Kara Dennison
September 6, 2023 
This week, Daisuke Enoshima’s Fabricant 100 came to a rather sudden end. Originally published as a one-shot in 2021, the series gives themes from Frankenstein a shonen flare. Now, at 36 chapters in, Yao Ashibe’s story has come to a close… and we’ve gotten some answers about the strange artificial beings known as Fabricants.
Three new titles will be coming to the magazine this month, giving us all-new characters to get to know. But if it’s that specific vibe you’re looking for, we’ve got a trio of titles you can look up on the Shonen Jump app right now! Try these on for size:
Wild Strawberry: Strange Allies
In Fabricant 100, Yao Ashibe teamed up with an artificial human to kill all others of her kind. Why? Because she eventually wanted to use his body parts to make herself perfect. It’s a strange team-up, but shonen manga is no stranger to unlikely allies. Take Ire Yonemoto’s Wild Strawberry, a relatively new title with similarly strange friendships. But in this case, there doesn’t appear to be any Faustian bargain in play.
In the world of Wild Strawberry, Tokyo is under attack from human-eating plants who can turn into monsters called Jinka. Kingo’s adopted sister Kayano has become one of these monsters. But when she saves his life and becomes a parasitic presence in him, he has to convince the rest of the world that the two of them are not out for blood.
Shojo Null: More Human Than Human
We’ve already touched on Kanae Akanishi and Akima’s Shojo Null, but this feels like a perfect time to revisit it. Like Fabricant 100, Shojo Null takes place in a world where humanoid robots called Gijin are part of life. But these are robotic beings with no will of their own… at least, so people are led to believe. It turns out that these ‘bots don’t lack feelings and free will… rather, they’re repressed. And when the contraption repressing them is removed, all bets are off.
Marie the Gijin and Riaha the human are also teamed up, with slaughter on the menu. But this time (at least for Marie), it’s the slaughter of humans. She wants to create a world where Gijin can live freely. But is this really the only way?
Mission: Yozakura Family: Something in the Blood
While much more comical than Fabricant 100, Mission: Yozakura Family does have one major thing in common with the recently-ended title: blood. Specifically, a certain family has very special blood that allows for certain superhuman abilities. And now Taiyo, a normal kid, has found himself married into this bizarre spy family.
The series alternates between violent comedy and nearly supernatural action. All Taiyo wants to do is spend time with his childhood friend (now wife) Mutsumi. But he soon finds himself one of her ardent protectors, as spies across Japan attempt to take her out for the special abilities locked away in her DNA.
Want something a little softer? Try these swoonworthy shoujo manga!
