MamaYuyu Episode 13 "Ralfred" Review (Jump Issue 1)

All images posted in this article are quoted from the 2024 Weekly Shonen Jump Issue 1 "MamaYuyu" (Yoshihiko Hayashi). All copyrights and portrait rights belong to the rights holders.

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A classic development where the protagonist demonstrates the strength unique to a hero to defeat and reform a formidable enemy.
He was able to defeat him because of the strength of Coreo's core, which had been solidified by his repeated resolutions.
He was able to reform him precisely because of his trait as an "abnormal good person."
It was thanks to Minerva that he was able to maintain his stance of wanting to talk things out.
Behind the protagonist showing his strength, the strong-willed Minerva reveals her weakness and true feelings.
This straightforward, classic development with a solid foundation is the best!
This review will proceed in the order of: 1) Minerva is cute -> 2) Ralfred flashback -> 3) Coreo is cool!
It's packed with great scenes! It's so interesting!

1) Minerva is cute, oh Minerva

There can never be too many scenes where the protagonist rushes to the heroine's rescue.

Why did you come?

This line, which slips out because she can't maintain her tough exterior, is the best.
Unconditional love has been returned. I'm so glad.

Isn't it a bit much to show so many sides of just Minerva?
It's impossible not to love this character after being shown all her strength, kindness, trauma, and the scenes where her hard work pays off.

Also, the fact that her eyelids were crushed is a sign of great manga writing.
If Minerva's crest art had remained, she could have made Ralf's attacks miss, and Coreo would have won easily.
I think it's a very strong crest art for one-on-one battles.
Though it's weak against area attacks or multiple opponents.
Ralfred's analysis from last week, saying there were "many holes," was quite accurate.

I'll take on this fight

I can't believe this is the same person who was asking, "What's wrong, are you in the bathroom?"
The stance of "we can understand each other if we talk" has been consistent since Escaba.
Minerva helped him rebuild that belief, which had almost broken once.
That's why he won't waver anymore.
His own belief is stronger than Ralfred's.
I'll take on this fight.
Not to defeat you, but to walk together.
This protagonist is so cool!!

Elishia

It's a little lonely that the main heroine isn't here.
But Coreo absolutely had to settle this on his own here.
Elishia's turn will come anyway.
If they wanted to, they could have had Elishia deliver the finishing punch this time, overlapping with Urbida (it would be possible for her to arrive late if the flames had gone out halfway).
But if they did that, the impact of Coreo solving it himself would be diminished.
I think this was a necessary development to solidify the image of a protagonist who can be relied upon in the long term.

Regarding Minerva's position

I'm happy that she settled into just the right place.It's about that.

"It's great to have lots of cute heroines, but having them fight over the protagonist is not it..."
It's important to have attractive characters in various positions, like a mentor, a comrade-in-arms, or a collaborator, and one main heroine is enough.
I love Minerva, but I want her to be a precious existence on a different dimension from romance, and for us to get along."
…That's what I was thinking when I saw the last panel! Interpretation matches!
The balance of being grateful and respecting him, but not being in love, is just right!
As someone who just can't understand the appeal of harem series in general, I'm incredibly happy with this temperature.
My view is that not every attractive character needs to be in love with the protagonist.
Human relationships are more fun when they are multifaceted.

Though it would be a bit sad if, after saying all this, Elishia and Minerva were fighting over Coreo next week.
And even though I'm enjoying Nue's Exorcist with all my might after saying all this.

2) Ralfred flashback

I'm glad they delved into it!
As an explanation of the Demon-Hero conflict for Coreo's success,the three-page flashback from the episode before lastwas enough, but at that rate, I wasn't sure if I would be able to like Ralfred.

It must be very inconvenient for a hero to be born from a slave class like me

It made the "dine and dash! death penalty!" part make more sense than I thought.
- He was from the slave class and had a grudge against society to begin with.
- He swore loyalty to Urbida who saved him, but the social system itself is rotten.
If so, the manners for interacting with commoners as a hero probably didn't matter to Ralfred.
Urbida saved him, but the royalty was trying to dispose of Ralfred.
He doesn't think as far as the royalty being hated because of his behavior, and even if he did, he probably wouldn't care if they were hated.

And I can understand Lalfred's stubbornness.
It was a betrayal right at the moment they were trying to form a pact between:
・A Demon King born between a human and a demon
・The princess who is his sister
which I imagine had a very high success rate.
No wonder he decided the Demon King had to be destroyed.
It makes sense that Grisha was so confident when he said the Demon King and the Hero were destined to fight.
If peace was impossible in this world, then it really was impossible.
Why was Mamama so calm about it?
I want more backstory on Mamama! Hurry up!!

I could feel a sincerity in him that allowed him to acknowledge the strength and stance of others, friend or foe alike, so I think I'll come to like Lalfred too.
It was precisely because he was sincere that he suffered and was able to sense Minerva's true nature.

Ulvida

They really are good at characterization!
It's a waste that this queen won't appear again!
She's not just a 'good person'; showing in the flashback that she understands people can lose their way, yet has the resolve to correct and forgive those who have erred, is nothing short of brilliant.
I love that the princess can say she'll beat someone up with a smile.

③ Corleo is cool!

He really acted like a protagonist.
It was incredibly intense how he showed off his coolness with flying slashes, but finished it off with a gritty punch.
Above all,because of the buildup of the story so far (the repeated resolutions and the emphasis on his abnormal goodness), it felt satisfying and convincing that Corleo was the one who could win and persuade him.
It's the satisfaction of seeing all the scattered puzzle pieces click into place.

His sense of purpose is wavering

There was a real point to having him make resolutions over and over!
It's a setting similar to Gash's 'Heart Power' that 'responds to a sense of purpose'.
If the strength of one's resolve affects output, then Corleo, who possesses the Crest Art of Healing, won't lose as long as his heart doesn't break.
Though he will naturally run out of stock.
I bet it's annoying for an opponent to face someone who never gives up and keeps healing.

Setting aside the healing, the idea that the strength of a Crest Art responds to a sense of purpose also means that the mental growth of Corleo, which has been written so carefully up to this point, is the very foundation of his strength.
The fact that he won against Lalfred, who has vastly more combat experience and has been through more hellish situations, because of the strength of his unwavering conviction is something every reader has to accept.
To everyone who was saying 'Corleo's making a resolution again lol', are you watching? Oh,I was saying it tooSorry!

'I'm telling you, I want to talk because I don't understand!!'

I really love this stance of Corleo's that prioritizes dialogue.
Maybe it hits home because I like dialogue myself.

Because it was clearly depicted beforehand that he doesn't have a high tolerance for pain, it highlights what Grisha pointed out:that he is an 'abnormal good person'.

It was because he dared to take the hit without regard for the intense pain that he tried to persuade him, and that's why Lalfred finally listened.
The strength to defeat Lalfred and the near-insane resolve to try and understand each other were things only Corleo could possess.

↑ Personally, I think he fulfilled all of these homework assignments. With quality that far exceeded my expectations.
Corleo showed off all his strengths and was cool.
The battle depiction was also simply good!
It doesn't have the flashy visuals typical of ability-battle manga, but as Ralph pointed out, Corleo's ability is small-scale, so I look forward to the future blooming of his Crest Arts.
In terms of impact, I especially liked these two panels.

I love this manga for its stance that even when enduring pain to the point of tears, what you do is persuade rather than counterattack.

Thwack

I like that they used this sound effect for Corleo's finishing punch.
For Ulvida, there probably isn't much difference between breaking a picture frame and being temporarily consumed by revenge.
People make mistakes.
What's important is to acknowledge them, correct them, and forgive.
I think it's a great scene where Lalfred senses that Ulvida and Corleo's goodness overlap through their eyes.

Summary

It gave me every development I wanted, and then some. It's beyond just scratching an itch.
And a center color page next week!
It's the third one, which is definitely not something given to a manga with no popularity at all!!
Isn't that proof that its popularity is steadily rising?
Now that the absolute value of the characters' charm has risen this high, I think the appeal of the work itself will increase exponentially as more characters are added in the future.
I wonder if they could create an official account at this timing.
I would support it with all my might.
What do you think, Shueisha? I promise to share every single post.

Side note

A channel like this has been created.
I'm happy to see the view counts for each episode growing steadily since the Minerva introduction episode.
I wonder if the channel creator is thinking they should have made it a reaction compilation for Minerva.
Elisia's turn will come again in the future, so it's a minor point, though.

For some reason, the view counts for that week's impressions jump significantly starting around Friday.
I'm a little curious if it's just the timing of the YouTube algorithm, or if there are people who read Jump on days other than Monday.
I'm pretty much the same for checking the view counts every day, though...

Past Chapter Impressions

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12
◆Special Edition: The Charm of MamaYuyu