This has been top of my digital-to-buy list since it was the first simulpub manga series from Weekly Shonen Jump that I liked but didn’t get a physical release cos it got cancelled.
The first thing I noticed when I started reading Volume 1 was that the art was done by the Marriagetoxin artist. That’s so awesome being able to see how far an artist has come 😊 8 years ago their art was already great. It was kinda funny seeing how Daigo’s sister looks a lot like one of the girl’s Hikaru is pursuing in Marriagetoxin 😝 I guess some designs are too good to not reuse.
One thing that stood out to me was how little the series has aged. Or rather, how timely the technology seems. I guess ne0;lation was ahead of the times? I wonder if it would be received better nowadays with all the stuff about AI and phone batteries catching fire. Coincidentally, I read this over two flights which were the first I’ve been on that ban charging of devices midflight. So many years of being able to charge and now suddenly a ban. I guess batteries have gotten to the point where they are more dangerous. So yeah, very ahead of it’s time 😳
I liked the addition of the original short series. Outside of JJK I haven’t seen the progression of a series from short run to proper serialisation. I’ve only really seen them go from one-shot to full blown series. Tbh I prefer the one-shot. I liked how there was not just the physical and tech delinquents, but the communication one as well haha. I also liked how the communication delinquent and his lackeys joined forces with Ne0 and Daigo. It reminded me of Eyeshield 21 and the gradual reformation of the three bullies. The villain was also more grounded although I guess he wasn’t that technologically proficient so maybe wasn’t the ideal ultimate bad guy for a proper serialisation.
What I did like about the full series over the short one though was Ne0’s backstory. Tobari was very sweet. But I also empathised with her a lot. My medical condition is nowhere near as bad as hers but it still felt very relatable being deprived of her medication. In a similar scenario of an extended time frame, I too would be in a very bad state if deprived of my medication. Which made it feel all the more sad and tragic to me. Eight years ago, I was still coming to terms with my diagnosis and hadn’t yet fully grasped how reliant I am on technology and modern medication. So rereading ne0;lation now really hits hard.
But onto why I think it got canned:
- Yuko was a terrible addition to the cast. I understand that they needed a female main character for the weekly serialisation, but not only is she super dumb, she doesn’t even really mesh with Neo and Daigo. And doesn’t fit the ‘delinquent’ mold.
- Maybe it was too violent and tackled uncomfortable things for WSJ? Although it debuted at the same time as JJK which is also quite dark. I just wonder about the suicide stuff. If it might be more of a Manga Plus series.
- Technological crimes end up being a lot of explaining and not much showing. Which doesn’t lend itself well to manga form
- Perhaps ahead of it’s time. I feel I understand the tech stuff a lot more now than I did when I first read it. Did I even use 2FA 8 years ago? LOL.
So in conclusion, the things I liked it for originally I still like now, in some cases even more than the first time around. It was also nice seeing/comparing how far Mizuki Noda has come. Happy to have this one in my digital collection and the short length means it will be easy to revisit this one again sometime 😁
Categories: Series Review
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