Manga First Impression: MamaYuyu

With titles like Tenmaku Cinema sadly being canceled and Black Clover moving over to Jump GIGA magazine, it's no surprise we’ll see some new titles pop up in the pages of Shonen Jump. One such title is MamaYuYu by Yoshihiko Hayashi.

Official Summary

An era of peace between the hero and demon lord is upon us! In this peaceful world, the hero Corleo is nothing but an empty suit. But one day, a hero and demon lord from another world appear before him! How will Corleo deal with the chaos these invaders bring to his world?! A new type of fantasy epic now begins!

Quick Information

Mangaka: Yoshihiko Hayashi
Publisher: Shonen Jump
Published: September 11, 2023
Genre: Action, Fantasy

First Impressions

While not my most anticipated of the new titles that will be premiering in the coming weeks, I was interested in seeing what a new mangaka has to offer. 

The story is about a hero named Corleo who lives in a peaceful world raised by the demon lord Mamama. An era of peace has been in this land where humans and demons live side by side, and titles like “hero” and “demon lord” mean nothing. Corleo however doesn’t know how to deal with his title nor does he understand what it really means to be a hero. One day a hero and demon lord from another world appear and Corleo’s life is never the same.

It was the concept of a demon lord and hero coexisting that had me initially interested in this story. I never expected the demon lord to play mother to this hero, which added something more into this mix. 

The character design for Corleo was simple, pairing his casual and somewhat frustrated vibe with your standard shonen protagonist wild hair.  However I think his parent, Mamama, looks and acts a bit young for someone who is supposed to be 38. She looks very similar to the main character from RuriDragon. The arrival of the new hero from another world really helps escalate the plot. Even the hero’s design is completely different from our main character, telling of a “grittier” alternate world.

After this development, I started to enjoy the story and even got excited to see how it was going to play out, especially considering the twist. I won’t spoil it here but I definitely think any fans of shonen series should give this first chapter a read. I always enjoy reading some timey-wimey stuff so it easily hooked me with that. 

This debut chapter has a lot of interesting things I like in a story, however at its core, it feels like a one-shot. The ending wraps up all the problems and plot points the beginning of the chapter brought up neatly. I don’t mean this negatively; I’m conflicted with my feelings towards this first chapter. A one-shot can still be considered a good story, I just wonder about its life expectancy as an ongoing series. Where will the story go from here? Will this series end up being episodic or will the manga begin a whole new arc with staying power in chapter 2?

Rating: ★★★☆☆