PART 19 of 52 ONESHOTS in 52 WEEKS
叶恭弘の『L∞P』 “Loop” by KANO Yasuhiro
Yasuhiro Kano was once a regular in the pages of Shueisha’s prestigious Weekly Shounen Jump magazine, with his series Pretty Face and MxO running alongside the likes of Bleach, Naruto, and One Piece between 2002 and 2008. They didn’t abide with the same historic footprint as the magazine’s centerpieces, but were nonetheless loved for their comedy and creative set pieces.
Unfortunately, by his own admission, Kano is a slow worker. He had issues meeting deadlines, and was ultimately forced to wrap up both of his Shounen Jump series on short notice. The author had another short spell in Weekly Shounen Jump in 2011 with Harisugawa in Mirror World, but soon decided he wasn’t cut out for weekly manga anymore. Since then, he has worked on a fortnightly schedule, publishing his subsequent series in Weekly Jump’s sister magazine, Shounen Jump Plus.
Considering the unfinished nature of many of his serial manga, it’s interesting to look toward the author’s oneshots — arguably the most complete works in his repertoire. Yasuhiro Kano has penned many short works throughout his career, with both Pretty Face and MxO beginning as successful oneshots. His stories are typically rom-coms with a lot of zany comedy, but among his short manga, there is a stand-out piece titled Loop, which is a more violent and grim turn for the mangaka.
Loop was published in Jump Square magazine in 2009 and spans roughly 55 pages. The protagonist is Jean, a wealthy layabout and recent inheritor of his father’s vast fortune. In the opening pages, Jean is beaten and stabbed to death by violent associates who bluffed their way inside his mansion. As Jean passes on, lying bloody on the basement floor, his death suddenly begins anew, as he relives the scenario from the beginning for the one hundredth time.
It’s a curious piece among Kano’s bibliography, different in tone to much of his other work. In that way, readers familiar with Kano’s typical style may find it memorable, however, the whole notion of the time loop lacks somewhat in inventiveness. The oneshot features several hallmark characters—the wealthy bachelor, the elderly butler, the attractive housemaid—that almost will it to become a time looped take on a murder mystery, and it certainly dips its toes a little in that direction, but the loop itself isn’t afforded much focus. In fact, the one and only ‘reset’ occurs at the very beginning, with the oneshot quickly swapping tact for a more straightforward tale of retribution. Jean is bound to his death and unable to pass on due to his lingering regrets, and essentially becomes a vessel for vengeance. The motive behind Jean’s murder is a focus, but it feels decidedly conventional. I can only ponder at how riotous a mystery where the murdered keeps returning to decipher his own death whodunit style would have been.
That said, as a vengeance story it is an entertaining read. Both the artwork and plot flow well, and the violent scenes land with a certain viscerality. It’s not bloody and detailed in the way a seinen manga might be, but Kano draws the action with intensity and vigour. There are two or three panels where he illustrates killing blows as silhouetted freeze frames, which might sound like a cop-out when described in words, but they’re impactful and dramatic on the page. There are other panels with more front-on barbarity, such as one where a machete is driven into somebody’s cranium.
Come the end, the manga finishes on a surprisingly bittersweet note. It is an enjoyable romp, despite lacking some ingenuity with the loop motif. If you’re interested in checking out other Kano oneshots, his very first—Black City—is a great pick. It’s about characters with hidden chi-like powers, and is illustrated with a particularly impressive flow and panel arrangement. Arguably, it’s the origin of all of his work — Kano wrote it in 1992 for a Jump competition and won, thereafter it was published, and the rest is history.
Click here to explore the rest of 52 Oneshots in 52 Weeks and find my numerical ratings on MyAnimeList!
Morning, Roo 