From the creators of Prison School and the currently-airing anime Blue Lock comes the new Super Ball Girls manga series! This comedy ecchi series follows an apathetic factory worker who finally has the means to turn his life around that’s to a mysterious orb. But will it be enough to help Eita Ichiyoshi recover his lost dreams?
Currently serialized in Big Comic Superior — a bi-monthly seinen manga magazine known for award-winning detective series Sanctuary and the currently running Blood on the Tracks — Super Ball Girls will certainly be shaking the line-up around with its absurd humor and lewd scenes.
For those familiar with the works of both Prison School’s Akira Hiramoto and Blue Lock’s Muneyuki Kaneshiro, this collaboration is a perfect storm. Hiramoto’s highly detailed and often terrifying art is perfect for capturing an eerie feeling more typically associated with works of psychological horror. And Kaneshiro has proved that what may seem like a simple sports shonen manga can be quickly flipped on its head.
What is the plot of the Super Ball Girls manga?
Chocolate factory worker Eita Ichiyoshi is lost in the monotony of his day-to-day work. Some days, he’s left daydreaming of every wild course of action he could take. And those daydreams are all he has as all of his childhood dreams have fallen apart: he never had much talent for baseball and he’s never had any luck with girls.
When Ichiyoshi’s colleague gives him a mandala chart — a self-help tool based in Buddhist teaching — he quickly dismisses it. But after blundering a reconnection with a past crush and a gambling mistake leads his colleague to tear the factory apart, he knows something has to change.
Luckily for Ichiyoshi, change comes whether he reaches out for it or not in the form of a mysterious orb he finds falling from the sky. After taking the ball home, he tosses it to release some pent-up frustration. Little does he realize, the first of many changes he wants for his life has already come to him as, from the orb, a beautiful girl appears.
What have Akira Hiramoto and Muneyuki Kaneshiro worked on in the past?
Artist Akira Hiramoto may be best known for his Prison School series, but he’s also the author of several manga works including Me and the Devil Blues — a horror tale set in the American south at the birth of the blues. Hiramoto was also part of the horror anthology Neo Parasyte M which included many big name mangaka such as Fairy Tail’s Hiro Mashima and Spriggan’s Ryouji Minagawa.
To get a feel for writer Muneyuki Kaneshiro’s work in collaboration with artist Yuusuke Nomura, anime fans can check out the now-airing Blue Lock — a shonen sports anime with a sci-fi twist. Typical tropes of friendship and teamwork are torn apart in this series that pits football players (soccer to American audiences) and their egos against each other.
Kaneshiro has over ten series under his belt, however. From gory horror series like As the Gods Will (with artist Akeji Fujimura) and Jagaaaaaan (in collaboration with artist Kensuke Nishida) to action shonen such as Dragon Collection (together with artist Kyouta Shibano), Kaneshiro nails a great balance between interpersonal drama and outlandishly thrilling scenes.