Warning! Contains spoilers for Fabricant 100 Chapter 20!
One new Shonen Jump manga just featured one of the most brutal moments in the magazine with a devastating page turn. That manga is Fabricant 100 by Daisuke Enoshima, which follows the adventures of an immortal child Ashibi and his monstrous companion as they hunt down the inhuman Fabricants. Over its 20 chapters it hasn’t shied away from the brutality of its premise and its latest chapter is no exception.
Chapter 20, translated by Jan Mitsuko Cash, initially seems like a chill slice-of-life chapter. After training with the Fabricant hunters at Mortsafe, Ashibi and Fabricant 100 are ordered to take a day to relax. The two meet a farmer that Mortsafe has saved and help him tend his fields. The farmer tells them about the family and peace he has found at Mortsafe and invites them to visit whenever they feel like. Immediately after that moment, readers turn the page to see the farmer shockingly cut down by a new Fabricant enemy. The tonal whiplash and shock that comes from turning the page and seeing a sweet moment turn into a violent death makes this easily the most brutal page-turn in Shonen Jump. Unfortunately, it may also be a sign that Fabricant 100 won’t remain in the magazine for much longer.
Fabricant 100 Has Shonen Jump’s Best Page Turn
Shonen Jump has gained the brutal reputation in recent years of cutting many of its manga short before they fully have the chance to develop. This has led to the idea of Shonen Jump’s “Under 19 Club”, a group of manga that don’t even make it to their 20th chapter. Recently Shonen Jump has relaxed this cutoff date somewhat, now more often canceling series in the 20-30 chapter range. As Fabricant 100 is entering this chapter range by drastically increasing its pace, this doesn’t bode well for the series.
This is a major shame given Fabricant 100‘s world and story had so much potential. Shonen Jump’s macabre Fabricant antagonists aren’t always compelling, but they did have interesting abilities. The few that do have tragic stories attached show that the manga can create some beautiful and dramatic moments. The protagonist group Mortsafe also has some interesting figures, complete with its own version of Chainsaw Man‘s Makima. This latest chapter’s page turn shows that Fabricant 100‘s mangaka also has masterful control of the manga medium marking him as a potential star.
Fabricant 100 Proves It’s One of Shonen Jump’s Best New Manga
Unfortunately despite the series’ potential, it may still get the dreaded axe. However, as Shonen Jump’s prematurely concluded Ginka & Glüna shows this doesn’t mean that the story isn’t worth reading. In fact, if Fabricant 100 keeps giving readers shocking moments like its brutal page turn, it may go down as one of Shonen Jump‘s best modern series regardless of whether it gets axed.
Fabricant 100 Chapter 20 is available to read from Viz Media.
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
