Usually I like getting these out asap, but Strand is unique in that the slow build up in chapters has lent itself to letting more of it unfurl than hopping on things immediately. However, I don't want to end up writing this after the first volume releases either, lol. So, begrudgingly, I'll go forward with what we have. Both of these artists have been busy before this serialization too, so we'll really have to pace ourselves. Let's get in there.
The Author
Number 8
I have a love-hate relationship with Author pennames. Sometimes they're really cool (and more importantly unique so they're easy to look up and do research on) and other times you have...this. I wonder if it's a play on the person's actual name or something...? Tracking down their works was a little challenging as was piecing together who they are. Though thanks to an interview with Shinichi Ishizuka of Blue Giant fame, I was able to ascertain that they're a manga editor and a scenario writer. As an aside, I've seen this happening more frequently in the manga world, where editors will come from behind the desk and become writers (or artists) in their own right. Which, hey, I get it --after years of assisting others with telling their stories, you wanna come from behind the counter and take a crack at it. Series such as Tsuyoshi: Daremo Katenai, Aitsu ni wa (Tsuyoshi: Against him, no one can win.) and even Te no Geka (which I wrote about) has had rumors going around that previous head editor of Weekly Shonen Sunday Takenori Ichikawa might have taken a pseudonym and be the writer alongside Takahiro Arai. It's a sign of the times when editors can openly chase their dreams and I'm here for it.
But yes, Number 8. They've done...a lot. So much that I could write a lengthy article about them alone. Though as it goes with series featured here, most of these stories are language locked to Japan except for the aforementioned Blue Giant series, which even then has only had one “arc” brought over courtesy of Seven Seas Entertainment. So rather than elongate this entry even more, I'll sling out their Shogakukan titles down and dirty. Maybe someday I'll come back and give Number 8 the attention they deserve…
Shinichi Ishizuka and Number 8's Big Comic Original oneshot: 50 Years Later
Number 8 and Hinako Yano's Ura Sunday series Kaze no Yari
Number 8 and Sakuzo Baku's Ura Sunday series Abura
Number 8 and Shinichi Ishizuka's Big Comic series Blue Giant.
Number 8 and Akihisa Maki's Weekly Shonen Sunday oneshot Three Throw.
Immediately identifiable from this mighty lineup of works is Number 8 is no one-trick pony, being behind several works at once sometimes! From Sci-fi, to historical action, Jazz, and sports, Number 8 does it all. Three Throw above was illustrated by Akihisa Maki who would go on to become a writer in their own right with Kaiten no Albus which runs in WSS as of this writing. Abura is also the only one of these works that has concluded, which is to say Number 8 is a busy, busy person. Also worth noting is this is only their Shogakukan works. If I were to include the series they're doing with other publishers, this write-up would balloon to staggering lengths. With so much out there, it's almost impressive (in a bad way) that only a part of one of their series has made it over stateside in Blue Giant. Hey, at least we got that epic movie too, but the series is still going in Japan and I only hope someday someone will continue it. (Maybe head over and send Seven Seas your vote of confidence? Politely. No pitchforks please.)
Number 8 works with Shinichi Ishizuka fairly often, but another artist they seem pretty close with is Ryohei Masuko, and wouldn't you know it? They're up next.
The Artist
Ryohei Masuko
In a refreshing change of pace, Ryouhei Masuko has embraced the internet and has an entire digital portfolio available online! No disrespect, I get that mangaka like their privacy, but having a site where their biography is there for the reading makes my life so much easier. They hail from Chiba prefecture and were born June 16, 2000. They work as an illustrator/mangaka that likes cool cars, fashion, and the regret that comes from buying expensive clothes. Among their first works was Survive Your Life, which got an honorable mention in the New Generation Sunday mangaka contest. They also worked as an assistant to Yuhiro Tsujitsugu on Snowball Earth as well as doing several one-shots with Shogakukan since 2022.
From Survive Your Life
Again, they're the prolific type and have done a ton of oneshots for Shogakukan. Rather than detail each one, I'll provide a link where you can read them (or look since they are in Japanese, sorry!) The one shot in particular I want to focus on is Kairiki which was written by, you guessed it, Number 8.
Kairiki by Number 8 and Ryouhei Masuko
As this ran in Weekly Shonen Sunday (issue 26 of 2022) we do have a brief rundown of the plot over on our twitter. Essentially, it's about a boy who's incredibly strong and at first settles for fitting in, but through a chance meeting decides to use his strength to help others. A basic idea with straightforward execution and a bit of dry humor, but by no means bad.
Overall, I'd say Masuko-sensei's strength is their speedy art that oozes style. Even in a medium without sound or color, they have a way of making panels and artwork pop right off the page. You'd think this would be more fitting for an action series, something Strand is definitely not --at least not so far.
The Serial
Strand
Starting in Issue #41 of Weekly Shonen Sunday is Ryohei Masuko and Number 8's series Strand. The description says that it's an “Abnormal anti-electronical parade” youth drama series.
The series follows four high school students --the future building smartphone obsessed Susumu Manaka, the school idol Kokoro Narusawa, the brave smartphone less Kanata Asahina, and the narcissist Keinosuke Shirane. These four aren't particularly close, but spend their days as teenagers do -- hanging out going to school, saving elderly ladies from car exlposions, etc.
Susumu and Kanata.
Okay, maybe it's not exactly the sort of thing High Schoolers do, but these scenes are snapshots into what kind of characters they are. Susumu sees a lady get into an accident and calls 911, while Kanata leaps into action and drags her out of the car. Neither are portrayed as the right thing to do, just different decisions.
Here Susumu comments on how he can see the outside world whenn he puts his phone aside, but it looks as if it's frozen. It's a poignant statement full of foreshadowing, or looked at another way, foreboding.
The sense of drama in the chapter comes from Kanata's home life where his little brother lives in squalor, their mom out with some man, while he's working several part time jobs and can still barely come up with enough money to stay on the phone with his brother for long. Even then, he chooses kindness after Susumu asks him why he can't upload the video of him saving the old lady. To Kanata, too many people would be adversely affected. Be it the old woman who would be blamed, to the gas station, and even Susumu who recorded it. Susumu who's looked at everything so far logically --(even calculating the chances he can date Kokoro down to the percentage) realizes that his heart is being moved by Kanata's kindness even if he's not sure at all why. Meanwhile, a mysterious group is inflating balloons for an unknown purpose, and we're told that it's only three days until all electronic devices become unusable.
I haven't said much about Kokoro or Keisuke so far. As of current writing, there hasn't been too much to them yet, aside from Kokoro's obsession with K-idols (something she shares with her mother, and it's cute to watch them streaming a concert together and squeeing over cute boys) as the narrative focuses more on Susumu and Kanata's bond deepening (much to the former's chagrin). Kanata's struggle with his poverty --even going as far as chopping up a dead stag for food is depicted in great detail. How can someone so kind be so destitute?
This all would be an interesting, very Sunday-esque series on it's own, but the elephant in the room (and why I waited to write this) is the brooding countdown until the electronic devices fail and the world as these characters know it change. There's heavy usage of smartphones, social media and other devices to drive in how essential these have become in society. So what will happen when those devices can no longer guide or assist?
The men dressed in black and their mysterious balloons have been depicted, and therefore come off as something completely unrelated to the series about Susumu and Kanata. Aside from the countdown until the electronics of the world cease to function, it hasn't been clearly defined whether the events coming are an effect of their actions or something entirely different. The most recent chapter sees the teens going on a field trip as the government sorties the military to investigate the balloons just to see them erupt (above). It's heavily implied that this is what leads into the predetermined events but that just opens up more questions to be answered. Foremost (for me at least) is what kind of series will Strand become once the lights turn off? I usually don't do more than armchair theory craft since most of the time when I write these the trajectory of these series is somewhat clear, but here it feels as if we're not even at the beginning of the story. But here goes..
I think the adverts, the blurbs and the editorial have been purposely vague because what Strand will be after lights out is a survival suspense series. The character archetypes are there --the pretty tomboyish class idol, the mysterious narcissistic prettyboy, the smart, calculating protagonist, and of course the hunter who doesn't need modern conveniences. Furthermore, Susumu slowly taking a lesson in kindness from Kanata is a wonderful set-up for a character arc that will see him use his logic empathetically. Oh, and Kanata's home situation and abject poverty is tantalizing for a character arc of his own. What do you think?
The Verdict
This one is a hard nut to crack without more information. I've definitely written these reviews before for series where it wasn't clear where they were heading, but not to this extent. I can't even use the past works of Number 8 and Ryouhei Masuko as a point to theorize, since they're both taking on a challenge with this series that they haven't before. In that way it's exciting to see where this series might go, (and more importantly if my theory above is correct). If I am, it'll be the first(?) time in recent memory that a Sunday series has gone the suspense action route. Though on the other hand, I almost want to be wrong, and the series goes in a completely different direction. Strand is a unique beast in the pages of Weekly Shonen Sunday. Likely because of the varied background of its author and illustrator. I.e. Number 8's extensive background of telling a myriad of tales between different publishers and demographics (simultaneously!) and Masuko-sensei's strengths as an action mangaka, taking on their first serialization that is decidedly more meticulously paced. I don't know what to expect from the series, but I'm seated, impatiently waiting for more.
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