Golden Future Cup entry. Lost to Phantom Seer. Became Aliens Area.
Harakiri Gomen (2020, 4 chapter, Weekly Shonen Jump Digital Edition)
Miniseries only included with digital copies of Weekly Shonen Jump. Samurai stuff.
Run dates: Jun 6, 2022 to Oct 24, 2022
Chapters/Volumes: 20/3
Series it replaced: Ayashimon by Yuji Kaku
Series that replaced it: Pick any of the latest round of four, it’s not very clear. Maybe Cipher Academy because that’s the second series of the round and this was the second cancellation. So Cipher Academy by Nisio Isin and Yuji Iwasaki
About the Manga
Plot
An evil group has infiltrated society with super magical destructive powers, altering the very foundation of the world around us. The main character had a shitty life but has a really cool power which they don’t understand that is related to that evil group but they meet a cool cop who seems like kind of a jerk at first but actually shows them a little bit of empathy like a cool older sibling would. The main character is then attacked by the evil group but the cool cop shows up to help and then asks them to join their cool squad where everyone talks about how cool the older sibling cop is.
The main character then meets everyone in the group and you’d think they would be jerks but they’re actually really nice and accommodating to them. It would be really cool to have them as siblings, like some kind of ‘found family’ if you will. Together they have to stop the evil group and because they have similar powers to the bad guys are the only ones who can stop them. The main character then goes on training missions where they have to stop very real violence committed by the evil infiltrators where we get to see how cool the squad members are.
Then there’s a really bad guy with surprisingly cool powers with a connection to either the cool cop or the main character. Someone makes a valid point about how maybe the cops are doing something bad and the cool cop is like “yeah they might kind of have a point. Ah well can’t worry about it now.” Then the cool cop fights the enemy and you think he died but actually he didn’t. He survived all because the main character did a cool thing. The manga ends with them resolving to continue the fight. Wait are we talking about Aliens Area, Tokyo Shinobi Squad, Earthchild, Phantom Seer, Super Smart Phone, Akaboshi, or Hi Fi Cluster, I forget.
Characters
Tatsumi Tatsunami
Third year
Tough guy
Like ichigo
Roughian with a heart of gold
Dr guy
A cop or something
Fights aliens and doesn’t afraid of anything
Gravity powers kinda
Dead inside me irl
Kiyotora muro
Leader of team 5
Very formal
Very supportive of his teammates
Def best character in the series
Akina
Only actually good and correct person in the series
Fell in love with an alien who disappeared
Was a nazi but reformed after falling in love
Killed immediately
Yutaka
Pyro from x-men
Why it failed
Giant ass hands
This chapter is really slow, it’s 16 pages before anything remotely starts
The paneling is really boring it’s all squares
This is just the same dialog over and over again why did they need to spend 6 pages on if they'll wipe his memory
A lawful good protagonist is so boring in this implementation
It really wants to be character driven but the pacing is too slow and we don't know what makes the characters interesting
This feels like a Nintendo game with nonstop tutorials like I just want to play
The exam was stupid the mc just got an item that by chance was a hard counter
What it did well
Arts good
Smarty knows the Dr is a more interesting character
I like the not everything is solved with violence direction
Where it could have gone
Make the protagonist a pos shit a csm but with aliens would be dammit that's dandadan
What if it was legit everyone is down for being part alien and it's super positive
Make it like 007 where they get a random load out of tools and see how they're used in each mission
I like this idea of them being given fighting weapons but not using it vs talking and smart use of gadgets
Misc Thoughts
What is with all the ellipsis dialog…
The balls to have a splash page of people sitting in the 3rd to last chapter
Maxy Bee thoughts:
The editor changed about a month in, which isn’t uncommon, but I don’t have many interesting things to say.
The series shortens to AliAre in Japan, pronounced Ah-lee-ah-ree, which is cute. Kind of pointless, as Aliens Area is already a short title. Like this isn’t TeniPuri (The Prince of Tennis), you know?
The series will have been over for THREE MONTHS by the time volume 2 comes out. Big wait for all its 5 fans.
That was mean, sorry. I read chapter 1. Seemed nice enough
Final Verdict
Six Word summary
Community
Tucker: Here come the Nakama in Black \ Still better than any MIB sequel
Maxybee:
Zzdigitl: I got neuralyzered, what happened again?
Throes: Please draw more stupid looking children
Loser: There were only like 3 aliens
Duderocks: It's a better MIB then international
The Laughing Fool: About aliens, by aliens, for aliens
Orange: MIB parasyte starring highschooler will smith
Bigg: Sick of yokai? Well, here's aliens
Riel: Aliens exist, do paperwork, nothing happens.
Genericman: "No, we have MIB at home"
Shrimp Lord: MIB, but worse in every way.
Chickenwarlord: Too much exposition alienated the readership