Creative Staff:
Story & Art: Hajime Komoto
Translation: Nova Skipper
Lettering: Eve Grandt
What They Say:
Mash’s new form makes him as weak as a wet noodle… and somehow it may be the key to victory?! This week’s Mashle lets it all loose!
Content (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Even after an intense training arc and miraculous recovery, Mash is still a step behind Doom. Our hero is starting to run out of options. If Mash can’t get any stronger, maybe the answer is to let go of his strength altogether. Mashle is off to a strong start in 2023, with one of the funniest chapters in recent memory.
Rather than continuing to fight Doom head-on, Mash goes for the opposite approach. Relaxing both mind and muscles, Mash enters the ultimate state of lethargy. In this hyper-loosened state, Mash flimsily forgoes all of Dooms attacks. Of all the silly power ups Mash gained recently, this one takes the cake. I love that Komoto still attempts to tie Mash’s powers to practical muscle physics, albeit to extremely unrealistic levels.
But limp limbs are only the beginning of Mash’s clowning. As Doom strikes with increased fervor, Mash elegantly dodges with impressive acrobatic maneuvers – so impressive that his severely-injured comrades can’t help but give him perfect scores across the board. Despite the stakes being higher than ever, Mashle refuses to take itself too seriously.
But Doom isn’t here for fun and games. Well, maybe a little bit of fun – Doom seems to be enjoying himself because Mash is the first opponent he can go toe-to-toe with; someone worthy of facing his true power. Doom finally reveals his Thirds-level magic, boosting his mirage magic 100-fold. Finally, the ultimate test of strength… who will be crowned the strongest magic user?
Doom is eager to find out, but as Mash has made clear, he isn’t interested in petty bouts of strength. Mash has no need for main protagonist tropes – he was never interested in becoming the strongest or putting his power to the test. He simply wants to defeat the bad guys so he and his friends can go home. Mashle is certainly prone to the regular pitfalls of shonen action series, but for the main character to be so blatantly against the grain feels like a bit of meta-commentary, almost as if Komoto is sick of seeing these types of stories play out the same way. Then again, Mash would probably say I’m thinking too hard about it, which is why I love this series – against a catalog of other blood-pumping action titles with densely-packed narratives, it’s nice to have a series like Mashle that lets you go limp for a few minutes each week.
In Summary:
Mashle has finally found its mojo again, largely due to Mash’s return to the limelight. Grab some popcorn as we head into what is likely the climax of Mash and Doom’s battle.
Content Grade: A
Art Grade: B+
Text Grade: A-
Age Rating: Teen
Released By: Shonen Jump app, Manga Plus app
Release Date: January 22nd, 2023
