Embalming –The Another Tale of Frankenstein- by Watsuki Nobuhiro (50P)
This series follows from two successful one-shot stories printed in the special magazine,
JUMP the Revolution, in 2005 and 2006. It tells an interesting twist to the tale of Frankenstein's monster. The main characters of the series are two childhood friends, Fury and Rais, who are seeking revenge on a murderer that attacked and killed everyone in their village 5 years ago. When they meet the murderer, however, they discover that "he" is a Frankenstein, a human monster created by man…
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Luck Stealer by Kazu Hajime (57P)
Like Embalming, this series follows from previously printed one-shot stories that appeared in Akamaru JUMP (Winter 2005) and JUMP the Revolution (2005). The series is about a man called the Luck Stealer. When he touches a person with his bare hands, he will steal that person's "luck" and cause the victim to die by way of "coincidences". The only person who is immune to his touch, and in fact, benefits from it, is his young daughter, Karin. When Kurusu Yuusei, the Luck Stealer, kills others by taking away their luck, does he do it for justice, or is there more to his unique powers?
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Magical Cooking Kaosu Kitchen by Hatsutori Shouta (9P)
This is a spoof of the magical girl genre about two girls, Kinomori Kurumi and Sanzenin Orie, who belong to the cooking club at St. Montgomery Academy. When trouble calls, they transform (like magical girls) to Kaosu Kitchen...! (By the way, Kaosu can also be read as Chaos.) Naturally, all their magical attacks are based on cooking.
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Matsuri Special by Kamio Youko (30P)
A shoujo manga in a shounen magazine?! When Kamio-sensei was approached to join the new magazine, she was both honoured and nervous to be among some of the biggest names in the industry. In case you don't know, Kamio Youko is the well-known mangaka of shoujo series like
Hana Yori Dango and
Cat Street. She hopes to bring the good points of shoujo manga to this shounen love comedy series. Matsuri Special is about a high school student, Matsuri, who has a crush on her good-looking and popular classmate, Wataru. But, Matsuri has another secret. Her father runs a wrestling joint, so after school, she dons a costume and works as a pro wrestler for her father, going by the name, Honey Princess. One day, a big-sized transfer student arrives in her class and takes the seat next to her, blocking her view of the only light in her life (Wataru)…
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Kure-nai by Katayama Kentarou (original story) and Yamamoto Yamato (manga) (48P)
This manga is based on a series of light novels of the same title by Katayama Kentarou, with Yamamoto-sensei providing the illustrations for the novel. A TV anime series has also been announced, which will begin next year (2008). The series is about Kurenai Shinkurou, a first-year high school student who also has a job as a freelance mediator, and lives in a dormitory full of strange people. For some reason, he also appears to be a guardian of a 7-year-old girl named Kuhouin Murasaki. Kurenai hates people who hurt others, because of his own past, and takes on these jobs to help those in need.
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(Novel) 3-nen Z-gumi Ginpachi-sensei by Sorachi Hideaki (original work) and Oosaki Tomohito (story) (14P)
Gintama has a spin-off parody in two published novels called,
3-nen Z-gumi Ginpachi-sensei. (By the way, this is also a parody of long-running drama series,
3-nen B-gumi Kinpachi-sensei.) It stars Gintoki as Ginpachi-sensei, and the rest of the gang as his students in class 3-Z. This is a serialized novel (i.e. not manga) by Oosaki Tomohito, who also wrote the two previously published novels.
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PAT-KEN by Katakura . Ookamigumi . Masanori (49P)
The mangaka's name is actually Katakura Masanori, but he goes by various aliases. He's a long-time mangaka with a series running in Monthly Shounen JUMP when the magazine was cancelled. PAT-KEN is a new series launched for SQ, and it's about a boy named Hayabusa, who dreams to be a hero for justice. Which is why he took up a part-time job acting as a costumed hero for a children's stage show. But, when the real villains, the Darkside Arms (DA), attack, the real heroes of the city, the Armored Guardians (AG) are called in. Enamored by the thought of being a real hero, Hayabusa begs to be taken into the AG team. However, like all AG's, he must begin his journey as a PAT-KEN trainee.
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(Comic Essay) Parman no Jounetsutekina Hibi by Fujiko Fujio A (6P)
Fujiko Fujio A is one half of the team that created Doraemon, and other children's manga, including
Parman, which is where this comic essay borrows its title from. Here, the author shares the daily life of a real mangaka dinosaur with the readers, somewhat like a mangaka blog.
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HELLO BABY by Morita Masanori (story) and Obata Takeshi (art) (49P)
This is a one-shot collaboration work by two long-time friends and mangaka. The story is about Kinya, on the run from the Japanese mafia, after a failed murder attempt on the yakuza boss. Together with him are his brother, Takuzou and his girlfiend, Aya. But, things are not as simple when they have some… extra baggage along.
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CLAYMORE by Yagi Norihiro (32P)
This is a series that's been running for a while in Monthly Shounen JUMP. After the cancellation of the magazine, several chapters were printed in Weekly JUMP. Now, CLAYMORE moves into its new home in JUMP SQ, continuing with chapter 74.
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Tegami Bachi (Letter Bee) by Asada Hiroyuki (45P)
This series has been running since October 2006 in Monthly Shounen JUMP, and two volumes of tankoubon have been released already. It now continues in the pages of JUMP SQ starting from Chapter 11. Tegami Bachi (or Letter Bees) are couriers that deliver important letters and packages throughout the land of eternal dusk, Amber Ground. Gauche is a Letter Bee who is proud of his job. But, what happens when the package he has to deliver is a boy?!
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Rosario to Vampire season II by Ikeda Akihisa (48P)
The first series of
Rosario to Vampire ended with 10 volumes of tankoubon. It starts again now, with Chapter 1 of the second season.
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Dragonaut –The Resonance- by Kinoshita Satoshi (manga) and Dragonaut Project (anime) (48P)
This series is based on a TV anime series of the same name, that began in the fall season of 2007. In the year 20XX, humans face an unprecedented crisis in their history when extraterrestrial dragons decided to select Earth as their breeding ground. Unfortunately, where the dragon eggs hatch, they absorb all the nutrients from the surrounding land, turning it into a barren wasteland. Like what happened to Tokyo two years ago, where our hero Kamishina Jin, lost his loved ones. Now, he's joined the Dragonaut units, with Toa, a mysterious girl who saved him, to stop the dragons from destroying the rest of Earth.
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Tsumikabatsu by Mikami Honemaru (19P)
This is a new gag manga series of the sort you'd never expect in a shounen magazine, but that's why JUMP SQ is special. It's about Baramon (male), the owner of a flower shop in the Hanazono district (hanazono means garden, btw) and his perverted fantasies, especially where his shop assistant, Kikyou (also male) is concerned.
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Sekai no Chuushin de Taiyou ni Hoeru by Ponse Maeda (9P)
This is yet another gag manga series. It's about the lives of private detectives, in particular, one Yamada Hiroshi, who is new to the job. His boss decides the best assignment for him with a roulette wheel!? The gag in this series is so abstract and so weird that I have no idea how to describe it. The title means, "Crying Out from the Sun in the Center of the World", and it could be a play on a best-selling novel turned movie and TV drama series,
Sekai no Chuushin de Ai wo Sakebu ("Crying Out Love in the Centre of the World").
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Tista by Endou Tatsuya (63P)
Endou Tatsuya is a fairly unknown mangaka, who debuted in JUMP back in 2000 with a one-shot story. He's had a few other one-shots, but this is his first work to be serialized. Quite refreshingly, this new series is set in New York City rather than Japan, and the main character is a girl. In the day, Tista is a shy, introvert, church-going student whose ambition in life is to become a teacher. At night, she assassinates criminals for the church as her alter-ego, Sister Militia. A special feature of her eyes gives her the ability to spot a target from miles away, be it moving or stationary. Once she's spotted her target, it's one-shot one-kill.
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Kiyoku Tadashiku Utsushiku by ufotable x Taatan Chekko (48P)
This new SQ series is brought to you by the same animation studio that created
Gundam SEED, and upcoming anime movie,
Kara no Kyoukai. It goes to show the kind of variety you get in this magazine! The series is about an American transfer student, Ueno Kikka, in an all-girls school. Tall, smart and beautiful, she also excels in Japanese cultural etiquette. With the help of her friend, Tomomi, she discovers an interest in soccer, and joins the soccer club. This is a girls' soccer sports manga.
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Tales of Innocence by Kaidou Hiroyuki (manga) and Bandai Namco Games (original work) (48P)
As you can tell from the title, this is a manga based on the latest of the "Tales of" series of games, to be released in December for the Nintendo DS platform. Kaidou Hiroyuki's most well-known work is probably
Onmyou Taisenki, which ran in V JUMP, and was also adapted to an anime TV series in 2004~2005. The
Tales of Innocence manga is a fantasy-based story following the adventures of Ruca, who has dreams about wars. One day, he encounters an unconscious girl named Iria on the way to school. But, when she turns out to be an Inousha (a person of unusual ability), the same powers in Ruca are awakened…!?
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Gag Manga Biyori by Masuda Kousuke (15P)
Actually, this is three chapters in 15 pages, and like the title says, it's a gag manga.
Biyori has been running in Monthly Shounen JUMP since 2001. When the magazine was cancelled in June 2007, it moved to Weekly Shounen JUMP for a while, and now resumes its place in SQ, continuing with Chapters 164-166.
Biyori has also been adapted to a TV anime series and OVA.
(Akihabara Report Manga) Akiba Zaijuu by Kadokuni Daisuke
Akihabara has a reputation as the place where anime and manga fans go, but do you really know what's in this little city nicknamed Akiba? Well, let Kadokuni-sensei tell you about it in this series of reports on places to go in Akihabara! Note: this is a mangaka-insert manga, which he claims to be 90% truth. It's the remaining 10% you should watch out for. By the way, the title means "Living in Akiba".
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