Currently Running Manga Discussion

[LumRanmaYasha]

So, you know Fuuka? That light-hearted slice-of-life/romantic comedy manga about aspiring young musicians that I've really been enjoying? Well, this just happened in it:

Spoiler

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......

FTR, that's the main character, Fuuka, herself. I'm both intrigued and frightened by this development...

[LumRanmaYasha]

...And just when the new Fuuka chapter had depressed me as hell, the new A Silent Voice chapter has uplifted me as hell.

My heart just can't take all these ups and downs, man.

[LumRanmaYasha]

Not manga, but related to a manga I keep up with: Sentai is finally releasing Space Brothers on dvd. They licensed the damn thing two years ago, so it's about time. Personally, I don't have much interest in the release, because every episode of the anime I've watched is the exact same thing as the manga except more dragged out, but this is definitely a good thing for it's fans. I personally hope that someone licenses the manga for print release sometime, since I would definitely buy that.

[LumRanmaYasha]

In this week of manga, Judar stabbed Aladdin through the chest!...kind of, and Griffith got slapped!...though not by who you'd expect. Read on for the nitty gritty details of these and much much more (Except not cause I got tired writing this after the first few series so I half-assed the whole second half  ):

A Silent Voice chapter 57 - I was wondering how things would resolve themselves, how Shoya would be able to face and apologize to these people he wants to consider friends. At the beginning of the series Shoya did not recognize people, much less get to know them, but as he started mending his ways through Shoko, he started to gain a circle of friends around him. Yet, even then, he never tried to get close to them or know them better, and was just content to be around them after all this time, having been friend-less for so many years. But as time went on, he did begin to notice things about these people, and what makes them who they are. But, after seeing the movie, he realized that there is still so, so much he still has yet to know about them as well. And he wants to get to know them better. I think the one character that surprised me here was Kawaii. She's still oblivious, and I felt she shouldn't have been forgiven quite as easily, but it also seems she genuinely felt bad that she didn't get enough people to make paper cranes to celebrate Shoya's release from the hospital. It seems there are still sides to her personality that we hadn't seen, but should get to know. The same for everyone else, and Shoya knows this now. I loved each personal reconciliation Shoya had with each of the characters, as one by one there faces became clear, and Shoya was able to see them for the people they were again. And, I loved, LOVED the ending of the chapter, where Shoya has finally decided to open up to people, embrace the good and bad things about them and whatever they might think of him, with all the "X's" falling off their faces one by one as he hears all their voices. Brilliant, emotional stuff all the way through. This honestly felt like it should have been the second to last chapter, in the way. It makes me wonder what the next four chapters will be about. Knowing this series, though, they are bound to be great ones.

Assassination Classroom chapter 104 - Whoa, Bitch-sensei has skills. She took out all of Class E in a flash. It really shows just how much the students really still have to go in order to be on a professional level. Moreover, I was surprised Itona and Terasaka's group gave up without fighting, and especially that Itona was the one who suggested they should. He's come a long way from the kill-happy, violent and unstable person he used to be. But I like how he is thinking of what he is actually capable of doing, and accepting there are limitation to what he, and the others, can do. As well as how he can place his trust in people that he knows will be able to do what he can't - in this case, Korosensei and Karasuma, who have arrived to rescue the students from God of Death's clutches. I can't wait for the teachers to show their stuff, and take out God of Death once and for all.

Berserk chapter 334 - Ever since he became Femto, I don't believe anyone, be it Guts or another demon like Ganishka, has been able to touch or hurt Griffith in any way. That makes the slap Rickert gives him in this chapter all the more surprising, and enjoyable: finally, tough Griffith might not think much of this, something has been able to surprise and hurt him. The meat of this chapter is, of course, Rickert finally realizing what his feelings are towards Griffith and this situation, and I love his answer. The Griffith he used to follow is dead and the Band of the Hawk he was once a part of is gone. He doesn't follow the Hawk of Light. And so, despite the dangers, he will not side with Griffith. He won't go against him either, he'll maintain neutrality, and just continue to live the life he's living. Honestly, this has got to be the best chapter of this series in five years, and a damn great chapter fro Rickert's character development. I'm not sure where the focus will shift for next time (Rickert's stuff seems pretty wrapped up at this point), but hopefully it continues to keep this series back on track and moving towards even better things.

Black Butler chapter 98 - Ho boy, I'm conflicted on this chapter. On one hand this plot twist is really stupid. On the other hand this really interests me on a character level and shows Ciel becoming a more caring human being, though admittedly his life or death choice to the Green Witch is in line with what he would do, but this time I feel it's from a place of genuinely wanting to help a person, rather than using them as means to an end, as he's always done up until now. I like this change in direction with the character, and the possibility of the Green Witch joining Ciel's group, so overall, this is a rare chapter of BB where I'm more positive towards it than I am ambivalent or negative. Let's see where they take this.

Bleach chapter 601 - Yeah, so, all those new villains introduced two chapters ago? All one-shotted in this chapter. Yep. Except for that one guy at the end, but c'mon, he's probably going to get beat down pretty easily too after the standard overpowers good guy another good guy bails him out shit. A worthless and pointless chapter overall.

Boku no Hero Academia chapters 1-3 - Hmm, a manga about traditional superheroes, running in Jump no less? Unusual. This series doesn't do anything I haven't seen before with these first three chapters, but it does make me interested in the premise, the world, and the main character. Depending on how things are executed, this could end up being a very good battle-shonen series and refreshing from the norm of spirt-hunters and traveling adventurers. Considering this series has become another overnight success for Jump alongside Hinomaru Zumo, this could very well become the next big thing. Whether it has the potential to rival the popularity reached by something like Naruto or even achieve a Titan level of success seems unlikely to me as of now, but the series is still young. I'll be interested in seeing how it grows and whether or not it meets it's potential.

Days of the Dam chapter 1 - I like the premise of the people who do hard work everyday to build and create things that help out other people and never get recognized for their achievements are true heroes. This series looks to be a good look at hard-working honest folks like that as they spend ten years building an important dam. It's a refreshing kind of series and looks to be an enjoyable read. The art is kinda crappy, though, but that shouldn't hurt this kind of series overall.

Fuuka chapter 35 - ...I...I just can't talk about this chapter. The newest one's ending is just too stuck in my mind right now. I mean, damn, we went from a chapter like this one, where the future looked bright and things just seemed like they would be going up for everyone...and then this week's chapter happened. I can see why so many people are pissed off about this. I'm not. I'm just kind of worried, as that kind of twist that could either lead to great things or ruin the series, and I really don't want the latter to happen because it's been so enjoyable so far. But I'll save more thoughts on that for the recap for this week. As for this chapter, it was just a quaint, cute one, and a very lovely little read that made me smile. That's why I like this series. I hope that it can stay that way...or at the very least, it takes a page from Cross Game in how to take things from here.

Hinomaru Zumo chapter 4 - This chapter did a lot less for me than the first three, mainly because it was a lot of wordy exposition and the predictable turn of Yuuma joining the Sumo club. It was standard stuff done alright, but a bit of a chore to read, so I was pretty meh about it. Hopefully the next chapter is a bit more interesting.

Joshi Kausei chapter 22 - It's really hard to talk about this series because there's no plot or character development: it's straightforward slice-of-life shenanigans. So I can't really say more about this other than I enjoyed their little bowling escapade, and thought this was a fun chapter. Though I will say that I liked the zigzag trategy and how that totally backfired when they went to an actually bowling lane.

Magi chapter 243 - This chapter continued the streak of the last few of me finding them kind of tedious to read, but I enjoyed seeing Jadar and Hakuryu's emotional weaknesses and doubts, and there was good stuff here on a character level. I'm interested in seeing why both of them have this urge to defy what their hearts tell them, and what consequences that will have down the line.

Magi: Adventure of Sinbad chapter 38 - Drakon transformed into his dragon form a lot quicker than I thought he would. I was expecting that was something that was going to gradually happen over the course of the series. This is certainly not the end of his character arc, since Barbarossa is still at large and I'm sure he and Serendine will be targeted once again at some point. On a side note: BABY JUDAR! Adorable. So he was raised by Falan, then? Hmm, no wonder he's so messed up.

Naruto chapter 696 - The fight isn't over yet, but I can barely tell what's going on, so whatever. Also, more flashbacks and beating the same points over and over again. Lame. Well, at least there are only three weeks left.

One Piece chapter 764 - Hmm, so Corazon is actually a spy for the World Government trying to keep Doflamingo in check? Didn't see that coming. I like how passionate he was in trying to help cure Law's illness. I can see why Law slowly grew attached to him over time, and changed his opinion on him. I bet that Vergo joining G-5 allowed him to out Corazon's secret and spill it to Doflamingo. And considering that call at the end of the chapter, I have a feeling there'll be hell to pay soon enough for that.

Peephole chapter 43 - Oh shit, a whole cult worshiping Miyachi? This series just took a weird turn. I really find it interesting how I can always feel bad for Kurosu for getting into these fucked up situations when he's really kind of a horrible person himself, but this series just always makes me go "oh fuck" whenever stuff like this happens. Now, how will Kurosu get out of this mess?

The Seven Deadly Sins chapter 98 - This was one of those kinds of chapters that really only exist to get us to the ending. In this case, set-up for Meliodas' plan to defeat Hendricksen. It's interesting that Elizabeth's power can only heal wounds but it can't restore their stamina and strength, so while they might be saved from being at near death they still don't have the energy to really manage a long-term fight. It's good to see limitations on these kind of things. In any case, next chapter should be the final part of this battle, and hopefully it will be a cool conclusion.

Shokugeki no Soma chapter 90 - Akira and Kurokiba are so hardcore, I love them. I have to wonder if Kurokiba might actually turn this match around on Akira and create a dish even better than his. Usually the character that goes first is the one that loses, after all. But, again, it seems like things are building towards a rematch between him and Soma, so I doubt it. Still, I'll be interested in seeing what kind of dish he's going to create.

Shonan Seven chapter 1.5 - I believe the first chapter of this series made a good first impression, but this one...it utterly bored me. The concept is still nice, but the character, art, and dialogue are making it an uninteresting and tedious read. The translations is also really sloppy and bad too. I'll still try and stick with it until the end of it's first arc, whatever that'll be, but I have a feeling Fujisawa has just produced another dud yet again.

Silver Spoon chapter 106 - There might not have been much story development in this chapter, but boy was this one fucking funny as hell. Reading this was one of the highlights of last week for me, though, as this is Silver Spoon, that's to be expected.

Space Brothers chapter 237 - Mutta sees the sky Hibito once saw. And next chapter, he should finally see the space that Hibtio saw as well. Now that will be an event of a chapter for this series, and I can't wait to see it.

Toriko chapter 297 - Dang, these monkeys have one hell of a hierarchy. I honestly don't see Toriko's group beating even an instructor unless they get some powerup or something. But it looks like they've now discovered a lost civilization...of Nitro? Oh yeah, now this is a cool ass development! I've been wanting to learn more about the Nitro and their community for a long time, so hopefully this finally sheds some answers on that front, as well as explain the motives and origins of the Blue Nitro.

Rankings:

1. A Silent Voice - 9.5/10
2. Berserk - 9/10
3. Silver Spoon - 9/10
4. Shokugeki no Soma - 9/10
5. Fuuka - 8/10
6. Assassination Classroom - 8/10
7. Boku no Hero Academia - 8/10
8. One Piece - 8/10
9. Joshi Kausei - 8/10
10. Magi: Adventure of Sinbad - 8/10
11. Magi - 8/10
12. Space Brothers - 8/10
13. Peephole - 8/10
14. Days of the Dam - 8/10
15. Toriko - 8/10
16. The Seven Deadly Sins - 8/10
17. Black Butler - 8/10
18. Hinomaru Zumo - 7/10
19. Shonan Seven - 6/10
20. Naruto - 1/10
21. Bleach - 1/10

Overall, a really solid week of good chapters. Not to mention alongside ASV being amazing as always, Berserk put out it's best chapter in years and Silver Spoon came out with a new chapter in two months, so I couldn't not be happy with the week as a whole. Hopefully next week will be just as strong.

[LumRanmaYasha]

Welp, I caught up to the available scans of World Trigger. I find it enjoyable. I appreciate that it's different from most battle-shonen currently running in that it's not a fantasy adventure series or another goddamn ghost/monster-fighting series (have I mentioned how much I hate those nowadays?). Well, I suppose the Neighbors are "monsters," but a lot of what the series has been focused on so far was more interesting strategy/internal politics within the Border organization, which I found pretty interesting. The art is also very good and the way I like: clean, clear, and effective, and the action scenes look pretty cool at times. I appreciate the dialogue as well for not following the same "tone" most dialogue in shonen series tends to be (lots of yelling and what have you), and the mangaka does some interesting things with it and his character interactions to give them some good depth in some cases. I think the writing and art are pretty good overall, a step up from the norm these days for battle-shonen's, at the very least.

As far as the characters go, there are many I find interesting in terms of where they might develop as characters, but am not interested in them as they are quite enough yet, with the exception of Jin, who is basically the Ban of this manga in terms of being the most nuanced AND awesome character, and very much a scene-stealer. The parts of the series I've enjoyed most so far have directly involved him. I do appreciate the leads, Yuma and Osamu, for who they are, but their personalities aren't really on the level of, say, Korosensei or Soma to get me invested in them before the nuances to their characters started to show up, and on that front, while I can see them having interesting character arcs as the manga goes on, what they've gone through so far is too little and typical for me to truly "care" about them and their problems, unlike, say, Fuuka from her titular manga. As far as other characters go, the series suffers from my long held grievance of having to many characters and expecting the audience to care about all of them even if their development and focus is all over the place. I can't really remember the names of much of the supporting cast, beyond a select few like Kitora, Miwa, etc., who I do like, but are just not "there" in terms of being characters I feel invested in, yet. This can make some chapters that do not focus or feature on Yuma, Osamu, and Jin feel a bit dull since I don't remember who these people are and thus don't care about the situation they are in. A series that I feel handles a large cast much better is Assassination Classroom, because that series introduced it's characters gradually and one at a time, and made it clear which characters were the most important, and focuses on them specifically, and as such, there are many characters in that series I legitimately care about. WT is still a young series, and could do some interesting things with it's characters, since a good foundation is there, but as of now it has yet to find a balance that would help it get to that level.

Overall, I do think it's a good series, and I'd enjoy keeping up with it once new scans start popping up again, or once I finally get a subscription to Shonen Jump Alpha, whichever comes first. Is it the best 10-gen Jump series? Not for me, personally, as I am far more invested in Assassination Classroom and Shokegeki no Soma, both of which won me to them much earlier into their runs than WT has yet to do for me so far. The WMR guys really love this series, and I can see why, since it's a very good and unique series, and definitely has had a stronger year than most of the other battle-shonen currently running. I just don't feel as strongly towards it right now for the reasons I've mentioned, and because there is such a diverse and large amount of series I already keep up with, and WT doesn't give me anything that I don't get from some of those at this point in time. I do think there's a lot of potential here, though, and I'd love to see the series reach it. Whether it will or not is another question, but at the very least, I think it will remain a good series for the foreseeable future, and a good title for those sick of the typical kind of battle-shonen out these days and want something different and well-written to read. 

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I'd keep up with it, but the unofficial scans stop at chapter 55, and I can't afford to really buy a subscription from Viz (well, I could, but there are other things that I find to be more worth my money, right now), so I'll have to take a hiatus from the series for a while.

Based on my impressions, though, it's decent, but I still don't buy into all of the hype around it. Focusing on the inter politics if Border is probably it's biggest strength, but even so, I don't find the characters to be anything truly memorable, though certainly above average by Jump's regular standards.

Anyways, as far as currently running manga goes, I'm not really following anything new, but here are some of my thoughts on what I've read from this week:

Haikyuu!!- It's not that there's anything wrong with the game, but this reminds me of why I didn't read KnB on a weekly basis, and instead waited for the final match to finish. To be quite frank, I don't think that sports manga are well-suited to being read in a weekly format. They are made to build up intensity during matches, and you just don't get that from reading such short chapters between relatively long intervals. As disappointing as the final match in KnB was, I can only imagine how much worse it would've been in a weekly for at, and I feel like having to do the same when I read Slam Dunk would've really killed the momentum of a lot of the great matches in that series. That said, the game's already pretty far in, so I might as well stick with it the rest of the way through, at this point, but I've definitely learned my lesson, and I'm going to wait it out by the time that the next game starts.

One Piece- You know, for what it's worth, this is one of the few flash-backs that I've actually been enjoying. Unlike the flashbacks with Rebecca and Mr. Soldier, I find Law to be a much more compelling character, and his relationship with Doflamingo's brother is also more interesting given how they each have intel on each other that they could have used to screw each other over, but instead it turned into them forming a mutual trust between one another. I also like how Corazon was smart enough to see that his brother had found him out or was at least close to it, and instead was much smarter than falling into his trap and risked getting the Devil Fruit for himself by steeling it, which in this case still probably won't work out for him given how this chapter ended, but at least he'll somehow be able to save Law with it at the cost of his own life. The bottom line, though, is that you care more about a character, even in a flash-back, when they aren't complete idiots, and make genuinely good efforts to keep themselves and those around them alive.

This isn't a Nico Robin or Three Brothers quality flashback, but it still has a touch of classic One Piece to it, which is much more than I can say for most of the extraneous character flashbacks that we've been getting for other characters ever since the Fishman Island arc.

Magi- I'm really glad that they managed to conquer this dungeon in just 2-chapters, because I really didn't want to spend more time, here. To be brutally honest, the dungeons were always the least interesting part of this series to me. I've always found the politics and social disorder to be its biggest story-telling strengths. Now let's just see Hakuryu actually try to get one of his objectives done and maybe kill a character or two off (which, remember, the author pretty much promised that people would be dying off pretty soon). I just hope that when people do start dying off  it's not just a cop out and only really minor characters get the axe. At least give us one death that would dramatically raise the stakes of the conflict at hand. As things stand, I feel that this alliance against Al Thamen thing should be much bigger than it is right now, but with the slow pacing of this series, it feels like it'll take forever before anyone actually even makes a move. I'm not saying that it's good to rush into things, but in this case I feel like we've really waited more than long enough to see shit go down. Stop stalling, Ohtaka.

[LumRanmaYasha]

Well, while we're on the subject, I might as well do this on time for a change...

A Silent Voice chapter 58 - The group worked so hard on the movie...only for it to be bashed as "pretentious," the judges not understanding the genuine nature and motives behind the project, and every single aspect about their movie was mercilessly picked apart. It was painful to read. They put into a lot of effort into the movie, thought what they made was great, but even so other people hated it. Yet, as Shoya tries to say, that shouldn't let them get them down. They don't need to care about what those assholes said about it. It was a rushed project, there were some rough edges, but they accomplished something together, and they had fun doing it, and it meant a lot to the person they were making it for. They'll just do it even better next time, and show people what they can really do. It was a great moment. And the icing on the cake was the whole group going to have dinner together, laughing and joking around as friends. It's all so emotionally rewarding considering the trials these characters have gone through, and how they've now found good friends they can be comfortable being themselves with. Seeing Shoko laugh and smile, for the first time in a long, long while, almost brought a tear to my eye, just how it does Yuzuru's. Another beautiful, wonderful chapter.

Assassination Classroom chapter 105 - The "God of Death's" strategy to defeat Korosensei actually worked! Wow, this is the first time Korosensei has really been this helpless, and shows that even he isn't invincible and infallible. The best part of the chapter, though, was Karasuma's decision. In the earlier chapters he might have sacrificed the lives of the students to ensure Korosensei's death, but here he is using his own discretion, and doing what is right, and now shows his stuff against "God of Death," preparing to risk his life against the sake of the mission, but for the sake of the innocent lives of the students. And I love his line to Erina: "Being Pro Isn't Something So Carefree." Erina has forsaken any shred of honor, riding on the coattails of "God of Death's" skills, and using dirty tricks to achieve her ends,  and she thinks that is the mark of a good assassin. But Karasuma is telling her that she can't just take the easy way here, and that won't get her anything. If she wants the respect she desires, she should be using her own skills and strategies, and not abandon the responsibility she had towards the students to work with them together to defeat Korosensei. It shows the difference in the maturity of the two characters, and how for all her posturing, Erina is still lacking in valuable experience and self-awareness, and has a ways to grow as a person as well as an assassin just as much as her former students. I'm excited to see if she'll realize this, and the implications for her characters from here on out. Moreover, though, I'm excited to see Karasuma take on the "God of Death," and how he'll be able to outpower and outwit an opponent that has defeated countless skilled assassins as well as Korosensei before.

Bleach chapter 602 - So what's-his-name is defeated and...why the hell did we just waste three chapters on this shit? I mean, holy shit, this was like complete filler. Nothing of consequence happened in this fight. These grunts came out of nowhere, and they were defeated just as easily. I guess we didn't see cloak guy defeated so that might do something, but, like, there was no reason for any of this. I just think Kubo realized he didn't have a few villains named after letters of the alphabet yet so he made some up and just stuck them in there to get them out there. It was pointless. Completely pointless. That's the problem with Bleach. It doesn't need these many villains. It doesn't need these many fights. They add nothing to the story. It all amounts to basically filler. The Arrancar arc would have been a third the length if you narrowed it down to it's essential plot elements. This arc would be a fourth of the length, if not less. All Bleach amounts to is fighting random weird villains in random weird battles again and again and again. There is no logic or story to anything that happens. There is no development to any characters. It's just fighting. And that's boring. And stupid. Bleach in a nutshell. Sigh. Now these Squad Zero bastards are going to fight Ywach and...oh why should I give a fuck? I know they are going to lose. I know Ichigo is going to come and fight him instead. I just...sigh. Let's just move on from this crappy long-running Jump series that wasted all it's potential to a new upstart with promise.

Boku no Hero Academia chapter 4 - Though this was a sort of chapter that you would expect for this situation, the execution here made it genuinely moving, and happy to see that Midoriya has gotten accepted to Yuuei after all. This manga is playing all the right cards, so far, and it makes me intrigued at what it might be able to do with this premise. Though superheroes at school is a fairly well-worn concept, it's been rarely done in manga, and if this series can be done just right, it can make itself into a really engaging battle manga. Considering this series is an overnight success, if the rankings are any indication, I'm definitely excited to find out if that will be the case.

Fairy Tail Zero chapter 4 - FTZ continues to be surprisingly enjoyable, especially because Mavis is a incredibly likable protagonist. It was awesome to see her not only outwit the members of the dark guild but also bluff them into submission with her illusion magic. The ending of this chapter provides a neat hook in the revelation of what looks to be Zeref seen walking past Mavis and co. What role could he have in this story? I'm actually interested in finding out.

Fuuka chapter 36 - I mean, fuck, what can I even say about this chapter? It was so well-crafted beginning to end, providing an ending that feels like a big, painful punch in the gut. I don't know if Fuuka is going to actually die or not, but I have a feeling the author won't be pulling his punches on this development. And as such, I have to say, this is one of those rare occasions where I genuinely feel sad, almost mortified, by a manga character's death. To put it in perspective, the most cited "moving" death in a modern shonen manga is Ace's from One Piece, because it was the first time a character died outside of a flashback in that series and changed the status quo (except only superficially but whatever). The thing about that is, while it was a well-done scene, the fact was I never actually cared about Ace as a character so much as his relationship with other characters, so while I felt bad for Luffy and Whitebeard when he died, I didn't care about him. That is not the case here with Fuuka, as I genuinely was invested in and cared about the character, so her death hits me hard, so much so I felt almost depressed after reading the chapter and thinking about it now. Now, again, Fuuka might not die, the mangaka might just make be in a coma or something like that, but if this is actually happening then this is going down as one of the very few anime/manga character death scenes that genuinely had an emotional impact on me, a rare feat indeed.

My main concern about this, if Fuuka is actually dead, is where the author will take this series from this point. My hope is that the situation will be handled as smartly and with as much depth and class as in Cross Game, and be a moment that affects the characters and drives the story just as much as it did in that series. Considering the quality of the writing so far, I have reasonable hopes that this will happen, but from what I've heard about the mangaka's previous works, I do have some concerns the series might misstep as well. The only other manga I've been keeping up with that has made me this speculative about it has been A Silent Voice, and with it ending in three weeks, this might turn out to be the series I'll be most excited to read every week from now on. And as of right now, I haven't been this anxious to read the next chapter of a series in a good time. This is a development that could either make or break Fuuka, and I'm praying for the former.

Girl May Kill chapters 17-18 - Ho man, these chapters provided an excellent development in Gohongi's character in how he's delving himself deeper into the underworld in order to help Mei, for misguided reasons that he wants to help and protect her, and otherwise just going with the flow of things, when he's the one who's truly in danger in this situation, and that may cost him his life. Worse, he's confronted with the guilt of what he's let happen, namely Tsukasa's death, and what's happened to Ritsu as a result. And in a moment of emotional confusion and weakness, he's taken advantage of Ritsu's emotional instability and has sex with her, an action that will likely increase her dependency on him, further his guilt over letting his friend be killed, and has likely set the similarly unstable Mei, who holds misguided feelings for him and discovers them in the act to their unawareness, against him. This is some heavy, fucked up shit and it's not going to end pretty I can already tell, my god. I wish it was updated more often, because it just keeps getting better and better.

Hinomaru Zumo chapter 5 - The first three chapters genuinely piqued my interest in this series, and that interest remains, but the typicalness of the shonen sports formula tropes it follows in this chapter made for a rather boring read. I also am just not a fan of reporter characters, as they generally tend to be superfluous commentators in sports series, and the ones introduced here don't seem particularly interesting. That said, when we get into the actual tournament, the elements this series excels in should come to play and I should start enjoying it again, but this one was a miss for repeating things I've seen before, and am tired of, unfortunately.

Joshi Kausei chapter 23 - Legs. Just...legs. She spreads her legs. Other characters try to make her close them for...obvious reasons. She doesn't. Wackiness. Misunderstandings. The usual. I dunno. Wasn't funny. Not much to say. Let's move on.

Magi chapter 244 - On one level I do appreciate the reasoning behind why Judar and Hakuryu are behaving the way they are when they know deep down it's not the right thing to do, and that's their anger and hatred against the world aka they've cured their fates. And as such, they've fallen into depravity. I get this and it might be interesting to see how Ohtaka handles these characters and their relationships with their former allies when they come into conflict with them. But the way Hakuryu falls into depravity here...while there is some very nice imagery to convey his newfound madness, a lot of the dialogue in this chapter was cringe-worthy and serves to portray him in an almost two-dimmensional light. Now, we've seen that falling into depravity can radically change people's personalities and make them turn on people they used to care about before, but...c'mon: "You are nothing more than garbage just like you Master Alibaba, because you follow his hypocrisy blindly. HAHAHA..."? That's a fucking stupid line. Like, I can get behind insane characters. I can get behind a chapter where a character becomes insane. Crona was my favorite character in Soul Eater and that chapter where it finally snapped and went batshit crazy and killed Medusa in Soul Eater is legitimately one of my favorite manga chapters of all time. But that was actually handled very carefully, playing upon multiple chapters of buildup, and a sense of growing tension that made the moment powerful and as well-done as it was. But the execution here felt much more sloppy and sudden, and the 180 Hakuryu makes here just doesn't work for me.

There are definitely things here that I did like, and I have no complaint's about Judar's side of things, but I'm wary about the direction Hakuryu as a character seems to be going. Now, as far as him killing a character goes, depends on how that'll be handled. Hakuryu just killing off a character because he's evil now would be stupid. If it's something like how Midora killed Ichiryu in the aftermath of their fight in Toriko, where it was about two characters who have gone different paths but deep down still care about and love each other, and thus while they fight brutally with the intent to kill each other it's really a very tragic affair and both feel sorrowful about it's climax, then, you know, that would be good. If Hakuryu just kills off a major character, one that he has a history with, because he thinks they are all scum now like it suggests he does in this chapter, then that wouldn't be well-done at all no matter how much "the stakes are raised." I'm taking a wait and see approach on this. Ohtaka has shown she can make an effective three-dimensional villain in Mogamett, and to an extent Cassim, but the way things play out here, I'm a little worried Hakuryu might devolve into being a Sasuke-like character in execution, and that would be a real shame.

Magic Kaito chapter 33 - Yeah...I'm totally calling that Kaito's dad is still alive, somehow, and now masquerades as Kaito Corbeau. Either that or it's his mother...but I'm betting it's his dad. This is a pretty major development. It's a bummer that it won't be explored for like two years when Aoyama finally resumes drawing this series again, but whatever. As it was the chapter was pretty awesome in the way Kaito exposed Corbeau's tricks and their confrontation with the Organization. Really fun, cool stuff. But man, that ending. Way to tease your readers like that, Aoyama. 

Naruto chapter 697 - You know, I can get behind the concept of this chapter. Having exhausted all of their chakra, Naruto and Sasuke rely on their old skills, like the Uzumaki Barrage and the Chidori, and then finally, they run out of energy to even do those, and devolve into a fist fight. And you know what? This chapter ends up being the most interesting and effective action in the series in years because of that. No bullshit eye powers or giant energy monsters, but a good old-fashioned brawl between two people at their most desperate point, each one almost at the point of exhaustion, desperate for the other to run out of steam and fall. It was all really effective storytelling, and if I was invested in this series, I think I would have really enjoyed it. Obviously, though, I'm not, so I can't say I liked it, but I'll give it credit for doing what it does well, which is something Naruto hasn't been able to do in a long ass time. I fully expect some bullshit in the next chapter so that the fight can resolve easily and Sasuke won't have to die and whatever, but this week I'll throw it a bone.

One Piece chapter 765 - I like Corazon's savvy and how he's willing to risk making enemies of both Doflamingo and the Marines in order to cure Law's illness. Obviously he's in some serious trouble now, but I expect that this won't be what does him in, so it'll be interesting to see how he gets out of this jam, get the fruit to Law, and how he meets his end.

One-Punch Man chapters 57-58 - I totally forgot about Genos' backstory and motives in this story, so I appreciated the reminder. I feel that this new arc will result in some good development for his character. As far as King goes, I'm interested in seeing if he lives up to his promise and does become stronger. At the very least, stop being cowardly, and embrace qualities that make for a true hero. And why do I get the feeling Metal Knight is somehow involved not only with the cyborg Genos just fought but also the one that killed his parents? Hmm....

Orange chapter 15 - I like that something actually happened, in that they got Kakeru to finally tell them the truth about his mother, and get him to understand that they are there for him and ready to help him and talk about his problems. There was also lots of boring typical shojo stuff here and there that knocks the chapters down for me, but I am glad in this direction the series is taking, and hopefully it becomes more interesting to read again in future chapters.

Peephole chapter 44 - You know what my reaction was reading this chapter? OH SHIT OH SHIT OH SHIT OH SHIT OH SHIT...you get the picture. I mean, jesus, this is some fucked up shit and I continue to feel super bad for Kurosu for being in this situation. The ending of the chapter made my draw drop. Christ. Tt should be rewarding to see Miyachi go up against and take this guy out, at the very least.

The Seven Deadly Sins chapter 99 - Hendricksen is defeated, and I got to tell ya, that page where Meliodas delivers the final blow is really awesome. The build-up to it was as I expected, but enjoyable and well-executed nonetheless. I'm interested in the denouement of this arc, whether they dive right into a series situation with the demon clan being revived after all, or if that crises will be avoided for now.

Shokugeki no Soma chapter 91 - I was dying at the comparison of Hayama's dish to a monster card game like Yu-Gi-Oh and the accompanying pages of imagery. Gloriously hilarious. But though Hayama has made one hell of an impact, Kurokiba hasn't given up just yet. What card does he have his sleeve? Usually the guy who goes second is the one who wins. Will Kurokiba pull an upset? I have to wonder, and even if not, he's sure to have made one hell of a dish, and I can't wait to see how it turned out.

Shonan Seven chapter 2 - How does Fujisawa manage to take an interesting concept and make it boring as all hell? I dunno, but I would have thought a series where delinquents fight each other for the title of being one of the biggest badass' in the town would be cool, but it's not because the characters and art are really boring and it's just hard to get through. I mean, there's potential here, but right now I'm just finding it as tedious to read as any of his other modern works.

Toriko chapter 298 - Now this was a really cool chapter. I loved learning more about Nitro society and about this secret haven for those enslaved by the Blue Nitro, be them Red Nitro, humans, and monkeys. And I'm really interested in seeing how this information will be expanded upon as the arc goes on, and as they aim for Pair. This is shaping up to be a promising adventure arc for the series, and I'm hoping it delivers.

[LumRanmaYasha]

Rankings:

1. A Silent Voice - 10/10
2. Fuuka - 9.5/10
3. Girl May Kill - 9.5/10
4. Assassination Classroom - 9.5/10
5. Shokugeki no Soma - 9/10
6. Boku no Hero Academia - 9/10
7. Peephole - 9/10
8. Magic Kaito - 9/10
9. One-Punch Man - 9/10
10. Toriko - 8/10
11. One Piece - 8/10
12. The Seven Deadly Sins - 8/10
13. Magi - 7.5/10
14. Fairy Tail Zero - 7/10
15. Orange - 6/10
16. Hinomaru Zumo - 6/10
17. Naruto - 5/10
18. Joshi Kausei - 5/10
19. Shonan Seven - 5/10
20. Bleach - 1/10

Some really damn great chapters this week. There were some chapters I'm wasn't so high on, as well, but overall I'd say the good far outweighed the meh and the bad. I'm really anxious about the next Fuuka chapter and where that series is going, and Silent Voice continues to have an immensely satisfying denouement. And of course, there are plenty of other series like AC and Soma where I'm excited for their next chapters as well. The spectrum of good this week reminded me why I enjoy keeping up with manga and reading these series, and they really helped me get through a pretty shitty week. The meh stuff...I wish could have been avoided, but beyond Bleach, I wouldn't call any of them that bad beyond a few missteps or being boring at parts, so that doesn't bring things down for me too much. So, I felt really good about this week, overall, and have some very good expectations for several series next week as well. And hopefully, those expectations will be met.

[Rynnec]

Bleach chapter 602 - So what's-his-name is defeated and...why the hell did we just waste three chapters on this shit? I mean, holy shit, this was like complete filler. Nothing of consequence happened in this fight. These grunts came out of nowhere, and they were defeated just as easily. I guess we didn't see cloak guy defeated so that might do something, but, like, there was no reason for any of this. I just think Kubo realized he didn't have a few villains named after letters of the alphabet yet so he made some up and just stuck them in there to get them out there. It was pointless. Completely pointless. That's the problem with Bleach. It doesn't need these many villains. It doesn't need these many fights. They add nothing to the story. It all amounts to basically filler. The Arrancar arc would have been a third the length if you narrowed it down to it's essential plot elements. This arc would be a fourth of the length, if not less. All Bleach amounts to is fighting random weird villains in random weird battles again and again and again. There is no logic or story to anything that happens. There is no development to any characters. It's just fighting. And that's boring. And stupid. Bleach in a nutshell. Sigh. Now these Squad Zero bastards are going to fight Ywach and...oh why should I give a fuck? I know they are going to lose. I know Ichigo is going to come and fight him instead. I just...sigh. Let's just move on from this crappy long-running Jump series that wasted all it's potential to a new upstart with promise.

At least when the Captains and Vizards fought and lost against Aizen, the readers were already invested in them, we barely know these Squad Zero losers other than they look stupid and are one of the most disappointing things in this manga yet (and THAT is saying something).

Naruto chapter 697 - You know, I can get behind the concept of this chapter. Having exhausted all of their chakra, Naruto and Sasuke rely on their old skills, like the Uzumaki Barrage and the Chidori, and then finally, they run out of energy to even do those, and devolve into a fist fight. And you know what? This chapter ends up being the most interesting and effective action in the series in years because of that. No bullshit eye powers or giant energy monsters, but a good old-fashioned brawl between two people at their most desperate point, each one almost at the point of exhaustion, desperate for the other to run out of steam and fall. It was all really effective storytelling, and if I was invested in this series, I think I would have really enjoyed it. Obviously, though, I'm not, so I can't say I liked it, but I'll give it credit for doing what it does well, which is something Naruto hasn't been able to do in a long ass time. I fully expect some bullshit in the next chapter so that the fight can resolve easily and Sasuke won't have to die and whatever, but this week I'll throw it a bone.

Sounds good, but S-CRY-Ed did it better.

[Nel_Annette]

S-cry-ed is always the first series I think of whenever battles come down to the whole "we're both so worn down that we can only pathetically punch and kick each other" thing. And yeah, I actually kind of liked Naruto this week. That's how I'd write their final battle's last moments. I just don't like how we got there. They hit this point incredibly quick, and the only reason we got here so fast is because they blew their loads with giant energy monsters. Had Kaguya not even happened, we could have gotten a few cool fight scenes of swingin' around trees and throwing knives at each other or some shit.

[LumRanmaYasha]

Viz's Shonen Jump is adding Shokugeki no Soma to it's lineup, eh? That's pretty awesome. I'm not surprised, with Naruto ending in two weeks, and considering the volumes have been selling very well for them. It's definitely a good thing the series will be getting even more exposure now. A subscription to Jump is looking even more enticing now that there's another series I like to support through it.

As for Hi-fi Cluster being the chosen Jump Start series they've picked....meh. Like the WMR guys, I would have rather had Sporting Salt, but I can understand why Viz chose HFC over the others considering it's the one that seems the most "mainstream." Who knows, it might get better later on. I'll keep an ear out for it.

I'm also looking forward to the prequel chapters to Princess Jellyfish. It'll be interesting to see the pasts of the Amars, especially since, outside of Tsukimi's, they've been rarely touched upon. Also, more PJ is always a good thing, anyways.

[LumRanmaYasha]

Could a Soma anime be on the way? I wouldn't be surprised if it is, but if so, I'd expect an official announcement before the end of the year.

If it does, then the only real popular currently running Jump manga without a tv anime left will be Saiki. I think it's one of the funniest pure gag manga currently running right now, so I hope that gets one sometime too.

[LumRanmaYasha]

Eeyup, a Shokugeki no Soma anime is indeed coming out next year! Sweet! Looks like I have another anime to look forward to now. I really do hope a good studio and team will be doing it, though, and it doesn't get screwed over like how Nisekoi did with Shaft's "style," World Trigger has with Toei's cheapness, and Assassination Classroom might be because of it's infamous director. Jump anime adaptions need to start catching a break, c'mon.

[LumRanmaYasha]

(reads The Seven Deadly Sins)

Huh, so Hawk is alive after all....



(reads Fuuka)

Huh, so Fuuka is dead after all....

[LumRanmaYasha]

Naruto will reach 700 chapters after all. The final two chapters will be published simultaneously next week.

It's almost surreal that this is actually happening. I've been following this damn thing for over nine years, as long as I've been an anime fan. I thought this shit would never end, but...now it finally will. I won't say the series had no good, especially since I found myself liking the newest chapter, but there was definitely way, way, WAY more bad in it overall. It's not something I'm ever going to miss, but it is going to be a bit weird that something that I've been following for essentially half of my life so far will be gone.

Now, as for A Silent Voice, which will be ending in two weeks, that I will miss.