innovation in the realm of Shonen manga. There's no world-threatening alien or rotten-to-the-core supervillain plotting to take over the world. There aren't months-long battles or spectacular deaths. Instead, the manga relies on solid writing, engaging characters, and expressive art to draw readers in. The manga does a great job of focusing on the joys and sorrows of relatable characters as they struggle to achieve their dreams. Its story is also without the complicated side stories that are often found in the more traditional hero and fantasy shonen manga. This makes it easier for readers to invest time into the series to learn how the characters develop. With the series following Shijima and Higashikata's attempts to become successful comedians, the real pull of the story is in the characters and their interactions. Just like Obata's genre-defying work on Death Note, Show-Ha Shoten! is a new breed of Shonen.
Creators' Experience On Display In Show-Ha Shoten!
The integrity of the series story is no doubt due to the author's writing background. Akinoro Asakura is primarily a novelist but has had most of his novels such as Rokunin no Usotsuki na Daigakusei, adapted into manga. This is his first series where is specifically writing for the manga. As with a novel, where the author has to rely on words alone to captivate, describe and explain, Show-Ha Shoten! displays a similar attention to detail. For instance, in figuring out how to make a joke that his family will laugh at, Shijima dissects the anatomy of a joke from figuring out the target audience's "tickle factor" to how it should be delivered.
Illustrated by Death Note and Platinum End artist Takeshi Obata, it retains his clean lines, and the uncanny, photo-realistic ways he's able to isolate characters against overcrowded backgrounds. Though very different from Death Note, it's the perfect artwork for a slice-of-life story, like Show-Ha Shoten!, and makes the manga even more worthy of a read.
Show-Ha Shoten: Volume 1 is available from Viz Media on February 7th, 2023.