The superhero theme has invaded the pop culture world. Novels, comics, series, films offer variations, rereadings, diversions. Which function as so many enrichment of a contemporary mythology. Japan is not to be outdone, with a particularity. The figure of the superhero has existed for a very long time in a unique local version: sentai or Tokusatsu. The novelty of recent years is the appearance of works that without denying the Japanese spirit are tinged with Western influence. Tiger and Bunny in animation or My Hero Academia in manga are the standard bearers of this new genre narratively very inspired and visually brilliant. Bukimi Miki's Shy series, published since January 2021 by Kana Editions, is part of this trend. And faced with the heavyweights of the category, its author found the right tone not to be ashamed of the comparison.
Shy : the time of heroes, the time of doubts
What if the appearance of individuals with extraordinary abilities put an end to all wars? Here is the world of Shy, an earthly future not so far from our present where each country has seen the appearance of a hero with super-powerful powers and a colorful costume. Their daily life: saving civilians, maintaining order in the streets and assuming their notoriety. Therefore, not everyone adopts the same philosophy of life. England's hero is both a savior and a media star who has rejected the concept of secret identity. The Russian heroine is a much more baroque character. In this areopagus of extraordinary beings, Teru, aka Shy the Japanese superheroine, denotes. Despite impressive powers, this young schoolgirl suffers from extreme shyness and a great lack of self-confidence. It doubts its legitimacy. All it takes is one difficult intervention for her to be on the verge of giving up and abandoning her heroic career. But when a terrifying threat emerges, the girl must face her fears, listen to her peers and loved ones to become the one who inspires hope and confidence.
A visual universe that stands out
Bukimi Miki has a very original stroke that sets the tone of his work from the first plate. Indeed, his graphic style is very nervous, dynamic. It is based on a very adult drawing in the design of often angular faces. For example, she pays special attention to the hair. Very worked, they give his characters a real soul. Similarly, she uses a pencil on the border of sketch and watercolor. It is based on a play of shadows and lights, on a contrast between black and white that give this manga a strong visual identity. 
As a result, there is an impression rarely seen in the world of manga. That of a work combining the best of comics and shonen. On the one hand, we feel a strong influence from the works of Sean Murphy or those of Hugo Pratt. The atypical frames, the verticality of the line, the hatchings bring out the faces. While literally bringing out the light. This gives a strong energy to the action scenes. On the other hand, the author uses for the intimate scenes shonen codes (the importance of the eyes) mixed with a cutting very close to comics. This impressive graphic work serves wonderfully the purpose of his work: to build a cross-over between sentai and comics.
Shy : What if Peter Paker had been in college?
Graphically very successful, this first volume is based on a very interesting premise. Here no origin story. The reader plunges into the daily life of a schoolgirl who struggles to reconcile her superheroic activities and her teenage life. Shy must indeed preserve her secret identity, not let the schoolgirl be undermined by what is said about the superheroine. Very easy to say, terribly complicated to live in reality. Especially since our main character constantly doubts. It measures the weight of the hope it arouses, the cost of failure, the importance of its role as a model. All these questions define a very endearing heroine, driving the narrative reminiscent of Peter Paker. This allows the author to begin an interesting reflection on the lives of her supernatural heroes. How do they experience failure? When they stumble or lose faith, do they have the right to resign themselves and abandon everything?The author also raises the question of the management of this double life. Each hero has indeed found a palliative to this notoriety: some embark on the star system, others in a life of debauchery. Which one chose the best path? Finally, the author questions the notion of model. These heroes become incubators of vocation. But will they be able to manage the consequences of the risks taken by those who take them as models?
A rich universe
In one volume, Bukimi Miki lays the foundations of an already abundant universe. It feeds on excellent references anchoring each hero in a cultural universe. Stardust for example, the British hero, is inspired by the singer David Bowie. His pseudonym is indeed a nod to Ziggy stardust, fictional character invented by the singer. Spirits, dressed in fur, a bottle of alcohol always nearby, embodies Russia with malice and a lot of humor. Shy finally with his garish costume, clearly refers to the colorful universe of Japanese sentai. 
This graphic richness is also deployed in what this first volume tells us. Through this initiatory quest, the author reveals the code governing the lives of her superheroes, the existence of a space base, a kind of guard tower like that of the Justice League. She is also interested in the impact on society of the arrival of these supernatural beings. It also presents us with an antagonistic future with very disturbing motivations. Above all, she succeeds in proposing a very clear explanation of the source of the powers that makes it possible to justify any shift towards shadow or light. In one volume, Shy stands out as a series to follow with great attention. Driven by an original drawing and a point of view centered on doubts, it has everything to become one of the flagship titles of Kana editions.
