Superheroes come in all sizes, shapes, and personalities. And in the world of Shy, we have a few special ones in parts of the globe. The US has a courageous man who exudes heroic; Russia has a major drinker who takes down her enemies like they’re nothing; Japan, however…has a hero who’s standing in for a non-hero, Heartman, as a guest for a program. She’s nervous and jittery, and the crowd of people and attendees are bored.
That’s just how Shy she is.
Not like superhero manga is a common thing, but of course we do have some that exist in various fashions or forms, one of course really famous. Shy at the start keeps its secrets close to the vest — with the appearance of Heroes, war has mostly ceased to exist, and peace is more appropriate than ever before. However, it doesn’t explain how these Heroes came to be, and only makes you wonder, “War really doesn’t exist anymore?”
But for now it’s interested in establishing Teru Momijiyama, a.k.a. Shy, who doesn’t really display a type of notable power other than enhanced strength and flight capability. When she doesn’t transform, she’s your typical introverted schoolgirl, but let’s say a rescue where she saved a lot of people from potentially falling upside down off a ride turns sour when one of the riders ends up getting seriously hurt. Teru stops becoming a hero for a good while, but it’s after a pep talk with Russia’s Hero and Teru witnessing a massive fire inside a building that ends up restoring Shy’s ability to save people, despite being extremely timid.
It’s hard to say if Shy’s a good manga, but for its first volume, it is solid. What I think is holding things back so far is the vague nature of the threat that will be coming in the future, and all the Heroes will have to stop it. Teru’s personality might also be tough to read when she’s consistently down on herself, but well, being shy is one of her traits, so the challenge moving forward is creating scenarios where this doesn’t actually hamper much of the action or story. In this first volume, it’s fine.
What is interesting is just how they’re weaving characters into the narrative: you take one ordinary character that Shy failed to save, but then bring her back into Shy’s life at her school, and then don’t take the easy way out by just forcing her to be evil; you actually integrate her into the Heroes life once she’s saved despite being a civilian. Aren’t they supposed to be kept away from danger? Why would you take her out to the Heroes headquarters in space?
That does lead me to the other cool things about Shy: the action, some of the more standard superhero callbacks (I don’t know, I immediately thought Justice League when they went into space in this volume), and portraying some of the weirdness of having someone so young be a Hero. It’s nothing unique, but it’s something worth having in a story that currently doesn’t have much leg to stand on in terms of a threat. We are introduced to a strange boy who can turn negative emotions within a person’s heart into a threat, but it’s unlikely he’s the only one to worry about.
Overall, there’s something I’m feeling ambivalent about after reading this first volume, but I am curious about how Shy can get stronger, if there will be more ordinary people becoming involved with Heroes, the origin of Heroes…there’s much to learn. And since the next volume has the one who wanted to get the entire world drunk (she realized soon enough that it’s impossible) on the cover, so I’d like to think the narrative will shift to her. So, lots to wonder about, and curious what will be the major twist or curveball that flips everything around, if it intends to go that route.
And if Shy will ever be comfortable with changing into her skintight costume. The answer at this rate is no.