“Rhinoceros Beetle vs. Film Shoot”
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Tomohiro Hasegawa
Translation: Paul Starr
What They Say
Third-grader Shota Aikawa’s pet beetle evolves from a larva to a pupa to a superhot human! The wacky adventures of the Aikawa family and the fabulous beetle who would be king now begins! You’re gonna LARVA this new comedy manga!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Tomohiro Hasegawa is definitely having a lot of fun with this series and it continues to his some nice nostalgia points for me, going back decades with how comedy manga would operate. This installment is a fun standalone piece but it takes everything that’s been built so far and manages to connect it up in ways unexpected and to just have fun with it. The series continues to be surprising in that it’s still going sometimes but there’s such a charm with Moriking throughout and it’s built up a fun supporting cast so that they pop up at different times to help expand the events going on.
This story is one that really has Shoko panicking and shaking her head as Moriking has agreed to sign on as a lead romantic actor in a new film shooting in the area. With the two leads having quit, the director and produce got local talent and his website talked up wanting to help people. It’s a standard romantic drama movie but it takes a hilarious turn when we discover that Meo was scouted and the director begged her to be in it. She’s fine with playing it cool with her enemy like this but once the scenes start – which all go badly – she’s falling under his spell because his talk of love is offered in such a direct and honest way that it’s making her quiver. Seeing how she struggles throughout the shoot because of this is an absolute hoot to watch.
While the director is just excited to get filming, the producer is a harder nut to crack as he tries to get Moriking to remove his crown/piece, which doesn’t happen, and we get Moriking destroying sets and the like. It’s a nice bit of chaos that complicates what’s trying to be achieved but Moriking is oblivious to it while Meo is just fighting off the sudden feelings she has toward him. The producer really struggles with all of this and we start to see a bit of his backstory as well as he tried to be a serious filmmaking, giving up on the flights of fancy he wanted to make. It’s a nice bit that plays well into the ending and seeing how the film comes together just makes you smile as everyone essentially finds their right place as Moriking once again helps everyone.
In Summary:
This is a fun chapter that delivers some good laughs. Shoko’s incredulity is always delightful and I loved seeing Meo struggle with the way her body was reacting to Romantic Lead Moriking. There are a lot of things going on in the backgrounds of this story that are fun to watch and while I do wish Shota had been a bit more involved it’s definitely fun to see how both the director and producer handle things here. It’s all appropriately silly while still taking itself seriously.
Content Grade: B
Art Grade: B
Text/Translation Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Shonen Jump
Release Date: September 13th, 2020
