A new manga has appeared on the 11/25 issue of the Weekly Shonen Jump, Star of Beethoven. Alongside the debut Star of Beethoven (B no Seisen), Embers also debuts in this issue.
Shueisha and Shonen Jump might have high praise for Star of Beethoven though as it is featured on the cover of the 11/25 issue. The main characters Ichiro Yaso and Beethoven are featured on the cover.
This new manga is music focused, like Wandance, which is usually a difficult genre for the manga form. Authors have to be amazing at visualizing the music for the readers, since we obviously can’t hear it.
Will Morihiro Hayashi be able to do this with Star of Beethoven? From my research Morihiro Hayashi has only created one-shots. This will be his first serialized manga.
Star of Beethoven Synopsis
The door of fate now opens… Piano prodigy Ichiro Yaso left the world of classical music after an incident at a competition. He vowed to never play the piano again, but now that he has a mentor claiming to be Beethoven, it may be time for his redemption! (Taken from Shueisha Official Website)
Star of Beethoven Chapter 1 Review
Story
The story of the first chapter is reminiscent of Your Lie in April, another piano focused manga & anime. The main characters of both stories don’t play the piano anymore because of past trauma. However they have someone (Kaori in Your Lie in April, and Beethoven in Star of Beethoven) that helps them regain the desire to play.
The overall premise of the story is interesting. It seems like it could lean to a historical manga. Additionally, as of the first chapter, I don’t think there will be any romance like in YLIA. I think the manga will be more drama based.
Art
Like I mentioned earlier, a music focused manga needs to have amazing visuals. This is needed so readers can feel the impact of the music in the scenes.
Hayashi has amazing art in this first chapter. A lot of the scenes with Beethoven feel ‘heavy’, and you can feel it with the art.
Is There Potential?
It’s difficult to say whether this will be a good manga or not. The premise is interesting though, and I like the art as well. There is 100% potential for it to be a great manga, there will also be an adaptation in the future. Will I be reading this weekly? Probably not, it might be a monthly or bi-monthly manga for myself. It just started like Drama Queen, another manga I’ve written about.
