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Bakuman 99
[scanlation by Binktopia]
What a great start to the chapter. It might have been necessary and expected for PCP to pass at least one series, but it’s still an exciting moment. They were only 2 votes away from Crow, no less.
Continuing that great start, direct acceptance from the editor-in-chief is a huge moment in the series.
Appropriate reaction
+Natural placing sixth elicits mixed feelings from me. It’s a creative touch not to have PCP outrank +Natural by one place, but it diminishes the impact of PCP’s success somewhat to have it achieve the goal through the poor performance of one of the two target series.
The couple pages spent looking at other series are well spent, particularly the peek at Fukuda panicking about Road Racer Giri.
Iwase crying alone at the restaurant booth is truly difficult to read. She’s been chasing after Takagi’s natural success for so long, and after only a short period of success, she’s once again been bested by him. Worse still, +Natural is underperforming as a direct result of her idea to include the character Crow. Tragic moment for her.
PCP is being adapted to a drama CD! Things are progressing very quickly. At this point, it feels like the series could end within a handful of chapters if Ohba and Obata wished it.
Mashiro could not be cuter as he frantically requests Azuki as the voice actress for Mai.
Slightly excitable
I’ve been very pleased with Binktopia scanlations to date. However, to the immature idiot who thought it would be hilarious to subtly write “Boobies \o/” over Kaya’s chest: You are ruining artistic integrity. There is no place in your scanlations for a 12 year old’s pitiful attempt at humor. No one reads manga because of you. Never alter someone else’s work.
That unnecessary idiocy aside, it’s nothing new for Kaya to react in a cute fashion to Mashiro and Azuki’s relationship, and this is no exception.
Azuki tearing up at the prospect of voicing Mai in the PCP drama CD is another fantastic moment. This chapter is really pulling out all the stops.
The editor-in-chief has offers for a PCP anime! Maybe we’re even closer to the end of the series than I’ve expected.
Final Flash: Hugely impactful chapter, with great moments on practically every page.
Katekyo Hitman Reborn! 304
[scanlation by Binktopia]
I’m reading a series with an armored kangaroo. Sometimes, this whole manga-reading business is embarrassing.
Ryohei donning Kangaryuu’s armor pieces makes him look a bit like a Saint Seiya character. I wonder if that’s at all an intentional homage.
Saint Seiya doesn't have kangaroos, though
The future arc was ridiculous enough, but the way its existence has been handled since is even more preposterous. How are more and more characters aware of what happened (happens?) in the future?
I have absolutely no idea what Aoba’s powerup is. Once again, Amano has tried to add too much detail, and has instead made her art completely illegible.
Jumbled and confused
Obviously, Ryohei has to wait a certain amount of time and/or take a certain amount of damage before revealing his full power. That works in video games, but it alone doesn’t generate interesting fights in manga.
Final Flash: In stark contrast to Naruto, the speed lines and detail of Reborn! just muddle and ruin the art.
Naruto 508
[scanlation by Binktopia]
Bizarrely noble cover page.
Typically, I am against speed lines, but Kishimoto has used them well within the first several pages of this chapter. Instead of making them the focal point (or the entirety of the background, in some cases), he has used them to complement the action without overpowering the detail in the art. Sometimes, they’re even used as a style of shading, actually embedded in the rest of the art. Very nicely done.
Itachi signals a major test: Is the recently-improved Naruto still tolerable with the presence of one of the Uchiha brothers?
Interesting conversation between Itachi and Kisame. There are a couple of odd moments, but overall, it’s a nice look at what was hinted at being a curious relationship.
Very good, Itachi
Kisame ends up killing himself with his own sharks, and the title of the chapter ends up completely suitable. What a great way for him to go.
It seems Killer Bee will get Samehada after all. The only worry there is the prospect of an increased role for Killer Bee, who has been enjoyable only as a support character.
Nice closing words from Guy, but in this shot he looks remarkably like Catherine from Gintama.
Unusually reminiscent
Kisame having one last trick up his sleeve is completely appropriate, given the recent emphasis placed on his control over information. This is an acceptable compromise between an outright Guy victory and a Kisame escape.
Stunning last page. Madara faces off with Konan, but calls her Nagato? I’d be very happy to see Konan in action, as she was one of the more interesting Akatsuki members, but I worry this may further cheapen Nagato and Konan by using them as fodder for the decidedly uninteresting Madara.
Final Flash: An appropriately strong end to Kisame’s active role in the series.
Bleach 418
[scanlation by Binktopia]
It’s not like I could take Ichigo seriously before, but his new hair gets me laughing every time I see it. Well, that, and his sad expression.
Cheer up, emo shonen protagonist
Aizen certainly is long-winded this week. As this is Bleach, I assume he will continue assuming things about Ichigo’s powerup until Ichigo makes his move, proving Aizen wrong.
... what?
Ichigo is able to stop Aizen’s sword. To be fair, Ichigo has yet to respond to Aizen’s theory that Ichigo used all his reiatsu to reinforce his strength, so Ichigo could still have some hidden capability that would make this less ridiculous. That said, if Ichigo is only using pure strength, this is unimaginably awful writing. With the Hougyoku, Aizen has the ability to rewrite the plot of his own series; there’s absolutely no excuse for him being overpowered.
Resorting to Kidou is the Bleach equivalent of raising the white flag… or triggering your own death flag.
Background of the week
All this Ichigo dominance bears no credibility whatsoever, but at least the protagonist is doing something for once.
Twist of the week
Final Flash: If it makes people this strong, maybe I should grow a mullet.
Shonen Shikku Canceled; Enigma to Debut
Issue #40 of Weekly Shonen Jump marks the 15th and final chapter of Shonen Shikku, the first major work by newcomer Tsukuda Yuuto. Since becoming eligible for fan ranking, Shonen Shikku has never managed to escape the bottom 5 of the table of contents, even placing dead last five times. Its early cancellation is yet another in a string of poor performances from new Shonen Jump series, as has been evidenced by the similarly early ends to Lock On! and Kiben Gakuha, Yotsuya-senpai no Kaidan, and as it seems will further be proven with another cancellation expected next week.
The space left by Shonen Shikku will be filled starting next week by Enigma, a new series by Sakaki Kenji, a former assistant to Amano Akira (Katekyo Hitman Reborn!). An early preview picture is available:
(Click for full size)
Source: News-Paradise
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