Seikimatsu Leader Den Takeshi!

This is a bit difficult manga to describe. While mainly a gag manga for the younger part of the shounen spectrum, it’s a jack of many genres and it doesn’t fumble any of them. The content itself… well, it’s a cliché description to use in this age, but “random” really would depict it the best. I’m convinced the author did not think more than chapter ahead at any point. But that is not necessarily a bad thing, just a warning that the content is ever-changing and not bound to logic or conventional storytelling beats. Hell, the author even self-inserts in the manga to showcase howhe’s doing things on whim. The main content is gag manga, obviously, but it still has pretty good serious action sequences. Which are in turn humorous as you remember those are 7-11 years old kids, they just happened to look like grown-ass macho men and delinquents. The art flows quite nicely with the flow, with simple silly drawings for gags and more serious, detailed and decently choreographed panels for action. The humour can be a bit too crude for some people, especially if you really dislike the piss and shit of toilet humor, but thankfully that’s not too often. Where it truly shines is the unexpected and the over the top. Regarding the action content, the series goes from spoofing Fist of the North Star, HxH or Dragon Ball to even genuinely well-made moments of horror. The fights are surprisingly hype and villains eye-catchningly introduced. There are some dull comedic chapters and some arcs might feel a bit repetitive in structure given how it plays on battle shounen tropes, but in general it’s still an enjoyable read. The final big arc is quite impactful too, which is nice as that’s easy thing to whiff on. Going back to arstyle, I quite enjoy the character design here. Even the main cast is already quite atypical and easily distinct from other series running in the magazine at that time. And when monsters start appearing, those are really good in a way that they are asymmetrical, silly but serious, no regard for what anatomy would make sense, just going purely by vibe. And that is true for the whole manga, it really feels like guts and funny are the main pulling power for what gets put on page and it’s a nice change of pace from manga that take itself too seriously. Basically, if you’re in mood for some chaotic classic manga where all characters are boke and reader is the only straight man, consider giving this a try.