Kara Dennison
February 10, 2025 
With so many Shonen Jump manga on the outs, we can expect to see several new debuts. Following hot on the heels of Embers and Jump+’s The Marshal King is Star of Beethoven. The classically-charged series is the latest from Morihiro Hayashi. And while it has an exciting and unique premise, it’s also swimming upstream. At least, if past recent titles are any indication. Will this bold new title beat the odds, or will this symphony be cut short?
The Premise
Star of Beethoven stars Ichiro Yaso, a former piano prodigy who’s left classical music behind. After a certain incident at a competition, he’s sworn to never play the piano again. But all that changes when he meets actual literal Ludwig van Beethoven. And the great composer is just as confused as Yaso is. Last Ludwig checked, he was ailing on his death bed. Now he’s up and about… and he can hear!
Fascinated by this modern world, Beethoven immediately takes to a piano, playing a four-hand version of his legendary Fifth Symphony with Yaso. In that moment, two things become clear. First, Beethoven has found himself a new disciple in this strange modern world. And second, Yaso actually does miss music.
Why It Works
Star of Beethoven has a lot going for it, and not just the fact that it can make playing the piano look intense. (Though those of us who play already know it can be!) This manga dives deep into the meaning behind classical music, even addressing the apocryphal “fate knocking at the door” analysis of Beethoven’s Fifth. Unless you’re already a fan, classical music can feel vast and dense and unapproachable. With this chapter alone, the manga looks like it could be an enticing guidebook to the world of Beethoven and other composers.
It looks like there’s plenty of room for funny and entertaining moments, too. How will Beethoven integrate himself into modern Japanese society? How will Yaso deal with this larger-than-life figure, both as a teacher and as a day-to-day acquaintance? There’s clearly plenty of room to expand the story in a lot of different directions… provided it has the time to do so.
The Problem
Regular readers of Shonen Jump will be all too familiar with the quick disappearance of certain titles. And while Star of Beethoven has the earmarks of an interesting story, it also has the earmarks of a series likely to be cut down before its time. Elements of the story bring to mind Tenmaku Cinema, a series that was equally joyous and informative about the art of filmmaking. And yet, despite hailing from the creators of Food Wars!, the manga lasted only 21 chapters. Arts-centric manga can be a hard sell in the pages of Shonen Jump, although there are outliers. Akane-banashi, a series about the art of rakugo, is more than 140 chapters strong and well-loved by fans and artists alike. In other words, success is possible, but difficult. This series feels like it would have been safer in the ranks of Jump+, but only time will tell.
What do you think of Star of Beethoven so far? Does it have the makings of a long-runner, or will this symphony be cut short? You can read the first chapter now on the Viz website!
