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 by Akinari Asakura and illustrated by

Takeshi Obata is a Japanese manga artist that usually works as the illustrator in collaboration with a writer. He first gained international attention for ''Hikaru no Go'' (1998–2003) with Yumi Hotta, but is better known for '' Death Note'' (2003–2006) ...

. It follows high school students Azemichi Shijimi and Taiyo Higashikata as they aim to become the best

comedy duo A double act (also known as a comedy duo) is a form of comedy originating in the British music hall tradition, and American vaudeville, in which two comedians perform together as a single act. Pairings are typically long-term, in some cases fo ...

in Japan. ''Show-ha Shoten!'' has been serialized monthly 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 ''

Jump Square , also written as , is a Japanese monthly '' shōnen'' manga magazine. Published by Shueisha, the magazine premiered on November 2, 2007 as a replacement for '' Monthly Shōnen Jump'', another manga anthology that Shueisha discontinued in June of ...

'' magazine since October 2021, with the chapters collected into 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 as of February 2023.

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 ...

has licensed the series for English release in North America.

Plot

Shy high school student Azemichi Shijimi and former

child actor The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage or in film, movies or television. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associ ...

Taiyo Higashikata both love comedy. After learning that Azemichi is a skilled and famous anonymous joke writer, Taiyo tricks him into being his partner in a

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and is ...

routine for their school's

cultural festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival co ...

. The sketch is a hit, with the two winning the award for best performance. Realizing that each excels in the area where the other is weak, Azemichi with writing comedy and when to transition and Taiyo with performing and

ad-libbing In music and other performing arts, the phrase (; from Latin for 'at one's pleasure' or 'as you desire'), often shortened to "ad lib" (as an adjective or adverb) or "ad-lib" (as a verb or noun), refers to various forms of improvisation. The r ...

, the two decide to team up and form the

. In order to earn the blessing of Azemichi's parents, they must win the bimonthly High School Comedy Battle. There, they meet and become rivals to the duo Sprechchor and come in second place behind Rising. However, Rising resigns so that One-Way Ticket to the Top are elevated to first place and can continue comedy. Azemichi and Taiyo then enter the

Kanto Kantō (Japanese) Kanto is a simplified spelling of , a Japanese word, only omitting the diacritics. In Japan Kantō may refer to: *Kantō Plain *Kantō region *Kantō-kai, organized crime group *Kanto (Pokémon), a geographical region in the ' ...

-2 block preliminary round of Wara-1 Koshien, or "Wara-Ko" for short, a national ''

manzai is a traditional style of comedy in Japanese culture comparable to double act comedy or stand-up comedy. usually involves two performers ()—a straight man () and a double act, funny man ()—trading jokes at great speed. Most of the jokes ...

'' competition for high school students.

Characters

; :A shy 16-year-old high school student who is obsessed with comedy ever since he failed to make his middle school crush, Mizuha, laugh at her request two years ago. She soon changed her last name and moved away. Not knowing her new name, Azemichi hopes he might be able to see her again if he becomes famous. He has already achieved some success by submitting jokes to TV and radio shows under the name "Everyday Shijimi", but that was anonymously because he has

stage fright Stage fright or performance anxiety is the anxiety, fear, or persistent phobia which may be aroused in an individual by the requirement to perform in front of an audience, real or imagined, whether actually or potentially (for example, when perf ...

. ; :Azemichi's schoolmate and a former famous child actor in historical dramas. Although a natural, he only acted to make his mother smile, and switched to comedy after seeing someone make her laugh at a joke. He was in a previous comedy duo, but his partner Sakutaro Kunugi died from a disease. Carrying on his former partner's dream, he wants to become the first person to win both the Wara-1 Grand Prix, a competition for ''manzai'' duos, and the Ultimate Comedy Battle, a sketch comedy competition. ; :Azemichi and Taiyo's '' senpai'' who has been a big fan of comedy since she was a child. She is One-Way Ticket to the Top's biggest fan and trains them in ''manzai'', while becoming something of a manager to them. ; :A high school comedy duo composed of , a scary-looking man who is actually sensitive and caring, and , a self-confessed "prick". As three-time finalists of Wara-1 Koshien, and with the most appearances at the High School Comedy Battle, they are the "most visible" high school ''manzai'' duo. They form a friendly rivalry with One-Way Ticket to the Top after meeting at the High School Comedy Battle. ; :A cocky, new comedy duo who beat One-Way Ticket to the Top at the High School Comedy Battle, their first competition. However, they resign so that One-Way Ticket to the Top win and Azemichi's parents can not force them to give up comedy. ; :One-half of the comedy duo . He was previously in the duo Selinentius with Sakutaro Kunugi, before Kunugi left to team up with Taiyo. He holds a grudge against Taiyo for "stealing" his partner. ; :A comedy duo composed of , a very muscular man, and , a small female ''

karateka (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

''. Their comedy is atypical in ''manzai'' in that it revolves around physical

slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such a ...

where Kanade strikes Tabata.

Publication

Written by Akinari Asakura and illustrated by

, ''Show-ha Shoten!'' began monthly serialization in ''

''s November 2021 issue, which was released on October 4, 2021. Publisher

is collecting the individual chapters into ''

'' volumes, with the first released on January 4, 2022. Both Shueisha and

are releasing the series in English the same day it is published in Japan, the former on its ''

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. In June 2022, Viz Media announced that they would begin releasing volumes in Spring 2023.

Volume list

Chapters not yet in ''tankōbon'' format

These chapters have yet to be published in a ''tankōbon'' volume. They were serialized in ''Jump Square''.

Reception

Danny Guan of ''GameRant'' included ''Show-ha Shoten!'' on a list of the "Best Shonen Manga of 2021". Antonio Mireles of ''The Fandom Post'' praised the teamwork between Azemichi and Taiyo as they work around each other's strengths and weaknesses, writing that the series plays to Obata's strengths by them being similar to the two protagonists of his earlier manga, ''

Bakuman is a Japanese manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata, the same creative team responsible for '' Death Note''. It was serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from August 2 ...

''. Although he said the jokes start off strong and commended the English translator for going to great effort to make sure their meanings were not lost in translation, Mireles felt that the comedy "seams begin to rip apart" in the second chapter. He finished with, "The world needs a good laugh and ''Show-Ha Shoten!'' Is about to provide it to the world." ''Real Sounds Fujimoto also felt the "high school buddy" relationship was reminiscent of ''Bakuman'', and praised Obata's art. He recommended the series to those who want to understand the structure of ''

owarai is a broad word used to describe Japanese comedy as seen on television. The word ''owarai'' is the honorific form of the word ''warai'' (by adding o- prefix), meaning "a laugh" or "a smile". ''Owarai'' is most common on Japanese variety shows ...

''. In a review for ''Multiversity Comics'', Brian Salvatore wrote that at its heart, ''Show-ha Shoten!'' is a

sports manga is a genre of Japanese manga and anime that focuses on stories involving sports and other athletic and competitive pursuits. Though Japanese animated works depicting sports were released as early as the 1920s, sports manga did not emerge as a di ...

about something other than a sport and stated "comedy is handled as something that can be mastered if worked out enough ..And while that is certainly true to a degree, it is a lot harder to show someone mastering timing or the art of writing a great sketch than it is to show someone attempting to break off a curveball." Citing the comedy routines as the worst part about the series, Salvatore explained that they have so much working against them; the "non-comedic commentary on comedy concept", a language barrier, and trying to write out text for a physical performance that also serves the plot and is not just a standalone skit. Overall, he called the first two chapters a good start to a story that suffers from trying to explain comedy.

Notes

References

External links

''Show-ha Shoten!'' on the Official Shueisha website

''Show-ha Shoten!'' on ''Manga Plus''

''Show-ha Shoten!'' on the Official Viz website
* {{Series in Jump Square Comedy anime and manga School life in anime and manga Shōnen manga Shueisha manga Slice of life anime and manga Takeshi Obata Viz Media manga Works about comedians