School Judgment: Gakkyu Hotei, Vol. 1 (2024 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

The judicial satire Manga School Judgment: Gakkyu Hotei was originally deemed not good enough for print. The editors of Shonen Jump felt that the premise of elementary schools becoming the new frontier of a court of law was too one-note. Editors were also not very impressed with the art of creator Nobuaki Enoki, calling it 'lacking'. Yet, the publisher's new online Manga app Jump LIVE, now Shonen Jump+, needed new material. With a new artist added to the project Hikaru no Go's Takeshi Obata, Enoki was reinvigorated and a second draft was quickly worked up.

In 2013, Gakkyu Hotei debuted on phones across Japan and the world. The first case on the docket 'The Suzuki Murder and Dismemberment Case', sees the diminutive Tento Nanahoshi on trail for the violent death of homeroom 6-3's mascot, a fish name Suzuki. For the defense is 12-year old Abaku Inugami, a lover of video games who will 'ronpa (Japanese for break, tear, destroy) the hell out of' anyone who persecutes his clients unjustly. The prosecutor is Pine Hanzuki, who may look like a typical sweet and innocent Gyaru glam girl. But inside her lurks the heart of a fearless hunter!

Originally intended to be only 10 chapters long, the series was soon rebranded in a serialized form in the pages of Weekly Shonen Jump in 2014. Reaching its climatic 24th chapter, Gakkyu Hotei went into permanent recess in the summer of 2015. English audiences were introduced to the complete series divided into 3 volumes the following year. 

School Judgment: Gakkyu Hotei is something rare to a non-Manga fan such as myself. It was enjoyable! With its storyline divided up in ways where readers can solve the mystery alongside Abaku and Pine, these cases read like a Japanese version of Ellery Queen. Plus, there's the added mystery of Abaku Inugami's troubled past which plays out throughout the entire story. Years prior, he was present during a classroom massacre which led to the judicial reforms that turned elementary schools into courts of law. His journey as a travelling solicitor has brought him Tenbin Elementary, where Abaku plans to stay and kill the student who slaughtered his former classmates.

Completing this review completes Task #10 (A Manga Work) of the 2024 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.