Currently Running Manga Discussion

[LumRanmaYasha]

I wasn't sure how I'd feel about the way Assassination Classroom would resolve the fight with Kaede - would they kill her off or would they save her life somehow? The series once again surpassed my expectations on how it would be able to do the latter and make it not feel like a cop-out...and it was gloriously hilarious as it was actually smartly written. This series makes me so happy.

[LumRanmaYasha]

Apparently the vast majority of the audience for the opening weekend of the Assassination Classroom movie were women - 90%, half of whom were teenagers.

Interesting statistic. I would have never have guessed the series was overwhelmingly more popular with female audiences in Japan than male.

[LumRanmaYasha]

You know, I've been re-reading Rin-ne recently, and the early stuff is a lot stronger and funnier that I thought it was the first time around. If this anime adapts things at a good pace and skips some of the lesser stories that start popping up around the 7th volume, it should be pretty entertaining stuff. I'll probably end up watch it every week no matter what, though. It is a Rumiko Takahashi series, after all.

[LumRanmaYasha]

So, in the latest Shonen Jump podcast, they answered a question concerning what their favorite Jump Start series is, and quite a few said Black Clover. So yeah...I think it's pretty obvious which of the recent crop they're going to choose to put in (presumably in the issue after next). I really was hoping for Kagamigami above any of the others, though. Well, hopefully it picks up steam and becomes relatively successful over in Japan so that we can see more of it over here in the future.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Tsk. Aw well.

Any word on how the manga are actually doing in Japan yet, by the way?

[LumRanmaYasha]

Chapters don't get ranked until 8 weeks after their initial release. We won't know how Kagamigami is doing until the week after next.

Based on the recent rankings, though, I fear for Gakkyu Hotei's lifespan. It's such a unique and fun series, and it'd be a damn shame if it got cancelled. I hope it'll hang on and pick up steam.

Also, rumor has it that a Naruto spinoff manga staring Bolt will be debuting in Jump five weeks from now. Bleh. Though, I'm assuming it'll only be a short series along the lines of Jaco. 

[LumRanmaYasha]

The Naruto mini-series has been confirmed to start serialization in Weekly Shonen Jump on April 27th. Well, I just hope that it remains a mini-series and doesn't overstay it's welcome.

[LumRanmaYasha]

Drifters is getting an anime.

Reminds me I need to catch up on that series sometime. Every time I've tried I read up to the end of the first volume and get distracted by other stuff instead of reading more. 

[LumRanmaYasha]

The conclusion to the battle with Hakuryuu and Judar was actually rather interesting. I'm skeptical that Alibaba and Judar are actually going to die, but at the very least this should snap some sense back to Hakuryuu and move his character arc in a better direction. While the past few months haven't been great for the series, I could see some good things coming from the aftermath of this battle if Ohtaka plays her cards right.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I felt that most of the latest OP chapter was kind of wasting time since it was obvious that Law wasn't really dead and even more obvious that his surprise attack would fail being that Oda will always have Luffy finish off the big bad. It's a trope that I'm not the biggest fan of, since it makes things too predictable, but it is what it is. I'm just glad that the arc is finally being wrapped up. Hopefully the fight is at least pretty good.

I will at least give it to Oda that the scene where Luffy casually blocks Doflamingo from curb-stomping Law's head in was drawn very effectively. I definitely got some classic OP vibes with that scene.

[LumRanmaYasha]

I thought the chapter was important as an integral piece in Law's character development and drive in this arc, giving him one last big chance to take out Doflamingo on his own. I found the emotional desperation of the attack on Law's part, driven by his desire to finally avenge Corazon, and how he was willing to give up his own life it meant taking Doflamingo down with his own hands, and his irritated despair that Luffy had to save him at the end, very effective and as someone who has been very invested in his character in this arc I could empathize with his plight on a strong level. Luffy keeping Trebol from interfering in the battle, and blocking Doflamingo's foot with his own at the end were also cool moments on his part as well and the trust and respect Luffy and Law have for each other that has been built up in these last two arcs felt payed off here, which made the ending all the more strong. I'm looking forward to seeing the battle between Luffy and Doflamingo all the more now because now Luffy has another personal interest to settle in this fight.

[LumRanmaYasha]

Kodansha is going to announce something about the future of their Vinland Saga releases at their panel at Anime Boston next week. And apparently "If you've been waiting for Book Six, it's good news."

This is a huge relief. I'm glad to see they'll be continuing their print releases of the series, at least for now.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

My problem isn't with Law himself, but with how Oda refuses to let anyone other than Luffy take down the big bad. This isn't the first time that this has happened, either. I'd at least settle for them teaming up to take him down as I feel that playing a part in it should be part of Law's character arc.

[LumRanmaYasha]

I agree it's about time we had another character besides Luffy take down an arc villain, just to change things up. In the context of this arc I'm okay with it, as Luffy does have a strong beef to pick with Doflamingo as well to justify it, unlike in how these things can go in other series (i.e. Natsu taking down Jellal instead of Erza in FT, and Naruto defeating Kakazu instead of Ino and Choji in Naruto). I'm still expecting that Law will still play a part in Doflamingo's defeat in some way, and would be disappointed if he doesn't.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Kodansha is going to announce something about the future of their Vinland Saga releases at their panel at Anime Boston next week. And apparently "If you've been waiting for Book Six, it's good news."

This is a huge relief. I'm glad to see they'll be continuing their print releases of the series, at least for now.

I wonder what the announcement is?

It's still a real shame the series hasn't caught on, but at least they're still giving it a push.