Shonen Jump Traded Two Incredible Manga For Duds

When Shonen Jump cuts series off, there is always the hope that they’ll be replaced with something even better. Unfortunately, two recent casualties of their strict cutting process were replaced with a set of series that could only charitably be described as duds.

Like many new series, Doron Dororon and Ayashimon began with such promise, especially the latter, whose main appeal was how it incorporated some of the most celebrated aspects of One-Punch Man. But recent chapters are proving that the momentum driving them is dying down. In Ayashimon‘s case, its protagonist Maruo bases everything that happens on manga stereotypes. Ayashimon then thrusts this fanboy into the world of yokai that is caught in a yakuza war. While an intriguing recipe, Ayashimon recently took the risky move of having Maruo achieve his own version of Saitama’s dream (i.e. having to punch a monster more than once). As a result, all subsequent fights now feel hollow, forcing the series to depend almost entirely on Maruo’s quirk – which is pointing out and embracing manga stereotypes. Although amusing, it isn’t fascinating enough to carry the whole weight of an entire series.

Adding insult to Candy Flurry‘s cancellation, Doron Dororon incorporates the canceled manga’s best qualities but is far less effective. Basically, Doron‘s Dora wants to become a samurai but wields the power of their enemy – the mononoke. Oddly enough, Doron Dororon almost immediately gave up on the obvious conflict that should have arisen from this dilemma by having a strong samurai accept him. Even worse, as of chapter 13, the head of the samurai organization takes a level-headed approach by making Dora a special recruit rather than testing or imprisoning him. Meanwhile, the canceled Candy Flurry doubled the amount of time in which its hero Tsumugi is accepted by a member of the organization that hunts those who possess the power she wields, thus increasing the conflict. And by chapter 19, the leader of said organization hadn’t accepted Tsumugi with open arms, let alone met her.

Unfortunately, Doron Dororon‘s sin may have been forgivable if the samurai Dora serves were compelling, but they’re not. One is a rival of Dora who’s much stronger and not interested in their supposed rivalry. This reduces their dynamic to petty screaming matches that Dora meets with indifference, which is less interesting than even overused tropes, like Dora being weaker and desiring recognition from his rival.

Aside from Candy Flurry, the other axed series that Ayashimon and Doron Dororon replaced is The Hunters Guild: Red Hood whose only faults are that it didn’t incorporate the annoying ubiquitous comedic aspects of shonen that many series overly abuse at their own detriment and that it flat out refused to adhere to stagnant formulas. In regard to the latter, in addition to the hero Velou not possessing his own powers, he doesn’t receive an alternative by some unconventional means. He’s only a regular person who can just keep a level head during stressful circumstances and is somehow a leader even though he never led before adventure was forced upon him. Interestingly, superpowers aren’t a natural force in this world, and the few who possess them received them in unprecedented ways that would have been expected of Velou (but aren’t). Of course, the impending cancelation that was thrust prematurely on Red Hood forced the mangaka to reveal the truth about Velou and how his actual power is the “ability” to unravel the very fabric of their world.

It’s not only a tragedy that Shonen Jump axed Candy Flurry and Red Hood, but it would be utterly ridiculous if their replacements Ayashimon and Doron Dororon survive beyond chapter 19 when they are proving to be much less appealing than their predecessors by far.

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