is a Japanese

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

series written and illustrated by Tomohiro Hasegawa. It was serialized in

Shueisha (lit. "Gathering of Intellect Publishing Co., Ltd.") is a Japanese company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The foll ...

's ''

Weekly Shōnen Jump is a weekly ''shōnen'' manga anthology published in Japan by Shueisha under the ''Jump'' line of magazines. The manga series within the magazine consist of many action scenes and a fair amount of comedy. The chapters of the series that run ...

'' from April 2020 to January 2021.

Plot

Third-year elementary school student Shota Aikawa's pet

Japanese rhinoceros beetle ''Allomyrina dichotoma'', also known as Japanese rhinoceros beetle, Japanese horned beetle, or , is a species of rhinoceros beetle. Etymology In Japanese, rhinoceros beetles are called . ''Mushi'' is Japanese for insect, and ''kabuto'' is Japane ...

, named Moriking, finally metamorphoses into an adult, but for some strange reason he looks like a male human. Aside from the horn on his head and wings on his back, he looks perfectly human but maintains his beetle traits, like walking on walls and flying. As an Insect King, which are said to be born once every one hundred million years, Moriking announces that he is destined to be and rule over all insects. To prove their worth would-be kings must leave their homes and survive in the world beyond, this is how Moriking came into Shota's possession and becomes a member of the Aikawa family. However, he is but one of five insects competing to become King of the Forest.

Publication

''Moriking'' is written and illustrated by Tomohiro Hasegawa. It was serialized in

's ''

'' from April 13, 2020, to January 18, 2021. Shueisha collected its chapters in four ''

tankōbon is the Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...

'' volumes, released from August 4, 2020, to April 2, 2021. In North America, the series is digitally published in English by

Viz Media VIZ Media LLC is an American manga publisher, anime distributor and entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ M ...

and by Shueisha on their ''

Manga Plus ''Manga Plus'' (stylized as ''MANGA Plus'') is an online manga platform and smartphone app owned by Shueisha that was launched on January 28, 2019. It is available worldwide except in Japan, China, and South Korea which already have their own se ...

'' website and application. Viz Media also started publishing the volumes digitally on May 25, 2021.

Volumes

Reception

Chris Beveridge of ''The Fandom Post'' stated that ''Moriking'' is accessible enough for general readers and "just weird enough to skew in a fun direction." He praised Hasegawa's designs, flow and direction, and backgrounds. Beveridge said that despite having many of the familiar 1980s manga trappings, ''Moriking'' uses them in a different way. He wrote that while the series is not high-art, it is a fun title that is easy to pickup and keep up with because of its quirkiness. Beveridge felt that Hasegawa was able to end the series on his own terms. He reflected that the manga unfolded in a way that reminded him of

Rumiko Takahashi is a Japanese manga artist. With a career of several commercially successful works, beginning with ''Urusei Yatsura'' in 1978, Takahashi is one of Japan's best-known and wealthiest manga artists. Her works are popular worldwide, where they have ...

's early works, and despite turning into a tournament series, was still spaced out in a way that kept the character material fun. He ended by calling ''Moriking'' "a fun and enjoyable romp with good artwork,

ome Ome may refer to: Places * Ome (Bora Bora), a public island in the lagoon of Bora Bora * Ome, Lombardy, Italy, a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Brescia * Ōme, Tokyo, a city in the Prefecture of Tokyo * Ome (crater), a crater on Mars Tran ...

nice twists and details to it, and enjoyable humor."

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{Weekly Shōnen Jump - 2020–2029 Adventure anime and manga Comedy anime and manga Fantasy anime and manga Shōnen manga Shueisha manga Viz Media manga