Kara Dennison
April 18, 2024 
The newest issue of Shonen Jump brought with it a fresh new title: Astro Royale. The first chapter of this brand new manga is currently free to read on the Viz website, and SJ subscribers can follow every new chapter as it drops on the app.
So, should you add this new title to your weekly reading list? So far, we’re invested. And here’s why you probably will be, too!
From Ken Wakui
If the art style of Astro Royale looks familiar, it’s for good reason. This new series hails from Ken Wakui, who’s probably best known at this point for Tokyo Revengers. There are some similar themes across the two series: youth, gangs, and rivalries, chiefly. There’s even a twist on the concepts that goes beyond our normal world.
As fans know, Tokyo Revengers deals a lot with time travel and alternate timelines. But while this series deals with bending time, Wakui’s latest title goes in a different direction—magic powers from space!
Cosmic Powers
The star of Astro Royale is Hibaru Yotsurugi, the only son of Asakusa’s Yotsurugi gang. Or, rather, the only biological son. Hibaru’s big-hearted yakuza dad adopted lots of other kids, many of whom are vying to become the next boss upon his passing. The elder Yotsurugi’s funeral is a huge affair, but it’s only the second biggest event on this day in particular. The first? A meteor shower that changes the world forever.
As galactic impact is made, Hibaru finds himself gifted with astronomical powers. But he’s not the only one. People everywhere find themselves in a similar situation, wielding unearthly abilities. Some, like Hibaru, will be inclined to use these powers for good. But not everyone will be. And with Hibaru now the head of his family, he’ll almost certainly be running up against plenty of similarly-powerful people who want to bring him down.
It’s About Heart
In the early pages of Astro Royale‘s first chapter, we learn a lot about Hibaru’s dad. He defended the weak and believed in using his power for good. But, as Hibaru has been reminded regularly by his adopted siblings, that kind of chivalry and big-heartedness is considered a relic of the Showa era. The Yotsurugi clan is slowly becoming more business than family. But Hibaru wants to preserve his father’s idealism. And as the series continues in the coming weeks, we’ll see how he uses his big heart (and his cosmic-powered fist) to do just that.
Start reading Astro Royale on the Viz website!
