Hyde and Closer is a series I was unaware of the existence of until about a month or so before I read it. It was something that stuck out to me as soon as I saw it, not only due to its striking artstyle but also because I was surprised that there was an action shonen I hadn’t seen anywhere at least once. Looking into it more intrigued me further, since I find stories that deal with toys fascinating. That might be because I own way too many plushies myself, though. And when I saw that it was available on Viz’s shiny new manga app, I made reading it a priority. I ended up enjoying it, although it is far from being my favorite of the genre.

Shunpei Closer is a meek 13-year-old boy living a largely ordinary life. A few years prior to the start of the story, his beloved archaeologist grandpa Aslyd Closer went on a trip to Africa where he disappeared, his last gift to his grandson before he left being a teddy bear named Hyde. One day, he gets attacked by a stuffed monkey that was sent to his house, upon which Hyde reveals that he is a sentient being controlled via sorcery by Aslyd. Turns out Aslyd wasn’t an archaeologist but was actually the world’s strongest sorcerer, and someone’s been going around telling people that eating Closer’s heart will give them his grandpa’s power. Fortunately, Hyde and his sorcery-fueled chainsaw are there to protect him from sorcerors from around the world. It would probably help him to learn some sorcery of his own along the way, too.

My favorite aspect of this series by far is the power system. Sorcery in this world is based around belief; a person has to truly believe in the sorcery they are using in order for it to fully work. This is something that Closer struggles with early on since he’s a shy kid who’s always been dunked on by everyone around him. His initial powerset is based around barriers, a power based more on protection than offense, reflecting his cowardly nature. The other sorcerers we meet have abilities that reflect their deepest beliefs as well. Shindo’s love for Tomiko has been the one consistent element throughout his entire life, so naturally his belief in her abilities is incredibly strong and allows her hair to stretch endlessly. Pacwa’s negative reputation leads to all the cursed tools she sells to fail, since there always seems to be a lingering doubt in her customer’s minds due to her reputation even if they want to believe in her. It’s an intriguing concept that the series does a lot of cool stuff with, particularly since many of the powers manifest through toys and dolls.

The characters in this series are pretty fun for the most part, even if they are not the deepest cast I have ever seen. Shunpei Closer himself was a character who kind of got on my nerves in the beginning due to his cowardice, and this is coming from someone who usually isn’t bothered by cowardly characters. He does show genuine growth over the course of the series, learning to not run away and to step in and actually fight when it really counts. Much of this growth comes at the behest of Hyde, our mentor figure who's also a chainsaw-wielding teddy bear. I love Hyde. He’s just as awesome as the sentence I used to describe him makes him sound, and I also just enjoy his relationship with Closer. His status as the last thing his grandfather left him before he disappeared has led to him taking up the mantle as Closer’s mentor, teaching him both in the ways of sorcery and just helping him become a better and braver person in general. It’s probably my favorite character dynamic in the series, and always made me smile.

We have a small group of supporting characters who I enjoyed but who I also feel like could have had some time to shine in their own right a bit more. Ana Maria is probably my favorite of the supporting cast, I really like her energy and attachment to reggae and how that ties into her powers. Shindo was a character I had a hard time getting behind at first, as his love for Tomiko, a literal doll that is alive because of his sorcery, weirded me out quite a bit. Learning that she was the only consistent thing in his ever changing life put his feelings into perspective and made me warm up to him a bit more. Tatsumi Uryu is a character that is introduced early on that doesn’t really get much to do until the very end of the manga. It’s a shame because I liked her quite a bit and would’ve liked to see her get more screen time.

The villains are where I feel some of the writing falls a bit flat, especially later on in the series. It’s a bit hard to get into without spoilers, however. While I did enjoy the final arc of the series, I have some fairly prominent problems with it. One of them was that there are two antagonists introduced towards the end of the story who join the heroes' side in the final battle, and I think their switching sides felt kind of sudden and unearned. My biggest issue with the manga involves the main antagonist of the series, The Watcher in the Window. I feel like there are plenty of ways to create a backstory for a character that would push them over the edge into hating humanity enough to want to destroy it. I believe Haro Aso is fully capable of writing/should have wrote one that doesn't lean heavily into problematic tropes like the Watcher's did. Misgivings with these characters aside, I did enjoy where the series ended, and the last pages in particular put a smile on my face.

One of the things that initially drew me to this series was the art style. It has a distinct early 2000s-ness to it, with the character designs in particular capturing the vibe of that era. They all look very distinct from each other and from their contemporaries. The way Aso illustrates the characters' dolls and their abilities help to accentuate this vibe. There is also a sort of unhinged-ness to the art of this series, which based on what I have heard about Aso's other works seems to be something of a running theme.

I enjoyed my time with Hyde & Closer. Despite my issues, I would say that my overall experience with the series was a positive one, and when I think back on it I tend to think of the good more often than the bad. It isn't really something I'd call special or amazing, but it is good and think that fans of shonen would likely enjoy it. I am now very curious to check out Haro Aso's other works, Alice in Borderland and Zom 100 (Although he only does the story for the latter.). These two are far more talked about than Hyde & Closer and also seem to be radically different from it. The difference honestly makes me even more excited to check them out, as certain authors excel more in certain genres than others.