User:FanOfAniManga

Hey Wikians. My username is FanOfAniManga, or FOAM for short. As you can tell by my username, I'm a fan of anime and manga series.

I mainly like to work on anime and manga-related Wikis on smaller series that I personally like and think have the potential to become extremely popular. One day, I decided I would read a sports-related manga because I never gave the genre any love. So I came across this new series, Smoky B.B., but it would quite predictably turn out to be a flop anyways.

My Thoughts on Smoky B.B.
Last Updated: February 5, 2014

It's easy to ridicule Smoky B.B. based on the name of the manga alone, which I will demonstrate below, but there were other reasons why I believed it would've flopped anyways.

First, the author pedigree. Although it's not a concrete measurement as to how well a mangaka's second series will perform after their first, it negatively affects the second series' chance to appeal to the readers and editors whenever the mangaka just doesn't learn from their mistakes. I've only read a few chapters of the duo's previous series, Kikai Banashi Hanasaka Ikkyu, but from what I perceived, I really believe that's the case. When you have a story that focuses exclusively on the godly powers of the one main protagonist, there's very little room to expand, and that's something I believe had carried over from Kikai Banashi to Smoky Butterfinger BB's. And the repetition of the same powers over and over again does little to give the readers and editors a reason why they should care about this series, not to mention leaving it unexplained and mostly undeveloped.

Second, the competition. With sports manga strongholds Kuroko no Basuke and Haikyu!! dominating the Weekly Shonen Jump magazine, the market would prove to be too saturated for relatively incompetent mangaka to release sports manga alongside them, as proven by cases like Kurogane and Cross Manage. This is on top of having a lacklustre plot and, of course, a poorly thought-out title. It's not that it sounds so ridiculous that it probably wouldn't carry over to Western audiences if Viz picked it up, but it doesn't have any meaning either. Obviously, the smoke represents the main character's ability, but when has anyone ever associated baseball with the phrase "B.B."? I seriously thought the manga would have more to do with a Smoky B.B.Q. when I first saw the title. As far as I can tell, they don't even use that phrase in the manga proper either, so it's really degrading on the manga's image to the reader's and editor's eyes.

Finally, the planning. Again, the amount of time an author spends from finishing their first serialization and starting their second is not a concrete measurement, but if it's any indication on how well this series is doing, it's a bad one. For this manga to begin a mere 1 1/4 years after the duo's last serial ended, compared to the typical 2-4 years among all mangaka is startling. For this manga to begin with zero prior notice in the form of a oneshot or any indication of any thought process is even worse. And of course, there's the faulty concept of having one character going "one-solution-fits-all" on everything and the ridiculous name for the series, showing that this duo probably thought there was nothing to improve from their first work.

I was hoping that I'd be able to diverge into a sports-related manga for once, to contrast my otherwise lack of interest, but ultimately, Smoky B.B. was definitely deserving of a Smoky B.B.Q. because it lacked the creative drive and it didn't seem like the duo learned from their mistakes.

Having been enthusiastic about this series and unable to find an existing Wiki for the series prior, I started this dedicated Wiki. Although the series has concluded, I'll still be visiting this Wiki on a regular basis for maintenance and updates. I also look to develop Wikis of new, potentially groundbreaking series to the same standard as those of well-established Wikis of manga/anime series.

Help us contribute!