The following contains spoilers for Tenmaku Cinema Chapter 1, “The First Movie,” by Yuto Tsukuda, Shun Saeki, Camellia Nieh, and Phil Christie, available now through Viz Media.
Ever since Food Wars! ended, fans have been wondering what manga writer Yuto Tsukuda and artist Shun Saeki would do next. The last anyone heard from them was when they did the Yugen’s All-Ghouls Homeroom one-shot nearly three years ago. Now, the duo is finally back with a new series.
The newest manga to serialize in Weekly Shōnen Jump, Tenmaku Cinema, is the latest work from Tsukuda and Saeki. How successful it will be remains to be seen; though if it turns out anything like Food Wars!, it should have no trouble amassing a dedicated fan following.
Can Tenmaku Cinema Succeed With Its Premise?
So far, Tenmaku Cinema has three main characters to keep track of. First is the eponymous Takehiko Tenmaku, an 18-year-old ghost and aspiring filmmaker who died before his magnum opus could be made. Next is Hajime Shinichi, a cinephile going into high school; Tenmaku decides to use him to make movies by proxy. Finally, there’s Himeki Kurakui, an actress around the same age as Shinichi. Together, these three endeavor to make true cinema and, hopefully, help Tenmaku finally pass on.
This manga’s chances for long-term success largely depends on whether it utilizes its premise. The supernatural genre has been fairly played out in Shōnen Jump, so leaning too far into the ghost aspect of this series might be risky; this might also be why they didn’t commit to making Yugen’s All-Ghouls Homeroom into a full series. However, this is likely meant to play off the premise of Hikaru no Go where one kid is possessed by an unusually talented spirit. If more people show up being possessed by spirits, it shouldn’t be any time soon.
What is uniquely interesting about this manga is its filmmaking angle. It seems like this series could be like Food Wars! or Dr. Stone in the sense that it passively educates audiences on its material through its entertaining story. Assuming Tsukuda did his research for this manga, it could easily rise to the same levels as his previous work.
Of course, there is no guarantee of success. Shōnen Jump is notoriously cutthroat and will cancel series that don’t sell well or aren’t popular with readers; because of this, a lot of series don’t even make it past 30 chapters. Tenmaku Cinema itself is currently filling the void left by Tokyo Demon Bride Story, which ended its run after a mere 29 chapters.
In any case, Tenmaku Cinema has a lot going for it. It’s a unique premise for Shōnen Jump, penned by a seasoned writer and artist duo. If they could make Food Wars! successful, they should be able to do something with this new premise.
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