Kara Dennison
March 5, 2025 
Subscribers to the Viz manga app can now dive into seven chapters of Parashoppers: the new manga from The Law of Ueki creator Tsubasa Fukuchi. At first glance, this series looks like yet another phone-powered death game. Beat opponents, gain points, try not to die. But this new title does a few things differently… and it’s pretty fun!
While we’re still right at the beginning of this new title, there’s plenty of substance in these first seven chapters. Read on to find out more!
The Story
The hero of Parashoppers is Mitsusada Amaragi, known to his friends as “Brightside.” This high schooler can put a positive spin on anything, from failure to personal anxieties. He’s considered weird, but his classmates also appreciate his positive insights. But it’s going to take a lot of optimism to navigate the mess Mitsusada finds himself in.
Thanks to a mysterious app and a stray click, Mitsusada finds himself enrolled in a real-world death game. Players can buy powers for points, then challenge fellow players to combat. Unfortunately, Mitsusada has found himself with the power “control a single piece of straw.” Can Brightside see the brighter side of this? As it happens, he can; and his optimism may be the secret weapon he needs.
The Rules
Understanding the game at the heart of Parashoppers requires trial and error. Fortunately for you, we’re here to help. Because there’s more to the game than buying powers and winning points. The mysterious game rewards inventiveness. Use the same move over and over to win, and you’ll win fewer and fewer points after each match. But get creative, and you’ll win more points. Not only that, but the selling price of your power will increase.
See, that’s the other thing about the game: you can only have one power at a time. But you can buy and sell that power. So Mitsusada’s ability, which started at 50 points, is up in the thousands after he learns unique ways to use it. And that’s a good thing—because if you don’t have a certain number of points by certain deadlines, you will die.
Just Another Death Game?
It’s true that Parashoppers has a lot in common with other death game manga and novels. All the usual tropes are there: an unseen game master, real-world challenges, and inescapable consequences. But there’s a sort of upbeatness to this series that others lack. Maybe it’s because Mitsusada’s optimism goes well with the game’s emphasis on creativity. Or maybe it’s because another of the main characters has a power that lets her “bring the pain with bread.” Either way, so far there’s an element of comedy that tends to be absent from other death game stories.
That doesn’t mean there’s no suspense, though. There’s absolutely something big and scary at the top of the Parashop. Our heroes may not know it, but people really do die from this game. And someone is out there watching the game progress. Who’s at the top? What does it mean? We’ll have to read on to find out. But for now, this is a title with a lot of promise.
