Warning! Spoilers ahead for Stage S chapter 1!
A promising action manga called Stage S just debuted on publisher Shuiesha’s online spin-off magazine Shonen Jump+ (known internationally as MANGA Plus) instead of the main flagship publication Shonen Jump. Although not explicitly stated by Shueisha, it’s not hard for readers to come to the conclusion that series that are strictly relegated to MANGA Plus is a step down from appearing in Shonen Jump.
The official explanation is that MANGA Plus-only titles like That Dragon (Exchange) Student Stands Out More Than Me are there because their content is either too explicit for Shonen Jump‘s audience of teenage boys, or they are directed more towards teenage girls. MANGA Plus’ schedule is also much less demanding than the weekly grind of Shonen Jump. MANGA Plus series that garner a large amount of success get to appear simultaneously on the main Shonen Jump app like Kaiju No. 8, Dandadan and Spy x Family. When a mangaka whose first series finishes on MANGA Plus subsequently releases a new manga, Shueisha will often bump the mangaka’s follow-up manga to Shonen Jump. This definitely creates the impression that Shonen Jump is a step up from MANGA Plus.
Stage S by mangaka Tomoya Harikawa just so happens to be a brand-new MANGA Plus-only series that, based on the premier chapter, deserves to be published in the main Shonen Jump magazine. Aside from the beautifully rendered art and the haunting turn that transpires half-way through the premiere, what makes Stage S stand out from the host of other titles on Shonen Jump is how much the story is driven by love. Many of Shonen Jump‘s main series, by comparison, perplexingly avoid romance despite how much better their stories would be if they were incorporated it into the overall plot. And the few shonen that do, like My Hero Academia, rarely delve into the subject matter save for Black Clover.
Conversely, all of the actions of Stage S‘ hero Meguru Ukiyo from here on out will be completely motivated by love and, like all great shonen series, those actions will manifest in a fantastical way that should whet the appetite of any fan who desires out-of-this-world battle systems and powers in their action manga. Coaxing those who have read the first chapter of Stage S is the fact that Harikawa has only provided a mere glimpse at what Ukiyo is now capable of. Events in the first chapter do make one question how the central romance of the manga will be able to continue in subsequent installments. But the amount of romance readers enjoy in the debut should be enough to drive the story forward, and the reason for its absence in future chapters will undoubtedly function as an underlying force. There’s also the hope that, since Harikawa has shown they’re more than capable of conveying the love in their characters’ relationships, these emotional moments will be explored further in flashbacks.
Of course, it’s possible that publisher Shueisha gave mangaka Tomoya Harikawa the choice of debuting Stage S in Shonen Jump and that Harikawa consequently chose MANGA Plus instead to avoid the overly ridiculous scheduling of the flagship magazine. That would make sense, as Stage S‘ debut chapter is nowhere close to being too explicit, nor is it strictly a shojo like Spy x Family. Stage S‘ compelling debut, along with the incorporation of romance that’s bafflingly absent in almost every other big-name manga right now, are just a few of the many reasons why Shueisha should have published Stage S in Shonen Jump.
