The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree in Super Psychic Policeman Chojo chapter 35 as Ippongi’s grandfather Naotaka makes a surprise visit to the West Chinjuku police station. Concerned about one of his family members working with an officer who has such a bad reputation, Naotaka ends up unearthing all of the bad behavior Chojo has exhibited so far, underscoring this series’ surprising strength.
My knowledge of Shun Numa is limited to a grand total of two things: one, that he's a fan of The iDOLM@STER Million Live!, and two, that drawing fanart of Samon-kun wa Summoner was what got Shiro Usazaki scouted to work as a manga artist. Nevertheless, Numa’s new series quickly won me over when it first started with its hyper-specific sense of humor, based mainly around trading card games and model kits. Whether or not that will resonate with you depends on your hobbies, but there’s a strong case to be made that chapter 35 acts as a perfect example of the ace up Super Psychic Policeman Chojo’s sleeve: serialization.
Although the main gag of Super Psychic Policeman Chojo chapter 35 is ultimately Naotaka finding out about all of the mean and irresponsible things Chojo has done to his granddaughter, he does this when Cop-Bot projects various scenes from previous chapters for everyone to see. Far from just being hilarious, this also suggests a clear chronology to the story: everything that happened in the last chapter happened in the past, while everything that will happen in next week’s chapter is in the future. This might seem blindingly obvious, but it runs counter to the episodic approach of most other comedy manga.
Serialization also rears its head at the end of Super Psychic Policeman Chojo chapter 35, when Ippongi dashes into a burning building to save a child. Chojo dryly remarks that rescuing people from house fires isn’t usually what police officers do, to which Ippongi replies “It’s your fault that I’ve developed a tendency to do things outside of my area of expertise.” Indeed, these two characters do spend an awful lot of time practicing to be idols and serving customers in a convenience store while maintaining their badges.
In this sense, serialization can be a much more effective vehicle for character development than the episodic approach. After all, if each story is standalone, then how are characters ever supposed to learn lessons or grow as individuals? What’s more, establishing a clear chronology such as Numa does in Super Psychic Policeman Chojo chapter 35 rewards readers who read all the way from beginning to end as callbacks are made to known material. You will declare: I know that reference!
When reading a comedy series, you don’t usually expect it to show off everything you love about manga as a medium, so Shun Numa deserves some credit there. And if Super Psychic Policeman Chojo continues to experiment with serialization, perhaps with some longer-form arcs? I will be there no matter what.
You can read Super Psychic Policeman Chojo chapter 35 for free via VIZ Media’s Shonen Jump.
