2015
08.07

Last week I quipped that I might shank someone if they added D. Gray-Man into Jump. And take a wild guess at what happened this week?!

…No, I wasn’t arrested for shanking someone. I didn’t shank anyone. That was a joke.

But yeah, D. Gray-Man is this month’s Jump Back. I don’t really have anything against early D. Gray-Man; I didn’t start to particularly dislike it until after the Noah’s Ark arc when the series just started becoming convoluted and incomprehensible, and (sighs) Johnny became one of the fucking main characters for some fucking reason. Even so, there were other series I would rather them run as Jump Backs first, and I just know this is going to lead to the series’ new chapters being run once this is over. Though, since they will only come out four times a year, it’s presence wouldn’t be noticed much. Certainly not as much as Seraph of the End, which I still have to get fully caught up on before next week so I can start reviewing it properly. Going from reading Nana to that is not going to be an easy transition, much less a pleasant one, that’s for sure.

Well, we’ll talk more about D. Gray-Man later, so let’s get on with the issue review! In this week of Jump, Food Wars! gets political, things get out of hand in Bleach, and the most powerful man in the world of One Piece…tries to commit suicide!?! All this and more, After the Jump!

Weekly Shonen Jump: 2015, Issue No. 36

Black Clover chapter #24 – “Capital Riot”

Last week I lauded Asta’s impassioned anger towards the Silva siblings’ horrible abuse of Noelle and his declaration that he’ll shut their jeering mouths up once he became the Wizard King. I found the scene well-done, with a great use of build-up and expanding on Asta’s character in a subtle way, establishing him as thick-skulled about being looked down upon but having no tolerance when it comes to his friends being mistreated. I enjoyed the moment of triumph at the end of the chapter where Asta had essentially given a big “fuck you” to the nobles and showed them he would not be silenced. I don’t think we needed to see more after that, which is my big problem with BC this week. Asta deflecting the attacks of the Silva siblings and knocking one of them off his feet isn’t nearly as effective as the pacing and emotional tension made the last chapter. It feels redundant and draws attention to the more annoying cliches at play, like stuck-up, vain elite antagonists, Asta coming out on top no matter what they throw at him, a higher-up character stopping the fight, etc. more annoying whereas last time I could buy into them because of the way they were presented.

A big problem with it is that we just don’t know these new characters very well. While some of their connections to previously established characters indicates these guys will be important and pop up again in important roles, we don’t know anything about them yet besides their names, rank, and a very surface-level understanding of their personalities. As such, details like Fegoleon and Nozel being incredibly powerful and Leopold declaring Asta’s his rival don’t leave much impact. Especially the latter, which comes across just bizarre since Leopold hasn’t had much screen time, much less interacted with Asta, at all, and we haven’t seen his capabilities or have much of a sense of his character. Because there isn’t much to these characters right now, the series just hasn’t given us much reason to be invested in these revelations and rivalries.

On top of it all, the attack on the capital by a necromancer is introduced much too suddenly. We haven’t seen this character before, and though I can assume he’s part of that cult that showed up a long time ago, just having this guy come in and start attacking people out of the blue is a jarring interruption of a story that was fine on it’s own. If the series had built up this character and attack in a previous chapter or two, it would have been a more effective change of pace. Instead it was only set up within this chapter itself, which just wasn’t enough time to make this feel like a big deal. Not to mention that I think that the reveal of a necromancer feels like it should have been saved for later or made a bigger deal of than it is presented here. Like, there’s plenty of horror and surprises that you could do with the concept, but just shoving it out there kinda lessens the cool factor of it. My biggest concern about this is that this attack will be just a throwaway event that serves to get the noble knights to respect Asta, which would be a boring retread of how the battle with Mars endeared Klaus and Mimosa to him. Instead of that, I’d rather this battle with a legion of zombies be primarily used to show off all of these characters and establish what their powers are and what specifically makes them dangerous and formidable rivals for Asta and Yuno. Because expanding upon these characters is really what Black Clover needs to do right now. Otherwise, it’s hard to care that Asta is even standing up to them.

As a side note, this chapter reveals that Asta can use both his anti-magic swords at the same time. My problem with that is…why? The sleek, slender sword hasn’t been shown to have any additional powers or capabilities than his previous sword, beyond being lighter and more easy to handle. The original sword itself seemed to be a bit too strong for it’s own good, and so having two of the same sword, both with the power to cancel out the magic of most other characters in this series, seems like a really bad move in terms of power-balancing. Tabata really needs to establish limitations and restrictions for Asta’s swords so that he doesn’t get too overpowered and he can give him stronger weapons without driving the power levels in this series too over the top too quickly.

Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma chapter #129 – “Lion vs. Lion”

Soma is as crafty as he is creative, and his observational skills and long-time experience has paid off in a formidable dish that’s about to give Kuga a run for his money. When the question of what Kuga’s restaurant’s weakness was came up, I had thought it had something to do with his ability to satisfy customers. Sure enough, it is. His cuisine is in such high demand that he has more customers than he can serve in a timely manner, even with all of the chefs he has working under him. Customers have to wait so long in line that they often get frustrated and leave, or don’t even bother to try it to begin with. Even after the food’s been served, he’s rushing customers out the door in order to get those waiting in. His restaurant offers a high-quality meal, but does it offer a satisfying customer experience? Not really. And that’s exactly what Soma decides to exploit. We know he’s capable of doing so too; this situation ties back into the first challenge he faced during Stagiare Week, where he noticed that the restaurant he was working for was too overcrowded for it’s own good, and suggested a regulatory reservation system that maximized both customer satisfaction AND profits. Soma knows how to make his customers happy and give ’em what they want; Kuga pushes the product over the experience, but Soma takes both into account.

The reveal of Mimasaka was fucking brilliant. For the last few week’s we’ve been left wondering who Soma was meeting with and how he or she would come into play, and the results show a foresight to both Soma and the series that adds a new layer on top of the arc as it does to the sheer greatness of the moment. Soma had been preparing a contingency to deal with the high demand that a product that could rival Kuga’s might bring, and who better a partner to choose than someone who can mimic his style of cooking flawlessly? Mimasaka is a method cook who’s quick to learn his target’s style of cooking and his recipes and replicate them at quick and efficient rates, which will double Soma’s ability to serve customers if not do even better. This is a brilliant moment; it makes sense for Soma to have thought about this ahead of time, it makes sense that he’d choose to bring in Mimasaka to serve his needs, and it feels perfectly planned out by the mangaka ahead of time, making the moment feel natural development rather than a mere twist. The way it’s revealed, the build-up to it and image itself, is perfectly paced and knows just the right beats to hit to convey the information gradually to maximize the punchline and the excitement the reader gets from it. When I first read this chapter, I went hysterical over this scene. I clapped my hands and was laughing “yes, yes!” for about an entire minute straight. Sure, part of it is that I really like Mimasaka and find his character incredibly amusing, but the execution here just nails the triumph and excitement of the reveal, and then the chapter just keeps going with enough steam to support an awesome closer. This entire chapter was a non-stop string of great moment after great moment, making it a thrill ride from beginning to end.

More to the point, the chapter establishes that the prospects of Soma making a comeback aren’t so unlikely after all. Kuga’s system is too large, and requires too many people performing specialized tasks at breakneck speed and efficiency to not crash in on itself. It’s too big for it’s own good. Soma is operating with only a small number of people and a small space to work in, but all three can make the dish on their own, which allows them to work fast enough to satisfy his customers while still maintaining quality control. This combined with the fact he’s offering a product with a unique hook to get people’s interests; a curry-infused meatball that transforms the mappo tofu noodle dish into a curry dish, similar to the transforming rice bowl from the very early chapters of the series. He’s competing with Kuga with a dish that he’s not really offering; a distinctly Yukihara-style creation, taking different inspirations and a basic concept and then going one step beyond to make something only he could create. Kuga underestimated Soma, seeing him as a mere kid in over his head. Now, however, he finally sees Soma is not only a worthy rival, but a dangerous one he has to keep his eyes on, lest his position at the top be usurped like a young lion ousting an old pride leader.

In case you’re wondering why the series uses the lion comparison, it’s because the look of Kuga’s restaurant is modeled on a chinese buddhist temple, a detail also reflected in how his chefs are all bald-headed and depicted practicing their cooking in the same manner monks are often depicted practicing martial arts. At the front of a chinese buddhist temple normally lies a statue of a lion, a symbol of wealth and strength. On the flipside, Soma’s dishes are heavily influenced by taiwanese cuisine, and Taiwan is often associated with three other countries and territories that lie outside of China but within it’s sphere of influence. Together, they are referred to as the Four Asian Tigers. So fact, the lion-symbolism at the end of the chapter is actually a slight political commentary; a clash between the big and industrious China and the smaller but firmly independent Taiwan and their cultural integrity. Soma’s depiction as a lion instead of a tiger was probably to avoid controversy from having an overt political reference, and considering Chinese-Taiwanese relations recently, that could’ve cause some. But it’s a neat way to characterize the conflict between Kuga and Soma and show exactly how big a deal this is. Considering the japanese-chinese rivalry and the general opinion of China in japanese pop culture, this also gives more of a nationalistic flavor to Soma’s comeback that’s probably very appealing and “fuck-yeah” in the same way an american character beating a russian would be in western popular media in the cold war days.

I’m glad I decided to do some research about this; Food Wars! is chock full of great character and story that it’s easy to miss some of it’s more subversive references and details. Every week it gives me a chapter that is both a satisfying read and a substantial, filling one to think and write about, and it always leaves me wanting more.

Bleach chapter #637 – “Baby, Hold Your Hand”

I think one of the most annoying things about Mayuri, besides his bizarre speeches and dialogue, is that he seems to always come out on top. Everything he does is calculated in a way that will best benefit him and make him victorious. His actions and motivations are often detached from the rest of the Soul Society and focused on his own morbid curiosity and freaky research. Instead of being part of the Gotei 13, he feels like he’s more like an ally of convenience. But he’s not a cool, anti-hero or anti-villain character you like and want to root for, because he hasn’t a shred of humanity or emotion that isn’t sick glee to him. He’s a maniacal madman and solely thus, but he doesn’t have any weaknesses or flaws that take the piss out of his character. Instead, time and again, Mayuri is shown to be in his own world, and always in control of it. There hasn’t been a single enemy since he was first defeated by Uryu that has bested him, much less make him sweat and work for a victory. He’s not likable because he doesn’t care about anyone besides himself, and doesn’t care about the same goal the rest of the characters do. In this way, he feels detached from the rest of the cast, and any part of the series focused on him feels unrewarding and a waste of time in the overall scheme of things.

This chapter is pure Mayuri, and as a result, the entire chapter carries a surreal sensation, making one repeatedly ask oneself “why is this happening?” or “why do I care?” Now, Bleach has been detached from it’s own reality and humanity for a while now; Kubo writes some of the most constructed, emotionless, and robotic dialogue that’s ever graced the generally hot-blooded and passionate genre of battle-shonen. But focusing on the most inhuman character in the cast of Bleach fighting a literally inhuman monster takes it to a whole new level. Right from the very first page, when Mayuri goes over in detail how he used Kenpachi as a test subject and pawn, through when he starts acting melodramatic and theatrical in front of the quincy, there is this cold, empty feeling to the chapter. Mayuri is playing around, joking around, because he has nothing to fear. And because he has nothing to fear, and his opponent can’t even emote, there’s no tension or even stakes to the conflict. So at the point where Pernida starts to show it’s true form, I felt detached and melancholy, unable to care a smidgen about what’s going on. And then I saw this on the next page:

…What?

….WHAT?

….WHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTT????

I don’t eve-Kubo? Are you serious? You…you’re serious? A hand? Pernida is a…hand? A GIANT FUCKING HAND??? Really? You want us to take an opponent that is nothing but a HAND seriously? And not just a hand either, but one with stupid chain-links on it’s fingertips and a nonsensical eye in the center of it’s palm, with two pupils??? No. That’s a stupid design. This is a stupid twist. This is a stupid villain. This is a stupid fight. It’s…dare I say it. Oh god, I can’t believe it, but it is. This is a more nonsensical, baffling, and insulting revelation than Gremmy turning out to be a BRAIN IN A JAR. And this fight, dear lord…at least Kenpachi has some shred of likability and humanity to him. Mayuri? He’s bizarre, eccentric, and inhuman. Like most of the quincies were, now that I think about it. Remember when they were supposed to be human beings? Well, nope! Turns out they were a bunch of freaks in monsters, their ranks including a BRAIN IN A JAR and A GIANT HAND. Because of course the villains need to be as despicable and unhumanlike as possible so we can feel satisfied when the heroes take them out like the freaks they are. Mayuri should have been a quincy. He’d have fit right in.

I want to write something more substantial about this chapter instead of just this hate-spew, but god, how can I? This is too surreal, too strange, out-of-nowhere, and head-scratchingly, “wtf?”-askingly, bizarre that words fail me and all I can do is rant in disbelief. Though, unlike Gremmy, this twist did have some set-up to it. There was no indication that Pernida was a giant hand at any point before this chapter, mind you, but the whole Reio’s hands and Mimihagi business did sort of leave open the question of whether Reio’s left arm was also some sort of supernatural creature with a will of it’s own. It’s sorta worth speculating why it’s allied itself with the Quincies, and what this implies about Reio’s existence and Ywach’s intentions for the Soul Society and world of the living. The chapter doesn’t give any hints as to what that might be, and instead just focuses on Mayuri being cray-cray happy-happy about having a new test subject to toy with, but this could potentially add a new layer to the events of this ar-…

…Is…is Pernida talking now? In broken english? Like it’s Frankenstein’s monster or something?

…No. No, this is too much for me. I can’t deal with this. Just…just do whatever Kubo. I’d rather spend my time writing about series from mangaka that have a purpose and method to their writing than trying to find anything salvageable in the random trash you toss out.

My Hero Academia chapter #53 – “From Todoroki to Ida”

I noticed and discussed the parallels between Todoroki and Ida’s situations and desires for revenge last time, positing that the former’s arrival and changed behavior would positively influence the latter. Sure enough, Todoroki’s intervention in the fight with Stain is purposefully done, to give the two interaction and have Ida learn the same lesson about not letting revenge cloud the kind of person he is and wants to be. In actively trying to rebel against his father, Todoroki’s pent-up frustration and self-loathing was leading him down a self-destructive path that would have made him as dark and power-hungry as the very person he hates. Likewise, Ida’s single-minded desire for vengeance is corrupting his sense of justice and his actions and priorities have been less than heroic, and instead of becoming a noble hero like his brother, he’s become the anti-thesis. Both characters’ desire for revenge have an opposite effect on their relationship to the person influencing them; Todorki was becoming more like Endeavor, while Ida is becoming less like Ingenium. However, the similarity lies in how their focus on revenge lead them astray from the kind of people and heroes they wanted to be.

Todoroki’s issues lied in his resentment of his father and guilt towards his mother. His initial goal of becoming a better hero than his father without using his inherited power was not going to heal these wounds, even if he had succeeded. That’s why Midoriya forcing him to use the fire powers in their fight was so important to helping him change; it made him forget about his revenge and embrace what he wanted and what he could do in the moment, allowing him to be himself without baggage. In the aftermath, he realized that using those powers didn’t mean he was accepting Endeavor, but rather, embracing a part of himself. He realized that he his grudge had been negatively influencing his personality, behavior, and thoughts, and that was driving him apart from the kind of person he wanted to be growing up. Doing some soul-searching, he realized that in order to quell his demons and find his own identity, he need to face both his mother and his father and understand them. Meeting with his mother turned out to be a more positive, forgiving experience than he had though. Interning under his father allowed him to see what kind of hero he truly was, and why he’s looked up to and respected as the second best in the industry. As a result, he was able to form more positive and healthy relationships with them, even if he won’t ever be able to forget and forgive what his father’s done, and was able to move on. When revenge and regret was on his mind, Todoroki wasn’t able to think properly about what was best for him and the people around him, and made decisions that while sounding righteous at the same were going to be self-destructive in the long run. Now, having finally let go, he realizes that the solution to his problems and understanding who he was as a person was rather simple all along. The fire powers he inherited from Endeavor are not symbolic of his father’s legacy, his family’s troubles, or responsibility for his mother’s unhappy life. They are just part of who he is, and rejecting them is the same as rejecting himself, which no one, including his father and his mother, wants him to do.

Ida’s desire to avenge his brother has similarly prevented him to act in his best interests. He ignored helping others and assisting in damage control in the Nomu attacks to go after Stain. He dove head-first into fighting Stain without alerting anyone to help him or trying to save the man he was about to kill. He tells both Midoriya and Todoroki, his friends, to butt-out and not help him even though he is paralyzed, immobile, and helpless because the fight “has nothing to do with them.” Having only revenge on his mind is causing Ida to reject and push people away like Todoroki once did, and has made him overly-emotional and irrational in his decision-making to the detriment of the safety of himself and those around him. Ida thinks that he has to avenge his brother; it’s his responsibility and his right as his younger brother to bring Stain to justice. But that should not be his priority as a hero. That’s not something he’s capable of doing by himself. That’s not something that his brother or anyone else wants him to do. And that won’t make him happy. That won’t soothe the frustrations, and the anger Ida holds towards himself over what happened to his brother. His desire for revenge is misplaced; he’s more angry at himself about his inability to help his brother recover than he is at Stain, and is projecting those feelings onto a task that sounds satisfying to him. He thinks that if he can get rid of Stain, that will solve his problems. It won’t.

Ida’s always wanted to be just like his brother. He’s idolized him as the kind of hero he should aspire to be. Stain crippling him has shattered the illusion Ida had about his brother’s invincibility and perfection; it showed him a side of weakness to his brother that changed the way he thought of him and the hero business. That’s why he’s taken his situation so hard and personally; on a subconcious level he wants revenge more for himself than he does for himself. Which is why he seems to consider his brother such a martyr and Stain a personal nemesis that only he should be allowed to defeat. It’s actually a very comic-booky way of thinking, but MHA points out that this is not how the world works. Stain is not just Ida’s problem, nor should defeating him be Ida sole reason to be a hero, much like how Todoroki realized he shouldn’t be a hero just for the sake of showing up his dad. Todoroki knows this better than anyone, and he knows that the path Ida’s traveling won’t end happily. Like what Midoriya did for him, Todoroki wants to make Ida remember why he wanted to become a hero, and what kind of hero he wanted to become. We know that Ida wants to be like his brother, but the way he’s been acting, he’s certainly not been living up to his example. And unless he realizes that and let’s go of his grudge, that will remain out of reach for him.

The action in this chapter was just superb. I find it hard to put into words everything that makes it compliment the emotional intensity of the character and thematic concepts explored in the chapter, but it’s intense and carries a wicked sense of danger and desperation to it that makes you legitimately worried about the fates of the protagonists while still selling their triumphant moments as just that. I think what accentuates the danger-factor to the whole thing is how Stain is presented; often shadowed, his face contorted in many panels to be monstrous-looking, insane, and creepy. The way Stain can be depicted so sinisterly while still maintaining the integrity of his multi-layered character is just fantastic, and a testament to his great and versatile character design. Moreover, I love the limits and details shown about his blood-controlling powers and the way they’re implemented, as I do Midoriya and Todoroki’s teamwork and the fact they still manage to be on the losing end of the fight, not because Stain pulls out a secret technique or is just unreasonably strong, but because he’s making purposeful and calculated attacks that reflect more on his experiences in these kinds of fights and situations and their lack of. Leaving the chapter off on Stain preparing to strike down an immobilized Todoroki, at the height of both the battle’s intensity and the emotional intensity of the characters, is just such a perfect cliffhanger to boot. My Hero Academia has been an extremely well put-together series on pretty much every level in recent months, and this chapter shows it at it’s absolute best. I don’t know how this fight will end, but I’m confident that it will be a well-thought out and satisfying conclusion to an phenomenal string of chapters.

World Trigger chapter #111 – “Yuichi Jin: Part 8”

Azuma Squad’s strategy to use a snow battlefield capitalizes more on surprising and slowing down their enemies rather than it augmenting their own versatility and capabilities. Their advantage lies in having prepared to fight in snow before the match and in exploiting the delays and confusion of their opponents trying to figure out what their game plan is. The snow isn’t a vital part of their actual strategy, but it’s usage enhances their strategic advantage, and a head start on rushing to the goal. Combined with the unreliable radar and impaired mobility and firing range the other teams have to deal with thanks to the cityscape, they’ve made it easier for them to proceed with their strategy of picking off their enemies one at a time.

Consequently, though, the other teams are combating this by trying to meet up with each other and open up a battle royale in the center of the field, while a few one on one scuffles like Ninomiya going after Kitazoe happen off to the side. The main goal on every team’s mind is reducing the number of opponents on the battlefield to increase the advantage in their favor. And, though for different reasons, they are all choosing to target the weakest team on the field, Tamakoma, prioritizing taking out it’s weakest member, which is, of course, Osamu. In the previous match, Tamakoma was up against better opponents, but the strategy of their opposing teams was not concentrated in taking out Tamakoma right from the start, and instead on other priorities. Now, however, Tamakoma has to defend itself against all three enemy squads at the same time, and not only fend them off, but find ways to score more points off of their stronger, more experienced opponents as well. And considering the firepower guys like Kitazoe, Kagegura, and Ninomiya are packing, that’s going to be a tough job even for Kuga.

If that wasn’t intriguing enough, Jin has gone and made a bet with Hyuse over the outcome of the whole shebang. Jin’s side-effect only selectively allows him to see potential futures, so he’s unlikely to know the outcome of this match, so his confidence in Tamakoma’s victory is likely based more on his belief in their luck. Hyuse, thinking pragmatically, feels that the odds aren’t in Tamakoma’s favor and that their lack of skill and experience makes their defeat inevitable. Jin’s taking a bet where he’s at a disadvantage, but considering Tamakoma’s track record, the high risk may be worth the reward. Especially if the reward is valuable knowledge and cooperation from Hyuse, who has everything to gain from getting his trigger back while Border would presumably have none. The potential consequences of the bet adds another layer of tension and intrigue to this fight, and with Osamu tracked down and having to engage in a solo battle, I’m curious to see how Tamakoma will possibly emerge victorious, and whether Jin’s bet is one that he won’t soon regret.

Toriko chapter #333 – “Round One!!”

This cooking competition is giving us what the Cooking Festival arc wasn’t able to give us; a true cooking battle between two chefs of equal caliber. I really appreciate that despite being the opponents of the protagonists, the 10-shell chefs are neither evil or over-powered, or even the opposite. Even with their stated thousand years of experience, they aren’t intangible, other-worldy beings but still recognizably human and flawed characters. For instance, Asardy recognizes that the Human World chefs are opponents they shouldn’t take lightly and advises his team to take caution of them. Condor isprobably the most cocky and overconfident of their group shows, but he shows enthusiasm towards cooking, surprise and trouble when trying to prepare the Leafish at first, and seems to recognize Yuda’s skill and show interest in what he can do to give him a good match. They feel like fully-realized characters rather than stock antagonists for the chefs to defeat, and the even level of skill helps bring an unpredictable and suspenseful vibe to this competition so far that feels refreshing in contrast to the beat-em-up power brawls the series is famous for.

Considering his prominence and de-facto leader status of the chefs in the absence of Chiyo and Chin Chin, I’m surprised that Yuda is the first up to fight. The fact that he’s been very prominent recently works to the series’ advantage is starting this competition off on a strong note, and the chapter does a lot to make Yuda out to be a pretty cool dude. From the effortless way he knocks out the Leafish, to his comebacks to Condor, Yuda’s been established with a lot of presence and charisma and I’m excited to see what he’s about to do. The decision to focus on the secondary protagonists is curious, but so far, I’m finding it well done, and I’m really interested in seeing how these cooking matches continue to develop, and how the upstart 124 year-old Yuda will stack up to the more experienced 3,000-year old Condor.

Nisekoi chapter #180 – “Seen”

As I hoped, this chapter continues the forward momentum of the story and directly follows up on Raku coming clean to Marika and Marika continuing to deal with her health issues. The first three pages of this chapter, showing her take a bunch of pills, and her painful gasps for breath afterwards managed to be pretty intense for how quick and downplayed the scene was. It also established that, yeah, Marika has a serious medical problem that she needs to get treatment for ASAP. Which further leans against the series leaning back on it’s standard harem antics anytime soon. Marika doesn’t have time to deal with that, and neither does Nisekoi.

Raku has learned a good lesson about being honest with one’s feelings from Yui. It was awkward for them at first, but they’ve since been able to restablish a friendly relationship. So now he knows that he owes Marika a real, honest discussion about how he feels about her and who he really likes, and that won’t necessarily endanger or destroy their friendship, but instead allow her to move on and find someone else. Just saying that he already has a girlfriend isn’t enough; he has to make it clear to her that he is not, and won’t ever be, romantically interested in her. A situation complicated by the fact that Marika already knows that Raku and Chitoge’s relationship is a facade and that he has a crush on Onodera. Telling her those things was supposed to be Raku’s lead in to letting her down gently, but she’s known this for a while, and has still pursued him. The question is no longer how Marika will react to being let down, but what she might have to do afterwards.

One factor that will no doubt come into play is the role that Marika’s mother will play. It’s clear Marika has an antagonistic, distrustful relationship with her, and it’s implied she’s been pushing for her to move to Kyushu to stay with her and seek treatment for her illness. Marika’s relationship with her mother, and the prospect of her having to leave her friends behind lest she endanger her life, is likely to be the focus of the next set of chapters, and it’ll be interesting to see what Raku and the rest will do to help her, if they even can, and how the relationships between the group are affected. Because while Raku’s wised up about being upfront on his feelings, he still doesn’t know who he really likes, and all of the girls except Marika are oblivious to how the others feel about Raku and how he feels about them. Marika’s situation could potentially force everything out into the open in a heated, inappropriate moment, and the ramifications of that would be a lot harder to solve civilly than Yui confession was.

One Piece chapter #795 – “Suicide”

Holy shit. This chapter was BIG. Where to start? How ’bout the very beginning with confirmation that Issho will indeed be going after Luffy, but is respectful enough to give them time to rest before he begins his pursuit. Issho’s role will be what Smoker’s used to; a powerful marine adversary that will act as both enemy and ally to the Straw Hats on various locations. That’s interesting. Rebecca is going to have to deal with the transition of becoming a princess. That’s interesting. But both of those things are small potatoes compared to what happens next. After over a year and a half, and literally 65 chapters, the second half of the Straw Hat crew that has been absent for so long has finally reappeared. And they haven’t been doing nothing during those 65 chapters. Oh no, they’ve gotten themselves into a whole new mess of trouble. They’ve gotten away from Big Mom, but they’ve landed themselves straight into Kaido’s territory and are dealing with a whole other conspiracy involving zoan warriors, test subjects, and a hunt for samurai that will no doubt tie into why Kine’mon’s wanted to travel to Zo. They’ve already gotten a head start in dealing with Kaido’s crew than the rest of the Straw Hats, and what they’ll do buying time for the return of their captain is going to be an interesting thread to follow. We haven’t seen these characters in so long, and the fact that they are already dealing with issues that will be the focus of the next arc is extremely tantalizing and exciting. This alone would have made the chapter so incredibly satisfying. But then Oda goes and gives us something even bigger. He gives us our next foe. The man who’s been built up as Law and Luffy’s goal for over a hundred chapters; the last of the Yonkou whose face had yet to be revealed. He gives us Kaido.

The mystique of Kaido has been built up for years now. Ever since we first heard of him as the man responsible for wiping out Gecko Moria’s entire crew, we’ve know this guy was someone who was not to be messed with. This fact made even more apparent when we learned of his dealings with Doflamingo and the monstrous zoan army he has at his disposal, and the fear, the genuine fear, Doflamingo showed at the prospect of facing his wrath without the ability to produce more SAD. When Doflamingo is afraid of someone, you know he must be a man of terrifying stature and power. So throughout this course of this arc, at the back of every OP fan’s mind was the nagging question of “when will we see Kaido?” And now, the last of the Yonkou has shown himself. We know what he looks like. We know what his personality is like. We know what his goal is. And my god, he lives up to expectations and exceeds them. You can see why they call him the “king of the beasts;” he literally is one. A physique to match Whitebeard’s, with a presence and intimidating stature to match. Bulging muscles, wild hair, a whip-like mustache, giant horns, a scale-patterned tattoo, and the dress of a samurai. He looks like a man who was a rival to Whitebeard, and someone to be feared. His reputation reflects his appearence. He’s endured numerous tortures, captures, and battles and was on the brink of death dozens of times, and has come out alive. His hobby is trying to commit suicide… by jumping off of sky islands. Forget the fact that only three people in OP have ever died outside of flashbacks; everything about the description building up to his reveal absolutely sells him as an A-grade badass.

Now the biggest, baddest man in OP world has shown himself. He’s been characterized as indomitable, and seemingly invincible, and he looks the part. And what is his goal? War. Kaido wants to start a war to end all wars; an epic, world-encompassing battle that will allow him to die in a blaze of glory just like Whitebeard did. And if the world around him is destroyed in the process, so be it. And now this war-hungry conqueror has been dropped right in front of the Kid-Apoo-Hawkins alliance. Even with all three of their crews, they don’t stand a hell of a chance, and their only hope of getting past him alive is to ally with him, which means fighting against the Luffy-Law alliance directly.

Or not. Who knows what exactly will happen to Kid and co. and how their encounter with Kaido will affect their plan to take out Shanks. The point is that OP is building up another big, far-reaching and world-changing war arc that has the potential to draw in every single faction in the OP war in one long, deadly battle for power and survival. Considering the sheer amount of tensions between the Yonkou, the Shichibukai, the World Government, their member countries, and all sorts of pirates and outliers, and you have the potential for an event to end all in a shonen manga. There is so much potential in the upcoming Kaido storyline and what it’s possible ramifications will mean not just for the future of the Straw Hats, but the future of the world of OP itself, and that’s insanely exciting. Fishman Island, Punk Hazard, and even Dressarosa, despite how big it was, all felt like a step down from the intensity and game-changing events of the Summit War. But these smaller arcs now look to be paying off as deliberate and necessary set-up for an even larger conflict, one that promises to take new heights as a series with potential to surpass the Summit War if Oda’s plays his cards right. This is the next, truly big story that I’ve been waiting to see from OP for over four years and nearly 200 chapters, and thinking about the possibilities and potential it has reignites an excitement I haven’t felt for this series in a long time. It still might be a rocky road ahead; Oda’s writing might still suffer from some of it’s focus and character problems he’s been having since the timeskip. But for the moment, this chapter has pumped and excited for what’s to come, and I can’t wait to see how the series gets there.

D. Gray-Man chapter #1 – “Opening”

Looking back at Jump’s lineup in 2004, it’s not hard to see why D. Gray-Man stood out. Well, okay, maybe it’s a little hard. After all, Jump was overrun by battle shonen back in those days. For good reason; this was the era where the so-called “Big 3” were all equally big. One Piece was entering Water 7, Naruto the Sasuke Retrieval arc, and Bleach was still in Soul Society. These series were reaching new peaks of popularity and quality during this time, and Jump was making a lot of bank out of them. So they probably thought that having even more battle manga like these series would be a logical way to increase the magazine’s circulation and profits even more. To their credit, a good chunk of the series they put out during this time were quite popular in their own rights, but there was also a sort of same-y feel to all of them in both themes, concepts, and art. Looking at the Jump lineup a decade ago and looking at it now, and it’s astonishing at how much more variety and diversity there is between every series in the magazine, and how much better in quality they all are. We have six series that could be considered battle-shonen in today’s Jump, and they are all vastly different from each other in concept, art, and themes. But back in 2004, there was double that amount, and there was a lot of crossover in genre and styles between them. So what is it, exactly, that allowed D. Gray-Man to survive in Jump, and become as popular as it did?

Part of it is it’s tone. D. Gray-Man is dark. Much darker than it’s supernatural battle-shonen sempai Bleach was, and that was and still is an extremely violent, gory series. In the first chapter, pretty much every character we meet, even the cat, is mercilessly and cruelly killed off. There’s a horror element to the series in both the appearance and raison d’etre of the akuma; the graphic and disturbing way they are brought to life and the human tragedy of their existence. The artstyle reflects it’s somber tone with a clean and gothic artsyle, and is complimented by a very dark sense of humor, and more subdued, human character interactions and dialogue that stood out against the usual passionate, gung-ho battle shonen sentimentality. Both the protagonist and the villain are enigmas, and despite not appearing, the Earl is established as a sick but quirky Joker-esque figure, a curious contrast to the more serious tone of the manga. All in all, it feels more like a shojo horror manga than a Jump battle series, and the features that set it apart were both capitalized and expanded upon as the series evolved it’s world, grew it’s cast of characters, and developed it’s story. It wasn’t exciting enough to make it an instant hit, but had enough of interest to Jump readers to let it survive through the years and earn it a dedicated, loyal following.

So I see what worked about D. Gray-Man for readers in the long run. But if you look at the ranking the first chapter got, you’ll see that it’s debut was incredibly low. Not just in the double digits, but right in the bottom five of that week’s lineup. That sounds shocking for a series that would become so popular and well-regarded among anime/manga fans, but reading this first chapter again, is it really such a surprise? The first chapter of D. Gray-Man is a mediocre, if not downright bad pilot. Allen is a bland as shit protagonist; he has one or two scenes of typical shonen protagonist goofiness, and then otherwise just exists in the chapter to spout exposition and defeat the monster. There is barely any character or depth to him, nothing that makes him endearing, interesting, or someone whose story you want to see more of. The chapter features a female character, deep into a conspiracy without her knowing, who just happens to befriend the main character, and learns about his career and craft and has her life saved from the bad guy. Said main character just so happens to have learned the consequences of trying to bringing a person back to life from a first-hand attempt, when he tried to bring back his dead parent, with negative repercussions that cost him an arm, and led him to replace it with a new one made from the very power he utilized in his resurrection attempt. Essentially, it reads like an extremely blatant and cheap rip-off of the first chapter of Full Metal Alchemist. And beyond that, it also suffers from one-shot syndrome. It’s a self-contained first chapter that only barely establishes the world and main character but provides nothing else, with supporting characters that won’t show up again, a situation that won’t be referenced again, and feels detached and different from the direction the rest of the series. There have been many battle-manga before and after DGM that have suffered from this approach (Noragami being one of the most memorable modern examples for me), and they are never good ways to start a series. Don’t hold back from showing us what you want and are going to do; jump right into it! A first chapter for a serialized manga should not feel like a mere self-contained one-shot, which DGM’s, unfortunately, does.

Beyond that, for a battle manga the fighting is just lame and underdone, with nothing cool or unique about it at all. That’s bad enough for a battle series, but an even bigger problem lies in it’s writing. It’s painfully basic. Every moment in the chapter feels typical, cliched, and forced; the backstory of the nun who died because a giant cross just happened to fall on top of her right after a meaningful conversation and in the presence of the two other relevant characters in the chapter being possibly the most obvious and egregious example. It’s so forced and unbelievable, as is the drama the boyfriend felt and the rationale behind why he decided to revive his fallen love as an Akuma. Again, the Akuma themselves are a great concept, but the scene of one being created shown in this chapter is as emotionally forced and tastelessly dark as an episode of Hell Girl. The frustrating part about it is that a much more well-done depiction of an Akuma being born would be shown in a later chapter during Allen’s backstory, which is much more genuinely heart-breaking and rung emotionally true because we know Allen, we understood his relationship with his father better, and were given enough character and reason to care about him. I have no clue why the series didn’t just lead with that story arc and chapter and start with this pointless, frivolous one-off that just does a disservice to it’s concept and potential. Many years ago, when I was just getting into manga, I happened to buy the issue of the original print version of the english Jump that featured a special preview chapter of D. Gray-Man, and that chapter was Allen’s backstory. You better believe that chapter got me interested in checking out more of the series back then. In fact, as a kid I thought it was the first chapter because it carried the feel of one. But if Viz had chose to run the actual first chapter instead, I likely would have dismissed it right then and there and not touched the series for years, if ever. First impressions are important, and as the series’ early rankings show, readers were hardly impressed with what DGM had to offer.

I don’t like D. Gray-Man. In fact, I hate it about as much as I do Bleach and Fairy Tail. But the reason I hate all three of those series is lies not just in their bad writing, but also because each wasted their early potential and betrayed the investment I had put into them for a long period of time. Even though I loathe them now, I can go back to both Bleach and Fairy Tail‘s early chapters and see they had genuine potential, effort, and good to them like I remembered them. They may have became shit later on, but they started well. DGM doesn’t even do that. It does not hold up. The first chapter is a total failure of a debut that doesn’t work on any level. If I didn’t have a good impression of the series from the chapter I had read in the english Jump and the anime then I likely would have had a lot less enthusiasm for reading it back in the day, and it certainly doesn’t give me any re-reading it now. I’m not sure if I can still appreciate the good parts of DGM, like how I can’t appreciate the decent parts of Fairy Tail anymore.  But this first chapter is certainly not one of those. It is exemplary of a battle-shonen manga at it’s least inspired and most generic, and a very bad start to a series that I am not looking forward to re-visiting in future weeks.

Final Thoughts:

Damn, this was one hell of an issue! Sure, it wasn’t a perfect one. The D. Gray-Man Jump Back sucked, Black Clover was kind of lame, and Bleach reached a new depth of stupidity that was so surreal that I still can’t really fathom it. But everything else was insanely exciting, memorable, and well-written and left me more than excited to see what’s in store for next week. I don’t think I can piece together any general theme for this issue, but this wasn’t an issue of themes so much it was about characters and action, and damn did so many series do insanely well on those fronts.

Best Manga of the Week:

1. Food Wars! – All four of the series I’ve ranked for this week were so, so great. But even so, FW! wins out as my #1 without any contest for me. Every single moment in this chapter kept building on the last, making it an entire chapter full of satisfying, awesome moments that were awesome because of how deliberate and carefully planned the writing for this arc and these characters have been. Mimasaka’s reveal got the biggest and most involved physical reaction from me and was easily my favorite moment in the entire issue, hence why it earns this week’s Panel of the Week. Top it all off with the satisfaction in seeing Soma make the overconfident and smug Kuga sweat and interesting thematic concepts and comparisons to enhance the rivalry, and you get one of the greatest chapters of FW! this year in a year of consistently incredible chapters week after week.

2. My Hero Academia – But MHA was no slacker, no siree. The action, character development, and themes of this chapter were just flawlessly executed and made for one hell of an exciting and emotional rush. MHA’s hot-streak of phenomenal chapters continues and looks to round off this arc by the end of the summer in what is sure to be one hell of a high note.

3. One Piece – The return of the second half of the Straw Hats and the revelation of Kaido made for one of the most exciting and interesting chapters OP has offered all year, and set up an incredible amount to look forward to and be excited about in the future of the series. There’s so much promise in what Oda can do with the series and where he can take it with everything he’s developed through the course of the last few arcs, and I really hope to see OP return to consistency and form, especially with it’s 800 chapter milestone soon approaching.

4. World Trigger – Tamakoma is in their most desperate battle yet, and they’ve got a lot to prove with not a lot of factors in their favor. Jin’s bet with Hyuse moves that subplot along nicely as well, and adds an extra bit of tension to an already tense situation for our protagonists. With everyone gunning for Osamu right off the bat, I’m curious to see how his improved combat skills will allow him to survive, get points, and help clinch his team’s victory.

Line(s) of the Week:

Chitoge: “Marika, pull any fast moves and you’re dead meat!”
Marika: “Isn’t that what you normally say to a guy?”
Chitoge: “No. You’re special!!”

Nisekoi

Panel(s) of the Week:

Page(s) of the Week:

And that’s that for this week! So until next time, go online, look up showtimes for The Resurrection of ‘F’, buy tickets, and go see it ASAP. Then come back over the weekend to read our thoughts on the film, and I’ll see you again after the jump!

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