Weekly Shonen Jump readers may have noticed another new entry in the magazine’s catalogue this week: Gokurakugai. Though new to the Shonen Jump family, the series has already seen some fame in Japan, being featured in Jump’s monthly serialization with six chapters out already!
With multiple popular series’ like Dr Stone and Demon Slayer, having reached their finale alongside the shortcomings of cancelled series such as Dorondororon, Ayashimon, and Earthchild, Jump has been desperate to get their flow going; can Sano Yuuto’s Gokurakugai get that ball rolling? Here are our first reactions.
What is Gokurugai?
Before we get into our first thoughts on Gokurakugai, let’s take a step back and talk about the series. Written and illustrated by Sano Yuuta, this is the mangaka’s first serialized work after a string of one-shots, some of which are quite popular. Funny enough, Gokurakugai first gained popularity as a one-shot in 2020 before its serialization!
Following a pair of troubleshooters or odd-job handymen, Tao and Alma, the series tells the tale of their adventures in the bustling red-light district of modern-day Japan and all the wild jobs they take on. And in a world with a strange supernatural background, their odd jobs can never get too boring! Especially with Tao and Alma’s own supernatural ties being involved!
Now if you’d like to check it out first before hearing our thoughts on it, you can find the series in our “Where To Read” section at the bottom of the article. With that said, let’s get into it!
First Thoughts
The first thing that gives you an opinion of a manga before you even get to the text or plot, is the art. And I must say the art for this series is amazing! Right off the bat, Sano Yuuta’s unique character design and art speaks for itself.
Speaking of art, even though Gokurakugai isn’t exactly a battle series the artwork in some of the earlier fights is just spectacular! It reads very similar to Jujutsu Kaisen or early Bleach. The plot itself also seems to pull from these two series with Tao and Alma facing off against Maga, this series version of hollows or curses.
However, despite these similarities, Gokurakugai finds its own creative flow with all the different and strange requests the odd-job handymen get every chapter. After solving the missing people and corpses issue within their city, Tao and Alma can easily set their sights on the next problem that needs solving, reports of a monster at a countryside cemetery, all while maintaining their mysterious overarching plot. Simply put the series has a freedom that allows it to never get boring or stuck in one place, and it makes sense within the story.
On top of this, the characters are all entertaining in their own right with everyone bouncing off each other perfectly. The main characters along with their supporting cast, each with a vibrant personality, remind me of something you might see in something like Gintama or aboard the Thousand Sunny with Luffy and the Straw Hat crew!
Overall the series is already off to a great start and is already pulling in Western fans after only being out for less than a week! Long story short, if you like Jujutsu Kaisen, Gintama, or Dandadan this series is for you and you should definitely be checking out! We here at Animesenpai will definitely be checking it out, especially since it reminds us so much of another new favourite, Gachiakuta!
Fan Reactions
Where To Read
You can check out the first six chapters of Gokurakugai and plenty of other series officially and for free on both Viz Media and Manga Plus. As always, we urge readers to try to read the series officially, as this supports both the author and allows them to create more stories.
That’s all for today, but be sure to let us know your thoughts on this latest series down below! We’d love to hear your thoughts and opinions on what just happened!
