Introducing a new segment focusing on seeries in danger - first of we have Kurobane Hakusho by Uchida Kouhei from Weekly Shonen Champion.
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First, though let me tell what Kurobane Hakusho is about. The series features Kurobane, the school council president at middle school and he wants to devote himself to resolving any issues student have. When I first read the synopsis of this series I believed it was going to a school life manga with dramatic elements here and there but it would still be mostly a light hearted story.
These expectations were betrayed when the series began however instead proved to be focused a lot more on the school drama aspect through exploring many things such as bullying, jealousy, hate on social media and the likes that students face. The main character seeks to resolve these issues in other to guarantee everyone at school is happy. It is not exactly the focus on these aspect that make the series dramatic but how it dramatises them through the art by using a lot of black inking and more impactful panels. These panels good because it allows the artist to show the strength of his art but also its ability to plays well in setting the mood.
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| Copyright - Uchida Kohei and Akita Shoten |
Another aspect that stands out is his storytelling. The first chapter for instance only teased many aspects of the story such as the main character ability and his past, it did not give away too much information for instance, the main characters ability was shown in use but it was not exactly explained and only certain hints were given. In this sense Kurobane Hakusho has a more active story telling that expects more from the reader, even if the hints and the how the story unfolds can lead to obvious developments. However, I can still appreciate shonen stories that can hold themselves back from simply using passive forms of story telling, and in this case Uchida Kouhei manages to use his art alongside the narrative.
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I believe that the author missed an opportunity though. This setting is too simplistic and overused and the 'special' touch he added is a weak. No one expect the issues from school life to be exactly new but the way its dealt whilst it is impactful in regards to art, it does not stroke emotions so it feels weak and the pay off is never quite satisfying because the author is not great at portraying lighter moments like something like Mairimashita! Iruma-kun. This comparison is valid because these series in a sense are like polar opposites whilst Iruma-san has a dark set up it is used as gag and it is light hearted series with minor elements of drama whilst Kurobane Hakusho at first seems light hearted but it is a serious series maybe even too serious, it is weak at balancing lighter elements from serious ones.
This is why I believe this series might struggle to garner anyone attention whilst I recognise his skill at telling the story, the story itself is not strong enough to draw eyes and the art by itself will not carry it. In part because whilst shonen works live of their art most have stylistic appeals and Uchida Kouhei's art whilst good it does not have its own style.
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