Title: Super Smartphone Vol. 3
Author: Hiroki Tomisawa (story), Kentaro Hidano (art)
Publisher: Viz Media
Language: English
Format: Digital
Pages: 195
Genre: Supernatural, Drama
Publication Date: February 26, 2024
Final Thoughts
We have reached the end of Super Smartphone and as I guessed from the pacing of the series, the ending came and was incredibly rushed. While I won’t go into details about the ending itself to avoid spoilers for those who wish to read it, I will be vague and say that a LOT of information was thrown at us in such a way that none of it seemed believable. We do get to meet the remaining super phone users that have not been unveiled yet as well as the so-called, super phone masters, their true identities, their goals, ambitions, the reason behind the phones, what the phones truly are, etc.
It was a lot to take in and in a 3-volume setting, it was near impossible to take it in and let it digest. This is a series that definitely needed more time to let things flourish; however, even with the ending, it was still inconclusive based on what the super phone master had to say about the true purpose of giving out twelve super phones.
Be that as it may, looking back on the series as a whole, it was one that had potential but there were quite a few fumbles along the way that stopped it from reaching said potential outside of its super short length.
The first is the main character, Kyu. I truly loved how he started out. He came off as a genius who was bored with the world. He loved creating challenges for himself. Then, by the middle of the second volume, all of that disappeared. I mentioned how his development was quick but it had to be due to the length of the series; however, that genius didn’t come across all that much in the third volume. When he was approached by Boken, he used some of it to discover his identity but after that, he took risks that weren’t very calculated. He had almost become unhinged something that’s not characteristic of how he was portrayed.
As for Zenichirou, this guy is a comedic villain. I don’t mean he’s funny or whimsical, but everything he says is just so cheesy and corny. His expressions don’t paint him as dangerous or menacing but rather just cringeworthy. In the third volume alone, he states his goals and what he wants, then seems to pivot on them for something completely different. Even though I understand that both goals are intertwined, the volume doesn’t really do a good job of connecting them to each other. Plus, in the epilogue, there’s no indication of what became of him in the future.
Overall, what we have here is a series that tried the same formula as others that came before it. Series such as Platinum End, Future Diary, or any other battle royale-style series; however, the plot, which started out as interesting and intriguing, quickly derailed into something non-sensical and something that a first-time manga author that lacks the ability to craft a cohesive story would put out.
As I had stated in my previous reviews, I am unsure if the series was canceled early on or if it was meant to be a 3-volume series. If it was the former, then I can understand the rushed nature of throwing plot points out there left and right; however, if it was the latter, the series was way too ambitious given the timeframe and it ended up as a bit of a mess.
Despite all of that, the potential was there and if you can ignore the rushed nature of it and try to understand how all of the dots would connect had this series had the time to breathe, then you could see that it was a decent attempt at throwing its name into the battle royal genre.
Overall Rating: 2.5 / 5
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This item was provided for review by Viz Media
