MANGA REVIEW | "Secret Steward" - Volume One
I’ll admit that I’m a sucker for good butler-based manga. Whether it’s the hilarious Hayate the Combat Butler! or something a bit more dark like Black Butler, any tale about a master and servant somehow finds a way to entertain me immensely. Secret Steward, the latest series from the duo of Sanshiro Kasama and Hikaru Uesugi, certainly seems to want to scratch that itch of mine in many delightful ways.
Secret Steward starts off on the usual foot. An average man, Yu Omori, finds himself at the bottom of life’s hole. Shino Hasaba, the richest and prettiest girl at his school, gives Yu the opportunity of a lifetime: become her steward, and she’ll assist with almost anything. Now working under Shino, Yu finds himself with a new purpose, on top of a possible love interest.
Right at the start, it’s already clear that there’s a bond between Yu and Shino. While he is working for Shino, it’s obviously clear that Yu is filling a hole in the rich girl’s heart. Although her past has yet to be revealed, there appears to be some sort of trauma that occurred that made Shino both reclusive and snooty. Thankfully, Yu seems to have a very good heart, and as he and Shino work together, one hopes that true love will blossom between the two—
OH GOD! HOLY SHIT! WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!!! YU’S DEAD!!!! OH, THE HUMANITY!!! WHO WOULD DO SUCH A THING TO SUCH A NICE YOUNG BOY?!?!?!?!
…of course it’s Deadpool!
Yes, this first chapter of Secret Steward was the ultimate gotcha in all of comics! Just when you think you’re about to read some generic rom-com, in comes the Merc with a Mouth to excite the worlds of Marvel and Shonen Jump again. And that nice boy Yu? He’s actually a monster that maybe would’ve devoured Shino had he had the chance. I guess you can’t judge a book by its cover, just as we couldn’t judge Secret Steward of being the return of Deadpool: Samurai.
So why is Deadpool back in Japan? Well…the sushi’s good, the music is banging, and there’s currently a 10% off deal going on at his favorite Soapland. But besides this, revenge is on his mind! Tony Stark shows Wade a video of a Spider-Man variant being murdered by the yakuza, and it might be best girl Sakura Spider! But Deadpool won’t be alone for this fight, as Tony sends him the ultimate partner: Loki!
Thankfully, the Spidey Deadpool thinks is having brunch with the parents of Hojo Tokiyuki and Fuuko Izumo is still in this plain of existence. So with a new variation of the Samurai Squad in place, Deadpool makes mince meat out of the yakuza, word bubbles, and the entire Marvel and Shonen Jump canon. However, the yakuza aren’t the main baddies this time; it’s many, many Deadpool variants from the multiverse!
The first one Wade, Sakura, and Loki need to face off against is Wolverine-Pool, whom…well, it’s all in the name, isn’t it? And Wolverine-Pool arrives at the worst possible time: the beach episode. No swimming, no watermelons smashed, and no time for an OnlyFans amount of feet shots that would make Rob Liefeld jealous of the detail placed into them. Instead, it’s violence time, and it goes to show that even when he’s cracking wise, Deadpool doesn’t skimp on making the baddies bleed.
A nice bonus to the end of Deadpool: Samurai’s third volume is the American Sakura Spider comic published in the compilation Edge of Spider-Verse. As one can imagine, Haruka’s tale is very much like Peter Parker’s, with a death in the family pushing her towards greater heroism. Although it’s mostly backstory, it ends with a hint of what could be for Sakura Spider. One hopes that after Kasama and Uesugi are done with this Deadpool comic, perhaps they can give Sakura Spider her own full-fledged story.
It’s great seeing Deadpool: Samurai back! The opening chapter is one of the funniest switcheroos in comic book history, and the things that make Wade Wilson the Merc with the Mouth are all intact. With there being a plethora of Deadpools that can come and take on this variant and the rest of the Samurai Squad, the fun and wacky possibilities are practically endless. For now, heat yourself up a chimichanga from your local Japanese 7/11, and raise it in the sky, for Deadpool: Samurai hath returned!
FINAL GRADE:
Promotional consideration provided by Chantelle Sturt of VIZ Media.
