Kara Dennison
February 8, 2025 
Ready for some steampunk Wild West action? Then Boichi has the perfect story for you! The Dr. STONE manga artist has gone solo for his latest title, The Marshal King. The first chapter has just launched on Shonen Jump+ and in Viz’s Shonen Jump app. And while one chapter isn’t always enough to judge a new manga on, color us impressed by this new adventure.
We’re taking a first look at the fresh new manga Western, about a young man putting his past aside to become the greatest marshal in the West. But that’s a hard mountain to climb when your dad was one of the nation’s most notorious outlaws!
The Story
Chapter 1 of The Marshal King doesn’t kick off with its actual protagonist. Rather, we meet his dad: M. Godspeed. This infamous desperado is seemingly immortal, and he wields literal golden arms that make him an absolute powerhouse. But he knows his life is on the line: he will be killed, and his killer will be his own son.
Skip ahead, and we discover that M. Godspeed’s words have indeed come true. His son, Jim Godspeed, crosses the desert bearing his father’s cross-shaped coffin. And while Godspeed the Elder may have been all about doing crime, Jim is all about the exact opposite. He aims to enter a prestigious academy and become a marshal. He’s got the skills, he’s got the grit… but his family name may work against him a bit.
The Art
It’s no surprise that the art for The Marshal King is gorgeous. This is Boichi we’re talking about, after all. His work on Dr. STONE, as well as his solo projects like Origin, is stunning. But the web manga format really allows him to play with color and light in a way that a monochrome printed page doesn’t.
While most of the page consists of line art, two elements stand out in faded silvers and golds. One is the cloudy sky above, with god rays illuminating everything below. The other is M. Godspeed’s gold arms: the only non-natural thing (so far) to be highlighted in color. But even this touch of color is washed out and faded, keeping the feel of the manga gritty and arid. Whether this stylistic choice will continue in the long term or if it’s just a Chapter 1 treat, we don’t know. But it’s absolutely gorgeous.
What’s to Come
The Marshal King has all the earmarks of a made-for-Shonen Jump series… and for what it’s worth, there’s nothing wrong with that. There’s a reason the formula dominates manga and anime. Jim is our unlikely hero—unlikely in this case because he wants to be a marshal when his dad was an outlaw. At first flush, he seems kind of messed up and useless. But he quickly proves that he can hold his own in a fight. And, of course, his aim is to be the best at what he’s going for… in this case, becoming a marshal.
What will the next chapters hold for Jim Godspeed? Will his days at the academy shape him into the ultimate marshal and prepare him to fight evildoers across the Wild West? Start reading The Marshal King and find out!
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