A Reverie of Comics! Hachi

Well this is odd. I'm talking about a manga. I like to keep up with the new Shounen Jump series, and the newest series is Hachi by Nishi Yoshiyuki. Is this series worth reading? Well in a nutshell probably. It's difficult judging a series by its first chapter as a lot of elements change in those first few chapters. But I actually really enjoyed Hachi while reading it and I'll be keeping up with the series as long as it continues to be entertaining.

What's the story? Hachi is a young middle school student of a short stature. What makes him special is that he has an incredible sense of smell. His dream for the future is to be a hero. But Hachi isn't popular and he doesn't have very many friends because he's short and a dork. I like Hachi, he's got a lot of standard shounen protagonist traits such as bravery and resolve but he also acts like early Naruto. He does stupid stunts to get attention and he does have flaws such as being selfish and aloof. But that is balanced by his kind heart and genuinely good nature. Hachi is a pretty good character that avoids some of the bland shounen hero tropes.

Here's something surprising. I like the female lead. So many new series have some of the most bland or dumb female leads. Hachi does the strangest thing of actually making her interesting. When she was younger she was a tomboy and even looked like a guy. Hachi and her would often hang out and play as boys do. But then she left with her mother for the summer and when she returned she looked more like a girl. Because of this Hachi didn't even recognize her and slowly she became the school idol. Hachi became jealous and frustrated at her new popularity and felt he lost his best friend. That's interesting and a relatable issue! She also still wants to be Hachi's friend and often stands up for him, but Hachi constantly tries to push her away because of his feelings. The two have a good dynamic and I hope it's continued in the coming chapters.

My biggest problem with the series is the art. Nishi certainly has a style, but I'm not a fan. It's not bad but I just can't seem to like it.

The story revolves around Hachi learning about the truth behind his incredible sense of smell and the rash of serial murders going on around Tokyo. There's a real air of mystery and the series doesn't shy away from gore. I'm hooked on what's going to happen and I recommend giving the first chapter a read.