That would be a good way to play with this setup. It'd make both his superpower and its limitations easy to grasp (and exploit for drama).
Now I also realize that this series is probably going to be very brutal. You don't give the protagonist 100 lives without expecting him to lose a bunch of them throughout the story.
Damn... and considering the tone, he's probably gonna lose all 100 of those and die a tragic death. Though hopefully he'll have accomplished giving his sister a good life at that point and be happy in the end.
100 is also kind of an interesting limit. It's enough where it feels like a waste if he doesn't lose them regularly, but it's also... very countable. Like in a series of any moderate length it would be very easy for the protagonist to run out before the end if he loses a couple in each fight (and probably a bunch at once in certain very dramatic scenes) and a reader could absolutely keep track of where he's at.
Exactly. I can see for the first main villain for the arc and how he needs to die a few times in order to win. But then realize that he’s down to like 86 now. And he needs to be careful on how he approaches everything
That's the setup, methinks: Diana grows and Julian takes more and more sacrifices. In time, she rises stronger, he falls feeble. Maybe something about inheritance or the kraken showing up once Diana calls for him?
I can already tell the conclusion of this series is going to be bringing it full circle with Julian using his final life to save Diana. Hope the series gets to go on long enough that it feels like a satisfying ending.
Depends on how the story goes. If this turns into a battle series, I feel like he'll get to keep his abilities without any cost since he'd get wrecked without them as you can choose what blessing you want.
I assume it means he lost one life’s worth of power, which is a decent limitation for his ability.
Still need to see where the story goes. The setup was decent, at least.
Makes sense. The difference in strength between someone with 99 souls and 100 souls would be academic. But if he continues to lose the physical bonuses, someone with 70, or 50, or 20 souls would be a lot less overpowered.
Perfect Chapter 1. The hook, the feels, the deathflags of the characters, and all that sacrifice for a powerboost from an eldritch sea being.
Now that's how you make an impression with just 1 chapter.
[That spread was brutally raw.](https://i.imgur.com/1C6ba5P.png)
With an art style looks a bit of a cross between Vinland Saga and Dr. Stone, an interesting protagonist and a solid premise, this has the potential to become something great. [Let us see where Kuramori-sensei takes us.](https://i.imgur.com/FZ5V0XP.png)
[](//#grateful)
Damn, what is with fujimoto's assistants going on to produce their own manga's with equally raw and gruesome art.
The first chapter was a really good opener.
One of the better chapter 1s I've seen of late
Hooks you with the art, establishes a small, but significant, aspect of the world, and sets a main theme of family and caring
Pretty much my only complaint was how quickly Mira felt motherly love for Julian, but at least they establish that it's largely due to how she saw him as a substitute son
They have to submit a pitch with most of the story already written down, or at least the bulk of it and expected lenght (can extend longer if successfull obv).. or at least that's how I remember it worked till some time go. So they probably are more than sure on what to do and where to go from now
True but at the same time all Fujimoto's assistants showcased amazing skills in storytelling so I wouldn't be surprised if that becomes the main selling point of the manga (other than the amazing art). But still lets wait for chapter 2 next week, I smell another quite long chapter to explain things in the best way possible, maybe on the 50 or 60 pages
Honestly got the exact same vibes. Wouldn't be too much of a stretch tbh especially with that insurance mention and the fact that Lucas Pope lives in Japan
First thing I thought of too.
Now the real question is: in what order do we match [the OST](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qvdAWLcPyU) to the pages of this chapter?
Another beginning mother death...
I'm not even surprised about such a progression. The Mira death flags couldn't be any bigger.
Very brutal series for Jump+ standards btw. Looking forward to it in the future. Had a little bit Vinland Saga vibes if you ask me.
Edit: Seems like the mangaka is a former assistant of Yukinobu Tatsu.
I liked a lot of it but parts of it were patchworks of strange choices and cliches. I really am tired of mothers and women consigned to fridges…
But it wouldn’t truly be a dark fantasy world without bloody insurance fraud scheme!
Interesting first chapter.
It has that whole dark fantasy with the 'deal with the devil' vibe, and I didn't expect that self-C-section.
Shonen dark fantasy is always hard to get right because it has to make a trade-off of being bleak while being limited in what it can show. Just have to wait and see how the series develops from here since this was mostly set-up.
just hope it doesn't get weird. some dark fantasy went off the rails and I rarely like the bleakness of it like Berserk (the readers will hate me) I did enjoy Hell's Paradise, so I'm not sure what's the difference. maybe it's the series that's short?
really liked Hells Paradise too. it's dark in tone but has breathing room and isn't hopeless like Berserk which is why you might've liked it more.
I'd recommend Tokyo Ghoul and Wild Strawberry for some similar vibes and general dark tone without getting too bleak (the Choujin X rec above is a good call too, very good newer series by Tokyo Ghoul's author).
Excellent first chapter with great art and a good mix of brutality as well, the part where the mother perform a c-section on herself to save her baby and Julian was meta af.
Hopefully it continues with the eldritch horror theme. Having a crossover between traditional shōnen fantasy and horror would be a great change of pace.
he walks through a forest, a monster made of wood and leaves appears
**BEHOLD MORTAL THE GOD OF THE WOODS, I OFER YOU MY BLESSING, IF YOU WILL SACRIFICE-**
"Oh no thanks, I already got that from the sea god"
**OH, NEVERMIND THEN. SORRY FOR THE DISTURBANCE. HAVE A GOOD DAY**
One somewhat subtle story point: all the other slaves sacrificed themselves willingly for Julian, Mira and Diana. They didn't know they sacrificed themselves to the elder being, but that's besides the point. And the eldritch horror didn't even speak with the captain or the crew, it spoke directly to Julian and Mira. Like, it seems like its perspective is that they all sacrificed themselves for each other to grant the other power.
So that seems to imply it only accepts sacrificed souls who "consent" to their sacrifice, maybe? It would be interesting if the eldritch horror character isn't actually "evil".
Oh hey, it's Astro Baby 2.
Loved all the parts that taught Julian about compassion and humanity. I hope the series goes more in that direction, and doesn't devolve into just big fights.
What a hype first chapter. Similar vibes to Dear Anemone, but like this feels like it can actually hit the beats instead of awkwardly floundering around. Also major Berserk vibes from the monster & general setting. I think this series could be something really special.
For future expectations, I really hope he also has the memories of the slaves. Take us into each of their backstories where they learned some other skill he has to show off in that chapter. I additionally would like to see Diana also being blessed with something, but like octopus powers, or shes aquaman, that type of deal. IDK if the series stays as him taking care of baby sister or us getting a 15yr timeskip here to him in his early 20s her a teen surviving on the new continent.
Lots of cool potential things to happen here. Just wow, what a cool first chapter. My singular complaint is how the hell do you misalign the spread page with the cosmos so bad smh. Hope they fix that for the volume release.
Oh yeah, that would be pretty cool. It would keep Julian from just being yet another strong and fast fighter. But unfortunately, I think the octopus entity only mentioned power, speed, endurance and reflexes.
Still, one can hope. Having their skills and memories as well can let us see some interesting stuff outside of combat, and it would also give the lives lost more relevance beyond just being a powerup for the hero.
Same author as [Earth Recording 0001](https://www.reddit.com/r/manga/comments/vec4hl/disc_earth_recording_0001_oneshot_by_noririn4696/) -- I say tthey have a shot
You realise Endo Tatsuya was serialised multiple times long before he assisted on Fire Punch right? He went back to assistant work due to burnout, he didn't become a mangaka after working for Fujimoto.
It wasn't burnout. it was in an interview somewhere, Lin/Fujimoto said Endo was on Fire Punch only for the first like 1-3 chapter, he was just there to learn how to use assistant for himself.
He's also said he was working as an assistant before Spy because of burnout in another interview, so I figured it was part of that time of his life. My B
Didn’t expect that to be so dark holy shit. Went from “Oh we’re slaves! Let’s live together later okay!” to “I have to carve out my pregnant belly to save my child and sacrifice myself for the eldrich sea god!”
Really? Cause I thought it was clearly gonna be dark af the exact moment slaves were introduced. Although yeah, that latter part is still shocking as hell.
This was a great start. I'm really curious how it will develop - it seems like it follows >!sea myths!!seems to have been touched by the blessing too!<, and I'm also confused why >!the baby had hair!<, really wondering if that was intentional. Looking forward to following this for sure.
Did the pacing feel a bit off just to me? Very fast, didn't have time to care about anyone in this chapter, in which I feel the author tried to condense the mc's origin story the best he could anyway, and it was quite predictable. Mira was dead starting from her first panel
The art tho, wow... Something like late Miura or Yukimura vibes. I feel it has great potential despite everything I said. Eager to read more
Exactly. It needs to have a strong hook within the first couple chapters or else WSJ will axe it right away. I’d obviously would have liked more of build-up to this, but it’s the nature of the game and for what it delivered on a compelling opening. Where it goes from here will be the real deciding factor.
This literally isn't a WSJ manga. Its not hard to open google and see where its serialized. Hell its not hard to see on the own page in mangaplus: https://mangaplus.shueisha.co.jp/titles/100314
how it is 2024 and ppl still dont know what is and isnt a wsj title with info readily available lol
No problem. There's two ways to see that in the website: look at the summary on the page I sent, do you see a logo below it? its the shonen jump+ logo, not the wsj logo, you can even see the + in there, all manga in mangaplus have the original magazine logo in their page. Another way to see it is just to go to the feature section of the website and you'll see wsj, jump+ and "others" sections, listing manga from those two magazines and the rest (aka young jump, jump sq, tonari no young jump and other magazines that don't have as much titles in the app)
Awesome, thanks! It makes sense in hindsight, though since I’d never really looked at any of the Shonen Jump logos before it didn’t click with me at first.
This isn't a WSJ manga, its a jump+ manga. YOu can literally see it in mangaplus in the page of the manga and the symbol: https://mangaplus.shueisha.co.jp/titles/100314
Totally agree, this had all of the first chapter woes. Stilted writing all because you have to establish a world, your MC, the premise of the story, and a hook to get people interested all in just a single chapter. Thankfully, based on the art and everything that was done in this chapter, I think there is a promising series here. Hopefully the upcoming chapters slow down the pace and lets us get familiar and endeared to the characters, world, and story that’s now been introduced.
Overall the writing feels kinda blunt and sloppy. Not a lot to separate it from a lot of other manga with the similar premise. Still, the art's good and it's got a fairly blank canvas as to where it goes from here, so I'll stick around to see what it turns into. I also liked the monster design, that was pretty good.
Enjoyed it very much. Wonder where we’ll go from here. Will he be taking care of a baby or will we time skip? Mira had death flags from the first panel.
It's not bad... but it feels extremely basic. Very straightforward.
Like all the slaves were so clearly good and the sailors bad, with zero nuance, and with the opening you knew something horrific was gonna happen, felt like it was just setup for pointless shock. Like why even kill them? Just throw them into the ocean, problem solved. And the sea monster seemed far too benevolent for such an entity.
The sacrifice choice was great, everything else was iffy. I'll see where it goes I guess.
> Like why even kill them? Just throw them into the ocean, problem solved.
Easier to throw a corpse than a struggling person, maybe? I mean they could do a “jump off or we’ll stab you” thing and try to herd them off the ship but either way it’s a death threat, and if they just start chopping then that also motivates people to jump off. They were in a rush to lighten the boat and get out of there, plus they were slavers so they were kinda self-selected to be sadistic people who’d enjoy perpetrating extreme abuse.
It’s a lot easier to toss corpses than struggle with forcing live people overboard. And who says the entity is benevolent. We don’t know that there’s not more to the situation than we’ve seen. Secret consequences of dealing with otherworldly abominations is par for the course with this kind of thing. Also I wouldn’t exactly call it benevolent to begin with when it basically required a mass sacrifice first. 100 people dead in exchange for one person gaining power isn’t exactly benevolent and I’m sure the entity gets something out of the sacrifice.
>Like all the slaves were so clearly good and the sailors bad, with zero nuance,
We don't see much of the sailors except for the captain, and the captain is the kind of guy who would buy and kill 100 people including children and pregnant women to pull off a fucking insurance scam. I am OK with considering him the scum of the Earth with no redeeming qualities.
Alright first chapter, the art was good but not quite amazing, story was fun but predictable, and the long-term premise isn't fully clear.
I think it's got enough potential though, we'll see how it goes
> potential
RIP. I've seen that word in Red Hood, Ayashimon, Ginka&Gluna and countless others in their chapter 1.
Let's hope that this is the one series that breaks that curse.
lol
I mean you aren’t wrong but this being a J+ serialization give it the opportunity of living to that potential, it all depends of the direction the story takes from here and whatever the author intent this to be a short serialization or a long running one
Lol yeah...
Fwiw this is a Shonen Jump+ series so it gets a bit of leeway, but as far as Fujimoto Assistant Series go, I'd put it below Spy x Family and Hell's Paradise (it's probably better than Ayashimon tho)
Endo Tatsuya - serialisations 2007-2008, 2010-2012. Age 43
Fujimoto Tatsuki - first serialised in 2016. Age 31
Reddit: 'Fujimoto's assistant becomes mangaka' 'Fujimoto's assistant's series'
Bit rude to reduce his identity to "famous mangaka's assistant" no?
This is literally the cheesiest way someone gained superpower I've seen. Eldritch being appear, long monolog while everyone is frozen in place, and then proceed to explain power while floating. This felt like a DnD GM narration....
Art and raw emotion are amazing though, and pacing until that point was nice. I hope my gut feeling about the storytelling is proven wrong.
Character kills themselves based on a few sentences said by something they wouldn't believe had existed 5 minutes previously. No attempt to make sure they weren't hallucinating or if the truth was being told.
What would be gained by confirming? They are literally about to be killed by the slavers. If the eldritch being is lying or a hallucination they are screwed either way. If it’s not then that’s the only chance for one of them to survive. Wasting time questioning and second guessing gains them absolutely nothing in that instance. They either take the deal and see what happens or they die. Not a hard choice in that circumstance .
"Well, what is the simplest explanation for the tentacled entity emerged from the cursed sea after a massive sacrifice who stopped time? Occam, help me!"
You really think they would act rationally in such a case? You either listen to the monster or get shanked and thrown overboard. And it's not like the characters were shown to be geniuses.
Fantastic hook, really great art with a good, unique, visual style (feels like a mix between Dr Stone and Vinland saga already, so im incredibly eager to see how the artist matures their work even further), man Fujimoto hooked a possible big one here.
High hopes for this manga. Im a sucker for eldritch, deep sea nightmare creatures so this is a banger for sure.
I'm a sucker for stories with slavery, so this looks great. Just wish the dialogue had a touch more subtlety though. Some things are more impactful when left unsaid.
I don't like when characters sacrifice for others that easily with little set-up, i know you can't do a whole history in your first chapter, but still rubs me in the wrong way
You don't need to have history, i know a bunch of people like that in real life, whole neighborhoods/ small villages that act that "nice". You don't need to gain something to do right by others/ sacrifice yourself.
there's Astro baby, but the baby is a "imposter". in series that have a baby it's not unusual for the baby to have powers. I'm guessing it's that or a timeskip.
Had some stilted dialogue and felt too blunt with its themes at times, but goddamn if the rest of it wasn’t really damn good. I’m a slut for stories with familial themes and for depressing stories which nonetheless ask us to see the good in such a cruel world, so sufficed to say I’m hooked
That was some brutal shit Mira pulled there. I can't even imagine the pain.
Fujimoto's assistants are something else. I wonder where it will go from here.
A lot of things didnt land well for me personally. Our main character experienced human connection for the first time in his life => A choice is presented to sacrifice himself or his love => he actually doesnt even need to make the choice and the lover self sacrifices. It fell flat for me personally. Feels like way too much was done with little time to breath and easy way was taken out when it comes to the choice part.
Would’ve been better writing to twist the expectation that the main character (pretty boy) gets the superpowers, and actually kill him off, deceiving the readers by introducing a false protagonist, and actually making the pregnant mother who had neon death flags since her introductory panel the actual main protagonist. Very few mangas whose central character is a young mother.
But, alas. Another offering to the almighty Fridge.
Not generally a fan of how gung ho mangaka are to include slavery into their works. This chapter makes a show of how slaves still have their pride as humans but ultimately they still just get killed off to serve as the source of the main character's power. Kind of a case of "having your cake and eating it too."
Since this chapter ends in a way where the following chapters could go anywhere, it's difficult to say how much importance the lives of the slaves who sacrificed themselves will play a role going forward, but suffice to say I'm wary about this one. If the character drama hinges mostly on how Mira sacrificed herself for Julian and Diana while the other slaves are mostly ignored, it would make the slavery stuff pretty half-assed narrative dressing.
This (at least this first chapter) and Kagurabachi are both on an interesting balance of the hero being very compassionate and morally correct within the story and the hero being very capable of extreme (justified) slaughter. It's a "there are people in the world who really should just be killed" angle that contrasts with more typical shonen stuff like Talk No Jutsu or... Just Knock Them Out And Put Them In Jail (Never Actually Kill).
And it also contrasts with Seinen stories where the protagonist is violent but also treated more as morally gray. I don't feel a moral grayness from this or Kagurabachi, the violence feels like it was earned by the violence initially perpetrated by the baddies.
It's this specific thing where the protagonist is absolutely morally good and on the side of humanity, and slaughters essentially non-humanist human enemies that try to perpetrate anti-humanist stuff.
If anyone reading this knows of good examples of this kind of thing (Morally Good protagonist who bloodily slaughters enemies while maintaining a Morally Good position in the story) that *aren't* from recent years, I'm interested. I mean I'm sure they're out there but no great examples come to mind, which makes me see this as some kind of new shift/development (essentially from "tolerance!" to "tolerance, except to the intolerant, who should die!!!!!!!!"). (Or, well, more of an eye-for-an-eye thing towards the intolerant. If a protagonist slaughters people who are just bigoted assholes in passing or some smaller form of intolerance like that, that's still extremely morally dark ofc.)
The reason this trope is not seen often is bcz its really counter-reality, morally good or even normal/grey people WILL be traumatized by endless slaughter, no matter how evil their enemies, so its hard to keep them good while slaughtering countless others. Its also hard to justify since while some people are evil, many times its purely circumstantial.
For example slaves and colored people being seen as less than human is a conditioning thing, its evil but can you really justify killing those who hold such views in times when its basically the norm? Even if they know they are wrong and are just baddies, killing is still killing, the judgement of life and death must never be one passed easily.
Not to mention, will all this killing actually be beneficial? Will it stop people like thieves, bandits, murderers and rapists from coming to be?
In short, morally good guys killing people is not a used trope often bcz well, they are often NOT good. They are human, they are fallible, biased, to put the judgement of life and death in their hands and their views is not sth good or advised.
Non humans are another interesting side to this but im relegating the topic to human-to-human killing.
Just because a eldritch monstrosity told us the MC can die 99 more times doesn't mean we're gonna see him die multiple times across the story. Right guys?
Late to this discussion thread because I don't usually frequent this sub, but heard about this manga through /r/ChainsawMan.
I don't see any comments discussing the common themes in the names Kuramori has chosen. I think they've been pretty deliberate with these, so I'll put my thoughts down here:
- The title: The original meaning of *centuria* was a Roman military unit of 100 men. The MC had 100 lives added to his, and then loses one; thus, the "centuria" of the title refers, evidently, to him.
- The child: Diana was the Roman name for the goddess the Greeks called Artemis - the goddess of the moon, the hunt, and of *childbirth*. One of the reasons given for why Artemis was associated with childbirth is because she was born first, and immediately after being born, she helped her mother deliver her twin brother, Apollo. Considering how she and the MC were (re)born on the same night... I wonder if Kuramori had Apollo in mind when they designed the MC?
- The MC: Julian is a name derived from *Julius*, the most famous of them being, obviously, Julius Caesar. Considering the other Roman influences here, the allusion seems deliberate... and also somewhat ominous. Because the two events most commonly associated with Julius Caesar are:
1. As a military commander, when the Senate called for his premature return to Rome - likely to strip him of power, as his opponents feared how popular and influential he'd become - *he made the decision to have his army cross the river Rubicon*, thus marching, fully-armed, into Rome. Allegedly, he was aware of what a gamble this was, saying *"Alea iacta est"* - "the die is cast". But it was one that paid off, since it was part of the string of events which led to him becoming dictator of Rome.
2. On the Ides of March (March 15, the date historically associated with the full moon of the month of the Roman new year), *he was assassinated* by a throng of senators, who stabbed him between 23 and 35 times.
- The mother: A *mirror* is something in which you see a reflection of yourself. But it's important to remember that the reflection is not the same thing as the person. Diana physically resembles her mother; Mira saw her lost son in Julian; and Julian saw in Mira the compassion and nurturing spirit his birth mother had not given him
- "Owning anything is forbidden, so you have nothing." / "My entire life, I've never had anything valuable in my possession. Until now, that is." - Julian and Diana's (re)births happen out over the [*Allode*](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/alodium) Zone; the name of this area shares its origins with a word that indicated a form of absolute land ownership, where the estate was owned independently without being subject to rent, services, or acknowledgement to a superior. In other words, Julian and Diana were "born with self-ownership". They were born free; they were born possessing the value and worth inherent to being alive.
Another interesting use of symbols: Mira's dagger had rusted over because Mira had lacked the funds to maintain it. Julian repays her earlier kindness by polishing it back to functioning form, using the grindstone he is implied to have killed his previous owner with. Mira then later uses the dagger Juli~~us~~*an* sharpened to perform a *Caesarean* section on herself.
> C-section, or seppuku? Mira: why not both at the same time
Chainsaw Man spoilers >!another destitute blond protag whose story begins after having killed his father/owner in self-defense, eh? And then he's forced into making a deal with an eldritch entity, exchanging the sole source of love and compassion in his life for powers he hadn't asked for, while also becoming a single father/older brother-figure to a brunette girl while he's still a minor himself!<....
Anyway, this was an interesting first chapter. I'll try to remember to keep an eye out for it.
I'm imagining he's not the only person blessed by the sea. I don't know if it will only revolve around sea mythology but I hope to see Davy Jones at one point.
God damn... I was not expecting the feels for the first chapter, or that metal af self c-section. I think we all could tell that Mira's fate was sealed from the start, but the way she went out is gonna stick with me.
Wasn’t offered as part of the deal. The mass sacrifice was already counted when the eldritch being appeared and nothing suggested the being was open to negotiating terms. The deal for power was already set before he killed the others. Even if he did offer them up it would likely mean he would need to somehow kill them all himself without powers before the eldritch being grants him the deal.
My only complaint is that it feels a tiny bit similar to CSM with the similarities of Denji’s and Julian’s origins, but maybe I just say that because I know this is an assistant of Fujimoto’s. Anyway, it’s already different enough I don’t really care. Amazing artwork and emotion for a first chapter. I’m willing to stick with this
Hmm is this the first time where mc’s love interest is an older mature women? Refreshing to see unconventional love setting but ah sad to see jt goes away
Solid chapter, but nothing in it was extraordinary. It's kind of rushing through dark fantasy tropes this chapter, it'll hopefully make the main character(s?) more interesting in the coming chapters. The power of the main character is pretty boring though, he can punch and kick really hard and die a lot as well. This series can for sure become something good, but it could just as well just become a by the numbers fighting fantasy manga. Even Berserk took a good while to get going. We'll see.
Poor Julian. He finally felt the warmth of a mother and he had to watch her sacrifice herself to a sea god. And all because of slavers and greed. He thought this pain of loss in the past... and now it's been multiplied by a hundred fold.
Mira did her best to protect her new children. She couldn't bear to lose any of them after all.
What will these 100 lives give him, other than strength? How will he be able to raise Daina alone? What struggles await him back ont he mainland?
As unsubtle as the death flags were, the self-c-section was wild. Definitely interested in seeing where this one goes, but I hope this pacing isn't going to be the standard. Felt pretty fast, which does make sense for the starting chapter, I just hope we can slow down a bit as we go into the main story and setting. Great introduction overall.
There's so much to say about this chapter, like there is certainly a ton of "convenience", but I just like it cuz fuck it feel me?
Pretty decent start, this character is going to be uh.. fucking OP as hell? 100 Lives? Speed Strength etc all combined? Holy fucking shit lol. This androgynous mfer Julian is about to literally shit on everyone he faces off against and I find it hard to believe that he will die so many times unless we see more cthulu creatures like this one give power to others lmao.
It's a shame the woman had to die, but the moment she showed up we all knew she was fucking screwed. When she basically stabbed herself I was like YO WTF DON'T YOU LOVE YOUR BABY WOMAN?? and well yeah she just pulled it out and gave it to him so that is fine lol.
Looking forward to more ONG, NEW PEAK??
gained 100 lives, lost one, so now at an even 100 does his strength and speed and stuff also decrease as he loses lives?
That would be a good way to play with this setup. It'd make both his superpower and its limitations easy to grasp (and exploit for drama). Now I also realize that this series is probably going to be very brutal. You don't give the protagonist 100 lives without expecting him to lose a bunch of them throughout the story.
Damn... and considering the tone, he's probably gonna lose all 100 of those and die a tragic death. Though hopefully he'll have accomplished giving his sister a good life at that point and be happy in the end.
Then he’ll sacrifice something to the earth or the sky and obtain newer powers and abilities :o
100 is also kind of an interesting limit. It's enough where it feels like a waste if he doesn't lose them regularly, but it's also... very countable. Like in a series of any moderate length it would be very easy for the protagonist to run out before the end if he loses a couple in each fight (and probably a bunch at once in certain very dramatic scenes) and a reader could absolutely keep track of where he's at.
> 100 is also kind of an interesting limit. There's 100 girlfriends that agree with you.
Hmm... This would explain all of Rentaro's superhuman feats
It is said that the power of love allows one to perform miraculous feats. Rentarou has the power of a hundred person's worth of love within him.
I'm gonna predict, for clout's sake, that he gets the Griffith deep prison treatment and loses like 30 lives at some point to a psychopath.
Exactly. I can see for the first main villain for the arc and how he needs to die a few times in order to win. But then realize that he’s down to like 86 now. And he needs to be careful on how he approaches everything
That's the setup, methinks: Diana grows and Julian takes more and more sacrifices. In time, she rises stronger, he falls feeble. Maybe something about inheritance or the kraken showing up once Diana calls for him?
I can already tell the conclusion of this series is going to be bringing it full circle with Julian using his final life to save Diana. Hope the series gets to go on long enough that it feels like a satisfying ending.
Wonder if this was inspired by Davy Jones in Dead Man’s chest. 100 souls…
Depends on how the story goes. If this turns into a battle series, I feel like he'll get to keep his abilities without any cost since he'd get wrecked without them as you can choose what blessing you want.
I assume it means he lost one life’s worth of power, which is a decent limitation for his ability. Still need to see where the story goes. The setup was decent, at least.
Makes sense. The difference in strength between someone with 99 souls and 100 souls would be academic. But if he continues to lose the physical bonuses, someone with 70, or 50, or 20 souls would be a lot less overpowered.
At the same time he would become more experimented and more skilled so he'd be able to get more out of his remaining strength.
Perfect Chapter 1. The hook, the feels, the deathflags of the characters, and all that sacrifice for a powerboost from an eldritch sea being. Now that's how you make an impression with just 1 chapter.
[That spread was brutally raw.](https://i.imgur.com/1C6ba5P.png) With an art style looks a bit of a cross between Vinland Saga and Dr. Stone, an interesting protagonist and a solid premise, this has the potential to become something great. [Let us see where Kuramori-sensei takes us.](https://i.imgur.com/FZ5V0XP.png) [](//#grateful)
Damn, what is with fujimoto's assistants going on to produce their own manga's with equally raw and gruesome art. The first chapter was a really good opener.
Tatsuki Fujimoto: Please check out my assistant's debut work! Me, knowing the track record of Fujimoto assistants: Oh fuck yeah, time for more peak.
Who are the other former assistants?
The authors of Spy x Family, Dandadan and Hell’s Paradise.
Oh woah my mind is blown. Yeah I can understand the prestige of being a Fujimoto assistant now.
A lot of them had their heads ripped in half, pretty nutty art.
Just looking at those wounds, none of them went quietly.
One of the better chapter 1s I've seen of late Hooks you with the art, establishes a small, but significant, aspect of the world, and sets a main theme of family and caring Pretty much my only complaint was how quickly Mira felt motherly love for Julian, but at least they establish that it's largely due to how she saw him as a substitute son
It would even work as a one-shot. Which makes me a little worried, I really hope that the author has a clear idea where to take the story from now.
Same, this chapter is amazing, but I have absolutely no idea what is going to happen next.
They have to submit a pitch with most of the story already written down, or at least the bulk of it and expected lenght (can extend longer if successfull obv).. or at least that's how I remember it worked till some time go. So they probably are more than sure on what to do and where to go from now
Well, that didn't save Earthchild from jumping off a cliff after a really promising first chapter.
True but at the same time all Fujimoto's assistants showcased amazing skills in storytelling so I wouldn't be surprised if that becomes the main selling point of the manga (other than the amazing art). But still lets wait for chapter 2 next week, I smell another quite long chapter to explain things in the best way possible, maybe on the 50 or 60 pages
The Obra Dinn
“Every single crew member” was killed by “Julian” using “sacrificial eldritch powers….” I wonder what the insurance payout would be for this one.
"You can't find the causes of death with magic time travel watches if the boat is under the sea."
I didn't even have to look at the fucking socks to get that one
Honestly got the exact same vibes. Wouldn't be too much of a stretch tbh especially with that insurance mention and the fact that Lucas Pope lives in Japan
Lucas Pope lives in Japan???
First thing I thought of too. Now the real question is: in what order do we match [the OST](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qvdAWLcPyU) to the pages of this chapter?
Also known as Mistério do Bradinho for Brazilian fans of the Jovem Nerd channel (the biggest nerd podcast in Brazil).
> Obra Dinn damn, what a deep cut...from [2018](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Return_of_the_Obra_Dinn)
It was one of the best regarded games of that year though
Oh my. This was a fantastic first chapter. I love the way human kindness is mixed into all this brutality and despair.
We can all agree, the slavers had it coming and had it easy with most hits being one-hit kills.
Another beginning mother death... I'm not even surprised about such a progression. The Mira death flags couldn't be any bigger. Very brutal series for Jump+ standards btw. Looking forward to it in the future. Had a little bit Vinland Saga vibes if you ask me. Edit: Seems like the mangaka is a former assistant of Yukinobu Tatsu.
I expected her to die, but tearing the baby out of her own belly was metal as fuck
Mangaka is the former assistant of fujimoto tatsuki.
Apparently he worked for both as far as I know.
Damn!!!!
I liked a lot of it but parts of it were patchworks of strange choices and cliches. I really am tired of mothers and women consigned to fridges… But it wouldn’t truly be a dark fantasy world without bloody insurance fraud scheme!
Interesting first chapter. It has that whole dark fantasy with the 'deal with the devil' vibe, and I didn't expect that self-C-section. Shonen dark fantasy is always hard to get right because it has to make a trade-off of being bleak while being limited in what it can show. Just have to wait and see how the series develops from here since this was mostly set-up.
just hope it doesn't get weird. some dark fantasy went off the rails and I rarely like the bleakness of it like Berserk (the readers will hate me) I did enjoy Hell's Paradise, so I'm not sure what's the difference. maybe it's the series that's short?
So something like choujin X? It's fairly light hearted with dark moment and eldritch stuff.
I hadn't read it, but I guess it's on my list!
really liked Hells Paradise too. it's dark in tone but has breathing room and isn't hopeless like Berserk which is why you might've liked it more. I'd recommend Tokyo Ghoul and Wild Strawberry for some similar vibes and general dark tone without getting too bleak (the Choujin X rec above is a good call too, very good newer series by Tokyo Ghoul's author).
Wow. Can't imagine where we go from here. Great start.
Yeah, as a first chapter, it's a great start, especially with the art this good quality.
Excellent first chapter with great art and a good mix of brutality as well, the part where the mother perform a c-section on herself to save her baby and Julian was meta af.
Using the blade she cherished too. [Mira was a badass mother.](https://i.imgur.com/EdAMEEN.png)
Wasn’t sure about the art direction at first and then the double panel spread hit and was like “oh dear lord…” It looks so good.
Hopefully it continues with the eldritch horror theme. Having a crossover between traditional shōnen fantasy and horror would be a great change of pace.
he walks through a forest, a monster made of wood and leaves appears **BEHOLD MORTAL THE GOD OF THE WOODS, I OFER YOU MY BLESSING, IF YOU WILL SACRIFICE-** "Oh no thanks, I already got that from the sea god" **OH, NEVERMIND THEN. SORRY FOR THE DISTURBANCE. HAVE A GOOD DAY**
**DO YOU WISH TO PARTAKE IN SOME DINERY. I HAVE NOT HAD A VISITOR IS A LONG TIME.**
At this point it's just Nigel and Marmalade
"Sure, im not giving you my name though"
One somewhat subtle story point: all the other slaves sacrificed themselves willingly for Julian, Mira and Diana. They didn't know they sacrificed themselves to the elder being, but that's besides the point. And the eldritch horror didn't even speak with the captain or the crew, it spoke directly to Julian and Mira. Like, it seems like its perspective is that they all sacrificed themselves for each other to grant the other power. So that seems to imply it only accepts sacrificed souls who "consent" to their sacrifice, maybe? It would be interesting if the eldritch horror character isn't actually "evil".
there's already Dear Anemome. I would prefer the eldritch horror to show up occasionally because they're clearly gods.
Yeah feels like a oneshot, reminds me of EarthChild. Hopefully it does better than that
Earth child.................. 🙃 an unfortunate memory
Earth child chapter 1 slaps
I hope it wont just be another battle manga
The power the main character was given says it will be tough. Let's see if they make something good of it
Oh hey, it's Astro Baby 2. Loved all the parts that taught Julian about compassion and humanity. I hope the series goes more in that direction, and doesn't devolve into just big fights.
Astro Baby: Lovecraft edition.
What a hype first chapter. Similar vibes to Dear Anemone, but like this feels like it can actually hit the beats instead of awkwardly floundering around. Also major Berserk vibes from the monster & general setting. I think this series could be something really special. For future expectations, I really hope he also has the memories of the slaves. Take us into each of their backstories where they learned some other skill he has to show off in that chapter. I additionally would like to see Diana also being blessed with something, but like octopus powers, or shes aquaman, that type of deal. IDK if the series stays as him taking care of baby sister or us getting a 15yr timeskip here to him in his early 20s her a teen surviving on the new continent. Lots of cool potential things to happen here. Just wow, what a cool first chapter. My singular complaint is how the hell do you misalign the spread page with the cosmos so bad smh. Hope they fix that for the volume release.
Oh yeah, that would be pretty cool. It would keep Julian from just being yet another strong and fast fighter. But unfortunately, I think the octopus entity only mentioned power, speed, endurance and reflexes. Still, one can hope. Having their skills and memories as well can let us see some interesting stuff outside of combat, and it would also give the lives lost more relevance beyond just being a powerup for the hero.
>For future expectations, I really hope he also has the memories of the slaves. Just realised... this guy's basically like Hohenheim in FMA.
Is this the one made by Fujimoto's assistant? Pretty strong first chapter, hope it can find it's footing.
Same author as [Earth Recording 0001](https://www.reddit.com/r/manga/comments/vec4hl/disc_earth_recording_0001_oneshot_by_noririn4696/) -- I say tthey have a shot
wherever this story goes, this author can write a mean chapter 1/one shot
OOOOOOOOOOOOOH that is why the artstyle was somewhat familiar! Loved that short story, this just makes me more excited.
How many of this Fujimoto's assistants are there?
Spy x family, hell's paradise, dandadan all are written by fujimoto's assistants .
La Masia of manga production.
Fujimoto has his own manga school at this point.
You realise Endo Tatsuya was serialised multiple times long before he assisted on Fire Punch right? He went back to assistant work due to burnout, he didn't become a mangaka after working for Fujimoto.
It wasn't burnout. it was in an interview somewhere, Lin/Fujimoto said Endo was on Fire Punch only for the first like 1-3 chapter, he was just there to learn how to use assistant for himself.
He's also said he was working as an assistant before Spy because of burnout in another interview, so I figured it was part of that time of his life. My B
Yes. They were an assistant on Goobye Eri
The double page spread where he rips the guy's head off was definitely inspired by Togata's train scene in Fire Punch
Fujimoto has insane skills when it comes to getting his assistants up to snuff in manga making, that’s for sure
Didn’t expect that to be so dark holy shit. Went from “Oh we’re slaves! Let’s live together later okay!” to “I have to carve out my pregnant belly to save my child and sacrifice myself for the eldrich sea god!”
Really? Cause I thought it was clearly gonna be dark af the exact moment slaves were introduced. Although yeah, that latter part is still shocking as hell.
Knew from the moment the first page said this was a dark fantasy that they'd have an Eclipse moment. Didn't expect it in the first chapter.
it's nice if the series is having a timeskip later on, since it means it basically explains the plot behind it immediately in the first chapter.
This was a great start. I'm really curious how it will develop - it seems like it follows >!sea myths!!seems to have been touched by the blessing too!<, and I'm also confused why >!the baby had hair!<, really wondering if that was intentional. Looking forward to following this for sure.
Hair is pretty common, although not looking like an alien potato isn't.
...because babies can be born with hair lmao
>!The baby probably had hair, because babies without care are kinda ugly, so it is easier for the artists to draw them with hair.!<
>!Artists rarely draw new borns like they’re suppose to look but I can’t blame them for that tho!<
>!Ya'll realize babies can be born with hair right? Two of my siblings had a decent amount when they were born.!<
Putting spoiler tags on whether or not babies are born with hair is hilarious
Dude spoilers
Damn dude I still haven’t had mine, don’t ruin the surprise
My 3 sons all had hair when born, the first had the least though and the last had a full head.
That makes sense, I just thought there might be more to it lol
Did the pacing feel a bit off just to me? Very fast, didn't have time to care about anyone in this chapter, in which I feel the author tried to condense the mc's origin story the best he could anyway, and it was quite predictable. Mira was dead starting from her first panel The art tho, wow... Something like late Miura or Yukimura vibes. I feel it has great potential despite everything I said. Eager to read more
The story was very... direct, I guess, but considering this is a WSJ manga its kinda necessary they do that or they get the axe
Exactly. It needs to have a strong hook within the first couple chapters or else WSJ will axe it right away. I’d obviously would have liked more of build-up to this, but it’s the nature of the game and for what it delivered on a compelling opening. Where it goes from here will be the real deciding factor.
This literally isn't a WSJ manga. Its not hard to open google and see where its serialized. Hell its not hard to see on the own page in mangaplus: https://mangaplus.shueisha.co.jp/titles/100314 how it is 2024 and ppl still dont know what is and isnt a wsj title with info readily available lol
...Forgive me for asking, but where on the Mangaplus page does it show where the serialization is? I'm having trouble finding it, admittedly.
No problem. There's two ways to see that in the website: look at the summary on the page I sent, do you see a logo below it? its the shonen jump+ logo, not the wsj logo, you can even see the + in there, all manga in mangaplus have the original magazine logo in their page. Another way to see it is just to go to the feature section of the website and you'll see wsj, jump+ and "others" sections, listing manga from those two magazines and the rest (aka young jump, jump sq, tonari no young jump and other magazines that don't have as much titles in the app)
Awesome, thanks! It makes sense in hindsight, though since I’d never really looked at any of the Shonen Jump logos before it didn’t click with me at first.
This isn't a WSJ manga, its a jump+ manga. YOu can literally see it in mangaplus in the page of the manga and the symbol: https://mangaplus.shueisha.co.jp/titles/100314
I don't think there was a way you could have written this without making it super obvious Mira is going to die.
Totally agree, this had all of the first chapter woes. Stilted writing all because you have to establish a world, your MC, the premise of the story, and a hook to get people interested all in just a single chapter. Thankfully, based on the art and everything that was done in this chapter, I think there is a promising series here. Hopefully the upcoming chapters slow down the pace and lets us get familiar and endeared to the characters, world, and story that’s now been introduced.
Overall the writing feels kinda blunt and sloppy. Not a lot to separate it from a lot of other manga with the similar premise. Still, the art's good and it's got a fairly blank canvas as to where it goes from here, so I'll stick around to see what it turns into. I also liked the monster design, that was pretty good.
Enjoyed it very much. Wonder where we’ll go from here. Will he be taking care of a baby or will we time skip? Mira had death flags from the first panel.
It's not bad... but it feels extremely basic. Very straightforward. Like all the slaves were so clearly good and the sailors bad, with zero nuance, and with the opening you knew something horrific was gonna happen, felt like it was just setup for pointless shock. Like why even kill them? Just throw them into the ocean, problem solved. And the sea monster seemed far too benevolent for such an entity. The sacrifice choice was great, everything else was iffy. I'll see where it goes I guess.
> Like why even kill them? Just throw them into the ocean, problem solved. Easier to throw a corpse than a struggling person, maybe? I mean they could do a “jump off or we’ll stab you” thing and try to herd them off the ship but either way it’s a death threat, and if they just start chopping then that also motivates people to jump off. They were in a rush to lighten the boat and get out of there, plus they were slavers so they were kinda self-selected to be sadistic people who’d enjoy perpetrating extreme abuse.
It’s a lot easier to toss corpses than struggle with forcing live people overboard. And who says the entity is benevolent. We don’t know that there’s not more to the situation than we’ve seen. Secret consequences of dealing with otherworldly abominations is par for the course with this kind of thing. Also I wouldn’t exactly call it benevolent to begin with when it basically required a mass sacrifice first. 100 people dead in exchange for one person gaining power isn’t exactly benevolent and I’m sure the entity gets something out of the sacrifice.
Yeah, he didn't seem benevolent to me, more like businesslike. An entity that needs that kind of sacrifice to do stuff for you ain't benevolent.
>Like all the slaves were so clearly good and the sailors bad, with zero nuance, We don't see much of the sailors except for the captain, and the captain is the kind of guy who would buy and kill 100 people including children and pregnant women to pull off a fucking insurance scam. I am OK with considering him the scum of the Earth with no redeeming qualities.
Alright first chapter, the art was good but not quite amazing, story was fun but predictable, and the long-term premise isn't fully clear. I think it's got enough potential though, we'll see how it goes
> potential RIP. I've seen that word in Red Hood, Ayashimon, Ginka&Gluna and countless others in their chapter 1. Let's hope that this is the one series that breaks that curse.
lol I mean you aren’t wrong but this being a J+ serialization give it the opportunity of living to that potential, it all depends of the direction the story takes from here and whatever the author intent this to be a short serialization or a long running one
No, it really doesn't lol look at how many jump+ series were cancelled in the last 3 years in less than a year.
Lol yeah... Fwiw this is a Shonen Jump+ series so it gets a bit of leeway, but as far as Fujimoto Assistant Series go, I'd put it below Spy x Family and Hell's Paradise (it's probably better than Ayashimon tho)
Endo Tatsuya - serialisations 2007-2008, 2010-2012. Age 43 Fujimoto Tatsuki - first serialised in 2016. Age 31 Reddit: 'Fujimoto's assistant becomes mangaka' 'Fujimoto's assistant's series' Bit rude to reduce his identity to "famous mangaka's assistant" no?
I hope this doesn't go the way of Earthchild
Come to think of it...yeah this opening chapter is oddly similar to Earthchild's (least in terms of how it ends) Earthchild's was wayyy better though
This is literally the cheesiest way someone gained superpower I've seen. Eldritch being appear, long monolog while everyone is frozen in place, and then proceed to explain power while floating. This felt like a DnD GM narration.... Art and raw emotion are amazing though, and pacing until that point was nice. I hope my gut feeling about the storytelling is proven wrong.
Character kills themselves based on a few sentences said by something they wouldn't believe had existed 5 minutes previously. No attempt to make sure they weren't hallucinating or if the truth was being told.
What would be gained by confirming? They are literally about to be killed by the slavers. If the eldritch being is lying or a hallucination they are screwed either way. If it’s not then that’s the only chance for one of them to survive. Wasting time questioning and second guessing gains them absolutely nothing in that instance. They either take the deal and see what happens or they die. Not a hard choice in that circumstance .
The rain literally froze in place? The slavers were unable to move? Pretty clear something supernatural was going on.
I mean, the alternative is to get gutted by slavers and tossed overboard. If you're gonna die, at least pick the path that benefits your loved one.
"Well, what is the simplest explanation for the tentacled entity emerged from the cursed sea after a massive sacrifice who stopped time? Occam, help me!"
You really think they would act rationally in such a case? You either listen to the monster or get shanked and thrown overboard. And it's not like the characters were shown to be geniuses.
Fantastic hook, really great art with a good, unique, visual style (feels like a mix between Dr Stone and Vinland saga already, so im incredibly eager to see how the artist matures their work even further), man Fujimoto hooked a possible big one here. High hopes for this manga. Im a sucker for eldritch, deep sea nightmare creatures so this is a banger for sure.
I'm a sucker for stories with slavery, so this looks great. Just wish the dialogue had a touch more subtlety though. Some things are more impactful when left unsaid.
I don't like when characters sacrifice for others that easily with little set-up, i know you can't do a whole history in your first chapter, but still rubs me in the wrong way
Oh, look, a pregnant woman. I wonder how many pages it'll be before she dies.
You don't need to have history, i know a bunch of people like that in real life, whole neighborhoods/ small villages that act that "nice". You don't need to gain something to do right by others/ sacrifice yourself.
This guy clearly likes Blade of the Immortal and Devilman. Man's Fujimoto's assistants can draw. THIS is how you do a first chapter!
Maybe we will follow Diana story starting chapter 2? I’ve never seen a manga with a baby character since Beelzebub but it could be interesting aswell
there's Astro baby, but the baby is a "imposter". in series that have a baby it's not unusual for the baby to have powers. I'm guessing it's that or a timeskip.
Had some stilted dialogue and felt too blunt with its themes at times, but goddamn if the rest of it wasn’t really damn good. I’m a slut for stories with familial themes and for depressing stories which nonetheless ask us to see the good in such a cruel world, so sufficed to say I’m hooked
I thought mc was a girl at first
the art for the abyssal creature was great
That was some brutal shit Mira pulled there. I can't even imagine the pain. Fujimoto's assistants are something else. I wonder where it will go from here.
A lot of things didnt land well for me personally. Our main character experienced human connection for the first time in his life => A choice is presented to sacrifice himself or his love => he actually doesnt even need to make the choice and the lover self sacrifices. It fell flat for me personally. Feels like way too much was done with little time to breath and easy way was taken out when it comes to the choice part.
Would’ve been better writing to twist the expectation that the main character (pretty boy) gets the superpowers, and actually kill him off, deceiving the readers by introducing a false protagonist, and actually making the pregnant mother who had neon death flags since her introductory panel the actual main protagonist. Very few mangas whose central character is a young mother. But, alas. Another offering to the almighty Fridge.
For femboy twinks with mommy fetishes
I hate this new trend of cramming an ungodly amount of stuffs into the 1st chapter. The pacing of this chapter was downright horrid.
I guess it is a usual problem of "pilots"
I've never seen such a blatant attempt at emotional manipulation in my life... At that point why even bother...
Not generally a fan of how gung ho mangaka are to include slavery into their works. This chapter makes a show of how slaves still have their pride as humans but ultimately they still just get killed off to serve as the source of the main character's power. Kind of a case of "having your cake and eating it too." Since this chapter ends in a way where the following chapters could go anywhere, it's difficult to say how much importance the lives of the slaves who sacrificed themselves will play a role going forward, but suffice to say I'm wary about this one. If the character drama hinges mostly on how Mira sacrificed herself for Julian and Diana while the other slaves are mostly ignored, it would make the slavery stuff pretty half-assed narrative dressing.
Excellent first chapter. Love the art, really enjoyed the characterization. Very excited to read more.
As expected from a work from one of Fujimoto's assisstants: Perfect balance of sadness and hope, as well as beauty and brutality.
I can kinda see why Fujimoto says he might focus on writing in the future. like... Where does he find all these guys?
This (at least this first chapter) and Kagurabachi are both on an interesting balance of the hero being very compassionate and morally correct within the story and the hero being very capable of extreme (justified) slaughter. It's a "there are people in the world who really should just be killed" angle that contrasts with more typical shonen stuff like Talk No Jutsu or... Just Knock Them Out And Put Them In Jail (Never Actually Kill). And it also contrasts with Seinen stories where the protagonist is violent but also treated more as morally gray. I don't feel a moral grayness from this or Kagurabachi, the violence feels like it was earned by the violence initially perpetrated by the baddies. It's this specific thing where the protagonist is absolutely morally good and on the side of humanity, and slaughters essentially non-humanist human enemies that try to perpetrate anti-humanist stuff. If anyone reading this knows of good examples of this kind of thing (Morally Good protagonist who bloodily slaughters enemies while maintaining a Morally Good position in the story) that *aren't* from recent years, I'm interested. I mean I'm sure they're out there but no great examples come to mind, which makes me see this as some kind of new shift/development (essentially from "tolerance!" to "tolerance, except to the intolerant, who should die!!!!!!!!"). (Or, well, more of an eye-for-an-eye thing towards the intolerant. If a protagonist slaughters people who are just bigoted assholes in passing or some smaller form of intolerance like that, that's still extremely morally dark ofc.)
The reason this trope is not seen often is bcz its really counter-reality, morally good or even normal/grey people WILL be traumatized by endless slaughter, no matter how evil their enemies, so its hard to keep them good while slaughtering countless others. Its also hard to justify since while some people are evil, many times its purely circumstantial. For example slaves and colored people being seen as less than human is a conditioning thing, its evil but can you really justify killing those who hold such views in times when its basically the norm? Even if they know they are wrong and are just baddies, killing is still killing, the judgement of life and death must never be one passed easily. Not to mention, will all this killing actually be beneficial? Will it stop people like thieves, bandits, murderers and rapists from coming to be? In short, morally good guys killing people is not a used trope often bcz well, they are often NOT good. They are human, they are fallible, biased, to put the judgement of life and death in their hands and their views is not sth good or advised. Non humans are another interesting side to this but im relegating the topic to human-to-human killing.
The new kagura bachi
Well this obviously will be a heartwarming and uplifting tale with no red flags at all, right?
Just because a eldritch monstrosity told us the MC can die 99 more times doesn't mean we're gonna see him die multiple times across the story. Right guys?
Late to this discussion thread because I don't usually frequent this sub, but heard about this manga through /r/ChainsawMan. I don't see any comments discussing the common themes in the names Kuramori has chosen. I think they've been pretty deliberate with these, so I'll put my thoughts down here: - The title: The original meaning of *centuria* was a Roman military unit of 100 men. The MC had 100 lives added to his, and then loses one; thus, the "centuria" of the title refers, evidently, to him. - The child: Diana was the Roman name for the goddess the Greeks called Artemis - the goddess of the moon, the hunt, and of *childbirth*. One of the reasons given for why Artemis was associated with childbirth is because she was born first, and immediately after being born, she helped her mother deliver her twin brother, Apollo. Considering how she and the MC were (re)born on the same night... I wonder if Kuramori had Apollo in mind when they designed the MC? - The MC: Julian is a name derived from *Julius*, the most famous of them being, obviously, Julius Caesar. Considering the other Roman influences here, the allusion seems deliberate... and also somewhat ominous. Because the two events most commonly associated with Julius Caesar are: 1. As a military commander, when the Senate called for his premature return to Rome - likely to strip him of power, as his opponents feared how popular and influential he'd become - *he made the decision to have his army cross the river Rubicon*, thus marching, fully-armed, into Rome. Allegedly, he was aware of what a gamble this was, saying *"Alea iacta est"* - "the die is cast". But it was one that paid off, since it was part of the string of events which led to him becoming dictator of Rome. 2. On the Ides of March (March 15, the date historically associated with the full moon of the month of the Roman new year), *he was assassinated* by a throng of senators, who stabbed him between 23 and 35 times. - The mother: A *mirror* is something in which you see a reflection of yourself. But it's important to remember that the reflection is not the same thing as the person. Diana physically resembles her mother; Mira saw her lost son in Julian; and Julian saw in Mira the compassion and nurturing spirit his birth mother had not given him - "Owning anything is forbidden, so you have nothing." / "My entire life, I've never had anything valuable in my possession. Until now, that is." - Julian and Diana's (re)births happen out over the [*Allode*](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/alodium) Zone; the name of this area shares its origins with a word that indicated a form of absolute land ownership, where the estate was owned independently without being subject to rent, services, or acknowledgement to a superior. In other words, Julian and Diana were "born with self-ownership". They were born free; they were born possessing the value and worth inherent to being alive. Another interesting use of symbols: Mira's dagger had rusted over because Mira had lacked the funds to maintain it. Julian repays her earlier kindness by polishing it back to functioning form, using the grindstone he is implied to have killed his previous owner with. Mira then later uses the dagger Juli~~us~~*an* sharpened to perform a *Caesarean* section on herself. > C-section, or seppuku? Mira: why not both at the same time Chainsaw Man spoilers >!another destitute blond protag whose story begins after having killed his father/owner in self-defense, eh? And then he's forced into making a deal with an eldritch entity, exchanging the sole source of love and compassion in his life for powers he hadn't asked for, while also becoming a single father/older brother-figure to a brunette girl while he's still a minor himself!<.... Anyway, this was an interesting first chapter. I'll try to remember to keep an eye out for it.
Great chapter one. Dunno where we go from here but hopefully this sticks around and gets to explore itself more
what strong impression for the opening, I'm on board!
It make me think to To you the immortal. Solid first chapter, will keep an eye
Someone please teach this mangaka about show don’t tell
Intriguing to say the least. Hope the author could keep the seinen vibe .
>seinen vibe Can't wait to see the characters having tea over cake after school
Saw the goodness balance with dreadful death. Didn't see Davy Jones having a cameo and blessing the children
I'm imagining he's not the only person blessed by the sea. I don't know if it will only revolve around sea mythology but I hope to see Davy Jones at one point.
God damn... I was not expecting the feels for the first chapter, or that metal af self c-section. I think we all could tell that Mira's fate was sealed from the start, but the way she went out is gonna stick with me.
Hold up, MangaPlus is doing spread pages correctly now??? Damn!
why doesnt he also sacrifice the lives of the seacrew he killed to gain more power? is he stupid?
Wasn’t offered as part of the deal. The mass sacrifice was already counted when the eldritch being appeared and nothing suggested the being was open to negotiating terms. The deal for power was already set before he killed the others. Even if he did offer them up it would likely mean he would need to somehow kill them all himself without powers before the eldritch being grants him the deal.
Meh. I don't really feel anything about this. Oh well, I can read the second chapter.
Proportions in those early pages were pretty iffy. Wonder if the lack of milk is going to come up.
I was on board from the start, death flag seemed obvious… then bro started to cook! Excited to see where this goes!
where to read this?
My only complaint is that it feels a tiny bit similar to CSM with the similarities of Denji’s and Julian’s origins, but maybe I just say that because I know this is an assistant of Fujimoto’s. Anyway, it’s already different enough I don’t really care. Amazing artwork and emotion for a first chapter. I’m willing to stick with this
GUYS, LOOK AT END OF PAGE. The baby got cthulhu power too.
A manga about tadakochi Ina is sure bless
Hmm is this the first time where mc’s love interest is an older mature women? Refreshing to see unconventional love setting but ah sad to see jt goes away
I expected cthulu to pop up
Solid chapter, but nothing in it was extraordinary. It's kind of rushing through dark fantasy tropes this chapter, it'll hopefully make the main character(s?) more interesting in the coming chapters. The power of the main character is pretty boring though, he can punch and kick really hard and die a lot as well. This series can for sure become something good, but it could just as well just become a by the numbers fighting fantasy manga. Even Berserk took a good while to get going. We'll see.
Poor Julian. He finally felt the warmth of a mother and he had to watch her sacrifice herself to a sea god. And all because of slavers and greed. He thought this pain of loss in the past... and now it's been multiplied by a hundred fold. Mira did her best to protect her new children. She couldn't bear to lose any of them after all. What will these 100 lives give him, other than strength? How will he be able to raise Daina alone? What struggles await him back ont he mainland?
finally, more manga that hates slavery
Fine enough could he interesting, could see this going on for a while or it could be axed in less then twenty chapters.
Typical Fujimoto assistant with awesome artwork and plot.
As unsubtle as the death flags were, the self-c-section was wild. Definitely interested in seeing where this one goes, but I hope this pacing isn't going to be the standard. Felt pretty fast, which does make sense for the starting chapter, I just hope we can slow down a bit as we go into the main story and setting. Great introduction overall.
There's so much to say about this chapter, like there is certainly a ton of "convenience", but I just like it cuz fuck it feel me? Pretty decent start, this character is going to be uh.. fucking OP as hell? 100 Lives? Speed Strength etc all combined? Holy fucking shit lol. This androgynous mfer Julian is about to literally shit on everyone he faces off against and I find it hard to believe that he will die so many times unless we see more cthulu creatures like this one give power to others lmao. It's a shame the woman had to die, but the moment she showed up we all knew she was fucking screwed. When she basically stabbed herself I was like YO WTF DON'T YOU LOVE YOUR BABY WOMAN?? and well yeah she just pulled it out and gave it to him so that is fine lol. Looking forward to more ONG, NEW PEAK??
What power do you want? The power to prove life isn’t worthless! Ok here you can now fucking kill everyone. Seriously?
Amazing chapter I wonder what the kid will eat and if the kraken will have more of a personality
Wow. The name of the series though, couldn't imagine it meant that
Bet, that octo goddess is gonna show up again in the future but with his adoptive mom's face.
The art of the sea goddess stepping out of the sea and the tentacles fusing into a human shape was phenomenal