Manga skeleton double chapter 26

After just a few chapters, Skeleton Double has managed to reveal enough information about its plot to invite intrigue, settling up a host of mysteries while delivering individually satisfying chapters. The manga is a careful blend of action and mystery, with an unexpected tinge of horror. The visuals so far are also truly original, as proved by the monsters of the series, revealed in chapter 3, who appear and Jujutsu Kaisen, the two most innovative manga in terms of monsters design. Underneath the action, it’s clear that Skeleton Double also cares about the psychological development of its main character. Arakawa’s story follows the common themes of how traumatic events can significantly impact social behavior, but there is also a certain determination in his attitude that keeps his heroism inspiring.

What is the point of all this, anyway? Skeleton Double‘s most interesting trait is also its greatest weakness; the fact that thirteen chapters in, it’s basically still a total cipher. Not that any mangaka—any artist period—is under any obligation to explain their work in excruciating detail to their audience, but it’s a little unusual for a Shonen Jump manga, which are generally pretty straightforward. (And given the entire chapter devoted to how skeleton powers work, I get the sense that if Kondou wanted to explain things in excruciating detail, they would.) You can, from a certain angle, also read elements of it as parodic, but that doesn’t square with the honest attempt at emotional rawness in its most recent chapters. (Reasonable people will also disagree on how well that attempt actually lands. Post-hoc villain backstories aren’t exactly rare in this genre.)

A new manga that recently started to be serialized on has all the potential to become the next big hit for the industry. Skeleton Double by Tokaku Kondo, the author of an interesting one-shot called The God Who Can’t Clean Up, brings together mystery, horror, and classic shonen battles with a distinct visual approach and an intriguing plot, but it should be wary of avoiding the stereotypes of the genre.

Shonen Jump’s Skeleton Double Can Be Its Best New Manga

It’s hard to tell how intentional all that is, but one has to imagine that at least part of it is on purpose. There is after all, a particularly great moment in here—perhaps the manga’s single best scene so far—where, after several chapters of being introduced to urban fantasy proper nouns, one of the Gyugess’ soldiers shouts out that a “cypress” is attacking them. As you turn the page, and have the opportunity to wonder what a “cypress” could possibly be, you see this, a beautifully-rendered tree crashing into their base. It is an almost perfect punchline, and if Skeleton Double gets axed before it can truly get off the ground, I think Tokaku Kondou may well have a future in writing comedy manga. (Don’t laugh! It worked out just fine for Aka Akasaka.)