Shounen Red Sprite by YAGI Tomohiro

[ProGoddess]

Red Sprite by YAGI Tomohiro

This is a fairly new series published in 2015 in Shuukan Shonen Jump.


Synopsis

A story of war and friendship.

Captain Tatsu Frampt, the pioneer of all Thundercore Humans, had a narrow escape from his perpetrator at the course of his friends and teacher, Durant-sensei. He is now back for his friends.

Six years ago during the mass attack, Durant managed to save only one child, Tatsu, where he sacrificed his life by transferring his entire body electricity to Tatsu to awaken his thundercore. Before he died, he told Tatsu what he was made of. The shocking truth shattered the child's dream, for all he wanted was to play and go around the world in an airship with his friends.

So, what is "Thundercore Humans?" What does he aim to achieve? Is Tatsu able to help his friends?

 

[kira]

I really enjoyed reading the first chapter... it didn't even seem like a 50+ pages chapter.

but weirdly, the chapter felt like it was midway through the manga.

 

[ProGoddess]

Do you mean the ending where Tatsu turned up to look for his friends and saved the other thunderbolt humans. It does look alright to me though.

 

[kira]

yes.. his strength and how he got rid of the enemies
It's all good. I just have a weird perception.

 

[KageTrigger]

So far it may be a bit too fast paced, but I get Tomohiro really wants this one to work. Going all out at the starting gate hoping it will catch on. So I'll wait and see where he goes with things.

Chapter 2 Tatsu's faster than even the pacing of this manga, and I like it. His brash, cocky personality is cool too. I'm looking forward to the battle next chapter Tatsu is a one man wrecking crew!

The rescuing each friend aspect is my favorite part, just cause it reminds of Ronin Warriors and I love that anime. Though I'm expecting one of them to be a villain, kinda like the green power ranger before he joins the rest of the group. That's just my thoughts, I'm okay if it doesn't happen that way.

 

[ProGoddess]

Chapter 2 - Red Lightning

"From this sky, I will change the world!"​

What a bold statement!

This is probably the reason the author is going for - someone who dares to say it and takes action on it.

The story continues with Tatsu attempting to hijack the ship. It's a "no turning back" strategy. He has grown tremendously powerful with good dexterity control of his ability. He has also finally seen his long-lost friend, Mono, and manages to save him.

"Let's go with a bang!" - There he goes again, that shows his determination and confident in the win.

What kind of war will we be seeing next?


The shorter chapter gets the hype up and stuck in the air ...

Thanks to Jaiminibox for the Edited Manga.

 

[KageTrigger]

Chapter 3 is out http://bato.to/reader#07797b9ef47f8e59

 

[ProGoddess]

Chapter 3 - Magonia

The title reminds me of a mythological folk tale of the French Medieval, Magonia, that refers to a cloud realm where the inhabitants were said to travel the clouds in ships and had worked with the Frankish tempestarii to steal grains from the fields during storms. Those inhabitants were once felonious aerial sailors and the tempestarii were magicians and weather-makers who dwelled among common people who possessed the power to manipulate the weather like creating and calming storms at will.

Perhaps our author may have taken the inspiration from the similar mythology for the story and uses it to make a nation out of it. Since Tatsu is portrayed as someone who goes head-on and attack the government directly without consideration of consequences, he had created a scenario of an open conflict and an opposing party against his government.

Magonia, as is claimed by Tatsu, is like the cloud realm, the inhabitants will be Tatsu (the captain of the ship) and his fellow thundercore humans who travel on airship on the clouds, while the Professor is the tempestarii.

At a young age, little Tatsu had a dream to go to Magonia though his sensei told him it was a fictional island and so, years later, he created his own Magonia.

Tatsu is quite an interesting boy who dares to make his dreams come true. First, he trained himself to be strong, then he came back to gather the people - the thundercore humans - and now, invites everyone to be a part of his created-nation called Thunder-Cloud Nation, Magonia. It is no longer a dream and all those inflicted will be and can be saved.

It's quite a spectacular scene, isn't it? But the joke comes when he rides on a cannon shell which he is not supposed to be. Well, at least his aim of broadcasting his speech has gone through and it is a good start. The trial is yet to come, particularly the Supreme Leader of Edenia, David Atlas, whom he needs to face again. In fact Atlas wouldn't leave him a rest after this attack. If he can freely order the prosecution of his subjects without any mercy, I believe he will hunt down Tatsu with the aim of killing him.

When Tatsu said he was frozen upon facing David Atlas, did that translate to something related to Atlas having an extraordinary element like those of thundercore humans? Is he a thundercore human as well? It will be interesting to know more about him.

Till next chapter .....

 

[KageTrigger]

The glimpse of the other children from the orphanage, we see one with a scarred face and we saw him before in the color page. I could see him being an enemy, looks like some seriously messed up stuff happened to each of them.

Tatsu is a very bold and cocky MC, but the fact that his instincts told him not to mess with Atlas, means he's smart enough to know when he's in over his head. I like that so far, kinda reminds me of Gon or Lufffy, maybe a combination of both. Their bold, cocky, selfish behavior.

I do hope that we get names of everyone else soon though, he has a whole crew and its clear to see that there are ones who stand out more than others. So I'd like some names, maybe in the next chapter, some quick exposition could accomplish that. One thing for sure is I have no idea where this story is going, I know Tatsu's goal but can't predict what will happen next.

 

[ProGoddess]

Somehow I think Tatsu's goal may not be so smooth sailing beside the fact that he has turned the entire government into his enemy, or rather specifically the Supreme Leader. Those children whom he had grown up with may have been scattered in many places after all these years. Some may have even been dead. However those who are still alive may not necessarily conform with him. Kids grow up and their thinking and mentality will be different. Even the current adults, as shown, may change their attitude over time, especially in times of crisis when one has to face life and death - that's where the true nature will surface. Good or bad, or even in neutral stand - time will tell.

One kid among the rest stood out prominently - Mono - the one with his hair covering his eyes, was one who appeared to be antisocial, quiet and shy and was the first childhood friend whom Tatsu had found. Will this kid be against Tatsu in the near future? He is so quiet that hardly anyone knows what he is thinking. If he decides to help Tatsu, it will be a gain, at least in terms of war battle with David Atlas. But if he goes against Tatsu, it will be a setback and disaster as his power is very extraordinary which may even surpass Tatsu's or at equivalent standing.

The plot may go in various ways but one thing is clear - Tatsu and Atlas are at war. None of them will give up on destroying each other.

 

[KageTrigger]

Chapter 4 is out and here, we, go! https://jaiminisbox.com/reader/read/red_sprite_2/en/0/4/page/1

 

[Koen]

It's a great start, way better than his previous work. The characters, plot, world,... are interesting. After this fight he should lower the pace. And spend a (some) chapter (s) to one of those kids

 

[ProGoddess]

Red Sprite - Chapter 4
"Excalibur"

The first three chapters were full of action to attract attention. The focus is on Tatsu's past and how the past transforms him into his current self. The present chapter which is the fourth starts to concentrate on the current mates and crew that he acquired. Many of them are new since he has hijacked the airship and his only childhood friend, Mono is there too. With the knowledge of one of the kids, Alfred, who had escaped years ago, it raises the adventure to a new level - that is, to look for Alfred who may be wandering out there somewhere. It's likely that he is alive and is planning something big and once found, he may be a good help to Tatsu. But if he has turned bad, then he will probably be one of the antagonists besides the Supreme Leader.

Talking about this guy, this is the second time that he is using his "power" to kill people. It seems like he has the ability to crash and burn. Does that mean that he may be one of those Thunderbolt humans? Or is he using a certain device to kill other than a weapon. Being a government official or commander, he has all the access to the state weapons, I'm surprised that he does not use any of those but only with his bare hands. Perhaps I may hit the jackpot by guessing right about his ability. Or it may be something else. We shall see.

It is quite a good call to start the series with a "big bang" - bold, distinctive and even flashy with a courageous leader. This chapter chills the momentum and makes an introduction of the surrounding - the various people living and working, and the different structures and compartments in the ship. We are now able to put names on the faces that show. It appears that the ship is run in good hands with the expertise on board.

I kinda like the ship, the structure and facilities. It looks so cool with that gigantic arms which is able to pick up or snap off anything and brings it into its mouth-like hatch. The bridge inside reminds me of Professor Xavier from X-men. Don't they look alike?

Fancy they steal a truck loaded with food. But don't you ever drink, Tatsu! Even though you are a leader but you are still underage. There isn't time to relax, the enemy from the House of Bristol is coming your way. That's one cocky guy there.

What would be the outcome of the attack? Bristol looks like an interesting enemy who is arrogant and despicable. I'm looking forward to an excitement face-off of the two parties.

 

[KageTrigger]

Who knows maybe Mono's ability will be like Cerebro XD. He can send out Electromagnetic waves, to detect and locate Thundercore humans. Libellula would just have to lend him the chair and we got our X-men.

 

[ProGoddess]

Who knows maybe Mono's ability will be like Cerebro XD. He can send out Electromagnetic waves, to detect and locate Thundercore humans. Libellula would just have to lend him the chair and we got our X-men.

Oh yeah! That will be very funny. I like the X-men shows a lot and I'm fascinated over Professor Xavier's ability. It will be considered plagiarism if the author copies too much. But the electromagnetic waves and telepathic abilities seem like very cool (and useful to hunt people down) which may suit Mono. He uses his hair to cover almost half of his face - is he just being shy or something else? He's quite a mysterious boy. I wonder if his eyes are the source of power, or if they are exposed he will become out of control like going berserk. Or the eyes may have accelerated power that is very destructive; so much so that he can cause massive destruction and therefore, he always keep his eyes covered. Again, it reminds me of Kakashi from Naruto series where he keeps his left eye (Sharingan) covered so that it will not drain off his chakra (energy). Don't worry about what I say on Kakashi if you don't read Naruto. But for the part on Mono, it will be interesting to have a background story of him. This kid has a lot of potential for character development, together with his ability. Though he appears to be on the side of Tatsu, I won't be surprised if he turns around and goes against him and his friends in the future for whatever reason, presumably they manage to find them, say with his telepathic power or some other ways.

I'm awaiting how the story will develop, particularly the relationship between Tatsu and Mono.

 

[KageTrigger]

I'm awaiting how the story will develop, particularly the relationship between Tatsu and Mono.

I'm an X-men fan too, watched the shows, movies, and even read some comics, so yeah it would be cool if Mono had some Xavier like ability.

But yeah I'm looking forward to see where things go. It's possible that Mono might get his chance to shine in this battle with Excalibur, I'd like to see how this battle plays out. Will Tatsu board the ship, or will it be ship Vs ship battle. Hope we could see Mono use his abilities soon, it'd give us an idea on how the other kids powers work.

 

[obamamania]

This is a very interesting manga, I'm really looking forward to how it continues to progress. One thing I agree with though is that the pace needs to get a bit under control. After this current skirmish, they need to reach a point where they are not under constant pursuit from the government. Learning more about a nation from the ground up is absolutely necessary in a manga like this that starts off as a fight against the system. Their thundercore human treatment is immoral for sure, but let's see the struggles of the populace.

 

[ProGoddess]

The author gives the impression that he is taking the "fast forward" pace and gradually slowing down to the "normal." In such presentation, the story has a good start with an "action-pack" to catch readers' attention and raises their adrenaline. He will then move to the background story. In the current chapter 4, we see a slightly slower momentum when we get an introduction of the various characters and the ship's structure and compartments while the Crew - Tatsu and co - continue their journey with the government on their tail.

I don't mind the "forward" and "backward" pace as long as it is illustrated with care. As far as the few chapters go, it continues to arouse my interest. I'm curious on these thunderbolt humans and their abilities, as well as the Supreme Leader.

In the next chapter(s) to come, it will be nice to see some action from Mono. I suspect his ability may have (already) surpassed Tatsu's and in the long run, who knows he may become the opposition party against Tatsu and his ideal. That will be an interesting plot with "friends betraying friends." Well, it can work both ways, Mono is either for or against, depending on how the author writes it.

 

[kira]

I had my doubts at the start.. but it seems the author has proven me wrong.

things are kinda getting interesting now.


also I just read that "Love Rush & Red Sprite are joining vizs jump next issue."

so more good news for the manga and the fans.

 

[KageTrigger]

Has anyone seen the raws of chapter 5 yet?