Roasting Apple Black, Chapter 2 (Part 2)
OPAL IS HERE!
So Sano still can’t figure out the map, and that ditzaroo keeps teleporting in the wrong spot. “Teleporter with no sense of direction” is the most interesting character trait I’ve seen in Apple Black. Sano’s grown up in isolation, of course he wouldn’t know how to get around. I like it! I only hope it won’t be used as an unnecessary plot contrivance. Please just keep this a funny gag, because it is indeed very funny.
But all this running around wears out Sano, so he takes a breather by a newstand, where he encounters this headline: “Is the TRINITY a hoax?”
I am now wondering if Apple Black is a Christian manga. I assumed all references to Christianity are arbitrarily sprinkled throughout to make this world look thuper deep. Similar to how The Matrix uses Christian symbolism to make their world feel mythical— but it’s mostly window dressing to look cool, and not made to explicitly endorse Christianity.
Apple Black continuously references “The Eli Prophecy” which seems different from the way it’s used in the Bible, there’s The Trinity (trinity consisting of what? Who knows), and any narrative with a Chosen One can easily be headcanoned as a Jesus metaphor. But starting this chapter, Sano’s shirt is redesigned to have a big ol’ crucifix. Is Sano a christian boi? Is this just done to look cool? Or is this beating the audience over the head that Sano Is Jesus.
Back to that headline. “Is the Trinity a hoax?” The only person we’ve seen so far who believes in the Trinity, other than Protagonist Sano, is Symon.
Symon states his belief with a twinge of indifference, and gives us the worldbuilding detail that most people don’t believe in the prophesy (which he calls a “rumor”).
So I don’t understand how “Is the trinity a hoax?” is a headline suitable for the front page. As of this chapter, it’s been easier to find people who think the prophesy is a load of baloney. I am trying to think of an equivalent, real-world headline. “Is God a hoax?” feels like something better suited for the op-ed section.
Maybe if we expand on the sentiment, it could appear as a headline. “"Is God a hoax?" asks Big Bird on live TV during drug-induced outburst.” Now that’s a headline.
Is there new evidence to support an atheist worldview? Did someone make a shocking discovery during an archaeological dig? Is Richard Dawkins back on the bestseller list? You’ve gotta give me something, man. Otherwise this headline would’ve been better as “Exposition dumping headline exists to bum out Sano.”
Well, onto the next page, where we’re properly introduced to Opal.
We start with the panel’s focus on her behind, then focus on the lips, and then a silhouette. And I hate it.
Apple Black’s fanservice is borderline nonexistent, especially when compared to the average manga running in Shonen Jump. So to posit that this page is framing Opal sexually insinuates an intent to frame her sexually. That intent may not be there, in which case I’m the dirty old man for even bringing it up in the first place.
Yes: you can show female character’s behinds, lips, anything, and it’s not inherently sexual.
Also: Sexuality in shonen manga is a complex topic. I don’t want to derail too hard, so I’ll bulletpoint summarize my thoughts:
Shonen manga is made for the youth. If you’re running in a mainstream shonen magazine, you’ll have to consider your audience, and sex sells.
Shonen manga approaches sexuality in a way that feels “safe.” The girls are attractive and there’s plenty of hyjinx that lead to tomfoolery. There’s just enough to entice the audience but never go over-the-line and repulse the core demographic. Introducing “the girlfriend” ass first is pretty standard.
But just because its normal doesnt mean I’m okay with it. I know I’m not in the target demographic for shonen manga but that doesn’t mean I can’t speak up when I see something that sucks and drags down the experience for me.
Along the lines of point#1: manga is stronger when you can empathize and consider your female and soyboy readership. Anyone who cries about how Sasuke “ruined” Shonen Jump is a triggered snowflake,
But I get where they’re coming from. That gets into the issue of “shonen as a genre” and what makes this genre unique. Part of the genre’s appeal can be the way it processes sexuality.
Look, I once did a manga called “My big boobed classmate is distracting.” Which makes me an indefensible pervert and a huge hypocrite for feeling offput when something like Black Clover gets a little too raunchy. I’m still figuring this shit out myself, man.
With that out of the way. If the intent is to do a slow, dramatic, character reveal… then why introduce her, ass-first, unless you want to indulge in mild fanservice? So that’s how I’m reading it, and, again: I hate it! Especially since none of the other characters are introduced like this. Only Opal.
Let’s compare to how other characters are introduced. When Lily is introduced to Sano, we first see her hands, then zoom out for a midshot. Mysterious guy also introduces himself to Sano on the same page, and he’s introduced with a midshot before zooming in on his pissed off face.
Symon the Reader is introdueced hand-first, then the camera zooms out behind him. On the first panel of the next page, we rotate the camera and the audience can see him in full frame, sitting on the floor.
Ryuzaki the Bakugo is a series of disconnected shots of his body, presumably to emphasize his chaotic energy and unpredictability.
Or how about Madame Naomi. Although she’s not interacting with Sano in this page, here’s how the audience meets her: a bird’s eye shot to show where she is in relation to the scene, her hand, a mid shot revealing her body, then pulling in to focus on her eyepatch.
Or maybe I just hate Opal’s introduction because she’s chewing gum and setting off my misophonia. Chewing gum like that is gross, tacky, and rude. Don’t do that. Especially since she was supposed to be the tour guide. You’re on the clock. Act professional, goddammit.
By the way, why does Opal have to preface her interaction with the fact that she was going to guide a tourist from Youta, but he cancelled, so now she’s free (it’s good to know that Black Bottom Island has a robust enough economy that they have a tourism department, but why they’re employing one of the 12 students in training is another question (and also why is she the student body vice president? What fucking student body? There’s 12 of you)). Opal can’t just run into Sano and help him out, she has to frame it as “well, nothing else is going on, so I guess I’ll help out.”
Is this a tsundere thing? Ugh. Opal does call him cute a few pages later. If you’re going for tsundere, you can’t give your audience the “dere” so soon.
Sano’s never talked to girls, but everyone in this damn comic book can only talk like they’re curling out the fattest info dump.
If we want to show more of Sano blushing in retaliation to Opal, pick any sentence from that pummeling of a text wall and it’d work. Even when we’re not being told about the ~intricate lore~ about the Apple Black universe, we’re still being overwhelmed with information.