Viz Shounen Jump Sale Recommendations (July 2018)

Viz have put titles in their Shonen Jump imprint up for a blanket 50% off sale on Comixology and so much like my previous post on Kodansha titles here are my recommendations.

But first, some caveats!
  • Note that the sale applies to Shonen Jump titles, not all of Viz’s output. This is a shame as there is a lot I could recommend that Viz publish, but this is still a lot of titles!
  • This sale is only on Comixology, which is a shame, especially as it has just recently been Prime day, the fake holiday made up by Amazon to siphon more money out of people and which has been met by protests against their awful worker conditions. Please be aware of this in your shopping both today and in future.

Anyway, on to the Manga!

  • My Hero Academia - I reviewed it here! I bloody love it, barring a few qualms (Mineta).
  • JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure - If you wanted to buy this series physically you have to pay through the nose for hardback editions! Split into three parts, my personal favourite is part 2, Battle Tendency. It has Aztec gods mixed with Fist of the North Star!
  • Dragonball - OG Dragonball is hella charming, a fun goony comedic ride that zigs and zags all over the place and is constantly bouncing around while Toriyama tries to keep his audience interested.
  • One Punch Man - One Punch Man (OPM) is magnificent, a fist pump in manga form. Combining the amazing imagination of ONE and the obscene art skill of Yusuke Murata, it is an absolute treat. Wonderful art, wonderful humour, amazing cast. This series is also on double discount so it’s only £1.50 a volume! Wow!
  • Claymore - Silver-haired ladies cut up creepy gross demons with awesome designs. Has some problems with power creep and the series loses itself around two thirds in by setting up a massive overarching world before realising it has bitten off way more than it can chew and wraps things up. Cool art and fights, slightly marred with a bad case of sameface.
  • Jaco the Galactic Patrolman - A fun story set in the Dragonball universe, captures a lot of the same goony comedy and some good vibes.
  • ZOMBIEPOWDER - This is the series Kubo Tite embarked upon before creating Bleach, and you can see a lot of the same DNA here. It’s only 4 volumes long before coming to a very abrupt end and in that time it manages to go entirely off the rails in a charming way. It may not be a “great” manga, but I love it lots.
  • Bleach - The first arc of Bleach is some of my favourite cool shit ever and then it devolves into a long drawn-out load of wank that constantly adds more unwanted characters and complexity. Stunning art and style when it applies itself, but not worth the investment of time and money unless you are utterly enthralled by it after the initial run.

Not personally read, but people I hold in high esteem Recommend them:

  • One Piece - I personally don’t like One Piece, but if I don’t add it to this list people will skin me alive. Be mindful of how long the series is before embarking on this voyage!
  • Food Wars - I know a number of people who love this series and its blend of Cook-off fighting, so into this section it goes!

Anti-Recommendations:

  • Bakuman - Bakuman is trash. Hot Garbage. Mysoginistic wank.
  • Death Note - Death Note was created by the same people who made Bakuman and shares a lot of the same issues, but is even less forgivable to me because the premise and the first volume is SO GOOD and then it pisses away every drop of that potential.
  • Anything by Nobuhiro Watsuki - Dude was arrested on charges of possessing child pornography just last year.
  • Toriko - Simply never liked it. Art looks gross.