Of the three series that debuted in November 2021 Ayashimon was my favourite 😠It had such potential but little structure, so I’m not surprised it got cancelled (although I am surprised it got cancelled before Shugomaru).
Ayashimon
(Yuji Kaku)
November 2021 to May 2022
25 Chapters
What I Liked
- The setting! The political backdrop of warring yakuza factions and the Onmyo Bureau (who appeared once and never again) was intriguing and integral to the mystery of who murdered Urara’s father. I’m sad we’ll never know the run-down of what really happened behind the scenes of the Enma Syndicate.
- The ayashimon! It was a fun way of learning more about different kinds of yokai. The fact that they never died but exploded into money when defeated was a cool concept.
- The art! Everyone (except Maruo) had an interesting design and looked pretty damn cool.
Where I Think Things Went Wrong
- Maruo. Maruo was the stone that dragged them down into the depths of Weekly Shonen Jump cancellations. His design was boring. He had basically no personality. His main trait was essentially a gimmick. Being good at punching hard works when your series is a comedy (like One Punch Man/Mashle) but not for a standard battle shonen. And there wasn’t really a good reason for his super-human strength other than ‘oh he’s an anomaly’ (or in Ayashimon jargon, a ‘marebito’).
- The Ritual Battles. I think this handicapped the series and made it less interesting. For me the best fights were Ten sinking all the motorcycles of the Todoroki Alliance and Maruo and co storming the Kori Hotel. Completely outside of the ritual battle model. I’m just too much of a sucker for teamwork in battles and strategic use of the surroundings. Also there was too much focus on the fighting at the expense of the world building/politics. It really felt like the mangaka thought the Ritual Battles were the main draw of the series.
- Urara. I felt like her character wasn’t very consistent. I get that she’s meant to be the uncertain heiress putting on a cocky act, but she veered too much into the hesitancy and was too wishy-washy about how much she was willing to sacrifice. Urara wasn’t all that strong physically (the time limit is too much of a liability) or emotionally. A weak heroine in a Jump series just kinda sucks.
Conclusion
I assume Viz will release the tankobons digitally but I don’t think I will buy them. I am however looking forward to the Hell’s Paradise anime and Yuji Kaku’s next series 😊 I am a fan of his artstyle and world-building and expect great things from this mangaka!
Categories: Simulpub Review
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