High Hopes for New Blood

Nue's Exorcist by Kota Kawae is another of Shonen Jumps freshman class this year, centered around a high school with a spirit sealed inside for the last 60 years that yearns to be freed by a student. Thankfully, her wish is granted by our protagonist Gakuro Yajima, a high schooler who is able to see spirits.

However, he is not the bravest or most emotionally driven of students. Instead, he prefers to lay low and make sure to show little to no emotion in order to not agitate the spirits of the school. After being bullied to buy lunch for his classroom resident dickhead and his buddies, Gakuro (the protagonist) decides to have lunch by himself up on the roof. That is, until he opens a door to see a whole bunch of spirits fly out only to be eliminated in the blink of an eye by Nue. 

After shaking off his nerves, Gakuro is invited into her classroom and shows off a rather playful/competitive side as she easily beats him in a fighting game. That's right! A spirit that takes the form of a human woman and who's into pop culture and gaming culture. From there, we see the dynamic slowly develop between the two and hopefully it pays off in future chapters.

Though not a strong start, it definitely has the bones to pull off a rather good - heck, even great - story. My one complaint is that Gakuro suffers from "anime protagonist hairstyle". Look at the following image and explain just what the hell even is this?!

I mean, is it his hair curling under his eye, is it a growth? No clue. All I know is that it drives me insane. But other than that, this series shows promise as a solid supernatural action/comedy. If you want to read more, check it out on the Shonen Jump app! The first chapter released on Sunday, May 14 and the next one is slated for the next Sunday.

Hope you enjoyed this little taste of what's to come in the future of Shonen Jump.