Sup' folks! Sakaki here with a surprise serialization in the water sports manga "Mizupolo"! This one took a while, but you can expect the same amount of research and background on the artists and a overview of the work itself. We've got two certified vets on one manga, so there's a bit to get into. Let's dive in!
The Writer
Miho Isshiki
Isshiki-sensei is an interesting case in that while she has had serialized series before, she's more known for her non series work. Though first, what she did on her own --Neko wa Matatabi, Sazezuri Highschool OK-BU! Gal ga Rakugoka ni Koi shitara, and of course, the pilot oneshot for Mizuporo. Most of her series have been short --no longer than two volumes, and vary in their subject matter. For example, Gal ga Rakugoka ni Koi Shitara is about a trendy gyaru falling in love with an up and coming rakugo storyteller. For those who aren't familiar with Rakugo, it's akin to storytelling on stage --where one storyteller uses only a paper fan for a prop and without moving tells a lengthy story that's usually comical in nature but can be sentimental too. Two popular manga about the subject are Akane Banashi in Weekly Shonen Jump and Decending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju. In this story the clashing worlds of traditional Japanese storytelling and a trendsetting girl clash. Meanwhile, Neko wa Matatabi is a four panel manga about a cat loving pair of siblings and their everyday with their cats --specifically the protagonist Tamotsu who loses his mind when in proximity to a kitty's cuteness.
From Gal ga Rakugoka ni Koi shitara
From Neko wa Matatabi.
From Mangaka to Zeiken~ Kakuteishinkoku yattemita~ kihon hen
I also feel like I'd be remiss not to mention that Isshiki did a whole manga about mangaka and filing taxes that was released under the Shonen Sunday label! I briefly read through it and it's pretty legit.
Though yes, looping back to what I mentioned earlier --Isshiki-sensei is a mangaka in her own right, but she's actually worked on another more popular manga as an assistant…perhaps you've heard of it.
Isshiki is a former assistant to Shinobu Otaka, the artist of Magi. Though she did more than simply draw backgrounds for the series --she drew different short spinoffs for the series as well for the Magi website, as well as for other Sunday magazines such as Super!
Amazingly enough, these are still available on the Magi anime website here. They serve mostly as side stories to what was going on in the anime and manga at the time often with a humorous bent. Isshiki's artwork is pretty close to Ohtaka's too, which makes these even funnier. With artwork this close to the original, these could even be considered canon, haha.
Though right before Mizuporo Isshiki had her own corner that infrequently appeared in WSS to report on new serials, events, and other things. It's somewhat like our twitter account! Hint, hint. With all of this I believe it's not a stretch to say that Isshiki's work behind the scenes is more notable than her series themselves, and now she's back to provide the story for Mizupolo with Naoki Mizuguchi providing the art.
The Artist
Naoki Mizuguchi
Mizuguchi on the other hand has been with Sunday for most if not all of his career and has several longer running series under his belt. Pictured above is his series from Big Comic Spirits: Ashita wa agarimasu. A shor comedy manga about a manga artist, his editor and assistant. This ran for five volumes, equaling 99 chapters from 2012-2014, and was followed up with a sequel Komitsu-sensei no jikaisaku ni gokitaikudasai. Which in a great piece of meta is about the protagonist from Ashita wa --Komitsu the mangaka struggling to come up with a sequel to his previous work. This ran for an additional two volumes, 41 chapters from 2014 to 2015.
Another of Mizuguchi's series ran again in Big Comic Spirits: Saotome senshu hitakasu. This series about a female boxer displays a different side to Mizuguchi's artwork and perhaps is much more reminiscent of what is seen in Mizupolo. Heck, it's advertised as a manga featuring "girls with amazing abs." In this series, Yae Saotome is a girl who's the featherweight chapter of the kanto tournament. She's looking to add a second championship to her mantle but makes the mistake of confessing to fellow boxer-and-love-interest Satoru who rejects her because he wants to focus on boxing and admittedly because he feels as if he isn't a match for her in and out of the ring. Yae is out of sorts afterward until the coach suggests they train together and build a mutual bond while secretly dating. This series ran for 10 volumes, and to date is Mizuguchi's longest serial (assuming Mizupolo doesn't outdo it!)
Y'know I think it's a shame this hasn't been licensed. It's not terribly long, has great artwork and the lead couple are endearing from what I've read. It wouldn't surprise me if the lack of anime is the reason why this hasn't seen wider release which is equally a shame --I feel like if it were being made now it'd have more of a chance. Alas. The manga knows when to take itself seriously and when to be cute romcom antics, plus I know lots of guys who'd be into a girl who could destroy them. Also yeah, those abs are worth writing about. I can also see why Isshiki and Mizuguchi teamed up for the original Mizupolo oneshot as their storytelling sensibilities gel well with one another, with Isshiki's wild sense of humor, and Mizuguchi's solid artwork and paneling. Speaking of, before we get into the series proper --first the oneshot.
As far as the artwork goes, Mizuguchi retains much of the same flair here as he does in the series. Makes sense since this oneshot ran in May 2023 so it's only been a few months between oneshot and series. However, as oneshots tend to, it's the story that has a major overhaul, along with some of the characters. In the oneshot, the protagonist is Ruku Tazawa who despite his short height wants to be part of the water polo team where he's literally surrounded by giants. Though big things come in small packages:
Ruku is swole. I see that the ab work Mizuguchi put in on his previous work didn't go to waste. Though --and I don't mean this in a reductive way -- as is this work is a staple of sports series, what with the underdog protagonist who's belittled for their height or nature being ill fitting for the sport. Heck, Takeru Atsumi tackled this in his series Chiisai Boku no Haru which sadly isn't currently in WSS due to their health, causing it to go on hiatus. So in that way there's nothing here we haven't already seen.
However, the execution, characters, and the art especially come together to be a greater sum than their parts. Does it renvent the wheel? No, but it doesn't need to. The oneshot ends with Ruku showing the other team that he's to be taken seriously, and even implies we'll see more of him soon. Does the series live up to that promise? Well..
The Serial
Mizupolo
Starting in Shonen Sunday issue # 50 of 2023 is Miho Isshiki and Naoki Mizuguchi's Mizupolo. The blurb introduces the series as a "Tall guy x Tall Guy" water sports comedy. Yup, it's no longer classified as a sports series but a water sports comedy. That doesn't sound very different on it's face but it completely changes the trajectory of this manga.
The Premise
Normally here I have to introduce the entire premise from the start, but it'll be simpler instead to just discuss what's different between the oneshot and the series. The first of course is Ruku is no longer the protagonist. For the series Chikuma Shinano and Katsura Yamashiro take over the driver's seat. The story begins with Chikuma having the unfortunate timing of transferring into a new class around Golden Week (akin to Spring Break) and wondering if this will keep him from making friends Luckily he isn't alone as Katsura Yamashiro also transfers in on the same day in the same classroom. Now, Shinano is a big guy for his age --185 cm or 6 feet tall. He's metaphorically and literally overshadowed by Zur--er, Katsura who is 191 cm or 6'2. Not only that, he has a kansai dialect which makes him stand out even more. Poor Shinano can only think to himself how he's got a Nagano dialect and no one seems to care now..
From there the chapter is split into vignettes much like Ogami Tsumiki no kinichijo where Yamashiro and Shinano build a comradre after getting off on the wrong foot. Yamashiro notices that Shinano is interested in joining a sports club and immediately asks if they can join the water sports club together. Shinano not surprisingly wants nothing to do with the guy who effectively erased his presence in the class on his very first day, but Yamashiro won't take no for an answer. Mostly because while he's tall and cool looking he's got absolutely no experience in sports or exercise of any kind.
It's so wonderfully awkward. A lot of the humor comes from Yamashiro's appearance betraying his athletic ability (or lack thereof.) So, effectively it's leaning more into the idea of being a comedy manga that happens to have a sport in it, rather than the other way around of being a sports manga that's funny.
Which hey, it's deadpan sense of humor is funny. Shinano finds Yamashiro painful to watch, and upon seeing how well he can draw from a distance (this is a portrait Yamashiro drew of Shinano --from the back of the class.) he just flatly says "Dude, why not join the art club?" Though it is a far cry from the oneshot that promised a straightforward water sports underdog story.
It's an almost literal fish out of water story, a reverse I'm Sakamoto manga, where the humor is derived at how cool Yamashiro looks despite being suck at everything. Though admittedly the swim cap on his head detracts a few points from his overall cool factor he still has a little dignity left --which is all immediately drowned when he leaps into the water and sinks like a rock, prompting Shinano to save him ending the first chapter. Subsequent chapters are also shorter than the standard 18 pages for a WSS manga, which firmly places this into the short-comedy category in the magazine.
Chaper two is more of the same, Yamashiro trying so hard to be good at this sport but failing spectacularily. Furthermore he's also outgoing-ish despite his stoic demeanor. That being said, there isn't much sports in these first two chapters. I have to wonder what prompted this change --the oneshot felt like something closer to what Mizuguchi would write, while the series leans more into Isshiki's absurd sense of humor. Isshiki had a commentary about this in WSS, but all she said is she wanted to write a series about handsome muscle bound men doing something with little clothing, implying anything would have worked for her haha. There's one more major change in the series proper, however, so let's get to it.
I swear I'm not using this color page from chapter 3 as fanservice. I'm making a point! Really! But yes, this short girl (145 cm or 4'7) joins the protagonists --being a kuudere or a character who's cool, stoic to the point of coming off emotionless. (I don't classfy Yamashiro as this since he at least attempts to be friendly.) Though, to the point --what's this girl's name? Ruku Tazawa. Which is to say, this guy:
Is now this girl.
Personality wise, both Rukus are essentially the same. Short, blunt, and obstinant. However in the series, Ruku is seen as a prodiegy in spite of her height, rather than it being a point of contension. If the boy in the oneshot were actually a girl, one could even make the argument that this takes place after the oneshot where Ruku's abilities have been acknowleged. Though in this case they're very likely different characters entirely. I assume this is because they wanted at least one female character in the series where there were none in the oneshot, and someone felt particular about Ruku's personality and overall design enough to bring her back for this, which I agree is a good move. Between Yamashiro's aloof-extrovertedness, and Shinano being the straight man, Ruku serving as the blunt center works --even surrounded by these huge guys she still gives them cute nicknames and inadvertently belittles them with her commentary and being way better at the sport than they are. I'd expect no less from the heroine magazine.
No the series didn't get cancelled and replaced by a new volleyball manga with the same characters. This page from the most recent chapter is a sign that the series is also going to tackle school life as well as the water polo the title suggests. In this the guys are in gym class, and Yamashiro is finally able to get over on Shinano by simply being tall. It leads to a cute moment where Yamashiro assumes Shinano let him win which isn't the case, but he takes it as a sign of their deepening bond and fist bumps him because he thinks that's just what good sportsmen do. Ruku on the other hand sees his fist and immediately gets in a fighting stance, completely misunderstanding the gesture.
The Verdict
It's not unusual for a oneshot to go through many changes when becoming a serial. Some elements just don't work as well in a longer series, or the author(s) decide to go in another direction, etc. Though in the case of Mizupolo the oneshot ended in a way that could have made for an interesting work -or at least one I would have liked to see. I don't want to make it sound like I'm disappointed with what Mizuguchi and Isshiki have served up. I think it has good synergy with the current lineup of the magazine --with MMA, baseball and shogi titles. Not only that, but the series is genuinely pretty funny. I enjoy seeing Yamashiro, Shinano and Tazawa's interactions as they play off each other, which I can see being a root of many a hilarious scenario in this series's run. Maybe it won't be the next spokon masterpiece, but as far as being endearing and immaculatly drawn, Mizupolo swims smoothly along the surface of sunny waters, ripples of laughter in it's wake.
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