Shonen Jump brought the heat with the debut of their new manga series this weekend, Otr of the Flame. This new manga is brought to us from the mind of mangaka Yuki Kawaguchi. Before this new Shonen Jump manga, Kawaguchi worked as assistant for Kohei Horikoshi on My Hero Academia. After creating a number of one-shots Kawaguchi got his big break in 2021 with the debut of The Hunters Guild: Red Hood. Kawaguchi’s series only lasted 18 chapters before being cancelled. Even though it had a short lifespan, The Hunters Guild: Red Hood made a very good impression as it gained a niche following. With that in mind, let’s see how Kawaguchi does with his newest series, Otr of the Flame.
WHAT IS OTR OF THE FLAME
Otr of the Flame Chapter 1, titled “The Flame Awakens”, takes place in a old school Viking inspired world. Sometime ago the world was struck by a forever winter-type atmosphere after the demon-led Ice Kingdom started a war against the Forest Kingdom. The war led to the Ice Kingdom destroying the lush forest and freezing all ports in the Forest Kingdom. Now all survivors who are able to fight do their best to still defeat the Ice Kingdom, or at least defend what’s left of their kingdom and people.
That is where we see the series lead, Otr, step in. As a young child Otr has done his best to take care of his little sister after their dad died and left them as orphans. Otr has decided to do his part and signs up for the kingdom’s army as a cook. On his first day at the fortress he’s assigned as a cook the Ice Kingdom army decimates the area as the leader uses his magic to turn the deceased Forest Kingdom soldiers into Draugr he commands. On death’s door Otr determination allows him to fuse with the holy flame from his village and overcome the Ice Kingdom army.
OTR OF THE FLAME LEARNING FROM THE HUNTERS GUILD: RED HOOD
Right away the thing that stood out about Otr of the Flame first chapter is how Yuki Kawaguchi learned from his past experience. There was a much greater effort made to ensure the world of Otr of the Flame was fully realized right out of the gate. It is a lesson that Kawaguchi has clearly learned from how things went for his previous series, The Hunters Guild: Red Hood.
While The Hunters Guild was well done, Kawaguchi understood as a creator he needed to do a much better job with the world building. Being able to take in feedback and understand where he may have gone wrong with The Hunters Guild shows his strength as a creator. Kawaguchi took the five years to become an even better creator.
Focusing on the world building led to making Otr an even stronger protagonist. His motivation is simple but made strong because of how the world is fully realized. Even at his young age Otr is made important by how much he is appreciated by not just his sister but entire village. This little touch makes the determination Otr shows be something you get behind.
That determination, Otr shows also works into this Viking world where we see the Forest Kingdom soldiers happy to die on the battlefield to reach Valhalla. Once Otr is faced with also wanting to reach Valhalla and reunite with his father, something else clicks for him. And that is surviving so he can tell his warrior story to his sister, keeping the promise he made to personally tell her his legend. This was a nice addition to make the little time we spend with Otr and Sanna meaningful as they are the only family they have.
It led to the obvious moment of Otr becoming one with the Flame Spirit one that is hits the hype level you want as a reader. This was the reward from how not only Otr was built up but also the Ice Kingdom as villains. You want to see the evil sorcerer general leading the Ice Kingdom’s army get his comeuppance. That is exactly what we get here.
THE ART OF OTR OF THE FLAME
As with any mangaka, Otr of the Flame brings its own style. While Kawaguchi was a protégé of Kohei Horikoshi, his art style is very much his own. There are certainly some rough edges as the artwork is much simpler, especially with round faces. But that is where the setting that Kawaguchi chooses for this series plays a key role.
Choosing a Viking’s like aesthetic lends well to Kawaguchi’s art style. There is this sense of bleakness to the world as soon as you start reading Otr of the Flame Chapter 1. Getting into why this world is so bleak with the splash page on fifth page feeds into why the artwork is giving us such a rough looking world. Characters are just trying to survive so their appearance is the last thing on their minds. They just want to be able to wake up to live another day and the artwork does just that.
This choice of direction makes the moment Otr transforms into his Flame Spirit hero mode an even bigger moment. Kawaguchi captures how this is a moment of hope coming back to the world plagued by darkness. It is the fire of rebellion for a world where many were just looking to die a warriors death so they can reach Valhalla.
It was also a nice touch that Kawaguchi took this as a chance to give his mentor, Horikoshi, a shoutout. The way Otr hunches over to protect his village’s holy flame is very reminiscent to how All Might internally kept the flame of One For All lit in his final battle against All For One. It was a cool moment for My Hero Academia fans that shows Kawaguchi’s respect to Horikoshi as his mentor.
OTR OF THE FLAME CHAPTER 1 FINAL VERDICT
Otr of the Flame Chapter 1 is an extremely impressive debut for Shonen Jump’s newest manga series. Yuki Kawaguchi clearly learned from his experience with how things went for his first manga series, The Hunters Guild: Red Hood. The lessons made Kawaguchi a stronger creator as the world building in this debut chapter was very strong. The strength of the world building made Otr and all his moments stand out even more. By the end you can’t help but want to read more.
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