Currently Running Manga Discussion

[LumRanmaYasha]

It's late September! That means it's time for Princess Jellyfish chapters to start being updated again. YAAAYYY!!!!!

A Silent Voice chapter 54 - A wonderfully touching reunion between Shoko and Shoya, where Shoya tells her that she helped him find new happiness in his life, and that while he doesn't know what he can do to make her happy, he wants to continue trying, and wants her to continue to help him become a better person. A great scene and dialogue, and a strong emotional conclusion to the development of their relationship throughout the story. It makes me wonder just what could possibly be left to show for the next six or so weeks before the series ends, but I'm sure it will continue to be a solid, rewarding denouement.

Assassination Classroom chapter 102 - Aw man, there were two really funny moments in this chapter: when Kurosensei started a crowd fight with the soccer fans in Brazil and when the God of Death hacked Ritsu and made her act like a delinquent, and I laughed hard at both. But that said, this is a pretty serious chapter overall, since despite their sound strategy and planning,Class E is simply totally out of their league against the God of Death. And Kaede getting punched in the gut like that looked painful. Ouch. It seems that Nagisa is now going to fight him one on one, which surprises me just because it's happening so quickly, and I expected things to have played out a little more first. Some comments I read says that apparently Irina is going to die in the next chapter...which would be really goddamn dark and something I wouldn't expect for this series, but it'll be interesting to see if that's true or not, and how the series would handle the aftermath of that.

Bleach chapter 598 - So, this entire stuff with Sternritter W was pointless because it seems he's already going to be offed. Geez, what was the damn point of introducing a new villain in the last chapter to just kill him off in the next, Kubo? Perhaps he just realized he didn't have a Sternritter for every letter of the alphabet and is just incorporating them all in quickly to drag time a little bit before the final battle against Ywach, which I'd think would be getting close-ish considering Ichigo and co. have blasted off to the Soul King's Palace. I like how Chad and Orihime are tagging along, when you just know they will be totally useless. Also, Ganju joins them....I dunno why, since he's not really all that strong or anything, but okay. Last time we saw him he was with Ginjo, Tsukishima, and eye-patch guy. Where the fuck are they? Did Kubo just forget he built that up? Speaking of which, is Grimmjow EVER going to show up? Seriously, at this point, I feel that he wasn't teasing him but Yoruichi instead, which would be lame if that's the case. One other thing I didn't like about this chapter was the pointless retrospective on past times that was played for humor. Also, it's hard to care that they feel bad that Ishida has betrayed them and Ichigo promises to bring him back and stuff, because the character had been so out of focused, and these relationships had been put out of the way for so long, that you can't feel the weight of the situation. The fact that Ichigo isn't taking it that seriously by promising the same old shonen protagonist bullshit he'll bring him back and crap doesn't help matters either. There's really nothing to be invested in in this series in general, which is probably why it keeps ranking at the bottom of the Jump polls these days, and probably why Jump editors are pressuring Kubo to speed things up and end sooner rather than later at this point.

Fuuka chapter 32 - When the characters were interrupted by those passers-by, I thought that things would be left in a standstill and this love triangle left hanging. But, to my surprise, that did not happen. Yuu let Koyuki down easy, and she's hurt but resigned to that, and he confesses his love to Fuuka. Wow, so rarely does this sort of thing happen so early into a manga like this. I'm impressed and surprised that the author had the balls to develop the relationship into an actual one at this stage, just when the real story has truly to begin. This will be very interesting to see play out and develop, and I can't wait to see how this will affect the growth of the characters from this point on.

GTO: Paradise Lost chapter 11 - What the heck is wrong with the body of that girl? It's seriously out of proportion, and those abs are weirdly drawn. Well, the hot-shot idol prick's plan to get his crazy psycho fan to beat the shit out of Onizuka for him is somewhat interesting, at least. These new students are just simply not as interesting as the old ones, and being asshole idols, they aren't quite as sympathetic, so it is hard for me to quite get into this development. But, this is more interesting material than PL has shown thus far, so I might as well see this arc through at least.

Magi chapter 240 - Most of this chapter was just "omg, Judar is back and he's different somehow oh wow, herp derp" and the only significant thing that happened is that apparently Hakuryu killed Gyokuen. Which is a total lie, obviously, because no way is the main villain of this series going to be killed off off-screen like that. Certainly, this is a ruse to trick everyone at the Summit to head to Kou, perhaps a ploy by Judar and Hakuryu to get rid of all their enemies in a surprise trap or something. Generally, I was just kind of bored by the chapter, and I don't quite care for this direction in the story, but it's not bad and could develop into something interesting in the coming weeks.

Murcielago chapter 12 - I could have done without Koumori trying to make advances on a young girl. This new arc has some potentially interesting elements, though, what with kidnapping that girl to lure out her serial murderer father. I was also amused by how gleefully Hinako told her that Koumori killed her parents and will kill hers as well if they turn out to be bad people. I wonder if we'll ever learn more about that story. This chapter had some amusing moments, but like the above Magi chapter, just not that interesting overall.

Naruto chapter 693 - I can't say there was anything outright bad about what happens in this chapter. If I was still invested, I might be able to care about Sakura's confession and appeal to Sasuke, and the fact Naruto and Sasuke will have their re-match in the exact same place they had their big showdown years ago would be neat. I'm not, though, so eh. Sakura also just continues to be useless and a terrible character through her whole spiel in this chapter, but I did laugh hard when Sauske basically just told her to fuck off. That was a good unintentionally funny moment. So, Sasuke's going to explain what he means when he says he wants to be hokage...which I though would be straightforward but I guess we'll have to see a whole chapter devoted to his personal philosophy or whatever before this final battle starts. Eh.

Orange chapter 14 - Uh, I thought Suwa's letter told him NOT to get in the way of Naho and Kakeru's relationship? What the hell is he doing asking Kakeru if he can date Naho? Geez, did the author forget that plot point? Story-wise this continues to be a fairly standard shojo set-up and it just isn't doing too much for me. However, perhaps Suwa actively pursing Naho will get Kakeru to realize his own feelings for her, which would be a good development to move the plot forward.

One-Punch Man chapter 54 - I have a feeling King and Saitama are going to get along very well. They have similar interests and tastes in things after all, and are both slackers. Perhaps Saitama's influence will encourage King to become a better hero as well. On Genos' side of things, his battle with that metal man continues to be impressive and cool. I doubt King's lies will be outed, but certainly people are going to be suspicious that he fled the scene and left things to Genos, unless he comes back to the scene before the fight ends or something.

Peephole chapter 40 - Miyachi seems to have planned the perfect situation to get rid of Yamagiwa and blame it on the mafia. Kurosu being there and getting beaten up by the mafia only furthers their innocence in the ordeal and gives them an alibi. Damn, can she be crafty. But Kurosu still has a conscience, so maybe he'll try and stop Miyachi from killing Yamagiwa after all. Whether he'll be successful with that, well...

Princess Jellyfish chapters 70-71 - Kai's backstory is brilliant. He became into clothes totally on circumstance, a means to help out his fellow orphans at the orphanage, and from there he started to manage a profitable enterprise, which kept growing and growing each year, and eventually gave him the business experience and knowledge about high-end clothes that allowed him to start his own clothing store brand. But does he actually like clothes? That's a question he has no answer. He got into the business out of a need to survive and make his way in the world, and he's become successful through his hard work. But whether he enjoys what he does, and what he creates, is something he never stopped to think about, until he attained success, and realized there was an emptiness inside him, and he keeps searching for a spark to show him why he is still in this business, and why he got into it in the first place. Tsukimi's dresses could do just that, but that's not what she is going to be making once she becomes a full-fledged employee, since the Jellyfish dresses are not mainstream enough for their clothing line. Like Io, she will be working on things that she won't want to make, but will have to anyway, and like Io, she wont' find any fulfillment in that. Why did Tsukimi like making clothes in the first place? Only because she was making them with all her friends, who all worked themselves to death to make her designs a reality, all for the sake of saving their home. Tsukimi may have a talent for creating designs, but she did not make those clothes alone. She made them with people she cared about and who cared about her, and it was through hard work and against adversity that they accomplished impressive things. Tsukimi realizes she isn't making clothes for herself, she is making them for her friends' sake. She accepted Kai's offer in order to save Amamizukan, her home and the friends who live their. This is all for their sake. That's what will motivate her through this. And though she might be going away for a while, those friends will continue to wait for her and the business that they started. I'm not sure how long Tsukimi will stay with Kai's company, but unlike Io, she has at least found a reason and a purpose for doing what she's doing. And perhaps, her passion will reignite Kai's own. And I'm sure as hell that Kuranosuke and Shuu aren't going to give up on her without a fight, and will continue to try and bring her back or perhaps buy the rights to Amamizukan from Kai himself somehow. Phenomenal chapters, almost like a conclusion and beginning in one, and I can't wait to see where Higashimura takes the story from here.

The Seven Deadly Sins chapter 94 - Ho boy, Hendricksen is just massacring everyone now. Even Gowther got his entire upper half of his body blown off. And black dust that instantly rots your body to death? Damn. The real bombshell in this chapter is that Veronica is alive. Which...I don't really get how, but okay. And why is "Ellie" special? Why does Hendricksen want her specifically? Now that's a mystery where set-up demands an explanation, and I'm betting we'll be getting one soon enough.

Shokugeki no Soma chapter 87 - So Soma is improvising with his dish! And it seems like what he's created is making even Mimasaka sweat in anticipation? Just how did his dish turn out? Boy oh boy, the reaction to Mimasaka's dish was already so over the top, I can't wait to see just how balls crazy the reaction to Soma's will be.

Toriko chapter 294 - I have mixed feelings about the beginning stuff with Shigematsu. On one had, it's fucking hilarious to see him flying like that, get eaten by a giant snake, but then continue flying through the mouth of the snake and out it's throat, only to get ripped to shreds by a hoards of other beasts. At the same time, I think his moment of regret for betraying Ichiryu was rushed and out of place considering he wasn't brainwashed like Teppei but working for NEO willingly, and also because I don't think such a fairly significant antagonist should be killed off in such a rushed manner. Putting the stuff with Shigematsu aside, I should've expected that the fight between Toriko and Teppei would be short, especially since I knew that he wouldn't get out of the mind-control so easily or quickly at this point in the story. But I love the set-up to this new arc. Time is running out for Komatsu, so they are fighting against the clock to get to a new continent, grab Acacia's fruit, and bring it back to replace Komatsu's heart, except they no longer have Komatsu's food luck to help them out, NEO will surely get in their way, they have to deal with the Beast King of that continent as well, and hell, the Bishokuya might show up and further fuck things up for them, who knows? This is shaping up to be a more serious, action-packed arc, and I'm pretty excited to see what happens in it.

Rankings:

1. Princess Jellyfish - 10/10
2. A Silent Voice - 10/10
3. Fuuka - 10/10
4. Assassination Classroom - 9/10
5. The Seven Deadly Sins - 8/10
6. Toriko - 8/10
7. One-Punch Man - 8/10
8. Shokugeki no Soma - 8/10
9. Peephole - 8/10
10. Mucielago - 7.5/10
11. Magi - 7/10
12. Orange - 6.5/10
13. GTO: Paradise Lost - 6.5/10
14. Naruto - 2/10
15. Bleach - 1/10

I loved the PJ, ASV, and Fuuka chapters this week and AC was great as well, but the rest fairly lacking and there were quite a few mediocre chapters too. Still, the PJ chapters alone outweighs the meh for me, so I'd still say it was a good week.

[VLordGTZ]

I caught up with One-Punch Man, yesterday.  Saitama's fight with Boros was fucking awesome!!!!! The current story with King is also very entertaining.  King kinda reminds of Mr. Satan from how he has a reputation of being crazy strong even though he's just a normal dude.  It's gonna be a lot of fun keeping up with this.   

[LumRanmaYasha]

Glad to see you're enjoying it! OPM is always such a blast to read, with lots of great humor and incredible action sequences. And I've said it before, but the fight scenes are easily the best I've seen in any comic, and the art is phenomenal all around. Yusuke Murata might very well be the best artist in the industry right now.

[LumRanmaYasha]

So, apparently according to this link, Naruto will be ending in 5 weeks.

OH GOD PLEASE LET THIS BE TRUE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEA...

[LumRanmaYasha]

Okay, now I'm 100% confident about it. Naruto is ending in 5 weeks.

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WHOO-HOO! YEAH! YEAHHHHHHH BABYYYY! YEAH YEAH YEAH YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

I've waited so long for this day to come. So, so so so long. Finally, one of the most obnoxious manga series to ever be uber popular is finally going to end! A series that I've ultimately wasted over 9 years following as it went from decent to plain-out shit is over and I no longer will have to keep reading it out of obligation to see it through to the end! Because it's ending! It's ending, it's ending, it's ending! Oh ho ho, this is a joyous day! CELEBRATE PARTY TIME YEAH YEAH YIP...

...Uh, er, ahem, but, um, yeah seriously, I'm glad I'll be able to finally put this series behind me in due time. Now, if only Bleach and Fairy Tail can end soon, so all three of the uber-popular battle-shonen series I truly, legitimately despise can be out of sight and out of mind for good. 

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

It's funny, because I was forcing myself to stick with this manga for so goddamn long just because it was the among the first manga that I ever read. I quit a little over a year ago when it just got to be too much even for me to deal with. Hearing that this series is finally going to end really does feel like a blessing in an odd way, even I haven't been keeping up with it. Hell, I ALMOST feel compelled to marathon through the rest of it just to say that I finished it, but remembering just how atrocious it is, that's a bit too tall of an order for me. Still, perhaps I'll chime in and just skip to the last couple of chapters to finally see the story close out. That'll certainly be satisfying.

[LumRanmaYasha]

Yeah, don't bother reading from where you dropped off at. I kid you not, it got even worse in this last year than it has possibly ever been. That entire shitty fight with Kaguya in particular was god awful and it completely ruined any redeemable qualities the story possibly had left, which is saying a lot considering how bad this has been the last few years. But yeah, it'll be satisfying to see this series finally go.

It's funny, cause this means that Naruto, which I consider one of my least favorite manga ever, will be ending pretty much the same week as A Silent Voice, which I consider one of my favorite manga ever. So I'll have double satisfaction in that week for two very different reasons, there.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

The ending will probably be an epilogue where Naruto is Hokage....and nobody will give a fuck when they remember all the times that this character just annoyed the hell out of them.

Sorry Kishimoto, but you have no talent. At best, Naruto was only ever mediocre to begin with, and the sad thing is that it wasn't really ever at its best past the first few arcs.

[Rynnec]

It's funny, because I was forcing myself to stick with this manga for so goddamn long just because it was the among the first manga that I ever read. I quit a little over a year ago when it just got to be too much even for me to deal with. Hearing that this series is finally going to end really does feel like a blessing in an odd way, even I haven't been keeping up with it. Hell, I ALMOST feel compelled to marathon through the rest of it just to say that I finished it, but remembering just how atrocious it is, that's a bit too tall of an order for me. Still, perhaps I'll chime in and just skip to the last couple of chapters to finally see the story close out. That'll certainly be satisfying.

Eh, I'd say it's worth marathoning if you're in the mood for a good comedy.

[LumRanmaYasha]

I say if he's looking for a good comedy, then he should read something that's funny for the right reasons, not the wrong ones. 

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

So, Law is a "D" after all (I believe some fans had already speculated that, because they are just that obsessive), which I must admit, I didn't put a lot of thought into, but it actually does make sense.

Other than that, the flashback has disappointingly mostly been your standard "feel bad for this character now" shit that Oda's been doing since the beginning. It really bugs me because there is a CLEAR missed opportunity here. He could've changed things up and shown them from Doflamingo's perspective, and this way we would get more insight into a villain for once, possibly making him more fleshed out and 3-dimensional. In fact, I originally thought that he was going to do that, but I suppose I shouldn't expect anything great from an author who refuses to adapt his storytelling formula that he ran into the ground several years and hundreds of chapters ago.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Sigh....

If this is just a shirt spin-off, than OK, that's that, but if this is an entire new long-running series, I just don't think I'm looking that forward to it. I didn't like the last game of KnB, but at least I had to give it credit for wrapping up the series and ending it, whereas other manga would go on for too long. I just don't know where else the story would go from here. None of the characters were poignant enough to be that interesting to follow in later story arcs, IMO. If somehow Tadatoshi could somehow recapture the spark the series had during the first half of its run, then that'd be something, but if he's just going to stick to the same formula in the first placement then it'll be really boring.

Overall, not excited for it, but I'll still probably check it out for a few chapters to see if it's worthwhile. Of course, I could be overblowing it and it could just be a one-shot or miniseries, in which case it's not that big a deal.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

To their credit, the fan base is really skeptical about this as well. They are accusing Fujimaki of pulling a "Konomi/Prince of Tennis 2" by just sticking to a series that is already massively popular rather than letting it end and moving onto new projects. On the one hand, I can understand from a business perspective how much safer it is to stick with a hit series than try and risk coming up with a new hit and failing several times in the process. However, at the same time, you're series will eventually grow stale and have to end and some point, at which point you'll be SOOL if you don't have the talent to come up with something new that has popularity potential.

Even if I didn't like the last third of KnB, I'd still have a ton of respect for a Fujimaki if he just let it stay finished and came up with a new series, which I definitely would've checked out. As it stands, I can't respect someone who plays it safe and didn't hold my interest with the last portion of his series to begin with.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Alright, so I failed to notice that it's running in Jump NEXT, which is bi-monthly, so at least it's not a full-time project, meaning that Fujimaki might do some other stuff.

[LumRanmaYasha]

...This is just going to end up being another New Prince of Tennis in terms of pointlessness. I doubt it'll be much good, and considering I found the second half of KnB mediocre at best and the last game awful, I'm not interested in following it.

And I was really looking forward to Fujimaki making a golfing manga too. Shame.