Summary
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By now, the name of the South Korean mangaka, Boichi, is familiar to a large segment of the anime community. With a host of original manga projects, collaborations and spin-offs under his belt, Boichi is a seasoned award-winning mangaka who boasts an unmistakable art style that combines hyperrealistic elements with the familiar exaggeration of manga. In his brand-new manga,The Marshal King, Boichi places steampunk elements in an arid, desert environment,the perfect setting for a western.
With only six chapters out at the time of writing, how does The Marshal King hold up, especially considering the illustrious company it shares as one of Boichi’s works, which include the likes ofOrigin,Dr. Stone(the artwork),Sun-Ken Rock, andOne Pieceepisode A, the spin-off which follows Ace.
Plot and Background
A Familiar Western Feeling
The Marshal Kingis set in a harsh world of desperados, lone wolves who hunt outlaws, looking to cash in on their bounty. The desert was long ruled by legendary outlaw, M. Godspeed, who was the undisputed king of criminals for hundreds of years, until he was killed by his own son, Jimmu Godspeed, who now lugs around a cross-shaped coffin with his father’s remains to prove himself the rightful claimant of his 10 million dollar bounty. However, Jimmu has no interest in money.Killing his legendary outlaw of a fatherwas to prove himself worthy of enrolling at the Western U.S. Marshal Training Institute, where he seeks to obtain a certain mythical weapon: the Super Magnum known as Excalibur. The series has been running since February 2025, and only has six chapters so far. The English version is translated by David Evelyn, with lettering by Michelle Pang. The atmosphere could be described as a steampunk western, with elements that ground The Marshal King in that realm of sci-fi with some of the elaborate depictions of machinery, the grungy, gritty visuals and desert setting whichcall back to classic anime westernslikeCowboy Bebop, or more closely, titles likeTrigunorDesert Punk.
Something about it gives it another familiar feeling:One Piece, a sense only ratifed by Jimmu Godspeed’s triumphant declaration that the current age is “truly the age of desperados”, and the atmosphere created by its aesthetics. It’s possible that Boichi’s work ontheOne PieceAce spin-off, combined with his experiences working onDr. Stonecould have inspired him to create a fully immersive alternate world based on the Wild West. Interestingly, one of the earlier attempts at a long-running serialization byJoJo’s Bizarre Adventureauthor Hirohiko Araki was born from a similar incorporation of this particular thematic landscape. Arguably the best thing aboutThe Marshal King, beyond Boichi’s incredibly detailed, meticulous art style; which has taken up an interesting, more deformé quality compared to some of his earlier work, is how he uses his brilliant draftsmanship to create a thoroughly convincing world based on the aesthetics, tropes and themes seen in the Wild West.
What The Marshal King Does Well
A Well-Crafted Atmosphere
The Marshal King’sart communicates the setting very well, with character designs ranging from more realistic-leaning to the aforementioned deformé, particularly when it comes to the series' female characters. Where Boichi’s art shines the most in delivering this convincing portrayal of the kind of environment you’d expect from a Western, is withthe top-notch mechanical designs, which only further entrench the reader in this world that has yet to be named, nor expanded upon. What’s really intriguing aboutThe Marshal Kingfrom a visual perspective is the series' sparse use of colour from time to time, emphasizing certain moments while also gifting the reader with the occasional colour page as manga often do, but the use of orange and gold to embolden the art and guide the eye is skillfully used in tandem with a cool blue-toned grey that creates subdued visuals, showing Boichi’s elevation of the contrast he has often created with his line art alone. The minimal use of colour is arguably more striking than a full colour spread when coupled with Boichi’s art style.
The lore appears to be building very steadily, from the presentation of the false protagonist, M. Godspeed and his mysteriously long reign over the desert; which forms part of the tiny detail that the characters' lifespans aren’t normal, to the revelation of legendary super weapons that select their wielder. This kind of information piques curiosity in the setting, trajectory, and overall point of the series, which seems to be building up to bea high-octane battle shōnen, but also possibly could be a treasure trove of some very exciting lore if it’s executed well. It’s definitely very edgy, but there’s a certain lightheartedness to the series that can be attributed to the fact that it doesn’t take itself too seriously, with Jimmu being a very likable protagonist, not only for his bravado and clear confidence, but also how he interacts with his environment (and vice versa) to elicit some genuinely hilarious moments.The Marshal Kingis definitely something worth reading for fans of great manga art, Westerns, steampunk and shōnen, and has the potential to develop into a very exciting manga.
The Marshal King is available to read on VIZ Media’s mobile app or website.
